I posted this in a general forum but thought that it would be more suited here:
I’m planning to send a music supplement to my RD colleges. The main reason why I’m deciding to send one in is because an upperclassman friend of mine (who already graduated and got accepted into Juilliard) told me that I would have a really good chance of getting in if I were to apply (which I’m not going to). I don’t intend to sound boastful and if this still does make me sound like it, then I apologize in advance, but I’ll quote what he literally said, “If I got in, you’d definitely get in”. I never even knew that music supplements had existed before senior year, quite frankly. Throughout high school, I haven’t made any significant music accomplishments. No state awards, no Carnegie Hall performances, nada. The only thing that I have would be that I’m a member of my church’s districts jazz band full of adults and currently 1st chair in the sax section. When people say “you should only send in a supplement if you’re at a conservatory level”, I don’t even fully know what conservatory level playing is considered as. So, what I’m asking is: although I literally have nothing except for my jazz band in my app, will colleges undermine/not take seriously my music supplement even though my playing may actually be deemed to be as good as what my friend had said it was (again, don’t have a strong sense of what conservatory level playing is really)?
If people are interested in hearing, let me know. I’d be more than happy to receive your judgements/opinions
It seems that your question is whether including a supplement will help (or possibly hurt) your application to colleges. Reading your post, my sense is that the only person who has evaluated your performance is your friend, who has been accepted to Juilliard. Before going to the work of making a recording, you should get feedback from a conservatory-level teacher to see if your playing is at the right level.
We have communicated previously about this but just want to say that since your musical activities are hardly represented in the common application itself (or not at all?) i think a supplement is a good idea. However, I would call admissions and ask them questions about what is preferred. For instance, they might really appreciate it if you cue the best three minutes of your playing. Also tell them that the part is a solo but others are playing on your recording, and make sure that editing is not needed (I don’t think so, but check). Include a resume and/or repertoire and letters of recommendation from someone who knows you and your playing. Colleges care about work ethic, how you work with others, character in general- as well as your ability to contribute on campus with your musical abilities.
Are you thinking about submitting a jazz performance? If so, do you know any jazz standards? Seeing that you’re a horn player, maybe a Charlie Parker or John Contrane tune, like Confirmation, Anthropology, Au Privave. Are any of the adults in the jazz band professionals or semi-professional musicians? I’d ask the rhythm section (piano, bass, drums) to see if they’d be willing to record a few tunes. Rehearse a bit and get a decent video recorder. Keep the recordings pretty short, like the melody and one or two choruses (3-4 minutes). If you poke around some of the music schools’ jazz audition requirements, you’ll see that they almost all ask for a blues, a rhythm changes and maybe a ballad.
For practicing, there are “play-along” tracks for just about any standard available on youtube and the like. If you can’t get a live rhythm section together, I think many schools would accept you playing along with a play-along track for the supplement submission. (Oberlin actually requires using their play-along tracks for jazz prescreens.)
@glassharmonica Others that have been giving me similar feedback were the adults in band and other peers of mine, but that’s about it. Would you happen to know a conservatory-level teacher that I can possibly email my clips to?
@ScreenName48105 YES, Charlie Parker is my idol. I already have two solos from two performances that I have done. And now that I think about it, I think one of them might’ve been a semi professional, but I’ll need to ask to make sure. The band is mostly for recreational purposes for the community to enjoy. Would you like to hear my clips (both improv solos)?
Your Friend who is going to Juilliard who said “I got in, so you definitely will” was comparing apples to oranges. When you apply to a conservatory like Juilliard, there is no music supplement because your playing determines if you get in, period, music supplements are usually used as far as I know when applying to regular schools…and the “I got in, so you definitely will” doesn’t mean much, as almost everyone on here will point out, such comparisons mean very little in terms of how school will react to your playing, my son would tell you that people he knew who he thought were much better than he was didn’t get into the school/studio he is in, in large part because it is hard to tell what they are looking for…
That said, I would try and find a high level teacher to evaluate your performance, to see if your playing would in fact help with a music supplement. I doubt you are going to find teachers who will look at a recording you have done to do an evaluation like that, usually what people do is play live for a teacher and pay them for an evaluation (there are exceptions). If you are playing with adult musicians, maybe they or the head of the jazz program you are playing in can recommend someone.
Are these solos in a big band chart? While I’m not saying it’s not acceptable, it’s not the norm to audition with big band charts/solos. But as a supplement, maybe this is fine. I would call the school and ask. I’ve always found the jazz department offices to be very friendly; the first thing I’d do is to call them and tell them you’re planning to submit a music supplement and ask if there’s a format they prefer/require and if a big band excerpt is acceptable. I would call the jazz dept specifically, not music school admissions.
Are any of these schools you’re applying to nearby? Most schools only have one or two jazz saxophone professors; look them up on the college’s website (music schools always list their faculty) and arrange a meeting/lesson. If there’s nothing nearby, look up the faculty in one of the schools you’re applying to and see if you can arrange a phone meeting. FWIW, I think the only city where my son’s had to pay for a prospective student lesson is NYC; all others have been free.
All jazz “auditions” that my son has participated in always consists of playing a jazz standard in the traditional format; that’s the melody plus improvisation over one or more choruses (depending on the time allowed.) Note that when one says “jazz standard”, it’s different from a big band chart even if the song itself is a standard. Also, don’t assume that they only care about the improvisation part; the “correctness” of the melody matters. As a solo instrument (trumpet, saxophone, trombone, etc.) you would typically want a rhythm section to back you up, or if a live rhythm section isn’t available, a pre-recorded “play-along” track.
I don’t know how much weight the arts supplements have or what their expectations are in terms of level of play, or if you’re planning to pursue music in any manner while in college. These are the kind of questions you should probably discuss with the schools directly. (I’m not a music professional and totally not qualified to assess your playing.)
My understanding was that you are applying to colleges that don’t have a performance degree (and wouldn’t have a jazz department). In other words, schools with a general, academic BA music major with no auditions for admission (though most likely for ensembles and bands themselves). If you feel your playing will contribute on campus, and is good enough to merit a supplement, you can submit it with fewer worries than for, say, a conservatory prescreen.