NAMM trip opens opportunities in music-related fields

That’s the assessment of Chadron State College music professor G.W. ‘Sandy’ Schaefer, who each year takes a group of students to the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) trade show in California to give them a view of the many career possibilities in the music industry.

“It opens up your eyes to the industry that is behind the music,” Schaefer said of the annual show that brings thousands of music product businesses from all over the world to the Anaheim, California, convention center each year.

Schaefer, a drummer and marimba player since he was young, came to CSC in 1999 with a background that includes playing for the U.S. Air Force side of the multi-nation NORAD band, teaching music at colleges in California and Wisconsin, and performing at jazz clubs on the west coast.

At the time, CSC was offering programs in music education and commercial music, with the latter focused on jazz performance. But Schaefer knew from experience of many talented jazz musicians struggling to make a living from performing, and of the many students in west coast schools learning jazz in a highly competitive atmosphere.

“Jazz is one percent music,” he said. “I thought the idea of a little college like this, not in New York City or San Francisco, handing out jazz degrees was not a good idea.”

Using his past experience teaching music business, Schaefer said he changed the focus of the Chadron State commercial music degree towards the music business. 

“Most musicians don’t know anything about the way the business of music operates,” he said. “Very few people are making their living performing. I always try to steer people away from that.”

Taking students to the NAMM show, a trek which Schaefer began in 2002, exposes them to “the other side” of music, and possible careers in music-related business.

“It’s a huge industry. There were 99,000 people there last year. Almost all are musicians,” he said. “This is how a bunch of musicians just like you are earning their living.”

Schaefer likens the show to a plumbing convention, but for manufacturers of music-related products and services from around the world. It’s not open to the general public, but he was able to petition for entrance as part of a collegiate organization since part of NAMM’s mission is “to create more music makers.”

“The companies know they need to develop the next generation of musicians,” he said.

Attending the NAMM show can be a “sensory overload,” with vendors staging continuous demonstrations of their products, including all manner of instruments, audio and recording equipment and computer applications, said Schaefer.

“(For) everyone who goes there for the first time, even (music) faculty, it’s jaw-dropping,” he said.

Initially students had to pay most of the cost of attending the show, but more recently Chadron State has picked up the bulk of the expense. About 10 students, a mixture of music education, music industry and performance majors, participate each year. While on the trip they visit vendor booths, attend seminars, listen to the musicians who perform throughout the convention area, and even get a morning excursion to check out the beach and watch some surfing.

Schaefer, music professor Joel Schreuder and guitar instructor McKay Tebbs will be taking 11 students to the 2016 show, set for Jan. 21 to 24. They will travel in a van to Denver to catch the flight to California and stay in a hotel within walking distance of the convention center.

The NAMM experience paid off well for 2012 graduate Alex Keller, who attended multiple times, garnered an internship with NAMM and now works for a company that makes top-of-the-line audio systems, said Schaefer.

“I got the job through my NAMM internship,” Keller confirmed. “I wouldn’t be where I am without the influence Sandy Schaefer had on me.”

The NAMM show is an example of high impact learning that benefits music students no matter what career they choose, said Schaefer.

“It’s an investment in your future,” he said. “Basically going to the NAMM show will change your life.”