<p>I am looking at most likely majoring at one of the following schools in music:</p>
<p>-San Francisco State University (San Francisco, CA)
-Collumbia College (Chicago, IL)
-Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL)
-Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Indiana)
-Five Towns College (Dix Hills, NY)
-SUNY Purchase College, State University of New York (Purchase, NY)
-University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus (Mineanapolis, MN)
-Evergreen State College (Olympia, WA) [would be a music "concentration", not major]
-Cornish College of the Arts (Seattle, WA)
-Temple University (Philidelphia, PA)
-California State University, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
-City College of the City University of New York </p>
<p>I am looking for any tips that might steer me towards or against attending any of these schools for music- most particularly concerning the music programs themselves.</p>
<p>Are you an instrumentalist or a vocalist? Is there a specific genre you want to concentrate in? Where are you from, geographically? Is money going to be an issue?</p>
<p>Hey there VicAria. I am primarily a vocalist and that’s what I’m interested in majoring in (though I wouldn’t be opposed if I was able to take some instrumental courses on the side- guitar or paino [I realize most vocal majors do paino as part of their education already]). I tend to prefer more contemporary or jazz teaching, but that also tends to mean an arts school and I am a bit unsure about a music major without any teaching background to accompany it (I posted a seperate question about this specifically)… were it not for this concern I would likely for sure veer towards an arts school.
The list of schools above has already been narrowed down from many more- price was one of the few different things I used to do this. Obviously if a school offers comparable education quality at a lower price than I’ll be more inclined to go there, but all of the above are within reason price-wise.
Thanks for your time.</p>
<p>I can’t speak to vocal programs specifically, but some schools are better for music ed than performance tracks.</p>
<p>Most state schools do a good to excellent job in producing qualified music educators. And often, costs at your instate options are often lower than at privates or oos publics.</p>
<p>Of the top pf my head, SUNY Purchase does not have a music ed path. It is a competitive auditioned based admit for the music program.</p>
<p>Temple is a good program for ed, but I’m not sure the flexibility you seek is available there. You’ll have to check into it by asking pointed questions and a thorough read of the undergrad handbook. </p>
<p>There are previous threads and discussions on Purchase, Temple, Roosevelt, Columbia College, maybe Five Towns. If you can;t find them, let me know and I’ll try and help.</p>
<p>The other names don’t ring any bells as being discussed, but I may well be wrong.</p>
<p>If you are interested in jazz vocal music, you might launch a search for that specifically. You might not be comfortable some of these schools, many which are classically oriented. Good luck to you.</p>
<p>If you are from California, the Cal States are very affordable. But does SF State have a vocal program? It’s chamber program is pretty good, with a resident quartet, and there is a lot of music going on in the Bay Area.</p>
<p>I am for this purpose unfortunately not a native “Californian”, mamenyu- so the California schools are near just as pricy. :-/ But like I said, I’m not as much concerned about price as all these schools are within reason in that manner.</p>
<p>I’d like to concider my leaning towards contemporary/vocal jazz as more of a preferance (or maybe even as if I have none) than a NECESSITY at this point in my selection, lorelei… at least for the purose of this post.
I would no doubt prefer a school that approaches music education in a freeform, sort of “progressive” manner I suppose… but I guess right now I’m more curious about the overall quality of the programs within their respective “genres” (or any other positives or negatives of them).</p>
<p>Thanks Violadad, I’m particularly interested in what’s been said about Columbia College and Purchases’ music programs- I’ll let you know if I can’t find it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the rest of your suggestions as well. :-)</p>
<p>OK, I’ll admit it, I’m lost. OP, could you please clarify a couple of points for me?
Are you looking at a performance track or a music education track (i.e. teaching music in a K-12 school setting)? I see answers based upon the suposition that you are considering a teaching degree, but can’t find that you have said that in this post.
Do you have a background in music? Have you had vocal training? If not, it is very unlikely that you will be accepted as a vocal performance major at even a number of schools on your list. Yes, they do look for potential, but there are minimum standards and certain audition materials which must be performed.
As for your list, Indiana is a top program, not an easy admit for anyone, even someone who has had years of lessons and preparation; SUNY Purchase is audition-based and can be difficult.
Roosevelt is a private college with audition-based admission and their own web site states the following:
"For optimum success in the freshman year, the entering music student should have studied an instrument or voice and music theory for several years and have participated in high school music organizations. Students entering the BASIC MUSICIANSHIP SEQUENCE are expected to have written and aural command of the rudiments of music, including scales, intervals, triads, rhythm, and some knowledge of the keyboard.'</p>
<p>Frankly, I think you are going to find similar requirements at most schools. The CUNY system might have some room to adapt a program to allow you to enter and make up deficiencies, and not all of the schools within their system are equal in terms of quality of program. Now, Five Towns is a school you might want to look into. I know that, as of 9/1 of this year, they still had openings in some of their performing arts areas. That doesn’t mean that they can, or would (and this applies to the CUNY schools too), be able or willing to bend the rules enough to accomodate and admit a student who, if I am reading your post correctly, has had no prior formal instruction in voice or music.
The desire to do something is good, but you have to meet the admission requirements. Some latitude is extended to non-native speakers of English, but even they must have an acceptable TOEFL score. If I am understanding your background correctly, then perhaps you are going to have to postpone your plan, take lessons, study piano, voice,etc and at least go forth with something to back up your desire. You can study at a community college, taking some core liberal arts requirements and continuting with lessons at the same time. Even then, some of the schools you listed are not realistic, but you may then be an interesting candidate to a school such as Five Towns, or a small Liberal Arts college with a smaller music department- a place where you could grow and still be able to get assistance in areas where you may still need it.</p>
<p>I’m very curious as to how you would define “progressive” and “freeform” as it relates to music education coursework. Freeform or progressive in what courses you can pick and choose from within the music ed curriculum? Or do those terms prescribe alternative means/methods of teaching music?</p>
<p>I be confounded. If you can elaborate, it would be helpful</p>
<p>Just to clarify, BornMan did not include IU Bloomington on the list. The one listed is called Indiana University-Purdue University and it is in Indianapolis. I am not familiar with the music program at the IU campus Bornman is considering. </p>
<p>Bornman, are you already attending college this year? (Got that impression from your earlier posts). I wanted to mention that if you are going to be a transfer student, and since you mentioned cost, you should look carefully to see which schools are better at accepting transfer credits.</p>
<p>No problem, Mezzo’sMama. Sorry if I was unclear.
-I said something in a seperate post related to debating between music education and music performance (vocal), which was likely what violadad was responding to (unless I missed something). For this particular post I meant it in the sense of doing a vocal performance major and would prefer responses geared towards that specifically as that is most likely what I’ll end up doing (not that I didn’t appreciate the advice of course still, violadad).
-Yes, I have previously had and am currently taking vocal training. I’ve done a decently thurough bit of research on what is required to qualify as a vocal major at various schools, so no worries there. Just assume for the sake of this post that I’m qualified at any of the schools listed and have in that respect done my research- sorry again if my post was somehow misleading. (If you do know, however, of any “small liberal arts colleges at which you could pursue music at the same time” that you might recommend, this would still be something of interest to me as I’m considering a few different options- however I’d prefer you PM me on the matter if you do have suggestions as I’d rather not take away from the concentration of the post. Thanks!)</p>
<p>Hey violadad- I meant this post more in the sense of music performance at the listed schools, sorry if that was confusing. I simply meant “progressive” as another way of referring to the contemporary or vocal jazz genres, which I would consider more “progressive” as opposed to classical music teachings. I was just basically restating that I tend to prefer contemporary or vocal jazz vocal performance majors, but would prefer suggestions of this post to be more based on the quality of the individual programs (and other positives and negatives) at the schools, assuming I like both classical and vocal jazz/contemporary genres equally.
However, much like you suggested, a sort of freedom in what courses one can select within the program at these various schools is an aspect of interest to me. I prefer a place that’s not rigorously bound to the “old way” or a “set way” of doing things within the curriculum. Now obviously one could say a school teaching classical is in 99% of cases going to in this manner be more freeform than an arts school for example, but if the classically-oriented school allows an abnormal amount of freedom in the choice of different courses one can take at the school (as in comparison to other classical schools) and perhaps more of a sort of “accomodation” to the individual (again as compared to others schools of its same type) I would consider this information of value. Thanks.</p>
<p>Rigaudon, I was a college freshmen last year and am taking a semester or two “off” (am taking a couple community college classes) to sort of get my stuff together, make final decisions, work on audition material, etc. This is a very valid and appreciated suggestion- I have yet to look into the transfer credit aspect of it. Thanks.</p>
<p>Jazz vocal emphasis I can help with, that’s what we’re looking for with our daughter.</p>
<p>Western Michigan has a good JV program that is based mostly around their two ensembles, Gold Company I and II. Western Michigan is also reported to have a solid MusicEd program, led by Dee Gauthier. The emphasis appeared to be mostly on staraight-ahead jazz, but the vocal arrangments their ensembles work with cross differenrt genres. Tuition is not break-the-bank for out-of-state.</p>
<p>Michigan State might also be worth a look. The jazz studies department is quite small, and I know nothing about their MusicEd program. The smallness of the department means that you would by working on a journeyman basis with leading jazz musicians, most of whom are from Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz orchestra. So you would be mostly straight-ahead jazz. Again, tuition is not horrible for out-of-state. </p>
<p>You should have University of North Texas on your list. The emphasis would be on jazz, but there is critical mass enough among the student body that a broader range of genres can be explored. Plus Denton itself is developing a reputation as Austin2 in terms of developing an indie music scene. UNT’s MusicEd department is pretty reputable. Tuition is not break-the-bank for out-of-state – plus they have a sweet deal where if you qualify for ANY competitive scholarship worth over $1000.year, you get the scholarship – plus pay only instate tuition. Sweet!</p>
<p>We’ll be checking Temple out this October. </p>
<p>Have you looked at Sacremento State in California? It has a growing Jazz Vocal program that’s developing a real name for itself. I don’t know about MusicEd, but it would be worth a look. </p>
<p>Two other schools that don’t offer a Jazz Vocal course of study, but have solid Vocal Performance Departments AND MusicEd departments: Appalachian State University and Florida State University. Plus Indiana U in Bloomington.</p>
<p>While I live near Philly and know a lot of Temple grads, the only school on that list that I, through my D, have direct experience with is SUNY Purchase.</p>
<p>It’s a small campus that’s rather different in a number of ways that might suit you. For one, while it has a liberal arts college, it also has four conservatories for music, dance, theater, and film. They strongly encourage cross-utilization of students from the various conservatories so, for example, a film student with a project may recruit actors from the theater school and have a comp student write a score. I noticed that you have some interest in songwriting, so that may be a fit for you.</p>
<p>Their approach to individual instruction is unlike other schools. Many members of their music faculty are part-time and are working performers from NYC. Moreover, while most schools pair up a student with a faculty member for the duration of the student’s undergrad years, Purchase will leave a student with one teacher to work on a particular aspect and then, very possibly switch him to a different teacher later.</p>
<p>Their acceptance rate is fairly low so you’ll need to come in with some game to get invited. They generally don’t give scholarships but their tuition is quite low compared to private conservatories and downright cheap if you’re a New York resident.</p>
<p>The best sources for school specific info is each institution’s undergrad handbook, and in some cases there may be a music school specific supplement or addendum.</p>
<p>These are effectively the operative documents, policies and procedures as to the nuts and bolts. Pay attention to degree requirements, and distribution of electives within the major versus those that must be taken outside of the major. Look at recommended year by year outlines. See if there is enough “wiggle room” to allow you to achieve flexibility and still stay on track. Know the restrictions as to which classes are closed to non-majors, or have odd prereqs. </p>
<p>This info is usually found in a link off the schools academic webpages.</p>
<p>A potential problem with SUNY Purchase is that you are not guaranteed to keep the same teacher after the first year.That could be a BIG disruption for some students. It’s also a “cold” feeling campus- the typical “concrete jungle”. Purchases seems to be a school that one either loves or hates, not a lot of middle ground. By all means though, go and take a look for yourself and see how it strikes you.</p>