<p>I am a high school senior and as of now I have not applied to any colleges, but that may change in the next week. I am LDS and in less than a year I will be leaving on a 2-year religious mission. I was told by several people what I should do is just wait until after my mission to apply to colleges as an incoming freshman, the reason being I could lose a scholarship if I went to school for a semester and then left on a mission. However, now I am finding many people that are telling me I should have applied and gotten a 2.5 year deferment(if that is even possible), and that by not applying I have lost out on most of the scholarship opportunities. </p>
<p>I am an A student. 3.9- something unweighted 4.3- something weighted GPA. Top 5% of my 625 class. I have taken several AP classes and passed the tests. I excel in school. However, I couldn't care less. My only real interest is music. I have been singing only since ninth grade. I made 13th chair bass in the Arizona All-State Choir last year and will make even higher this year. I love singing and I am good at it, but my real passion is the piano. I started teaching myself and playing at the end of March last year and since then I have been driven to improve. I don't consider myself that great at it, but here is a sample I recorded to give you an idea of my skill level. It's Song of the Ocean by Jon Schmidt(I cheated and spliced 2 of 6 different recordings of it together), but it took me about 4 weeks of about an hour a day to get it to that point. </p>
<p>At this point, what I am really interested in is piano and composing. I would want to write for a piano and maybe voice. I don't know if I would want to do more than that as with orchestras, etc. because I don't really have experience with it. Mm. I'm better at learning music by ear than sightreading, but I work on it every day. Last week I began working through the Hanon to work on my technique. I'm not that great because I haven't been playing that long, but I know I am pretty good. Remember I have been playing piano for less than a year. I know I'm behind, but I also know that I have incredible drive and I will become a master pianist/composer/songwriter with or without going to college for it. But all I want to do is play piano and write music. And no, this passion won't burn out over time, this is what I want to do with my life. I just worry about making a living to support a family on music.</p>
<p>So, I guess I should major in music. I'm sure I'm not good to be a piano performance major yet, but I could do just a plain bachelor degree in music. Maybe. I don't really know much. That is why I am asking for advice. Thanks in advance for any help. :)</p>
<p>My understanding is that your mission as a member of LDS is obligatory; Correct me if I’m wrong. Can it be done after college? Would an institution affiliated with the Mormon faith make some consideration for your mission. There are a number of such schools, including Brigham Young, that have excellent music programs.</p>
<p>It is honestly very late to consider any audition based or audition centric music program. Most have closed or are at the tail end of audition season. Many (read as most) music programs WILL NOT defer a BM applicant, as the admission pool is very much a function of the program’s needs and talent base on an annual basis. Same for talent based scholarships.</p>
<p>Being self taught as a pianist will most likely not make the cut at virtually any audition centered admission. Your competition has been studying for a decade and more. You may well be competitive in a vocal audition.</p>
<p>You need to know what is available to you, and what your potential options can be as a music degree holder. You need to know the differences between a BM and music BA. You seem to need a program that would let you explore musically. Given the short timing, I do not see how you can thoroughly examine music program options and apply at this point.
Have you actually looked into any programs?</p>
<p>There are also some musical gap year threads I could point you to that might be a way to further develop your piano and/or composition skills concurrent with your mission. My limited knowledge of LDS can’t begin to say if that is a possibility.</p>
<p>2.5 years away from musical study could be an issue. Whatever you’ve learned to this point may well be forgotten or become rusty. Most schools would not be willing to take that chance.</p>
<p>You need to get a private teacher as soon as possible. Even if it’s only for a couple months. When teaching yourself, it is nearly impossible to recognize subtle differences in playing - if you don’t know it’s wrong, you won’t know what needs to be corrected. </p>
<p>Most music schools require recommendations from a primary teacher. Sometimes two or three. You will be lacking that.</p>
<p>Perhaps it would be best to apply at the end of your mission, for the following year. If your mission doesn’t allow you to travel to the school for auditions, then you may need to either look for a non-audition school, or apply to a school academically only, and transfer into the music program a year or two later. Or, you can take a year off between mission and college, and get a teacher, and improve/refresh your skills.</p>
<p>At that point, you might also want to consider some different types of music programs, such as a BA or music ed degree, which require a less “deep” knowledge of a specific instrument (so less dependent upon an audition), but might give you more opportunity to take classes in different areas of interest, such as vocal music, piano, composition, theory, etc. These programs vary from school to school, so you need to spend some time exploring school websites to find what opportunities appeal to you.</p>
<p>As mentioned before, it will be tough to get into a piano program with so little training - and you will really need some lessons. You could think about a BA or BM in voice and audition for a piano minor or secondary piano studio (which my college has, and many other colleges may have). If you don’t get into either of those, you could look into getting private piano lessons from the grad students at your college - or the professors if they have time, but for secondary instruments, it’s usually grad students. Then, if you have the time and money, you could pursue a master’s degree in piano/composition because by then you will have developed 4 years worth of piano skills with lessons. </p>
<p>I’m doing the same thing - I’m a saxophone BME (music ed) major who came to college and discovered I love singing as much or maybe more than saxophone. So I’m definitely going to get at least private lessons starting next semester, and perhaps a voice minor. I’m planning to continue to a master’s degree in voice or musical theater.</p>