<p>I'm looking to apply at prestigious undergrad schools like Duke, WUSTL, and UPenn, but I would like to know if a guitar supplement would hinder my admission chances..</p>
<p>Besides the commonplace academic clubs like NHS, my ECs are sparse and detached from school - I play guitar/sing (at church & school functions), occassionally volunteer at the hospital, and hit the gym every day. Also, I put hours into preparing for the SAT only to get a 2340 (I want that 24, xd).</p>
<p>Even though my ECs are kind of selfish (only better me, not really the community), I think that my guitar thing might show some dedication.</p>
<p>Ok, so here's the line-up: </p>
<p>1) Neon - John Mayer (could i sing along even though I just started taking vocal lessons this school year?, i think the song would sound dry w/o vocals, but i cant that say im a polished singer)</p>
<p>2)Rylynn - Andy Mckee (just guitar)</p>
<p>it's too late in the game to add anything else, but if you have read this far, I was wondering 3 things:</p>
<p>a) would these songs demonstrate "extraordinary skill"?
b) will the supplement do much since i'm not majoring/minoring in music?
c) im 2/272 in my parochial school with core gpa of like 4.0 and a strong app. essay, but do I even have chances at these schools?</p>
<p>sorry for the scatterbrainedness, but I really appreciate any insight into my future.
Thanks!!</p>
<p>Wow, our stats/apps are a lot alike. I applied Duke ED and sent in 3 guitar things too. The thing you need to know about Duke is they have specific requirements for their artistic supplement. You can either do composition or performance stuff, but it MUST be a solo piece either way (so no singing, but they do encourage piano accompaniment where suitable), and however many pieces you send, the total time should be about 10-15 minutes. Andy McKee stuff would definitely be a good idea, but you should probably include some classical or jazz stuff too. My supplement had a jazz fusion piece (Europa), a folk piece (Ocean by John Butler), and a classical thing I composed.</p>
<p>thanks moxess… so you’re saying drop the John Mayer piece for something like Eric Johnson (“manhattan” maybe)?</p>
<p>i just think that the solos in ‘neon’ could really demonstrate my skills, plus, is it really that hard to distinguish between voice and strings?</p>
<p>edit: just checked out europa - i like, has some room for soulful playing to come out; ocean’s just like something mckee would do, thanks for turning me on to butler</p>
<p>:) Your welcome!
And of course they could distinguish between voice and strings, but they say it MUST be a solo piece, so I wouldn’t go against their requirements. Maybe you could call them. The song Neon shows a lot of skill but I see your hesitation to do it without singing: they might find it a tad repetitive with only guitar.
Manhattan would be a GREAT idea though! You can really show off clean technique and soul, just like Europa. :)</p>
<p>There’s a few “out of the box” scenarios covered within the supp links. </p>
<p>The advice to stay within the parameters of what each school suggests/requires for supp submissions is sound.</p>
<p>“Average” ability will mean little. “Advanced” may help, but it’s very school specific. Even conservatory/semi-pro/professional talent may not be worth more than a data point or two at some schools for non-music admissions purposes.</p>
<p>If you can accurately gauge your skill set as advanced or higher, it’s probably worth a shot at the institutions you cite. </p>
<p>If you can play the songs you posted cleanly, up to tempo, and with proper technique, articulation, and feeling, I would consider that advanced enough for it to help you, although as violadad said we don’t know how much that help is at each school.
Duke specifically requests only exceptional work, so if you have to submit something shoddy or simplistic, it MIGHT hurt…</p>
<p>“Average” will only hurt if the supp specs cite “don’t send if you are of average talent”, “only send supps that show above average talent or ability”, “conservatory level” and similar wordings or if the institution specifically says NOT to send supps regardless of level of talent.</p>
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<p>This is an issue many have a hard time with. The best assessment will come from college level music faculty, local semi pro or pro musicians, a qualified private instructor, and in some cases a high school music teacher (contingent on their background, and their experiences).</p>