Jazz Education in Germany

German universities and music colleges often have jazz departments, and Sebastian Knauer reports about such courses for the university issue of Der Spiegel ( Spiegel Online ). The graduates hope for a career playing their own music, but often they have to earn their money playing swing jobs at wine feasts. "To be able to live on jazz", the singer Nina Majer knows, "you have to be a star". But even stars - Till Brönner for example - have to open up for crossover projects. Jazz clubs mostly only pay moderate fees - at Hamburg's Birdland, for instance, local bands often have to play for the door and go home with less than 50 Euro per head. Their training gives them the necessary range to be able to work in musical pit bands or as instrumental teachers after graduation. The Popakademie in Mannheim even offers majors in pop music design and music business along with conventional music training.