<p>I originally wrote the following articles for my daughter's former high school and posted them on another college admissions discussion group. I have directed some folks there via PM but, due to the terms of service on this board, have never posted a direct link to them. I have finally decided to reproduce them here for any who may be interested.</p>
<p>This is the first of what could become a series of postings aimed at the parents of musical children. In particular, it is intended for those parents who are not musically inclined themselves and may not know where or how to start the process of finding the right school, the right degree program and the right teacher for their child. I know that there are several other parents of current or intended music majors on this forum, and I hope they will share their perspectives here.</p>
<p>By way of background, we are a very musical family. Although I have a couple of engineering degrees, I spent more time in concert halls and practice rooms than I did in labs and libraries during my undergraduate years. My wife came at things the other way, starting with a degree in music education and then learning about computers so that she could support her music habit with a well-paying day job. Between the two of us, it is rare for a non-summer week to go by without one or both of us performing for a concert, a wedding, a corporate party, a school assembly program, a pit band for a show, or some other gig. We easily participate in 40 or more such events a year. I sing for the most part and dabble in a variety of odd instruments. My wife plays and collects anything even vaguely related to the flute. We specialize in early music and Celtic folk music, with excursions into the worlds of opera, operetta, and the music of 20th and 21st century composers.</p>
<p>The first thing I would like to do is to point out several excellent essays that appear on the web site of the Peabody Institute. They are available at <a href="http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/787%5B/url%5D">http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/787</a> and <a href="http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/692%5B/url%5D">http://www.peabody.jhu.edu/692</a> and are worthwhile reading even if your child is not interested in Peabody or classical music.</p>
<p>In future postings, I plan to describe the experiences that we had over the last several years that led to my daughter's enrollment at Oberlin as a double degree student working toward a BM in performance on double bass and a BA in mathematics. Along the way I hope to pass along a few tips, share some observations, stimulate some discussion and answer some questions. If there is a fair amount of interest in this topic (as shown by your responses,) I will try to add about one new article a week and answer any questions that may come up in between.</p>
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<p>Musical word of the interval: Movement - a self-contained section of a larger work, often identified by the Italian word for the speed at which it is intended to be played ("Let's try the beginning of that Allegro movement again.") You will frequently see this term used on lists of audition repertoire at music school websites, e.g. "contrasting movements from a Concerto written for your instrument." Movements can last from a few seconds (e.g. Brandenburg Concerto #3, movement 2 by JS Bach) to a half an hour or more.</p>
<p>OK, it seems like there is interest so I will start with the first real installment. I intend to begin each one with an explanation in (mostly) layman's terms of the musical jargon you may encounter while surfing college web sites. If you come across one that you don't understand whilst surfing, send it to me and I will add it to the list. Without further ado, here is</p>
<p>Installment #1, "You want to do WHAT? Are you out of your mind?"</p>
<p>Daughter stepped off the school bus on one of the last warm days in October of her eighth-grade year with an innocent smile on her face and requested to be taken right back to school. When asked why she casually replied, "To pick up the double bass they are going to lend me. I volunteered to switch today and the bus driver wouldn't let me bring it home." Up to that point she had played violin for three years in the school orchestra, a solid, middle-of-the-section kind of player who relied more on an excellent ear than intense practice sessions to keep up with the others. We knew that she was musical from an early age, but never really thought of her as conservatory material; she had never shown the kind of single-minded devotion required in either her piano or violin studies. That was about to change.</p>
<p>Thinking, "OK, another fad that will last a month or so," I took her back to the middle school to meet with the strings teacher and take possession of a much-dented instrument made of plywood with a loose seam or two and a lost rock stop rumbling about somewhere within. (A rock stop, as I soon discovered the hard way, is a kind of coaster for cellos and basses that keeps the rod on the bottom of the instrument from sliding, thus adding another dent to the instrument and another gouge in the wooden floor.) We also got a fiberglass bow that was a few hairs short of its full load, a crusty lump of rosin twisted up inside a piece of looseleaf paper secured with a rubber band, and the phone number of a private teacher in the area. The instrument itself was 35 pounds of ungainliness that had to be coaxed into the minivan amid much folding of seats and restowing of the kind of jetsam that only two pre-teens and a disorganized dad can produce.</p>
<p>I felt exactly the way parents do when presented with the "He followed me home, can I keep him?" routine. True to form, I made it clear that this new addition would be my daughter's sole responsibility. She would have to practice every day, carry it around all by herself and clean up after any messes it made. (OK, so I made up that last part.) Over the next month she settled into a brisk routine of lessons and practice that made me even more certain that this, too, would pass. I thought she would soon tire of the previously unheard-of full hour of practice on weekdays and twice that on weekends, but she was just getting started.</p>
<p>The lesson I learned was that not everyone has to choose an instrument by age six, even a string player. Had she done so, she would have been farther along with her technique come audition time for college, but colleges are not only looking for fast fingers. By studying piano, violin and, later, voice, I think she got a broad perspective and a level of musicality that is sometimes lacking in young prodigies who put all their eggs in one basket. Had I prevented her from switching to bass, she would have never found what turned out to be HER instrument.</p>
<p>Has your son or daughter found THEIR instrument (and I am most assuredly including voice in that category)? If so, when and how did it happen?</p>
<p>Musical word of the interval: Sonata - an extended piece of music in several movements for one or more instrumental soloists, usually accompanied by a keyboard instrument and perhaps a cello or viola da gamba. College websites sometimes recommend a Sonata as an audition piece, e.g. Henry Eccles' Sonata #11 in G minor. The word sonata can also refer to a three-part structure used within a single movement of a larger work, in which one or more musical ideas are introduced (exposition), then extended (development), then restated (recapitulation). While properly called "sonata-allegro form" when used in this way, the term is usually shortened to "sonata form." The first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is an example of sonata form.</p>
<p>It seems like the discussion has died down a bit, so it is time to stir the pot again with</p>
<p>Installment #2, "You want to go WHERE? Are you out of your mind?"</p>
<p>Flash forward a couple of years to Christmas break in daughter's sophomore year of high school. She had been studying with the same teacher the entire time, practicing religiously and improving rapidly. By then she was principal bass in her high school orchestra, second chair in the local Youth Symphony, and easily making regional honors ensembles in our part of the state, although she missed the cut for all-state orchestra in freshman year. She had long since exchanged the much-battered school instrument for a very nice double bass selected with help from her teacher and one of the top bass luthiers in New York City.</p>
<p>After spending a lot of time with the instrument the previous summer, she was starting to talk about the possibility of a performance major. Her mother knew the implications of that much better than I did, and we decided it was not too early to get started on the research. Among daughter's Christmas presents were no fewer than three college guidebooks aimed at performing arts majors. In characteristic form, she retired to her room with all of them and devoured the contents over the next few days. She finally emerged with one of the books in hand saying, "What can you tell me about this place called Curtis Institute of Music?"</p>
<p>Well, I must admit that we were thinking the title of this installment almost loud enough to hear, but I think we managed not to vocalize it. Hours-old dreams are made of fragile stuff, so we tried to introduce reality a bit more gently. "Well, kiddo, they only take a few hand-picked prodigies each year from around the world. You are going to have to work very hard indeed to have a prayer of being accepted there. Let's take smaller steps first. If you get into all-state this year and make first chair next year, then we can think about a run at Curtis." </p>
<p>We were pretty sure that the first challenge would be met because she had just made fourth chair in the regional orchestra for the northern third of our state and the first-chair and third-chair players were seniors. Auditions are held in March for a concert to be played in October, so current-year seniors are ineligible. We thought the second goal would be much tougher and would give her some added motivation over the next fifteen months.</p>
<p>Audition weekend finally rolled around with results promised on the Music Educator's Association website by Sunday evening. That is rehearsal night for daughter's community chorus and we left home as late as possible, practically having to tear her away from the computer. Daughter's mantra was "I don't care if I am last chair, just let me get into the group." At break time we called home to have my wife check the website and relay the news. We were flabbergasted to find her name listed first among the double bassists, meaning that she had turned in the highest score on her instrument. Seating auditions were still to come in September, but she was clearly ahead of schedule and had gotten both parents to take this dream of hers much more seriously.</p>
<p>When did your son or daughter first mention a desire to major in music? What was your reaction?</p>
<p>Musical word of the interval: Concerto - before about 1700, this word simply meant a piece of music for both voices and instruments. The modern usage refers to an extended piece of music in which a solo instrument (or instruments) contrasts with an orchestral ensemble. The solo portions are often very involved and virtuosic, frequently culminating in a particularly flashy passage (the cadenza) just before the end of a movement. Cadenzas are sometimes written by the composer of the concerto, sometimes written by a noted performer of the appropriate solo instrument, or (rarely these days) they can be improvised by the soloist. You may see the plural form of concerto written as either "concertos" or "concerti." Traditionally, the solo parts are performed entirely from memory.</p>
<p>Just when you thought it was safe to come back to this forum, we present</p>
<p>Installment #3, "You mean you want to do this all summer, too?"</p>
<p>Back up a couple of months to January of sophomore year. Daughter had been back at school for about a week when her orchestra director asked about her summer plans. Clueless parents that we were at the time, we figured that summer would be a lot like the last one which daughter spent hanging out with friends and practicing in the wee hours until dawn. Boy, were we wrong.</p>
<p>When asked for recommendations, the orchestra director came up with a single word, "Tanglewood." He had big plans for daughter from the get go. A bit of research showed that regional auditions were to be held in New York City in five days. Not knowing any better, we made the call and found that all available audition times had been taken a month ago. However, the next day we got a call asking if we would be interested in taking the place of somoene who had just cancelled. Daughter went in with the two pieces that she had closest to being ready, the baroque sonata that was the all-state audition piece that year and the bass section solo from "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" that her youth symphony was currently rehearsing. Unfortunately, we found out in April that she was not accepted.</p>
<p>That sent us right back at square 1, but we managed to find some alternatives. We came across the website of the Strings International (<a href="http://www.stringscamp.com%5B/url%5D">http://www.stringscamp.com</a>) while Googling some combination of Harold Robinson and summer music camp. (Hal teaches bass at Curtis Institute, along with Edgar Meyer; see Installment #2.) We found that they had long since filled their violin and cello sections but still had room for a couple of violas and basses, so we signed up on the spot. We didn't know it at the time, but this was a huge turning point. </p>
<p>Daughter filed much of the rest of the summer with other music camps, including one run by George Vance at the University of Maryland (now held at Georgetown, see <a href="http://www.slavapub.net/workshops/wrkshp2006.html)%5B/url%5D">http://www.slavapub.net/workshops/wrkshp2006.html)</a>, a Jazz Week at William Paterson University (<a href="http://ww2.wpunj.edu/adminsrv/pub-info/Releases05/05_sumjazz.htm%5B/url%5D">http://ww2.wpunj.edu/adminsrv/pub-info/Releases05/05_sumjazz.htm</a>) and a one-week session run by the American String Teacher's Association at Rowan University (<a href="http://www.stringconference.com)%5B/url%5D">http://www.stringconference.com)</a>.</p>
<p>She had two private lessons with Hal Robinson at Strings International, where he introduced her to some of the elements of the Rabbath method of bass playing. It was immediately obvious that this was going to be tremendously helpful to her playing and she asked Hal for additional lessons on the spot. She got those lessons in August of that summer, along with a reference to her next teacher, Joseph Conyers. At the time, Joseph was one of Hal's top students at Curtis. He is now the principal bass for the Grand Rapids, MI symphony orchestra and teaches in a college or two in that area. I expect he will soon be on to bigger and better positions and I recommend him as highly as possible to any serious bass student in search of a teacher.</p>
<p>From all of this, we learned that it is better to audition live in front of the decision-makers than it is to be taped for them at a regional audition. We learned that it is helpful to have more than four days of preparation for a major audition. We learned that there is a big difference between a good teacher and a great one. We also learned that daughter would not have been ready for Tanglewood the first time she auditioned. She was accepted there the summer after her junior year. Her eight weeks in the bass workshop and BUTI orchestra convinced her that she had to be a performance major and provided a wealth of material for her college essays. Of the ten students in that year's bass section, at least seven are now performance majors at top programs including Curtis, Juilliard, NEC, Oberlin, Rice, BU and one of the finest conservatories in Japan.</p>
<p>Has your son or daughter found a summer program to be of particular importance in their musical development? How has it changed their playing or singing?</p>
<p>Musical word of the interval: Etude - a piece written to allow the musician to develop and display technical skills. Etudes frequently come in sets that can range from fairly simple warmup exercises to lengthy studies composed with the specific intent of being nearly impossible to play. While some etudes also manage to be musically pleasing, most are intended to be used as practice tools rather than to be performed for an audience.</p>
<p>This brings us directly to</p>
<p>Installment #4, Planning for Auditions</p>
<p>Auditions are a way of life for aspiring performing artists. They start at an early age and may well continue throughout a performer's entire career. It seems almost paradoxical that an enterprise requiring the utmost cooperation among a team of highly-trained professionals would be rooted in a competitive system of subjective judgments of an individual's skills as briefly demonstrated under highly artificial circumstances, yet there it is. The best bits of advice I have received about auditions are to treat each one as you would a major performance ("there are no auditions, only performances"), to audition as often as possible, and to always request feedback from the judges, particularly when the results were unfavorable.</p>
<p>College admission auditions are similar to one another in that there is a lot at stake. Beyond that, there are more differences than similarities among the various colleges and conservatories. Some schools and teachers are very good at putting prospective students at ease and coaxing the best possible performance out of them. Others seem to prefer maximizing stress levels as a kind of trial by fire. Some are very specific and inflexible in terms of audition repertoire while others will hear almost anything the applicant cares to play. Some auditions are very impersonal with nearly no interaction between teacher and student, while others turn into mini-lessons with lots of back-and-forth. What follows is the text of a presentation that I recently gave to some parents of aspiring music majors in sophomore and junior year of high school (with thanks to binx and mommab for their input):</p>
<p>A 15 to 30 minute audition will be the single most important factor in gaining admission to a music school or conservatory. In some cases, it counts for 90% or more of the admission decision. Since most aspiring music majors wind up applying to several schools, it is very important to select a core set of pieces that will satisfy the audition requirements at all of them. The final choice of pieces will be largely the decision of your son or daughter's music teacher, but it is wise to have an early discussion with that teacher about the schools involved and their audition requirements.</p>
<p>Some schools are very accomodating and will tell the applicant to prepare (for example) an etude, contrasting movements from a concerto and two orchestral excerpts of the student's choice. Others are more rigid and limit the selection to a relative handful of choices, with any substitutions requiring department approval several weeks before the audition. It takes careful planning a year or more ahead of time to come up with a set of pieces large enough to satisfy the audition requirements at each school, yet small enough to give the student enough practice time on each piece.</p>
<p>Research and communication are essential in this process. Nearly every major school of music and conservatory lists audition requirements on their website. If you think there is even a possibility that you will apply to a school, it is worth taking the time to check out their audition requirements online. </p>
<p>There are many variables involved and it is important to understand exactly what is wanted by the applicable department or departments of any given school. Sometimes a pre-screening tape is required and sometimes there are multiple rounds of auditions with callbacks. The audition material may be the same or different for earlier and later rounds. Piano accompaniment may be mandatory, optional or forbidden. If accompaniment is needed, the school may want you to use one of their accompanists or may expect you to provide your own. </p>
<p>Some schools only hold auditions on campus, while others give the applicant the choice of an audition on campus or at one of a number of remote sites. The on-campus audition may be required for those who live within a certain distance of the school. In most auditions at remote locations and even in some on-campus auditions, the proceedings may be videotaped for later viewing by the faculty. While it is certainly possible to gain admission from such an audition, a face-to-face meeting with the teachers involved is usually the better way to go. If an on-campus interview is impossible, some teachers have been known to meet students at mutually convenient locations away from campus. Professional musicians tend to travel a lot, so it is worth a call or email to see if this might be a possibility.</p>
<p>We made a chart over the summer before junior year with the following column headings: Scales/Arpeggios, Etudes, Sonatas, Concertos, Solo Pieces, Orchestral Excerpts. Giving each potential school a row, we filled in as much information from the school websites as we could. At the bottom of each column, we listed the smallest set of pieces that we could find that would satisfy the requirements for all of them.</p>
<p>Starting with about fifteen schools, we soon discovered that there were several that had very specific, non-overlapping requirements. After contacting the teachers at those schools, we found that some were reasonably flexible in accepting substitutions and some were not. It became apparent that it would be very difficult to prepare simultaneous auditions for certain combinations of schools. We used that information to remove a couple of schools from consideration that had specific inflexible requirements and were lower in our order of preference for various other reasons. Once that was done, the list of audition pieces got down to a more reasonable size.</p>
<p>This information proved to be a valuable resource for my daughter and her teacher in selecting specific audition pieces. He refined our list with some inside knowledge about specific college teachers and the pieces they prefer to hear. In the end, we came up with one etude, one sonata, one concerto, one solo piece and three orchestral excerpts that satisfied all of her audition requirements for ten schools. This was still a fairly large set, but it helped my daughter and her teacher plan lessons for more than a year.</p>
<p>Once you have selected the schools and the audition pieces, the next hurdle is scheduling all of them. Some schools have elaborate online systems that let you schedule the audition yourself, some ask you to call for an appointment after a specified date, and some simply respond to your application with an appointed time and date. Most auditions are held on weekends from late January through early March, with specific dates often posted on school web sites. Conflicts are inevitable, so plan on keeping your calendar as free as possible during these periods and schedule the auditions as far in advance as possible so that you will have time to swap appointments as needed. Some schools require you to be present for a certain period before and after the audition time. This could involve information sessions, music theory placement tests, or an unscheduled extra round of auditions if the need arises. Be sure to find out all of the time requirements before scheduling two auditions in one day or making any travel plans.</p>
<p>Finally, I would like to pass on one more tip. All of the schools list scales and arpeggios as a required audition element but not many will ask to hear them. That does not mean the student should shortchange those items to spend more time rehearsing audition pieces. Scales and arpeggios are the foundation of good technique and any deficiency in those areas will be noticed in the audition, even if they are not played individually.</p>
<p>For those who have already been through this, what other information would you care to pass along concerning audition planning? I plan to discuss the audition process itself in a later article, but you are welcome to share insights about that part of the process either now or later.</p>
<p>Musical word of the interval: Arpeggio - an Italian word meaning "in the manner of a harp." It describes a manner of playing a chord in which the notes are are played in succession from bottom to top or top to bottom rather than all at the same time. Along with scales, arpeggios are one of the fundamental building blocks of musical technique. Almost all schools list scales and arpeggios as required elements of the audition, but only a few actually ask to hear them.</p>
<p>Now that we have done some research, it is time to get a first-hand look at some teachers and schools with</p>
<p>Installment #5, On the Road</p>
<p>Some students are content to choose a school based entirely on the recommendations of friends, teachers and college guidebooks and the information presented on school web sites. These are all valuable sources of information but, given the amount of time and money involved in the outcome, there is no better way to judge that elusive quality known as "fit" than a physical, first-person, shoe-leather-on-pavement, face-to-face, honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned visit. This may prove impossible for financial or logistical reasons, but seeing the place yourself provides important information that you can get in no other way. As usual, there are some specifics that concern music majors which I hope to explain here.</p>
<p>Ideally, a visit should include as much as possible of the following: a sample lesson with the applicable faculty members, a department recital featuring your child's major instrument, a rehearsal of one or more ensembles (possibly with your child sitting in and playing along if they are ready to do so), a performance by one or more ensembles, a first-year class in music theory or music history, a chat with the admissions office and possibly the financial aid office, the standard tours of the college and music department, some time spent wandering around on your own and talking to current students (especially useful if they study with the teacher in whom you are interested), a meal at the school cafeteria, an overnight stay in the dorms, a student-run event, and a drive around the surrounding area. That is enough for a very busy couple of days, so don't feel bad if you can't get all of it done. Parents are allowed to be there for the concerts, the financial aid chat, the standard tours and the driving around part, but it is best to leave the rest of it up to your son or daughter. Definitely schedule the visit when school is in session.</p>
<p>Before the visit: The school web site is a great place to start. Chances are, you will be able to find performance dates and contact information for teachers, the admissions office and the financial aid office. If you cannot find an email address or phone number for the teachers, the admissions office will be able to help. The student should contact the teacher(s) a couple of months before the visit to line up a sample lesson. Every teacher my daughter contacted was more than happy to offer a 30 to 50 minute sample lesson. She always offered to pay their standard lesson rate, but not one of them accepted the money. When making arrangements for the lesson, it is also a good idea to ask about ensemble rehearsal schedules and things like recitals or masterclasses that might not be listed on the school web site.</p>
<p>After securing the lesson appointment(s), call the admissions office and let them know you are coming. They will probably schedule you for an information session and a tour, and they may offer discounts at nearby lodgings. It never hurts to show the admissions office that you are interested enough to visit, particularly if you are coming from some distance. Avoid visiting during vacation weeks, orientation weeks and exam periods. If your plans change, be sure to contact both the teachers and the admissions office ASAP to reschedule or cancel.</p>
<p>During the visit: The visit is not only about seeing, but also about being seen. Be sure to stop by the admissions office and fill out a contact card. If possible, meet some of the admission committee folks so they can later put together a face with the application. A good sample lesson will leave a lasting impression with the teachers and can make everyone a little more comfortable come audition time. </p>
<p>Note the names on the teacher's posted lesson schedule in case you have an opportunity to speak with some of them. Peruse the bulletin boards to get a feel for what is going on in addition to classes and department-run concerts. See for yourself what the practice rooms are like and whether there are enough of them. Visit all of the performance spaces and the music library. Check out the placement office if the school has one to see what services are available for alumni and those who are about to graduate. Try to get a feel for whether your playing is well above, about the same or well below that of the other students there. Try to determine in what ways the school promotes cooperation and in what ways it encourages competition. (Some students respond better to one than the other.)</p>
<p>After the visit: Record your impressions as soon as possible. They fade quickly and get mixed up, particularly if you are visiting more than one school in succession. Send a short thank-you note to each teacher who gave you a sample lesson and to anyone else who went out of their way to help you. A handwritten note is a nice touch, but an email is better than nothing.</p>
<p>Next time I will write about interpreting all of this information and what to look for in a good program. Meanwhile, for those who have already made college visits, what other things did you do that proved useful in helping to shape your decision about a school or a teacher?</p>
<p>Musical word of the interval: Spiccato - a technique on bowed string instruments in which the tip of the bow is bounced on the string to produce a series of slightly separated notes. Other terms for this technique include sautille, saltando and saltato.</p>
<p>As promised last time, we will put some of the knowledge gained on all of those road trips to use in</p>
<p>Installment #6, Considerations when comparing different schools</p>
<p>Here are some things that we considered when looking at music schools. The relative importance or non-importance of each of these is likely to vary quite a bit from one student to another, so I urge anyone reading this list to personalize it to reflect your own preferences before using it. I have not included a lot of non-musical concerns because extensive lists of these can be found elsewhere, but some of these may also be very important in your decision.</p>
<p>1) Faculty – Our most important issue was the fit between teacher and student. Sample lessons were more helpful in taking some choices off the table than they were in selecting what might be the best among several good choices. Daughter wanted someone whose sound she admired, who would challenge her, whose method of playing relied more on agility and finesse than size and strength, and whose style of teaching was compatible with her style of learning which happens to be very hands-on and analytical. We were also looking mostly at programs that had more than one teacher on daughter's instrument so that there would be a second choice short of a transfer if the first teacher did not work out.</p>
<p>As a musician, I consider the highest compliment not, "Wow! how can you possibly do something that difficult?" but rather, "You make that seem so easy that anyone could do it." When listening to a potential teacher play, we did not want to notice a lot of mechanical things happening. Rather we wanted to hear a liquidity of tone and sense an instinctive understanding of phrasing. We wanted to be so taken by the beauty of their playing that it was impossible to concentrate on the technical aspects because you simply had to listen. One of my favorite directors likens this to watching a swan - below the water there is a lot of paddling and churning going on but all you see above the water is the swan gliding smoothly and serenely across the lake. Once the playing stopped however, we wanted someone who could articulate precisely what they had been doing to create such a moment.</p>
<p>By researching orchestral web sites, programs from performances and other places that artists' bios can be found, we noticed that a lot of musicians list their teachers. We also noticed that a lot of the same teachers' names started popping up on certain instruments. Taking this information and working backwards, we drew a family tree sort of diagram showing who had studied with whom. We noticed that a large number of the current crop of successful performers on any one instrument often trace back to a small number of highly important teachers within two or three "generations". It seems that every now and then someone comes along who so revolutionizes the technique and/or pedagogy on their instrument that the best of their students, grand-students and perhaps even great-grand-students have uncommon success. We labeled such highly important and influential individuals "nexus teachers." With each potential teacher, we asked what is their relationship to past nexus teachers and what potential do they have of becoming a nexus teacher themselves.</p>
<p>Other concerns were whether the teacher was a well-known current or ex-performer, a member of a noted performing arts organization, and active in professional societies. These can be indicative of the amount of "pull" or influence a teacher can wield in the professional world on behalf of a deserving student.</p>
<p>2) Visiting Artists – Does the school attract visits from other top names in their field? When visiting artists come for a concert, do they also give a masterclass? Do they spend time informally interacting with the students?</p>
<p>3) Performing organizations – Are there enough ensembles to provide opportunities for all of the students? How frequently do they rehearse and perform? Are they open only to music majors, do they allow other community members by audition (and how selective are the auditions) or do they simply take all comers? Do they perform only at the school or at other major venues? If so, where? Is the travel paid for by the school or the students? How common are spontaneously-formed student groups and do any of them last beyond college days?</p>
<p>4) Support for competitions – What is the school's attitude toward competitions? Do they provide sufficient flexibility in allowing a student to spend some time away from school if necessary? Does the school have any sources of funding for students who wish to enter competitions? What competitions does the school run itself?</p>
<p>5) Summer programs – Does the school run any summer programs itself? Does it serve as a feeder for major summer festivals?</p>
<p>6) Performance opportunities and job placement– Is there a placement office for students? What services do they provide? Do they support alumni and for how long after graduation? Does the school maintain a gig board for linking current students to jobs in the surrounding community? Does it place any restrictions on outside performances by current students? What positions do recent graduates hold as artists, teachers, administrators and students in graduate programs?</p>
<p>7) Teaching opportunities – Does the school allow students to teach children or non-majors? Is this activity mentored by the faculty? May school facilities be used during off-peak hours for this purpose?</p>
<p>8) Facilities – Are they up to date? How crowded are they? How easy is it to find a practice room for personal or small ensemble use? Do the practice rooms have adequate lighting and decent pianos? Is there a secure, climate-controlled storage area for instruments? What are the on-campus performance venues like? Are they available for student use or tightly controlled by the school? What facilities are available for recording recitals, and making audition and demo CD's? To what extent is modern technology integrated into the curriculum and facilities?</p>
<p>9) Other students – What is the level of playing of the other students? Do they tend to be competitive or cooperative within the school? We were specifically looking for a program where daughter would not be the top player on her instrument for at least three years there, and we wanted to see players at and above her level in all sections.</p>
<p>10) Curriculum - How much flexibility is available in the curriculum? Does it allow for the pursuit of new interests that may develop during the college years? What other other programs (early music, jazz, music technology,music business…) are there that might spark a student’s interest in a new area? Is there a double major program? A double degree program? What percentage of students are permitted to pursue a double degree? How many of them complete that program? How long does it usually take?</p>
<p>11) Miscellaneous – Do students get together to play just for the fun of it? What kind of student-run activities are listed on the bulletin boards? What are the dorms and food like? Are there reasonable options for vegetarians and vegans? Are the dorms mandatory, and for how long? Is dorm space guaranteed all four years? How necessary is a car and how practical is it to keep one on or near campus?</p>
<p>What have I forgotten or missed that might be important in your situation?</p>
<p>Musical word of the interval: Tempo - Italian word meaning "speed" that refers to the pace of the musical pulse. Common markings describing the speed of a piece include grave (extremely slow), largo (very slow), lento (slow), adagio (slow), andante (at a walking pace), moderato (moderately), allegro (fast), vivace (lively), presto (very fast), and prestissimo (extremely fast)</p>
<p>Now that you have worked your way down to a short list of schools, the next step comes in</p>
<p>Installment #7, The Paperwork</p>
<p>There are many pieces of paper that must find their way to the school admissions office at various times. These may include (but may not be limited to) the application, an audition request form, an interview request form, recommendations from teachers, guidance counselors and professional musicians, transcripts from high schools and any other colleges attended, test scores, a repertoire list, a performance history, programs from concerts in which a student has performed, a resume, a financial aid application, a CSS/Profile report, a FAFSA report, reports concerning small businesses or farms owned by parents, a teacher selection form and an acceptance form. Multiply all of that by the number of schools in question, and you have a small mountain of paperwork to get through. Much of this is the same for both music majors and non-music majors, so I will touch lightly on all but the items of specific interest to the former.</p>
<p>Applications: The application process is a bit different at each school. At stand-alone music schools it is usually simple. In cases where admissions decisions must be coordinated between a University-wide admissions office and the music department, it is a little more complex. In some cases, the applicant must be approved by admissions before the music department can even consider them. In others, things are run in parallel with the admissions office waiting to hear from the music department before sending out their decision. In any event, it is well worth doing some research so that you fully understand what is required and when it is due. Once it is sent, call to confirm that it was received. Remember the rule, "Never give anyone your only copy of anything."</p>
<p>Several Conservatories (Boston Conservatory, CIM, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College of Music, NEC, Oberlin and San Francisco Conservatory) allow students to use an online Unified Application process. Most of the application is common to all seven schools, but there are also some school-specific parts for each. Check out <a href="http://www.unifiedapps.org/%5B/url%5D">http://www.unifiedapps.org/</a> to get started.</p>
<p>Audition Request Form: Again, different schools have different procedures. Sometimes this is included with the application, sometimes it is done online and sometimes it is handled by a phone call after the application is received. Schedule auditions as soon as you can because there are bound to be conflicts that need to be resolved.</p>
<p>Interview Request: Not many schools require an interview because they expect to see you at an audition somewhere along the line. Interviews are optional at some, and are generally scheduled through the admissions office.</p>
<p>Recommendations: Schools often require recommendations from guidance counsellors, teachers of various subjects and even professional musicians who are not family members. It is important to find out exactly what recommendations are required, from whom, when they are due and whether there is a specific form to be filled out or a free-form letter to be written. Teachers often get innundated with requests for recommendations along about October, so start early. When you request the recommendation, provide an addressed, stamped envelope, any forms that need to be filled out, and information that will remind the person writing the recommendation of what they want to say about you. This could be a resume, a "brag sheet" as our guidance office calls them (short essay answers to a variety of questions about yourself), a paper or project for that teacher that got a good grade, a program from your solo debut at Carnegie Hall with favorable NY Times review attached, anything of that sort... Note that, in most cases, the recommendation goes directly from the writer to the school without the student ever seeing it. After the recommendation has been sent out, it is a nice touch to send the writer a handwritten thank-you note and perhaps a small present (nothing of material value to suggest a payment for services rendered, though.) Most perople who write recommendations also appreciate hearing where you were accepted and where you plan to go.</p>
<p>Repertoire List: Some schools ask for this as part of the application. It is simply a compilation of pieces on which you have worked, listed by composer, with those that have been memorized and/or performed in public so identified.</p>
<p>Performance History: A variation on the Repertoire List that asks you to report what pieces you have performed, with whom, when and where. In this case, the listing is usually chronological in order.</p>
<p>Programs from concerts: A very few schools request that you include sample programs from one or two concerts in which you have performed. (You see, there IS a reason that your mother saved all of them. And if she didn't, start saving them now.) Obviously, you want to use the most impressive ones you have.</p>
<p>Resume: Not many schools actually ask for a resume, but a lot of students provide one anyway. Some schools will bother to look at them and some will not. In any event, it is useful to put together a resume as part of the package that you give to the people you ask for recommendations. The main purpose of a resume at this level is to provide corroboration from informed sources that you have talent and potential. Simply relisting activities from your list of EC's is not the best approach. That information is available to the decision makers elsewhere in your application package and rehashing it in a resume is a waste of their time. Instead, you want to list any well-known teachers with whom you have studied, any competitions, awards or scholarships that you have won, leadership positions that you have held, selective ensembles and summer programs in which you have participated, and anything else that distinguishes you in a positive way from the rest of the field. The choice of how to organize a resume is a personal one, but the idea is to make your most important accomplishments jump off the page. Burying them in a sea of chronologically-organized ensemble participation is not a good idea. If you do not have many accomplishments of the type listed above, then it is better not to provide a resume at all (unless the school requests one) than to pad one out with every last school concert in which you have participated. Unless you really have had that Carnegie Hall debut and others of similar importance, it is probably best to keep the resume to a single page and highlight your top accomplishments.</p>
<p>Teacher Selection: Where there is more than one teacher for your voice or instrument, some schools have you apply for a specific studio from the start. Others want you to wait until they know who will be attending before making studio assignments. Again, it is important to find out the specific policy for each school and fill out any forms that might be needed. In my opinion, it is not reasonable to ask a student to choose a school without knowing which teacher's studio they will be in. If the school asks you to send in a deposit before telling you who will be your teacher, you should first speak with the teacher whose studio you would like to join. If they are willing to accept you in their studio, they may be able to get the school to make an early assignment. If they are willing to teach you but say the matter is not in their hands, then call the admissions department with a polite but firm request that you be assigned to that teacher. If neither the teacher nor admissions is willing to help, you will at least not be operating under any false assumptions when you make your decision.</p>
<p>I think the other items are either self-explanatory or are pretty much the same as they would be for a non-music major. If anyone here has had any other types of paperwork to fill out, any different approaches that you have found successful, or anything else they would like to add, please share that information with the group.</p>
<p>Musical word of the interval: Dynamics - varying degrees of loudness and softness. Usually expressed by abbreviations of Italian words, e.g. ppp (pianississimo - extremely soft), pp (pianissimo - very soft), p (piano - soft), mp (mezzo piano - medium soft), mf (mezzo forte - medium loud), f (forte - loud), ff (fortissimo - very loud), fff (fortississimo - extremely loud), cresc. (crescendo - gradually becoming louder), decresc. (decrescendo - gradually becoming softer), dim. (diminuendo - gradually becoming softer), fp (forte piano - loud then immediately soft). Some composers go a bit overboard and use dynamic markings like pppp (pianissississimo - so soft your stand partner won't hear it), fffff (fortississississimo - ear protection required) and even ffffff (fortissississississimo - or as one director I know used to put it, "Change that marking to GOF 'cause I wanna see guts on the floor.") When dynamics are achieved by increasing or decreasing the number of singers or instruments in use rather than having them all sing or play louder or softer, the process is called "terraced dynamics."</p>
<p>After all the years of practice, all the planning and all the paperwork, we come to</p>
<p>Installment #8, The Audition</p>
<p>In an audition for admission to a music school, there are many things you are attempting to communicate in a small amount of time. Ideally, you want to leave the impression that</p>
<p>1) You have talent,
2) You have potential for improvement,
3) You are willing to work hard,
4) You are easy to work with,
5) You are willing to try new approaches,
6) You have innate musicality, and
7) You are aware of the customs and traditions of classical music in general and your instrument in particular.</p>
<p>That is a lot to ask for in a session that could be as short as 5 minutes. </p>
<p>I think the meaning of most of these items is clear, with the notable exception of the sixth. Musicality is something that is easy to hear but difficult to pin down in words. It is the quality that demands your attention and makes you care about what you are hearing. It is the added value that makes a musician more than a mere conduit between composer and audience. It is the difference between a series of sounds and a living, breathing work of art.</p>
<p>Before the Audition: The musician's mantra is practice, practice, practice but there is a fine line between practicing something to the point where it is as good as it can get and where you are so sick of it that it becomes stale. Build some break time into your practice sessions, particularly in the weeks leading up to auditions. Take most of a day off every once in a while to let your body and mind recover. Try to perform each piece for an audience before using it in an audition, even if that audience is a couple of friends or your parents. If the piece is not an unaccompanied solo, make sure you are quite familiar with the other parts and how you interact with them. Listen to as many recordings of the piece as you can find and try to analyze what you like or dislike about each of them and why.</p>
<p>If auditions are being judged in real time, try to schedule your audition somewhere in the middle of the pack. Scores awarded to the first couple of people who play may be on the low side because the judges are leaving room for higher scores. By the end of the day, scores may again creep down because the judges are getting tired. Most schools now videotape the proceedings, so this is probably less important for school admissions than it is for one-shot competitions and honors ensemble auditions.</p>
<p>Many auditions take place in winter in places where it snows. If this is the case and finances permit, try to spend the night before the audition as close as possible to the audition site, preferably within walking distance. The last thing you need on audition day is a long drive on slippery roads in an unknown area. Some schools have a policy of never cancelling auditions, while others may want to reschedule in case of a blizzard. Make sure you know the school's policy and who to contact in case of any doubt.</p>
<p>Know what to expect in advance. Find out who will be in the room, and what the room will be like. Other students currently at the school are a good source for this information. I know one young man who auditioned at Curtis on bass and did not realize until he got into the room that he would have Edgar Meyer's undivided attention for the next 30 or so minutes. (For the non-bass players, that would be kind of like auditioning for James Galway on flute, or Yo Yo Ma on cello.) You want to come to grips with that possibility before encountering it.</p>
<p>If nerves permit, get a good night's sleep before the audition. Eat a decent, but not overly filling breakfast on the day of the audition. Attend to personal hygiene and dress appropriately. Don't go overboard on scents or cosmetics. You want them to remember you for your playing, not for the outfit you wore. (Note: I have observed that vocalists, particularly females, tend to get really "done-up" in terms of outfits, hairstyles and makeup for their auditions. Perhaps this is expected and therefore necessary. You'd do far better asking someone else on this one.)</p>
<p>Some schools schedule a warm-up room and some just let you find an open practice room on your own. Some have everyone warming up together in one large room. Some schools want you to take tests in things like music theory, ear training, sight singing and keyboard skills while you are there. Make sure you know exactly what is expected and arrive early to sign in and get situated. Plan to stay late in case the judges want to hear you again or are simply running behind schedule.</p>
<p>While warming up, focus on your own playing and not anyone else's. That fellow in the next practice room who you think sounds like the next Joshua Bell may be auditioning for graduate school or a summer fellowship. It may just be your nerves talking and perhaps he is thinking the same thing about you. Either way, your job is now to do the best that YOU can and let the judges sort it out from there.</p>
<p>During the Audition: Take a deep breath or two before going through the door. Unless you have been instructed not to address the judges or they are situated behind a screen, look them straight in the eye, smile and say hello. Do whatever it takes to get ready to play efficiently but not in a rushed or paniced manner. Let them know when you are ready to begin. Sometimes they will ask you to play things in a specific order and sometimes they will ask you to pick the first piece. If the latter, start off with your best material. Very often, they will stop you before you finish a piece. In and of itself, that is neither good nor bad, it just means that they have heard what they wanted to hear from that piece and want to move on. Some judges like to turn the audition into a mini lesson. If so, go with the flow and do what they ask. When the audition is over, regardless of how you feel that it went, look them in the eye again, smile and thank them. Leave the room as you entered it, with your head held high and with a confident step.</p>
<p>After the audition: If you are the type to keep a journal, record your thoughts immediately and include everything you can remember. Everything will blur over the next few months and those impressions from the audition may eventually be important in deciding among offers in April. Write a short handwritten thank-you note to each judge. No matter how good or how bad you thought things went, put the experience behind you and start to focus on the next audition. Once you have gotten through the last one, a modest celebration is in order. You have earned it.</p>
<p>What are some of your most memorable audition experiences? How did you handle them and how did things turn out in the end?</p>
<p>Musical word of the interval: Thumb position - this refers to a technique used when playing very high notes on cello and bass. The thumb of the left hand is taken off the neck of the instrument and used together with the fingertips to press the string down to the fingerboard.</p>
<p>You may think that the last audition marks the end of the process, but there is still much to be done as we learn in</p>
<p>Installment #9, Endgame</p>
<p>After auditions are over, the month of March stretches on forever. You will swear that entire years have passed in less time than March of senior year. Instead of a weekly trip to a dynamic, new city where your son or daughter meets fascinating people exactly their age who share their most deeply-held interests, they are now stuck at home with the same boring crew in a place they can't wait to leave with too much missed schoolwork to make up. With the initial excitement of auditions long past and all of the pressure suddenly off, the high point of the day is now the arrival of the mail. The low point occurs 15 seconds later when they realize that another day has passed without the arrival of THE LETTER. Slowly, one by one, the rejections, waitlistings and prized acceptances finally start to dribble in. Inevitably, the most important one shows up last.</p>
<p>With that last notification in hand, everything changes. Suddenly a lot of decisions must be made that have profound consequences on the future. The month of April moves very quickly and there is much to do by May 1, the date deposits are due. Depending on the number and circumstances of the acceptances, they may either feel that they have wasted years of their lives on a dead end, or that the possibilities are so open-ended that it is impossible to choose among them.</p>
<p>If the worst has happened and they were accepted nowhere, there are some very difficult choices ahead. First, get them to find out the reason they were not accepted. Some schools hold auditions even when there are no openings, just in case they get someone who is so phenomenal that they are impossible to turn away. Sometimes, spots are reserved for a teacher's private student or the offspring of the main donor for the new music center. Your child needs to find out whether they are running into unusual situations like these, or whether their audition simply did not measure up. They should send a polite note or email to the audition judges asking for feedback. In particular, ask if they feel it is worth your time and theirs to prepare an audition for the follwing year. There are several possible next steps. </p>
<p>Even as late as April and May, some colleges are still looking for students. Shortly after May 1 each year, NACAC (<a href="http://www.nacacnet.org%5B/url%5D">http://www.nacacnet.org</a>) posts a list of colleges who still have openings. At least some of them are likely to have music departments that are perfectly fine for things like first year music theory and music history, a writing course, secondary keyboard skills and the like. You could attend one of these with the intention of transferring the following year if the audition feedback was favorable. If you have decided to pack it in and study something else, the NACAC list can still be a helpful starting point. A gap year spent on private lessons and intensive preparation for the next set of auditions might also be a possibility.</p>
<p>If you were accepted by just one school, then the most pressing decision has been made for you but there are other considerations. Can you afford to go given the financial aid package they have offered? Is this a safety school and, if so, do you plan on graduating from it or transferring elsewhere after a year or two?</p>
<p>If you have been accepted by more than one school, congratulations. The roles have been officially been reversed and it is time for them to compete for your attention. </p>
<p>If money is an issue, you will need to compare financial aid offers very carefully. Make sure you are comparing apples with apples. Some schools include line items that others do not when calculating costs, while some may have artificially low numbers for things other than tuition, standard fees, room and board. Make sure to differentiate between gift aid (scholarships and grants) that you do not have to pay back, loans that you do have to pay back and work study. Where loans are involved, know the full cost including origination fees and interest over the life of the loan. Just about all schools say that they will not negotiate aid awards based on financial aid offers from other schools, but most of them are willing to "recalculate" their offer based on new information. Rather than direct dickering, if you call with some other question and just happen to let slip that a competitor has made a better offer, document that offer and then provide some piece of financial information about yourself that they did not previously have, a school may be willing to sweeten the deal. I have never heard of any school rescinding an acceptance based on a circumspect inquiry of this type and if you do not ask you most assuredly will not get a better offer. Look at the decision both from an overall cost and from a cash flow basis and, if any loans are involved, try to estimate how much will be owed upon graduation bearing in mind that most starting salaries for musicians are not all that high.</p>
<p>Some schools will ask for a deposit before assigning a student to a specific teacher's studio. Unless you are perfectly happy to accept any teacher they have or may hire over the summer, you should try to pin them down before sending in that acceptance card. The school likely wants to maintain as much scheduling flexibility as possible until they know precisely how many new and returning students they will have for each instrument and voice. They are counting on the fact that some of their acceptees will be so happy to get in that they will not press the issue. If they try to pull this on you, go back and read the part of Installment 7 concerning teacher selection and remeber that you have far more negotiating power before sending in you deposit than you do afterwards.</p>
<p>Finally, go back to Installment 6 and decide how important each of the items in that list happens to be in your particular case. Add in any others that I may have missed. If you still need more information, contact the school and ask as many questions as you need to. If you can afford it, go and have another look at the place - it may ssem a little different with the knowledge that they have accepted you. Some schools have even been known to pay the airfare for such a trip in cases where they really want a student who has demonstrated some financial need. If you have still not been able to come to a decision, take the advice of my daughter's guidance counsellor and "apply with your head, choose with your heart." Go with your instincts and don't look back.</p>
<p>For discussion: What were some things that happened after the auditions that helped your son or daughter make a decision?</p>
<p>My goodness, Bassdad. You are amazing. Thank you, from the bottom of my nervous mother heart, for sharing all of this information. Some of it I have read from you before, but having it compiled all in one place is just terrific.</p>
<p>Thanks again, as we embark on the journey.....</p>
<p>Mandatory reading for all... A more complete and well-thought out treatise would be difficult to find, except for those music terms. They never showed up in my Kazoo Etudes...</p>
<p>Although I do not have a child interested in being a music major, this was probably one of the best written and most interesting approaches to the subject that I have ever seen. BRAVO!</p>
<p>I only wish that you included in your steps what schools that you saw and what you liked and disliked about each school.</p>
<p>I actually debated doing that, taxguy, but decided against it because I wanted to focus more on the generic than the specific and I did not want our own subjective judgments to have undue influence on others. </p>
<p>Listing the schools that we saw is pretty easy, though. The serious contenders were:</p>
<p>Boston University
Carnegie Mellon University
Cleveland Institute of Music
Curtis Institute of Music
The Juilliard School
New England Conservatory
Oberlin College and Conservatory
The Peabody Institute</p>
<p>Others that we saw as part of summer programs or performances included:
Bryn Mawr College
Drew University
New York University
Rowan University
Rutgers University
University of Maryland</p>
<p>Things that seriously impressed me included:</p>
<p>BU - the faculty and the academics
Bryn Mawr - the beautiful campus
CMU - the academics
Curtis - just about everything
Juilliard - the faculty and the facilities
NEC - the faculty
Oberlin - the faculty, the facilities, the academics and the general vibe
U Maryland - the facilities</p>
<p>I prefer not to dwell on the downside of places, but I was disappointed in the facilities at BU and NEC. Peabody was a bit too laid back for our tastes and Juilliard a bit too intense. Maryland was far too big. Your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>BassDad...you are AMAZING!!!!!!!! Thanks :)</p>
<p>Excellent- thanks.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting this! It should help those starting on the college search path a great deal to know a little about what to expect. The only thing different that I would add is in regard to the sample lessons. First, is that some teachers are remarkably easy to get in touch with and get a lesson scheduled. Others have taken weeks to hear back from due to their schedules, so plan way ahead. Second, is that we have paid for all of our daughter's sample lessons (with wide-ranging fees). So parents may not want to have expections that their child will get the lesson at no charge.</p>
<p>Outstanding series, BassDad. My D is planning to go into Science, but I am currently a music major, so I am going to print this thread out and read it more carefully. Thanks.</p>
<p>BassDad-my son will be reading this tonight!!!! Thank you so much! Was your D accepted at Curtis?</p>