<p>so now that everything is set, and i will be officially attending a conservatory in the coming Fall, can anyone let me know more about what a typical violin student's schedule is like? what kind of general education classes will i have to take, and how important are my academic studies?</p>
<p>Check Peabody’s website. A violinist’s schedule will vary according to the school that he/she attends and how he/she does on placement exams. Typically in first year you will take about 33 or 34 semester hours altogether comprised of: 8 hours on major instrument (i.e. lessons); 4 hours of large ensemble; 1 hour of recital attendance (this is peculiar to Peabody–most schools don’t offer credit for recital attendance); 4 hours of ear training; 4 hours of keyboard; 6 hours of music theory; and 6 hours of general studies. </p>
<p>A typical week might have a one-hour private lessons (and possibly a studio class), 4 to 6 hours of orchestra rehearsal, 1 hour of Thursday noon recital attendance, 2 to 4 hours of ear training class, 1 or 2 hours of keyboard class, 3 hours of music theory class, and 3 hours of general studies class. That totals only about 15 to 20 hours of class/lessons/labs/rehearsals; however, you will be expected to do about 18 to 30 hours of violin practice, plus about 15 hours of homework/study/practice for your theory, ear training, general studies, and keyboard classes. So expect to spend between about 48 and 63 hours per week on your school stuff. </p>
<p>A typical day will have about 3 or 4 hours of scheduled classes, rehearsals, labs, or lessons. The rest of the day is yours for study and practice (which should total about another 6 to 10 hours). Because music students usually take more semester hours than other students and because violinists and many other musicians spend an inordinately large amount of time on private practice, you will probably spend more time on schoolwork than most other non-music majors would. </p>
<p>At Peabody the general education classes that are required are humanities (i.e. courses related to language, literature, history, philosophy etc.). </p>
<p>What do you mean by “academic studies”? Do you mean any course other than courses in which you play your instrument? Or do you mean non-music courses (implying incorrectly, as many on this forum do, that music is not an academic discipline and that the study of music theory or history is not an academic study)? </p>
<p>How important your non-playing courses are depends at least partly on you, your ability and your future plans. If you are going to perform, then no orchestra will care about your grades in your music theory courses or other academic courses. You will be hired as an orchestral musician or as a soloist strictly on your playing ability. It is highly unlikely that any orchestra’s hiring committee will require a transcript or care whether or not you have a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Doctoral degree. </p>
<p>However, most performers do get some sort of graduate degree or diploma. To get into a graduate program, you will need decent marks in your undergraduate studies. Many programs will be willing to overlook less than stellar marks in academic courses if your playing is stellar; however, if your undergrad marks are too low, you may be unable to get into a master’s program and may have to settle for some sort of graduate performer’s diploma (which will still foster your development as a performer). </p>
<p>Do your best, but don’t be a slave to the 4.0 GPA. If you are attending a conservatory like Peabody in the violin performance program, then you are there to develop as a violinist and that needs to be your priority.</p>
<p>wow, thank you so much for taking the time to write that! what i mean by “academic studies” is classes that are completely non-related to music. as you said, my priority will be violin. and i was just wondering how long it will take me to finish all my general education (humanities) classes, and get them out of the way. </p>
<p>so i am assuming i will not need to take any math courses? i read their catalog and i don’t think i see anything about mathematics.</p>
<p>again, thank you for all the helpful information! :)</p>
<p>I’m not at a conservatory, and I haven’t been accepted officially into the studio yet, but I do go to a relatively high-regarded music school. Here’s my schedule for next semester, so hopefully you can kind of get an idea. Basically, you’ll also have recital, etc.</p>
<p>Music Theory I - Tues/Thurs 9:30 AM - 10:45 AM, 3 cr.
Aural Skills I - Mon/Weds/Fri 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM, 2 cr.
Piano - Mon 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM, 1 cr.
Applied - Thurs 1:00 - 1:50 PM, 2 cr.
Chorus - Mon/Weds/Fri 3:00 - 3:50 PM, 1 cr.
Concert Attendance - 0 cr.
US History II - Mon/Weds/Fri 2:00 - 2:50 PM, 3 cr.
Intro to Theatre - Tues/Thurs 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM, 3 cr.
Calculus II - Mon/Weds/Fri 11:00 AM - 12:15 PM, 4 cr.</p>
<p>Like I said, you’re at a conseravtory, and you’re in a studio, so you’ll differ from me.</p>
<p>D’s first year schedule at Hartt (viola) looked something like this</p>
<p>MWF
8-10am work
10-11 theory
11-12 ear training
Practicing
2-3:30 gen ed requirement (no F class)
1 hour lesson on M
2 hour studio class on W
8-10 PM work (yes, beginning and end of each weekday. It stunk!)
Practicing</p>
<p>T/Th
8-9:30 AM work
9:30-11 gen ed class
12-1 recital attendance class
1-4 orchestra
Ensemble rehearsal 1-2 hours?
Work 8-10 PM
Practicing</p>
<p>Weekends
Online required class on using the music library effectively
Practicing
Ensemble rehearsals
Practicing
Homework
Practicing
Some working
Practicing
Movies and popcorn</p>
<p>I feel like there was something else that I’m missing, along with the extra rehearsals for special orchestra events, etc. The one thing she learned not to do was schedule a gen ed class in the evening - even though it looked like a good idea, it turned out to be a huge scheduling issue this spring.</p>
<p>Her current strategy is to try to plan her schedule so that she has several different blocks of time available for practicing throughout the day so that she doesn’t strain her hands by concentrating all her practice at one go. Also, practice room availability ebbs and flows throughout the day … but the time that you want to be in there is usually pretty much the same time that everyone else wants to, also!</p>
<p>thank you riku and stradmom. stradmom’s D’s schedule seems very tight, stressful, yet exciting. this is definitely something that i want to plan out well for myself next year.</p>
<p>My son’s schedule is very similar to the others posted - so I would think that they are very typical. </p>
<p>A total of 9 classes, 6 music related and three general ed. </p>
<p>Two different “listening” classes, both are required but only one gets college credit (1 hr), the other (Concert Attendance) gets 0 credit.</p>
<p>3 credit hours of “applied music” which consists of 3 hours a day of private practice, one 1 hour private lesson, and one master class.</p>
<p>3 credit hours of music theory plus 1 credit hour of “aura skills training”</p>
<p>1 credit hour for marching band - which will on average take about 10 hours a week.</p>
<p>My son’s first semester was 9 courses, all music except one 4-unit general ed (3 seems like a lot for a performance degree, imagep - is that a BM or a BA?). </p>
<p>Included in the music courses are private lessons, aural skills, theory, ensembles, etc. Some of the courses were only 1 - 2 units but involved just as much work, if not more, than any other course. This is pretty much the typical semester going forward as well.</p>
<p>From where I sit, it’s all those low-unit courses with high hourly commitments that make a performance degree so rigorous.</p>
<p>jazz, it is a BM. Before he registered we had already worked on a preliminary schedule with just two general education classes. his advisor pretty much insisted that he take 18 credit hours each semester as his degree program (music ed) requires 132 semester hours minimim plus additional hours for the performance certificate. The advisor also suggested that if he makes the top wind ensemble (unlikely but who knows) that he should drop general ed classes during the winter semester as they will be traveling to China in Feb.</p>
<p>The upside is that if he goes to summer school next summer he will be finished with all or almost all of his general ed requirements before his sophomore year starts.</p>
<p>^My son’s 9 courses were also 18 units (typical semester for all four years) with one GE (typical is one per semester - 8 total). The degree is also 132 units.</p>