Knowing what it takes, which music schools in Canada are best and how to grow your career in music is a goal for any music professional wondering if the best of the best would be found in Canada. You might also be imagining on how to increase your audience or a guitar player who wants to launch a tour.
I’ve noticed a large number of music industry professionals anticipate growth. Whether it’s about one’s audience or network, varieties of music industry professionals often lookout for what’s next.
Choosing to study in one of the best music schools in Canada is an attractive path to growing your career. With more than forty years of experience in music education administration and as a player, I’ve figured out that the path for any single person is unique.
Every successful start-up musician who is a product of the music schools in Canada and now working for a fruitful career in music still want to share these lessons. What are they?
How do you find which Canada Music Schools is best for you?
Fist practical thing to do is to talk to grads about their experiences, then explore the advantages of schooling in Canada. I am pretty sure all music faculties have a web presence where they have talked discreetly about their school.
This article offers you the opportunity where students and grads can share their unique experiences in the comments box below.
Various universities have different flavors of music education. The philosophical approaches to music education vary.
Some pride themselves on training (classical and commercial) performers, some are better at polishing creativity, some have a broader global view of music, some have sparkle commercial bent, some value an academic approach while others choose to take a more practical approach.
While searching for the best music schools in Canada, you can consider other important factors:
Is the music school in a large city or a smaller town setting? In smaller towns, social life off-campus has a more student-affected culture. Find where is the best city in Canada for students?
The environment in smaller towns can be less frenetic as some may find this boring. In large cities, students have more chances of visiting theatres, clubs, museums, music stores, libraries and a lot more. Transportation will be more convenient but food and shelter can be more expensive in big cities in Canada.
Are the programs large or smaller? Smaller programs outside major cities could attract less famous instructors but students may prefer it if they can get more individual attention and smaller class size. Also, competition for the best opportunities amongst music students may be less in smaller programs, while larger programs may offer lots of opportunities overall.
Utilize our exclusive list of low tuition Universities in Canada as a tool to help you determine which of the music schools in Canada you can study while you consider your wallet.
Some music faculties offer a broader range of music education disciplines while some are better specialists in some areas more than others.
To study in one of the best music schools in Canada, the main areas to consider include education, musicology, performance, composition, history, jazz, community music, electronic music, world music, as well as electronic music creation and production.
Some music schools will have more extensive post-graduate and research programs, usually as part of a jazz program or electronic music program. In this regard, the University of Toronto and McGill seem to come to mind most prominently.
Is there a famous professor with whom you want to study in your desired specialty?
With my long experience as a musician and educator in Ontario, I can ramble off the names of universities that seem to come up most in conversation with colleagues; this will be completely anecdotal.
Interestingly, let’s look at the best of 12 music schools you can study in Canada with their websites:
Douglas College in New Westminster, BC
Douglas College gives you the opportunity to explore your passion for music. You can study music in the way that’s best for you, from the fundamentals of music to professional training.
The most employable people in the music business are the ones who have a wide range of skills and experience. Douglas College is admired for offering comprehensive general training that easily connects to jobs in the music industry. See how you can find a job in Canada.
If you are interested in a full-time music program, part-time studies through the Community Music School, learning basic musicianship, or becoming a skilled audio engineer in the Music Technology program, Douglas College will be apt to provide the music training you need to achieve your goals.
Alberta College-Conservatory of Music,
Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, AB
Grant MacEwan University offers diplomas, certificates, applied degrees, and four-year bachelor’s degrees in arts, science, nursing, child and youth care, and commerce.
A bachelor of music in jazz and contemporary popular music is offered at the conservatory since 2011.
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, AB
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is a learning organization built upon an outstanding legacy of excellence in artistic and creative development. It was founded in 1933.
What started as a single course in drama metamorphosed to become the leading global organization in arts, culture, and creativity across dozens of disciplines.
From the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to inspire everyone who attends the campus with artists, leaders, and thinkers – to unleash their creative potential.
Cape Breton University in Sydney, NS
Cape Breton University’s Bachelor of Arts Community Studies (BACS) Music Major puts full attention to traditional and tradition-based popular music, with particular emphasis on local music traditions such as; Celtic, Acadian, and First Nations.
This program is designed for students who are passionate about a broad range of music and want to work with music as well as get a Permanent Residency while studying in Canada.
Cape Breton is one of the most celebrated cultural regions in the country mainly known for its musical traditions. It offers courses that introduce students to a variety of music, from local traditions to music from around the world, and from popular music to classical music.
Students learn to analyze the music that they love in order to see how it works.
They delve into current issues that affect not just local music but the broader community, including protest music, cultural tourism, and music revivals.
Students benefit from the chance of taking performance courses taught by some of Cape Breton’s best known traditional musicians.
Optional overseas exchanges expand the chances of learning about how to make music from around the world. Including work placements and co-op options that ensure students can explore music-related careers and build their resumés before they even graduate.
Capilano University in North Vancouver, BC
Popularly recognized as one of Canada’s best jazz training institutions, Capilano University’s Jazz Studies Program aims at fostering students’ comprehensive abilities in jazz performance and enriched composition of liberal arts education.
Focuses on developing musicians who understand and appreciate the rich history and traditions of jazz, and ready to contribute to the evolution and growth of the art form in the future, and get equipped to engage creatively with current trends in music.
Carleton University in Ottawa, ON
Carleton University is a comprehensive university in Canada’s capital of Ottawa, Ontario. The music programs at Carleton provide a solid study in the practice, analysis, and history of European classical music from the middle ages till present.
This institution also focuses on more recently developed areas of music like the sociology of music, and gender studies, composition, ethnomusicology, jazz, Canadian music, American music, computer music as well as popular music.
Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA) in Toronto, ON
Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA) is a specialized, public arts-academic high school in Toronto, Canada. 
It was founded on September 8, 1981.
Etobicoke School of the Arts is exclusively the oldest, free-standing arts-focused high school in Canada.
Students major in dance, drama, film, music (band or strings), music theatre or visual arts.
Students work with passionate members of staff in an exciting and dynamic curriculum tailored for each art.
Students often balance a rigorous academic workload with numerous extracurricular performances. The learning environment is engaging, vibrant, welcoming and extremely keeps students busy enough to explore the advantages of Schooling in Canada.
School of Music, the University of Victoria in Victoria, BC
University of Victoria (UVic) is popularly the second oldest degree-granting university you will ever find in British Columbia. The faculty consists of performers of international reputation, along with composers, musicologists, theorists and scholarly educators who are actively engaged in the creative aspects of learning.
Selkirk College in South-Central, BC 
Selkirk College is a regional community college that motivates, engages and enables learners to be valuable contributors to their communities and society.
It provides collaborative leadership in the communities they serve for recognizing the value of mutually beneficial relationships.
The University of Sherbrooke in Sherbrooke, QC
The Université de Sherbrooke offers music degree programs. A large university with campuses in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and Longueuil, as well as a suburb of Montreal approximately 130 kilometers west of Sherbrooke.
It is one of two universities, and the only French-language university you will ever find in the Estrie region of Quebec.
University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, PE
University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) is recognized as a public liberal arts university in Charlottetown. Its the sole university in the Province of Prince Edward Island.
UPEI offers three undergraduate music degree programs which include a bachelor of music, bachelor of music education, and a bachelor of arts.
University of Moncton in Moncton, NB
Université de Moncton is a French-language university in Moncton, New Brunswick at the Acadian community of Atlantic Canada. Moncton offers multiple music degree programs that you can choose from including a five-year music education program.
If you ask me, how do I go about it? Just apply now at the institution that best suits you.
Please be reminded that this article offers you the opportunity where students and grads can share their unique experiences in the comments box below.
