<p>Hi,
I play three instruments (piano, accordion and guitar) which I mainly play for my own pleasure or at social gatherings. In fact, I taught myself to play the latter two mostly on my own. However, I play them all FAIRLY well, but I have not played in a school orchestra or band since middle school. Would it be a good idea for me to still send a tape of one of my best pieces as a supplement to my applications? If not, how would I emphasize my love for music in my application?
Thanks.</p>
<p>If you have such a love of music, why do you only play fairly well??</p>
<p>Honestly, that was an accident--I didn't mean to capitalize it like that--but I do play very well. In my terms fair=pretty good.</p>
<p>Maybe you should ask a band/orchestra director or somebody else to listen to your pieces before you send them to Harvard. You may be wonderful live or extremely entertaining, but I think sometimes music comes across differently on tape (right? I don't know, that's what I perceive) and so maybe you could have somebody who knows a lot about music listen to it first. I'm not saying that you aren't good enough for the Harvard music department, but I think it might be better to be safe than sorry.</p>
<p>If you don't end up sending a tape, you can always write an essay about music. The topic may seem mildly cliche, but you could probably find an original way to write an essay about how much you love music.</p>
<p>DocT, lots of people love football, but they sure as hell aren't good enough to play in the NFL...</p>
<p>But lots of people aren't going to put that they love football on their Harvard application unless they're good at it.</p>