Bassist has questions about auditions, festivals

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>This is not a troll. I am a parent trying to protect my son's privacy by not using my regular account-too much information that could be linked. I have several questions but wanted to give a bit of background (probably too much info, my apologies). I have lurked in the music and enjoyed reading the posts.</p>

<p>S has been playing double bass causally since age 11 (he is now 19). He attended a non-competative music camp for three summers, played in the local youth symphony and high school orchstras, participated in allstate every year he auditioned, sang in a touring boys choir three years, took piano as an elementary school student,suzuki violin as a really little guy, bass lessons on and off (teachers liked him but his practice was poor). He has always gotten great feedback from his instructors but until entering college, never really applied himself at music or anything else for that matter.</p>

<p>After starting college (he is finishing his second year), he became passionate about the bass. He practices 3-4 hours a day and knows he is behind compared to other college bassists. He attends a college where he has gotten a great teacher (the school arranged this teacher for him-very lucky kid). He's been working on things like Bach cello suites, Dragonetti, etc and lots of etude books. The improvement has been remarkable.</p>

<p>Last month he auditioned at two colleges (as a transfer) that are not music schools but known to have very good programs (one "audition" was a CD). </p>

<p>College One: We spent the day at this college-theory tests, piano test, sight singing and separate jazz/ classical auditions. The head of the strings program was enthusiastic and made several comments such as "if the money isn't enough, let us know"," "he really knows his way around the bass". He has not been accepted to the college yet and we won't know until April. The audition was in February and we have heard nothing. The school had one more round of auditions in March</p>

<ol>
<li> Would it be unusual to not hear anything until after admissions makes their decision?</li>
<li> Should S contact the program? He did not send a thank you note to anyone as there was no pre-audition lesson, lots of folks involved and about 70-80 kids auditioning .</li>
</ol>

<p>School two: The bass teacher sent S an e-mail spontaneously after S submitted his application as he had worked with S several years ago at a month-long camp. He told S he would be willing to work with him if admitted. After S sent the audition tape, the head of strings e-mailed him and told him he liked his playing and would be "looking out for you with the scholarship and special considerations committee". S was later e-mailed and informed he made the first "cut" and would hear more.</p>

<ol>
<li>Should we take these encounters as positive? I am surprised he is getting this feedback (I always hear the mistakes). Several persons at the live audition spoke of his "musicality" and "rich musical background". I am not sure if I undstand the term "musicality".</li>
</ol>

<p>I am skeptical. My older child is a violinist who worked hard, attended good festivals on scholarship. She did a few auditions at colleges and we never experienced this kind of feedback (though all we kind to her). I consider S to be technically where older sister was at age 15 with her instrument.</p>

<ol>
<li> Do instruments like the bass simply get more positive feedback because there are less of them?</li>
</ol>

<p>Thanks for any thoughts, advice. I guess we should sit and wait but wanted thoughts if there is anything he should do between now and April.</p>

2

<p>Your son sounds more than casual and quite competitive (all state and youth orchestra players are rarely casual). Bach Cello Suites and Dragonetti are strong enough repertoire for graduate program auditions at Eastman and Rice. So, if he is playing them well, he deserves good feedback! Glad he has found his passion and congratulations</p>

3

<p>I have heard that bass and trombone are the instruments most in demand (at least from our jazz perspective) - sounds like your S has natural ability as well the drive to be great and most likely the schools can see that. Sounds like he will receive positive news at this point. I have also heard that most music programs are looking for potential and obviously he has it. :)</p>

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<p>Thank you Mom and squiggles for the kind words. Although he can play Dragonetti and Bach, it is not with the polish I have seen on the bass youtube videos! And, although he made it to the top allstate, he was 5th of the seven basses there. I don’t want to over-represent him.</p>

<p>Is it common to hear nothing after an audition? The two schools notify transfers in April so I wonder if he will hear of the music then?</p>

<p>Any thoughts as to if he should send an e-mail to these folks?</p>

5

<p>Yes, send an email especially if they made nice comments at the audition. Son did keep in contact with the studio teachers after the auditions. He thanked them for taking the time to show him some new technique, etc. Then once acceptances were made and even with one teacher where he was waitlisted, he asked questions about the studio and repertoire etc. It sounds like your son will be getting a few offers and some scholarship money, too.</p>

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<p>You shouldn’t be worried over the lack of notification. Sometimes the admissions folks are very slow. This happened to my D last year at one school where they liked her audition so much the head of the department personally called her. Then we heard nothing for weeks. But the acceptance letter came through the week before the stated notification date. At this time of year the waiting is the hard part!</p>

7

<p>The Bach Cello Suites, even the more commonly played suites (1, 2, and 3), are great rep for any bassist, but the best bassists auditioning for grad schools and jobs will very possibly be working on the suites that are more rarely played on the bass (4, 5, and 6). Keep in mind that they will be playing the suites “at pitch,” not transcribed (CF Peters edition, etc). However, they’ll probably stick to the ones that lie most comfortably on the bass for auditions (1, 2, and 3). </p>

<p>Dragonetti is a fine concerto for undergraduate auditions if played well, but you will very likely not see bassists playing it for graduate school auditions and beyond. Aim for the tougher concerti–Bottesini 1 and 2, Vanhal, Koussevitzsky, Tubin, Dittersdorf (to a lesser extent), etc.–and other solo repertoire that has been appropriated by bassists like the Arpeggione Sonata. In recent years, bassists have really been branching out in terms of solo repertoire. The best bassists are playing the likes of the Brahms Cello Sonatas, Elgar/Dvorak/Haydn Cello Concerti, violin show pieces, Chopin transcriptions…</p>

<p>As far as communication on the auditions he’s already had, sounds like he had very positive responses which is great. There is no need to contact anyone at these schools at this point. The best thing to do is just to wait it out!</p>

8

<p>1 - depends on the school. Some are more communicative than others.
2 - If the only question he has to ask is “Am I admitted?” then it is best to not bother them. If he has some other legitimate reason to contact them, then he should do so.
3 - Yes, definitely positive but should not be interpreted as a definite admit. Occasional errors in auditions are not uncommon - a perfect performance is not expected. How a student deals with a mistake can be telling, though. Musicality is hard to pin down exactly but it is easy to tell if it is not there. I think of it as the quality that makes you want to listen to what someone is playing. Technique can be taught. Some people who have great technique just do not get what musicality is all about and never will.
4 - From my experience, the bass world is more supportive than some other instruments that tend to be more competitive. I think the average level of playing is not as high at high school age as in some of the more popular instruments that kids tend to start when much younger. That does not mean that the bassists cannot catch up, it is just that many of them have been playing the instrument for a shorter time and it can take a bit of getting used to when dealing with a meter or so worth of fingerboard. There are, of course, exceptions to this. We met a few phenomenal young bass players along the way but they tend to be few and far between where very high level pianists and violinists are much more common at that age.</p>

9

<p>Thanks everyone for your helpful comments. I did not think I was going to have a music major child. Music was a huge part of growing up for both of my kids and there were a number of professional musicians in my husband’s family. Unfortunately, they were a couple of generations back (greatgrandfather, great uncles) so there is no one to seek advice from in the family. Fortunately, my son works with a cousin (who is retired) tuning pianos and is preparing for certification so perhaps he won’t starve.</p>

<p>MomB and LGS mom-thanks for your thoughts on the thank-yous. S did not want to do it. He thought it was pandering and would be frowned upon. Very different from my take-if someone does something nice for you, you thank them! Sounds like there is no harm done if he doesn’t e-mail them and no harm if he does.</p>

<p>Cosmos-thank you for detail on the music. S did not want to play the Dragonetti but his teacher told him it would be important to work through since he did not play it when he was younger. He did a lot of etude books in high school (Sturm, Simandl and a third that I can’t remember that is more challenging-he’s working with it again now). He played the Bach Suite #4 at his audition and it may have been a transposed (easier) version. There was some discussion with his teacher about not using it. S is in school in another state so my information is sketchy.</p>

<p>BassDad-your information is very helpful (I have read your articles, too). The story with your daughter was encouraging. S played violin from age 5-7 (Suzuki books), switched to piano for several years. The background is there, just never developed with the passion he has now. I agree about the high school level being less competitve. S seemed to walk into a lot of opportunities without as much work. Now that his peers are more serious, he is concerned about his deficits-how much they grow when they go away to college.</p>

<p>Any other thoughts are welcome. I may have more questions. S has auditioned for two music festivals (not live) so that is in the mix we are waiting on. His sister went to EMF and Brevard and it was late March when she was awarded. I hope it works out.</p>

10

<p>Question: For a first time summer program attendee, is it typical for a student to end up paying 2/3 of the total cost (rest in scholarship)? S was accepted to EMF (college student) with a scholarship as a bassist. He is new to this so I am just pleased he was accepted. It is hard for me to compare this to his violinist sister. She attended programs in high school where I imagine there was probably less competition (I assume HS programs have a greater percentage of kids that end up not being music majors). I know there are top extremely competitive programs where musicians go for free-he’s not even in that league and did not apply. But the other, mid-range tuition charging ones?
Thoughts? Thanks</p>