<p>My son is looking at colleges and we will be visiting Northwestern in a few weeks. My son is the only musician in the family so most of the time I feel I am navigated uncharted waters. I suggested he contact the faculty at Northwestern and let him know dates he will be available and see if someone is available to give him lessons. He freaked out saying that is like an audition he would need to prepare weeks for a lesson. Should he contact the schools he is looking at visiting to schedule a lesson or should lessons be done at the time of audition? Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>I would try to schedule a lesson or even more than one (different teachers) when you visit. If you let us know your instrument, someone on this board may suggest a teacher at NU. Think of it as though you are auditioning the teacher, not the other way around. Really, you are looking to see if a particular teacher might be a fit, also to ascertain whether or not your son is competitive for a particular institution. He can ask something like, “Compared to your usual pool of applicants for my instrument, am I potentially within the range of acceptable candidates?” Your son can also take the opportunity to ask for feedback on his playing, or even ask for repertoire suggestions for the audition. Even if you can’t schedule a lesson, sometimes you can observe one. (Not sure how that might be in the summer.) Your son should not think of this as an audition at all. He should bring along music he is already working on, perhaps include something he has already performed. The experiences he gets taking lessons from various teachers in his college search may help him overcome any nervousness he may have playing in front of judges later. Also, seeing a familiar face when audition time comes along can ease the tension. Most teachers are very helpful during sample lessons. Expect to (and offer to) pay the usual fee for the lesson, though some may not charge a fee. Good luck, and have fun!</p>
<p>I agree with what sopranomom92 says. It’s difficult to think of applying to a music school without knowing that that there is a music teacher the student can work with. </p>
<p>Word of caution – many music schools shut down for the summer which makes it difficult to schedule an appointment with a teacher. Second there’s a few schools, such as University of Maryland’s music school which have a policy against pre admissions practice lessons. At NU, as another example, the head of the voice performance department had a policy against giving practice lessons (which didn’t stop some of the teachers from giving lessons but I don’tknow if this person is still head of the department. The point being, I would want to check this out before making arrangements to go to any school. If you can’t meet the kids and you can’t make the faculty, I’m not sure it’s useful to go other than to look at the campus. To each school my daughter decided to visit, we sent emails to all the performance faculty requesting appointments. Most cooperated and we were able to schedule three to five practice lessons per school. My daughter also found attending studio or master classes very useful because it gave her a chance to hear the other singers in the school. </p>
<p>The practice lessons are not like an audition, for the reasons stated by sopranomom. However, your son will want to be prepared to show his best work. If we’re talking voice, then it may be a different story. But I don’t know if that’s your son’s instrument.</p>
<p>Great points covered by the prior responders, and here’s some past experience and collected wisdom in the links below. </p>
<p>You may or may not find a “lesson policy” stated anywhere on a school’s website. If in doubt, ask (and go beyond the work study student answering the phone during the summer if need be). </p>
<p>Regards the availability of faculty during summers, it can be sketchy as many are engaged offsite at immersion programs, or performing. DO check and see if potential faculty is available if the institution has it’s own in-house summer program. Conversely, if the institution hosts a summer program with alternative faculty, you might want to arrange a lesson with specific teachers that might be of interest if the timing coincides.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/64609-arranging-sample-faculty-lessons-music-performance-majors.html?highlight=lessons[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/64609-arranging-sample-faculty-lessons-music-performance-majors.html?highlight=lessons</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/479268-sample-lessons-multiple-teachers-same-school.html?highlight=lessons[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/479268-sample-lessons-multiple-teachers-same-school.html?highlight=lessons</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/334339-taking-practice-preview-lessons-before-applying-conservatories.html?highlight=lessons[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/334339-taking-practice-preview-lessons-before-applying-conservatories.html?highlight=lessons</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/341209-critical-have-lessons-before-auditions.html?highlight=lessons[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/341209-critical-have-lessons-before-auditions.html?highlight=lessons</a>
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/242501-visits-lessons.html?highlight=lessons[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/242501-visits-lessons.html?highlight=lessons</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/668806-college-visits-summer.html?highlight=summer[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/668806-college-visits-summer.html?highlight=summer</a></p>
<p>It was hit or miss whether an instructor was available for a lesson when we visited during the summer. Some asked for a fee, and some did not. In general, when they asked for a fee, it was a lesson. When they didn’t ask for a fee, it was like chatting with the Prof. So, I would ask for an Informational Lesson, and ask their fee. That way you get a lesson, which is what you really want to know by visiting a college.</p>
<p>Regarding whether it is an audition or not: It is not really an audition, but you do need to show your best. You don’t have to have the entire piece polished, but you should have the sections polished that best show your talents. If you do well, they will remember you. A voice professor said he can tell more in 5 minutes of vocalizing during a lesson than he can during an audition.</p>
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<p>Just curious…is this a new policy? My son had a trial lesson with a teacher at UMDCP in 2003.</p>
<p>Also, it’s not that the schools “shut down” necessarily…but some of the applied faculty actually have jobs elsewhere during the summers.</p>
<p>Your son needs to realize two things:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It is the norm, not the exception, at better schools for potential students to take practice lessons with a potential teacher.</p></li>
<li><p>This is not an audition, it’s a chance to see if the teacher’s style works for the potential student. The piece the student brings does not need to be polished to an audition level but, of course, the student should appear competent to the teacher. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>BTW, the practice lesson most certainly can help when the real audition takes place if the student has made a good impression on the teacher.</p>
<p>Based on my D’s experience over the past year, I join the group strongly suggesting the practice lessons on a campus visit prior to auditions.</p>
<p>thumper1 – It was a UMDCP voice department policy – I don’t know if was the policy of the entire music school. We found that most of the vocal performance departments of the music schools my daughter was interested in did not have any classes during the summer at. There were two important exceptions – University of North Texas-Denton and Indiana University. For all intents and purposes – no classes, no faculty, no students – I’m not sure it’s worth the trip to visit a school under those circumstances.</p>
<p>I also agree with everything that OperaDad said, particularly about the five minutes, which is why I said above "if we’re talking voice, it’s a different story. I was thinking specifically of the vocalizing which wouldn’t require months of practice on specific pieces – just good training and a good instrument.</p>
<p>One more thing- we found that it wasn’t unusual for D, a VP major, to be asked if she was “available later in the evening (or in late afternoon or the next morning…)” to come back in and work with a certain prof AFTER she had her audition. They might spend the entire time going over a piece or spend more time talking about goals and methods, but it was 1 on 1 time, and well worth the effort.
All the vocal faculty would sit in on the auditions and sometimes one would find a student whom they thought would be a good fit with their teaching style, etc. That’s how some of the newer faculty members build up their studios and, in my D’s case, this turned out to have led to what looks to be a wonderful pairing which will lead to a great 4 years.</p>
<p>Language…</p>
<p>“Practice lesson”
“Trial lesson”
“Informational lesson”
“Sample lesson”
Just plain vanilla “lesson”…</p>
<p>Which should we be asking for, or does it matter?</p>
<p>Probably “sample” lesson, but all will work depending on how you preface the request. The context of an “exploratory” lesson for a student interested in the faculty, institution and program as a potential place of study should be made clear when broaching the subject/making arrangements.</p>
<p>The professor at Eastman explicitly told us to ask for “informational lesson”.</p>
<p>KeyofH…so are you saying there were no sample lessons offered in the summer at UMDCP? That is very possible. We found that some schools did not offer sample lessons at different times. Peabody, for example, did not do them in the fall…only in the spring. As I said before…some of the applied faculty was elsewhere. DS actually took one lesson (UNT) at a music festival near our home…with the applied instrument teacher from UNT who was playing in an orchestra near here for the summer (this was privately arranged between that teacher and the kids HS instrumental teacher). </p>
<p>Agreed…it is the norm to take a sample lesson. AND to the parent whose child said it would “take them weeks to prepare for a lesson”…well that should not be the case. It’s a LESSON…not a recital.</p>
<p>It is important to go into a classical practice lesson with currently studied repertoire. While it isn’t an audition, the teacher also wants to see how “teachable” a student is, so they can work together on phrasing or whatnot. The pieces a student brings in to work on should not be a mess, but they don’t have to be totally polished either.</p>
<p>For jazz…anything goes at practice lessons! 
More important than a lesson for jazz (or at least as important) is the opportunity to play with/jam or at least listen to an ensemble of current players. I cannot imagine going into a jazz program without having explored that carefully.</p>
<p>My D took a couple of sample lessons in the spring of junior year when she had not settled on audition rep so she used a piece she had prepared for another recital. She talked to those teachers about rep and they gave her feedback. Picking appropriate rep for a vocalist is really key so that’s a good converstion to have.</p>
<p>I am surprised that any music program would discourage or disallow "Trial lessons"or whatever you call them, that doesn’t make sense to me.I could see limiting them to a certain time period, like the spring or fall, simply so that teachers know when they can expect to have to handle such duties, and not have people calling up the day they get to the campus and saying “can my son/daughter have alesson”:). </p>
<p>Though I could argue that a ‘trial lesson’ isn’t going to necessarily give you an idea of whether the teacher is perfect for the student, it is better then nothing. One thing I have come to realize is that no matter how good a program is, no matter high level, teaching is an individual thing. When our son decided to start applying to a music program (this was pre college, not college), we were fortunate enough to have a friend who teaches in the program, who knows our son pretty well, to recommend the teachers he thought would work well with him (and tell us which ones to run the other way 100 MPH from), because as he put it teachers are not interchangeable, and one person’s god is the other person’s devil. When committing to a program, no matter how good the reputation, how can student (and teacher) see if it will be a fit? For example, I know of a famous violin pedagogue who hates students who come in and imitate the way he plays, if he had a student like that it would be a match made in hell (and there are other ones who want students who do imitate them, which I don’t understand either personally…). What if none of them was a good fit? What if the reputation of the program was based on conventional wisdom that is based on things that happened years ago? Likewise, what if none of the teachers wanted to teach the student? There are music programs where if you apply there, and pass the audition, but none of the teachers has the opening or the desire to teach the applicant, they won’t get in, because the teacher has to be willing, too…how could they decide that if they don’t meet and try the kid out?</p>
<p>Personally, if my son was applying to a program and they had such a policy, unless there was some way to know of the teacher another way, I would be strongly inclined to tell my son to look elsewhere, that sounds dodgy to me, like they either were trying to hide the fact that their teachers weren’t so good (and thus wanted students to play blind man’s bluff) or that the teachers in the program somehow felt that was an intrusion on them,neither of which is good.</p>
<p>There are a lot of voice programs that will not commit that a student can get the studio they want, even if they have taken a sample lesson. My D has a friend at a conservatory who thought she had a particular studio assignment but was put into a different one in the fall. Some of this may happen when the programs are in a position that they have to cater to the grad students needs so the undergrads might not be able to dictate the choice.</p>
<p>Adding on to what musicprnt had to say… just because you took a lesson with a teacher before you actually attended the school, there is no guarantee that said teacher will still be there when you enroll! Profs tend to move around, going from one school to another if means a “promotion” in $ or status (and that’s not true for all, as there are many teachers who begin at and retire from the same institution), which is also why many of us here caution kids and parents to be judicious in their comments because you may encounter a person you really dislike a year later at another school!
We encountered the “dissapearing” act when we found out that a teacher D had loved at school “A” suddenly decamped and moved a few hours flight away to school “B”! Luckily, the teacher she will have is an amazing fit and will make the next years a great experience. The good thing about all of this is that it helps build a good “network” so that we can offer information to parents whose son or daughter might be looking at school “B” or where ever- you get the idea. So, don’t ever be afraid to ask questions around here- there is a wealth of info to be shared.</p>
<p>Jsmom, I want to present a different perspective on this. In consideration of your son’s concerns, I can imagine the anxiety created by a situation in which a student might be in the beginning or middle stages of playing pieces that he or she is learning for auditions, yet not have anything at the moment that is complete enough and at the level of difficulty of the required audition repertoire. In a situation in which one has to learn and memorize a really large amount of music, it is easy to get into the situation of having a lot of pieces that are only partially learned over an extended period of time. </p>
<p>I think one important skill of a private teacher preparing a student for auditions is the scheduling/pacing in which the pieces are assigned and studied, so there are pieces ready to perform in a recital or summer program audition situation and so that everything gets learned completely and polished in plenty of time for the auditions or prescreening recording due date. </p>
<p>If your son thinks he does not have anything at the right stage of completeness or thinks that what he is going to play has to be totally polished, that could create anxiety or at least make him want more time to prepare. I think many private teachers would have advice on what pieces to bring to the sample lesson, and when the student is ready for this. What instrument does your son play?</p>