At least some college applications ask for a written list of your repertoire. How well must a song be know to make it onto this list? Would it be too strict to leave songs off your list if you have played them before but would need to refer to the sheet music to play it on demand? Or would it be embarrassing to list a song and later be asked to play it on the spot and then stumble through some parts without the sheet music?
Normally for an audition one is playing off a lead sheet anyway not “sheet music” in the classic sense. Traditionally they will give either suggestions or a “pick one from each list” type thing and YOU bring the lead sheets X3 for your accompaniment. It’s about being familiar with standards of different types: ballad, latin, medium swing, waltz, bop, etc. You should (or rather your son should) be able to improv from the chords and form of the standards. The audition requirements should be posted for this year, so have him sort through what they are for his target schools and they shouldn’t change dramatically for next year.
That said, it is a little trickier than classical for listing rep because the bar for “knowing” something can be lower. I would list interesting charts that he may have played with an ensemble plus a selection of standards that he has performed in one setting or another. After that, things that he feels he has a real grasp of.
From an audition point of view, I have a pretty good idea of what songs are typical, and I have seen S flip open the Real Book to a song that is new to him and play it in a group in front of an audience. So that part looks like it is on a good trajectory.
What I wonder is if you submit a required/supplemental sheet that says “this is my repertoire”, is it good/bad to have a certain number of songs listed - would 50 be enough, for example.
For the repertoire list, my S is including songs he has studied, practiced and performed, and can play from memory or close (i.e. a brief review of the lead sheet.) He’s not including songs he’s played casually, even if he’s played it in public a few times. He has about 80 songs for jazz, plus another half-dozen classical.
A few of the teachers have told him during sample lessons that they had several hundred songs in their repertoire when they were his age. I think that tempted my S to put more songs on the list that he’d played casually but, in the end, decided he was more comfortable only listing songs he was confident about playing in an audition jam situation.
Audition pieces will definitely be memorized. All of the teachers have recommended this, even if it’s not explicitly required by the school.
@ScreenName48105 - I was talking with a music dad last week who mentioned his jazz drummer knew about 75 songs, very close to your number, 80. My S has about 1 year until applications need to be sent in, and we currently believe that repertoire building would be the best theme to work on during that time. A recently-posted link to an article by JB Dyas lead to an article by him that correlated number of songs known to likely scholarship size. As many ways as a reader could decide to process that article, it did give rise to the question of “how many songs do you know?” Dyas mentioned he had never seen a person who knew 200 songs get less than a full scholarship. The idea I remember is
scholarshipPercent = min(100, numSongs/2)
@GoForth, I have to admit that the focus on “how many songs?” for admissions was something that took us somewhat by surprise. I don’t think it was on my S’s radar until teachers started to ask him during his sample lessons last spring. So it’s good you and your S are aware of it early. My S has never really worked toward building his repertoire; hasn’t really had the time to be honest, but they “learn” quite a few songs in his jazz class (combo-based, not big band) and he gigs quite often, so he’s been lucky. I hadn’t heard/read about the number of songs being tied to scholarship amounts… that’s interesting. But I agree that, based on what teachers have mentioned, “200” seems to be the magic number.
The other question that all the teachers have asked is “what/how do you practice?” They’ve also all asked a few questions to determine where he is in theory – really obscure scales, circle of fifths, that kind of thing.
Now, his private teachers have all stressed sight-reading but I have to say that it’s never come up in sample lessons. May be different in auditions.
One thing I’ll add. If there’s a particular teacher (or a few) that your S is really interested in studying with, I think it’s worth making the effort to go and get a lesson. Teachers are very straightforward about telling them exactly what they think is important and should be worked on. It’s not always what the student expects. For instance, my S is a really good improviser for his age but the teachers have been much more focused on getting the melody exactly right. In practicing for his auditions, he’s spent more time on the melody/head than he may have had he not had those lessons.
@ScreenName48105 - The link to the article is:
http://monkinstitute.org/media/Getting-the-Big-Scholarship-JB-Dyas-DownBeat-October-2015.pdf
S also runs into conflicts between maintaining his academic load and keeping up with the music practice. It is a thing to watch, that he does not get sucked into time traps, but school performance ‘could’ be a gatekeeper at some schools, so it is part of the landscape.
I aksed S if he did not get into a music program he liked, would he 1) change majors, 2) take a gap year, or 3) continue with music without college. He chose 3 with a possible blending into 2. So we (‘we’ is like when you are a fan and say, “we won!”) are looking at the overall plan of bassist/vocalist/composer and putting thought into what to practice to reach that point with or without college - eventhough college is preferred. As such, S’ activities include big-band, combo, open mic, soon-to-start gigging, classic bass lesson, jazz bass lesson, singing lesson, and somehow dance lesson. All lessons are about bi-weekly. There is sight-singing that comes from singing lessons. Repertoire building is an exercise that is needed whether S goes to college or not.
You know, I could be wrong but my son’s theory classes and ear training were more valuable than “repertoire building”. He played in his high school jazz band all 4 years plus regional/all-state so he listed all the pieces performed with those groups. But his combo, theory and especially ear training at his conservatory prep program probably did more to prepare him for auditions and, eventually, college coursework.
@drummergirl - yes, I agree with you. S has completed the AP-MT class at HS with a 5 and continues to build on that, but I failed to list it since it was now baked into S’ cake. Ear training is something I don’t understand, but I believe it is part of the mix as well. S did say the snare line did good for his “listening in” - he could tell who was playing where on their snare head. Is ear training where you notice if something is flat or sharp?
My S has listed featured solo performances with big bands on his ‘resume’ but hasn’t listed any big band charts on his repertoire list at all. I don’t think he considers those as part of his “repertoire”. If he did, it would easily double his list. His primary jazz class in high school is strictly small ensemble (combo), and I agree, in combination with his private lessons, that has been the most valuable in terms of jazz development.
For “ear training” in his jazz class, they do “call and answer” exercises. They also get a LOT of transcribing assignments. They have transcription tests (write down what’s played) and rote tests (play back what’s played) in class. It’s a progressive class over 4 years; my S started at level 2 because he had some jazz experience, then got skipped to level 4 the next year and that first semester was really tough with the theory and transcription expectations. This is his third year in level 4 and the teacher gives him more difficult transcription and rote assignments. (I won’t miss those transcription assignments… nothing like listening to the same 32 bars over and over for 2 hours!)
I think there are a number of important themes in this thread for the jazz musician. With the caveat that I personally have no real music background, a few comments based on observing and talking with my son.
Repertoire list: I agree you shouldn’t list it if you wouldn’t be comfortable playing it. I would make the non-musicians’ analogy to the old adage that you shouldn’t put something on your resume that you wouldn’t be completely comfortable discussing if asked about it.
Correlation between size of repertoire list and scholarships: I don’t think it’s as simple as the equation @GoForth proposes and I think that the correlation misses a causal link. Building repertoire as a jazz musician is important for many reasons. First and foremost, because to build a big repertoire list you’re really comfortable with requires time, playing, practicing and listening, all of which will make you a better musician. It’s also extremely helpful for sessioning and gigging when the band leader suggests a tune not to have to say “I don’t know that one”. So I’m not sure it’s the size of the repertoire list per se that gives you the advantage in auditioning and scholarships so much as it is the skill set that you develop in building a big repertoire list. I’d also note that building repertoire continues well past auditions - my son is now a college senior and is always working to expand his repertoire (I think his list at this point would be several hundred). He views it as an essential part of continuing to improve as a musician.
Educational path and gap year: Like many, my son faced many difficult choices in trying to balance academics and music through high school. He ended up taking a gap year after high school in order to have a year to devote solely to music. I don’t want to suggest that a gap year is the right choice for everyone, but I do think it can have many advantages for a musician, particularly for a musician who is going to try to continue with an academic and music path in college. My son’s musical development during his gap year was really pretty extraordinary, and it got him to a level where he could play comfortably with the kids who got into the “elite” programs in high school that my son didn’t get into. I think to make best use of a gap year, you need a clear game plan, but it’s definitely something to have on the radar screen and not to be afraid of.
There are a number of other things I could comment on - importance of theory, ear-training, sight-singing, melody and improv, etc. - but this post has already gotten ridiculously long (sorry), so I’ll save those for another time.
@jazzpianodad - I can’t wait for your next time post - that was a very good story to know.
I don’t think I have ever seen a posting describing the details of the gap year - the gap year has only been referred to by name. I have wondered, is the list of target colleges narrowed compared to a non-gap-year approach? Do you stay more in touch with some schools so that they know you are coming back and you know what they would be looking for? Hearing what a gap year is like would be very interesting so that it does not sound like such a mysterious and thus intimidating option. I assume all application filing and high school guidance involvement is exactly the same?
I realize the shallowness of the formula. S feels like he knows 35 songs right now. He says that 1 week is the recommended time it takes to learn a jazz song, so he figures by college application time, it would be reasoanble for him to have properly learned about 80 songs.
Sounds like a good number. I know my son was relieved when the audition jam tune was one he was familiar with! i have mixed feelings about the gap year being tied to rejection (that is, not getting into the program of choice). it makes more sense to me when a student is just not ready? But that’s cause I think there’s not one perfect program.
A little more on my son’s gap year. I should make clear that, while the gap year worked out very well for my son, I’m not advocating it for others, just suggesting that students (and their parents) shouldn’t be afraid of the idea if it seems to make sense.
Coming into his senior year in high school, my son had basically spent his life (or certainly many years) juggling music and academics. Although he was already interested in trying to make a career in music, he was very successful academically and wasn’t sure he was ready to give up the academic side of his life. But he also felt that his years of juggling music and academics had put him at a disadvantage musically to the most talented kids he met at summer jazz programs who attended performing arts high schools and were already prioritizing their music. So he pretty much resolved that if he decided to go to college rather than music school, he would take a gap year. And the more he thought about and started planning what he would do with a gap year, the more it appealed to him.
I think his readiness to take a gap year made the college/conservatory application process somewhat less stressful (not that it was stress-free). He applied to a limited number of schools - essentially only his top choices - with no safeties. His attitude was that if he didn’t get in anywhere, he’d roll into the gap year and apply to a broader range then. As it turned out, he got in everywhere but one. He then had a couple of choices to make - college or conservatory and gap year or no gap year. He ultimately decided he wanted to continue the academic side of his life in addition to the music, and wanted to be surrounded by kids with a variety of interests, not just music, so he went with the college route. It was a choice he was willing to make only by combining it with the gap year so that he would have a year of nothing but music before he had to go back to balancing music and academics. The college he chose allowed him to defer his admission for a year, so he didn’t have to worry about anything but the music.
He did not do any formal programs during his gap year (other than continuing weekly lessons in both classical and jazz piano). But he’s always been fairly self-directed and disciplined and he set out a pretty rigorous regimen for himself of practicing, sessioning, gigging, composing and arranging, and continuing his work on theory and ear training. Being in NYC, he spent a fair amount of time playing with friends at music schools in the city, sometimes being invited to sit in on classes and/or combos. He also fell into some very nice opportunities with older professional musicians who became mentors to him. As I said before, I don’t have a music background, but his development over the course of the year was pretty obvious even to me.
By the time he started college (also in NYC), he had lifted his skill level substantially and had developed a music network in the city that allowed him to supplement the music program at college with at least as much (probably more) music outside of college. The skill level he had developed over the course of his gap year also got him noticed right away in his college jazz program (a very good program), and he found a number of mentors there as well. Another benefit of the gap year was that entering college a year older than his classmates I think helped him on the academic side as well. He never felt like a freshman, and the extra year of maturity helped him in planning out his academic program and choosing classes that would maximize the time he had to devote to his music.
He’s never regretted going the college route and feels that he’s been able to pursue his music while in college at a level and with a seriousness comparable to his friends at top music schools. He’s probably been somewhat lucky with some of the opportunities he’s fallen into, but there’s also something to the saying that you make your own luck. From my perspective, the gap year helped put him in a position to make his own luck.
So I’ve once again ended up with too long a post, but hopefully my son’s story helps a bit in considering the potential of a gap year for the right student and the right situation. I’d also recommend to you this piece about the potential of a gap year written a few years ago by the head of admissions at Harvard: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/preparing-college/should-i-take-time.
A note that S learned from his director for the day at ILMEA (IL districts) was it is a good idea to have songs that you have memorized and thoroughly understood.