There is an OT at Brigham and Women’s who exclusively deals with hand issues and sees a lot of musicians. My son saw her when he was here for a Trigger finger that was problematic.
But I also would HIGHLY recommend your child take advantage of the Alexander Technique and body work classes at Berklee and/or NEC.
Only after our son moved to NYC did he finally see somebody to learn and study the Alexander Technique. He then wondered why he did not do Alexander Technique when he was younger (Uh…I think mom kept nagging him to do just that, but whatever). It has been very effective and our son stands taller and his hand issues have diminished a lot. He now sees an Alexander Technique person who works with Juilliard students.
Hi. We know one of S’ jazz guitar friends is ready to return for the sophomore year at Berklee and decided to add on a second major - guitar performance and a music production major. There are about 1,000 students there for guitar, so there is bounds to be a wide variety of impressions that could be had.
Really, @StacJip ?! Your son doesn’t take your advice about stuff? Mine hangs on every word I utter to guide him through life (NOT!! )!
I really appreciste all this info, and I’m passing it all along to my son. It’s just great to know that the schools themselves have ways to address these issues! And actually, just because his ability to play is so important to him, he msy actually heed the advice.
Exciting that your son wants to do composition and film-scoring. Berklee is top notch for the latter and the composition faculty is also wonderful. And resources at Boston Conservatory will be helpful too, now that they have merged.
One of my kids has joint/tendon issues and benefited greatly from PRP, platelet rich plasma, treatment. She had it done twice for two different joints, at Spaulding in Wellesley- accessible by the Green Line. Dr. Borg-Stein. After ten years of various therapies, this was a 24 hour miracle. Of course, then you have to maintain with good playing practices and other approaches.
I hope to hear more about his experience. His journey is indeed an interesting one and your parenting along the way has been a model for the rest of us
ps the composition world seems to include a lot of peer support and camaraderie (on a global level as well as local), despite the competition for opportunities
@AsMother Definitely avoid cortisone shots, as they can weaken the tendons. Last resort is correct. Alexander Technique is great stuff, but not the same as physical therapy; you can certainly do both. A lot of conservatories have Alexander Technique classes. There are McKenzie practitioners in NYC. My daughter started going to the one in Philly when she was home over the summer but will probably change to one in NYC. Right now she is traveling back and forth. She was on ACA insurance from NY State and they actually approved paying for her visits in PA, but on September 1 she switches back to her conservatory (that she graduated from) insurance as she begins a new fellowship program and we’re a little worried that she might have trouble getting the PT covered…although it’s been so helpful that she will pay out of pocket if need be.
Well, it’s done. He’s at Berklee, and I’m on the train home. I am thrilled, and it was fantastic to see him so excited.
Little problem on the way there–before we even got on the train into NYC from NJ I tripped and fell HARD onto my chin. It was really kind of awful; I bled profusely from my mouth pretty much all the way to Boston (people just LOVE that on trains!), and I may lose a tooth, and even now I resemble a bad prizefighter. But there was no way I wasn’t getting my son up there personally, after all that’s happened! @compmom , your comment brought tears to my eyes because it was such a sweet thing to say–although my “parenting” has very often consisted of just curling up on my bed and praying that everything would turn out well for him! @glassharmonica , I didn’t know that about cortisone shots–thank you! It sounds as if your daughter is really doing whatever it takes! Berklee does boast PT, etc., on its Wellness page, but there’s a link to make appts. that seems to show no availability whatsoever. But he made an appt. elsewhere for 9/11. In the meantime, he tested out his ability to play the Bach piece just once before placement, and found he was able to pull it off. He just won’t be able to practice as much as he’d like to beforehand…
Just an update on my son’s experience so far at Berklee, for those considering it.
As I mentioned in another thread, my son got an over-use injury in his fretting hand that got really bad just in time for the placement (for ensembles, etc.) audition. He was told that he should take the semester (or more, if necessary) to heal before trying to perform. One of the dep’t. chairs suggested he do the arranging for his ensemble in the meantime, which is cool. But I already wrote about all that (sorry if you already read it!).
The people holding the auditions also told him to pretty much ignore his ratings (based on sight-reading, rhythm, improvisation, etc.) from the audition because they were obviously meaningless because he was basically working with one hand.
Turns out, though, that Berklee students can re-audition pretty frequently, during mid-terms and finals weeks, to get their ratings up for better placement. That’s awesome. We’re hoping that by finals for this semester he’ll be up to speed to re-audition meaningfully, with TWO hands!
AND, he still gets to take his private guitar lessons. He requested a Classical teacher, and expects for the most part to be working on aspects that don’t involve the left hand (fortunately, there’s a lot that can be worked on with the right hand–for right-handers, obviously–in Classical guitar).
But after the class he called me, very happy with his teacher (whose work I’ve listened to and really enjoyed, and who has an awesome resume). She was perfectly willing to work around the injury, but she was also really interested in the injury itself. She saw some habits he had that may have contributed to it, and showed him some very useful technique changes that would reduce stress on the hand. He said it helped right away. She assigned him a very simple piece to work on–obviously with the caveat that he stop if it hurts. It was just a lot more than we expected in terms of caring and flexibility on everyone’s part so far!
So it’s still early, but so far we’re finding that the “sink or swim” mentality Berklee seems to have a reputation for not to be the case. Not that my son wants or expects to be hand-held through his years there, but in such lousy circumstances so early in his career there the faculty he’s dealt with have been awesome.
Your mileage may vary, of course .
That is a new idea to me that there can be mid-term placements as well as semester-wise. As an aside, I thought the semester-wise auditions at UNT were a cool idea for keeping people hungry, and I think it does, but we just recently noticed that some people can shift their thoughts away from achieving a higher spot to “what do I want to develop in myself before I have to leave this place.”
@GoForth , I doubt that they can actually change ensembles mid-semester; I’m guessing that a LOT of students want to audition again and exam times are the easiest to schedule. But I agree that it’s a good mind-set to think in terms of real mastery, rather than what might be thought of as “bragging rights” when it comes to ensemble levels, etc. (I get the impression that performance ratings are eagerly compared at Berklee, and probably elsewhere!).
And thanks, @glassharmonica ! It’s nice to be able to SHARE a little info here on CC, rather than always just soaking it up from others! I always feel that I have so little to contribute…
@AsMother - After S wen off to college a year ago, I felt the need to share, but then felt irrelevant as I wasn’t truly in the mix any more, and the next wave of folks came in. Then I felt like posting less. But then a second wave came along where I felt pretty relaxed, I knew that my journal was falling by the wayside, so I just drop into topics that strike a cord.
@AsMother - What a great update! I’m so happy for both of you.
On “the sink or swim reputation”, I find that it is a “complicated” issue. My D went to a UG school known for its graduate program and often heard “rumor” that UG is ignored, doesn’t get opportunities etc. My D’s experience was very much the opposite. YET, some kids do struggle…but is the problem the institution, the kid or a mixture?
I knew a girl who went to Lawrence who struggled with all the classic issues…the teacher wasn’t attentive/supportive, the institution didn’t do enough, the opportunities were going elsewhere, teachers were changed and the issues stayed the same…the mother kept saying: if only they cared about her or gave her opportunities, it would be different. Close friends (I was not one but knew some) felt that it was NOT the school that was the issue. Based on other kids that went to Lawrence, I have a hard time believing it was an uncaring environment.
There are certainly some better FITS for certain personalities. Some kids will do better in certain environments. So that is what students/parents should be trying to figure out. Where can that particular student grow. ALL schools will present challenges and opportunities. But I truly believe that ALL reputable schools/teachers really do care about their students and will do their best for them. However, it’s a two-way street. The kid needs to be able to deal with the ups and downs of high-level study.
One of the hardest elements of college-level music study is that students flourish (or not) at different rates. The assumption is that growth will continue at a steady rate upward. This is far from the truth. There WILL be plateaus. Talent is complicated. However an emotionally resilient student with a good teacher will continue to learn even during the plateaus or set-backs…learning can zig and zag a bit more than expected. It’s just best to let it happen and not try to hold too tight to the straight and narrow upward trajectory which is pretty tough to maintain year after year. Stepping off that path can be informative (even if scary).
And be sure students go somewhere FUN! Music school is a lot of work. The right (fun) environment with like-minded friends is so very important when a student is on the struggle bus.
Thank you for that, @bridgenail . I know very little about music (at least in the professional musician sense), but I’ve tried to anticipate and talk to my son about the various issues that will undoubtedly come up. I’ve told him that many times he will be passed over for things he thinks he deserves, that “mind games” can happen among competitive students, that the best thing he can do is to work as hard as he can with the talents and skills he has, be utterly professional and supportive of his fellow musicians, believe in himself, and try to let the rest roll off of him. All of that is, of course, easy to say!
And I’m sure that he will run into issues with some of the faculty–some personalities are just going to clash (and teachers are human too, and always learning too–one hopes!). But I’m just pleased that so far he’s been treated as an individual with some individual needs right now. It bodes well.
As far as having fun goes, I suspect that at the moment just being there and taking classes and meeting talented fellow musicians is the most fun he’s had in quite some time! He loves theory (oddly enough!) and he loves working out new ways of doing things in different styles. It may start to wear thin after a while, but it’s a good place for him to be. (And he’s also perfectly happy to go out and do stuff with friends, although I think that some middle- and high school experiences made him (understandably) a little guarded at first around new people.
I’d be curious to hear your (and others’) take on the qualities that can help a performing arts student NOT run into the issues you alluded to when talking about that young woman.
@AsMother - I didn’t know the student well enough to really comment.
Again my comments are “general” and not specific to you. I do think that emotional resilience is necessary for all…in any pursuit. Music is competitive. Any selective school will be competitive - and that’s not a bad thing. You have highly-talent, ambitious people in close quarters … what do you expect? There are always difficult people who play games but I don’t see that as necessarily competitive…maybe annoying and obnoxious.
My point is that anyone going to music school (and their parents) should expect a competitive environment (and even embrace it as it will push you). The issue is how students respond to the competition individually. I wouldn’t say my D didn’t have adjustment “issues”. She certainly did. I remember going for a jog with her first semester and her saying, “Mom everyone here is really good. It’s scary.” But…she adjusted and found her place. I do think that you need to “love music” because otherwise you may find something better to do with your time…and that’s OK.
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