Conservatory and LAC teachers: is there a difference?

College Majors Music Major
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<p>Hey, all! </p>

<p>I've been lurking around the music forum on CC for a while, learning lots, but had a question I'd like to get other musicians' and parents of musicans' opinions on. </p>

<p>Here's some musical background info for you. I've been studying for about six years now, with a great teacher from a local university with an outstanding music program. I've been successful in competitions and have a solid resume, but like most other young singers, I've still got a lot of vocal issues to work out. My voice is unusually large for my age, which makes my development/maturation somewhat slower than that of my lighter-voiced peers.</p>

<p>Towards the end of my junior year, I made contact with a teacher at a conservatory in New York City. The teacher agreed to a lesson, and it went even better than I'd hoped - at the end he said he'd been very impressed and told me that whenever I was in town, he'd be happy to work with me. (I'm not sure if that's a common response or not, but I was pleased anyway.)</p>

<p>Anyhow, I've met with this teacher several times since then and will be going to see him again soon. I really like his teaching style, our personalities seem to click well, and he's got a record of successful students, but here's the thing: this teacher works at at least one other school besides X, and I think he's an adjunct prof at another. How much attention can he possibly give to an individual student, especially an undergrad, with a schedule like that? I know many teachers in that area work at several schools, but how does this impact their teaching?</p>

<p>One of my other options includes a liberal arts university in my state that's got a small voice program and, again, a wonderful teacher. This teacher works at only this university and has a much smaller studio than the NYC teacher. (Not to mention, this school is about a million times cheaper than anything in New York.) </p>

<p>So which do you think would be more beneficial for someone in my situation? A) a fast-paced conservatory setting, with a well-connected but very busy teacher at a very good school, or B) a more intimate program with more personal attention from a teacher who may not be as well-connected but is just as excellent an instructor. </p>

<p>I know it's difficult to say without knowing me personally, or knowing more details, or since it's so early in the process, but I'd rather start thinking about this all now and get some other opinions instead of waiting til it's a bit too late to make a rational choice.</p>

<p>Any thoughts/personal experiences/etc would be really helpful! </p>

<p>Thanks. </p>

<p>(As added info, my current teacher wants me to keep an open mind and so doesn't outrightly say "This is where you should go," but I can tell she leans towards the lib arts university route. She believes I can handle the conservatory environment but favors the benefits of a smaller program.)</p>

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<p>There have been a lot of threads about topics like this, about whether it is better to go to an LAC or a conservatory, about teachers being stretched thin, and as your surmise, there is no easy answer and yep, it really comes down to you. I’ll try to give my synopsis of the various points, sure others will see things I have missed and so forth:</p>

<p>-A lot of teachers do teach multiple places, plus if they are a performer, they also could be absent because of that.A good teacher will make sure their students get the attention they need, but there is no guarantee they will be attentive. And as an obverse point, you can have a teacher who only teaches at that school, who doesn’t perform, doesn’t teach elsewhere, and may be a dud as a teacher for you or for others. I think ruling out a teacher because they teach a lot of places and assume they can’t give attention can be throwing out a really good teacher…best way is to try and ping people who have studied with him/her to find out.</p>

<p>-LAC versus conservatory is likewise a personal decision. At a conservatory you will be totally around music people, which some people like, others like the LAC because they can be with others who aren’t into music as well as music people. If the LAC program is smaller and not as competitive as the conservatory, students can find that they will miss the ‘push’ of being surrounded by top level students, others thrive there.</p>

<p>-Plus with an LAC, you potentially can take a lot more non music courses, or dual major in some cases, whereas with a conservatory the non music ‘general’ courses are limited. </p>

<p>-Cost may be a big factor. If the smaller LAC is a lot more affordable, if they are willing, for example, to give large merit awards to attract more top level students, given how hard music is to get into as a career, and how non lucrative it can be for years (or forever), if going to a high level, high priced conservatory meant taking on significant debt, you may be better off going where you can get good training and not have the burden of debt. True across the board with college these days, but especially in music. </p>

<p>In the end, it turns out to be, from what I can tell, works for the student within the given parameters. From my take, what it boils down to is choosing schools/programs that look promising after doing research and so forth (for example, if program is any good, is teacher X right for me, etc), applying to promising programs and then making the decision, rather then tryng to find the ‘perfect’ choices before applying. For example, the big name, expensive conservatory might surprise you and give you significant aid, that makes it affordable (without loans!)…conversely, the smaller LAC based program where the teacher seemed enthusiastic, etc, could end up not taking you or though their tuition is much less, give you zero aid, so it would not be particularly cheap… I would recommend parsing out where to apply based on your feelings about whether you can work with the teachers, your need in terms of what kind of environment you thrive in (i.e with only music kids at high level, or mixed environment), maybe location, whatever, come up with a list, then make the decisions based on what happens.</p>

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<p>Good teachers can be found in all kinds of environments. For undergraduate voice the teacher is the most important, plus getting through with no debt. Many also argue that, particularly for voice, a well rounded education is also important for interpretation and understanding the context of the music. It is important that the student have a good connection with a good teacher. They need to understand how they work best and which environment would suit their learning styles best. A relatively high level program also gives a surrounding of high talent to work with. But those can be found in all kinds of environments, not just conservatories. There is time later for a conservatory for graduate school. </p>

<p>If you are unsure, apply to several kinds of places, visit, take lessons, sit in on studio classes or other lessons. Check out the rest of the offerings. See what seems to be the best fit. DD did not make the conservatory/university decision until after all acceptances were in and she re-visited the top contenders. After that the decision crystallized for her.</p>

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<p>I agree with Singersmom07 that minimizing debt is important for undergrad music majors. If you pursue a career in music, you will probably have to go to grad school, and you do not want to be saddled with debt prior to entering grad school. Save your money for the best grad school that you can get into.</p>

<p>Because vocalists mature later as performers than instrumentalists do, being in the conservatory hothouse for undergrad is not as important for a singer as it is for a violinist or pianist. While a high percentage of the top violinists come from a relatively small group of schools, the top vocalists come from an incredible variety of schools. </p>

<p>Vocalists need a more well-rounded education to interpret their repertoire (languages, history, literature etc.), and a good university/liberal arts college often will provide a stronger background for singer than a conservatory can.</p>