<p>Also, please understand that there are 2 kinds of music majors. Students can go to most any liberal arts program at a college or university and get a Bachelor of Arts in music. This is the study of music but is not based much around performance. The Bachelor of Music degree is a performance degree. This is the degree that usually requires and audition to get accepted. Most schools will offer a minor in music as part of a liberal arts program. Very few will offer an minor in performance although there are some out there. </p>
<p>So the first question you need to ask yourself is if you are interested in the study of music in general, or if you are more interested in the performance end. Then you need to check with the schools that interest you to find out what kind of programs they can offer you. It sounds like you would like to continue to study piano. You can likely do this without majoring or minoring although you may have to pay for lessons if you are not in the department. </p>
<p>Will your piano give you a boost in admissions? Perhaps, but don't count on it. However, it never hurts to send in a CD, especially if you are quite talented.</p>
<p>How can being a performance major and receiving a bachelor o music degree help me in life. I know that if I end up being a doctor or even end up going to duke, I most likelye won't be starving. But, I'd still like to maybe teach a few students and maybe play a few concertos in my lifetime, with real orchestras. Am I aiming too high? Do I need to go to graduate school for these dreams to be realized?</p>
<p>It varies by department, but it tends to be about 50% to 65% of those who complete the audition for most orchestral instruments. I have not seen specific figures for piano, and I am sure the percentages are much worse for flutes and sopranos. Acceptance rate there has been creeping downward over the past few years, so it may be a little less than that for the current audition season. They are pretty forthright about their descriptions of what they have and what they do not, and they prefer to weed out the applicants who are not really interested in them earlier in the process rather than later.</p>
<p>I have heard that it is possible to be accepted separately by Peabody and by JHU, but not to be accepted into the double degree program. As mominva says, that is another application entirely.</p>
<p>If you are wondering why they admit a large percentage of their applicants even without a pre-screening round, consider that it is not so easy to work up the audition material to a high level, and people tend not to bother to go to Baltimore for an audition unless they feel they have a legitimate shot. The repertoire required for piano is:</p>
<p>A JS Bach Prelude and Fugue, or other work by Bach containing a fugue,
A complete sonata by Mozart (other than K. 283), Beethoven (other than Op. 49) or Schubert
A complete solo work by a 19th century composer (but not a Chopin Nocturne or Etude)
A major 20th century solo work and,
A virtuoso etude by Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Debussy, Bartok or Stravinsky.</p>
<p>That is a lot of material to work up to audition standard. Anyone who can do that deserves a legitimate shot at acceptance.</p>
<p>You have to have the entire repertoire prepared, and memorized. They will ask you to play certain sections, but you can't predict which ones, so need everything prepared. I have heard that if kids assume they won't need to know the third movement of the sonata, and don't prepare it, they can be completely disqualified if the teachers ask to hear that.</p>
<p>thanks, i think i'm going to start working on this now!</p>
<p>as of now, i have a beethoven sonata no. 17 (completely prepared), chopin ballade no. 1(almost done). I want to play la campanella or a chopin etude as my etude. I was never really into Bach or Contemporary music, so does anyone have any suggestions for which bach fugue and which contemporary piece? Would a chinese folk piece, such as "sunflowers" ( yundi li played it in a video found on youtube), constitute a "major" contemporary work? And do I have enough time to prepare all this? I'm currently a junior in high school.</p>
<p>and is it a good idea to play a chopin piece and a chopin etude? also, are the pieces i'm picking too "famous"? I've heard that tackling pieces such as ballade no. 1 or la campanella can be very difficult, especially because they are so famous. People sort of expect them to be played at such a high level.</p>
<p>The teachers at the auditions will know every piece inside out. Most audition pieces are "famous", and the teachers all have very well trained ears.</p>
<p>They mention a couple of pieces that they specifically do not want to hear, so you are probably safe with anything that meets the requirements on their list. It is probably to your advantage to display as much versatility as you can, so you could use Chopin for both the etude and the 19th century work but it would probably be better to show them something a little different for the solo. I am not familiar with the Chinese folk piece you mentioned. It would be a risky selection but could work very much in your favor if it is of sufficient length, difficulty and displays 20th-century compositional technique.</p>
<p>In general, you should only pick pieces that you can play at a high level. Most audition judges would rather hear someone play a moderately difficult piece with flair and musicality than hear them play a very difficult piece that is just barely within their capability. Believe me, they can tell the difference.</p>