<p>I want to apply to the music school at University of North Texas, the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University, NYU's Steinhardt, and U of Rochester's Eastman School of Music. I play the clarinet an I am a rising junior. I'm okay; I started freshman year, and am going to be clarinet 1 next year. I plan to take lessons from the new woodwind teacher. I'm going to apply for all the schools, among others, Early Admission. By the way, I plan to double major in Music Education and Composition. What are my chances? Could I get in? How do I audition early? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Hi-It’s hard to tell what your chances are, since we can’t hear you play. It also depends on the talent pool the year you are auditioning, and how many openings for clarinet the school has when you are applying. Also, we don’t know your GPA and SAT/ACT test scores. </p>
<p>All you can really do is make every effort to be the best you can be on audition day. </p>
<p>In terms of auditioning early, it is probably not possible to audition early for all of these schools. The audition season is spread out between December and March. Many of the schools hold auditions on the same weekends. It would be a good exercise for you to look at the websites of these schools this fall to see what this year’s audition dates are. Also, see what the applications deadlines are. Then make a plan as if you were applying this year to see when you need to get your applications in for the various dates. Also, some of the schools will probably require pre-screening videos. </p>
<p>I taped all of my son’s performances starting with the concert for the summer program he went to between junior and senior year. It was handy to have a variety of taped performances available for submission at pre-screening time. </p>
<p>My son did his first audition at the school he was least interested in. That way, when the higher stakes auditions came along, he had some of the jitters out of the way. Sometimes it’s a good thing to have another couple of months of lessons under your belt before applying to the schools you really want to go to.</p>
<p>Can you do some kind of music-related summer program next year to have something to add to your resume? My kid is a jazz guy, so he did the Berklee Five Week. It was immensely helpful.</p>
<p>My GPA is 4.2 weighted, but I plan to increase it next year. My SAT’s are 670 in Math, 690 in Critical Reading, and 685 in Writing. I plan to increase those as well. I hadn’t thought of doing something musical this summer. I’ll do it next year, probably. Thanks.</p>
<p>Clarinetnerd,
my son decided he wanted to attend conservatory the summer before his Junior year. At the time he was good but nobody who worked with him was sure whether he was conservatory material just yet. He made a commitment to practicing a minimum of hours every day, sometimes telling friends he could not go out during vacations and weekends so he could fit in practicing. He put a lot of energy into his music and gave equal weight and time to his music prep school classes as he did to his academics. If you have access to a music prep school where you live I highly recommend doing it. He also pushed himself. Although he was interested in Jazz he set a goal of learning a piece for our school’s concerto competition. He asked us if he could have two private teachers (one for classical and one for Jazz) and we agreed.</p>
<p>But here is what he did NOT DO: He did not take a lot of AP and Honors classes so that he was stressed out by an excessive amount of homework. He did not waste time doing any SAT prep and accepted that his scores would be in the 600s (which are good enough). </p>
<p>Good Luck to you. I am sure if you work at it and you want to attend conservatory badly enough you can and will improve enough to get accepted. </p>
<p>BTW, early admission might not be the best strategy. As my son’s teacher pointed out, musicians at this stage in their career are improving constantly. The difference between how my son was playing in September of his senior year and February of his senior year was night and day. Had he applied early he might not have gotten accepted.</p>
<p>Satcjip, how many hours did your son commit to practice (the number is missing)?</p>
<p>Many conservatories won’t care about SAT’s and GPA so much, though music schools and conservatories attached to colleges and universities will, since you generally apply to both the college/university and the conservatory/music school.</p>
<p>Not all (or many?) conservatories have music ed, I believe: others here can tell you more about that. I have read here that for music ed, the audition standard may be slightly lower, but again, I am not sure. State universities often have music ed programs.</p>
<p>For composition, you would need a portfolio of 3-4 scores, plus recordings of each piece, preferably paid by live, excellent musicians though some MIDI is okay. Composition is very competitive at conservatories in terms of acceptance. You would want to get started thinking about having people play some pieces and recording them, or have you done that?</p>
<p>Definitely follow others’ advice about ramping up your commitment and work, and I agree that academics don’t have to be at the same priority level as music if that is really what you want to do. Even academically rigorous colleges often appreciate “outliers” who are giving their all to a particular “passion.”</p>
<p>Get a really good teacher for clarinet, for composition and take some piano, theory etc. Conservatory prep programs will put this all together for you but it is possible to put it together yourself. Sometimes a college nearby will have a professor who will work with you, and there are piano teachers who will work on theory with you. And definitely try to do a summer program, next summer. It will help get those compositions played, if that is a focus, or it will help your playing, if performance is the main thing at that point.</p>
<p>The schools you are thinking about are top schools. You can also apply to colleges or universities and do a BA in music rather than the BM that the conservatories offer. That would mean academic study of music (theory, history, composition, ethnomusicology, technology etc.) plus perhaps lessons, and participation in extracurricular ensembles, orchestra, jazz band, whatever.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>compmom- I wish I could put a number on the hours he practiced. I have never supervised his practicing or his music. I had very little involvement in his development as a musician, except that I have been the “bass chauffeur”. My son played what seemed like a lot to me, but he was also involved in numerous music groups at school and often played during study halls and lunch with other people. He attended a prep program and went all day the Saturdays of his Junior year. I know he often practiced between classes. I would often go to sleep to the sound of his playing and I remember cooking to the sound of his playing. But if you asked me how many hours total he practiced I am not sure I could give you an honest answer. And I should add that although he made practicing a priority, he also had a girl friend and a social life. He made sure to have a balance in his life, but at the same time was very goal oriented. And given that he did not start playing bass until the spring of 8th grade he had a lot of catching up to do. </p>
<p>hmmm…maybe another way to measure how much he practiced was to hear what happened to our dog when our son left for college. Our dog missed our son’s music. One day in September I put on Ella Fitzgerald playing Autumn in New York, a song that our son had used as a way to develop expression and artistry in his music his senior year. Our dog jumped off the window seat and leapt into his crate, turned around and sat upright for the whole song. After that in order to get our dog to settle at night I had to play that song. No other version and no other Ella song would work. It had to be that exact song. Fortunately Thanksgiving came and the children returned and our dog didn’t need it after that.</p>
<p>Clarinetnerd, if you are “okay” and you want to apply to the selective music schools you listed, you should be taking lessons now (over the summer) and looking for ways you can get more experience. I agree it’s probably too late to find a summer music program, but even if you can get some of your friends together and play chamber music that would give you a boost. Work on your scales. See if there are any community band concerts or music festivals in your area, even if you have to drive an hour or so. Work on your compositions. Make sure your band director knows about your plans - he or she may be aware of opportunities for you. Good luck!</p>
<p>Stacjip, sorry, I misunderstood your sentence : " He made a commitment to practicing a minimum of hours every day." For some reason I thought you had left a number out, but now I can see the sentence stands as is! Otherwise, I would not have asked that question at all! I knew you were trying to give a picture of the kind of commitment required and I do hear young musicians talk about number of hours practiced etc., but it’s great that you don’t know!!</p>
<p>Woodwinds cannot practice as long as strings or piano, for example, based on my own humbling experience with the clarinet, I would be surprised if they can do more then 2 or 3 hours a day. With clarinet being a late starter is not as big a hurdle as it is on strings, woodwinds start later in general and tend to develop later, so you could be okay.</p>
<p>I agree with others, you will need to get into a regular practice routine, especially over the summer where you might have more time, and it has to hold, one thing I figured out is that consistency seems to be a big factor with successfully mastering an instrument, it isn’t just multiple hours, it is consistently doing it. Some think they will work 3 days a week and do extra time, but it doesn’t seem to work, it seems like consistent practice does it IME. </p>
<p>One question, is the new woodwind teacher in school? And are they someone who specializes on the clarinet? If not, if at all possible, you may want to look into private lessons. There are some great school music teachers, but in general because of the nature of their focus, if they don’t specialize on your instrument that can be trouble, they may not be able to take you to that level, they tend to be more generalists, and even if he can teach clarinet, if they are specialists on the flute or sax, it might not work well for you. At the very least, try and get an evaluation from a college music program level teacher, to see where you are, as they say, you can’t know where you are going unless you know where you have been and where you are right now:). </p>
<p>As others said, for straight conservatories grades and test scores won’t mean much, and the other thing is even if you go to a music school in a larger university, you may want to try and keep down things like AP courses and such, because they are time consuming, and it is very, very difficult to keep up your practice schedule and keep up with all them, in the pre college prep program my S was part of you could tell the kids heading towards going to an academic school, their playing fell off, often precipitously, because they had to devote time to AP’s, EC’s and so forth. People worry about that, but schools understand the difficulty of getting into the music performance program, and are a little more lenient if you don’t have the requisite 900 AP’s kids are taking these days:).</p>
<p>I will have three AP classes next year and five senior year. I’m not sure f the teacher will be hired, but my band director was very impressed. Clarinet is her main instrument. The teacher who was helping me left. 
I memorised my clarinet scales, in order, so I have to memorise each of them, you know? Like if somebody asked me “Play the Ab scale”. I can’t afford private lessons, unfortunately, but I can get FREE theory lessons, clarinet lessons, and possibly piano. I’ll ask if I can get even more help, since my band director stays after school for hours. I’ll practice as much as I can, but I must keep my grades up.</p>
<p>Clarinet is a very competitive instrument and to be really honest with you, being “ok” and having 3 years of study under your belt when auditions roll around will probably not be enough to put you on even par with the kids auditioning at the top level schools on your list… They’ve been playing since 4th grade and are doing pre-college programs and playing in youth symphonies and wind ensembles on a regular basis So, you need to begin working really hard, now!
Grades and test scores will definitely be considered at Northwestern and at NYU. Are you going to take the ACT also? Taking AP courses can help fulfill some of the gen ed requirements in college, but make sure the course you choose are the right ones (such as AP Lang and Comp rather than Lang and Lit) and get 4s & 5s on the exams.
You’re only a rising junior so you have time, but with the schools you list (and any good BM program) private lessons are a must. Get a part time job and keep it, use the money to fund your lessons with the best possible teacher you can find. You can work, practice AND keep your grades up, even with AP classes. Many kids do; you might have to get by on less than 6 hours of sleep each night, but you’ll be fine! You will have to have letters of recommendation from those who know you musically, including a private teacher, so you really have to find some way of making that happen. If there is a college with a good music department anywhere near you, try to set up a time to meet with a member of the clarinet faculty and have him/her listen to you and realistically evaluate your playing and give you some ideas as to what you’ll need.
You need all of those scales memorized so that you can play them without even thinking too much, just use muscle memory, and there are set pieces of clarinet repertoire that you must know also. Go to the web sites of some schools and look up what is required for auditions.
You mentioned composition- do you have a portfolio of work to present? If you’re going the comp route, you’ll need that and will audition on clarinet as well. Compmom always posts great advice, so go back and read some of her posts.
When you’re looking at web sites, compile a larger list of more varied schools. Check out which ones have more funding options; for instance, NYU is not known for being generous with money and the cost of living in NYC is very high.
There is a lot to consider but you are very smart to begin looking now. Ask questions about different schools here on CC too, but do everything possible to begin working with a good private teacher very soon.</p>
<p>Mezzo’sMaMa wrote "…you might have to get by on less than 6 hours of sleep each night, but you’ll be fine! "</p>
<p>I NEED TO DISAGREE AND ADD A WARNING:</p>
<p>Cheating your body on much needed sleep in your adolescence is not good for your long term health or your short term health. No single college admissions is worth doing that to your body. College is not an end point, it is the beginning and if you want to do something badly enough you will find a way without compromising your health.</p>
<p>My son had a classmate who was involuntarily hospitalized this spring due to sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation can bring on psychosis. 6 hours a night is probably not going to make you psychotic but it may suppress your immune system, impact your performance and memory and cause your mood to be more depressed.</p>
<p>Every body needs a slightly different amount of sleep. Some of us need more, some need less. On average a growing adolescent needs between 8-10 hours a night. There is no need to load up your schedule with time consuming AP colleges, especially if college prep classes will be less work and easier. The value of AP classes is questionable anyways and some elite private schools no longer offer them. </p>
<p>Do not treat this like a race!! Think of your own growth and progress. Try to be in “your own body” and what you need and not what others think you need or what you think will make you “look” better to others. If you are not where you want to be by your senior year then maybe you will work for a year or go to a less prestigious school and then transfer. You are young and if you want something badly enough you will find a way to make it happen. But at the same time do not cheat yourself out of having a life and being healthy. In the long run you will be grateful for your 18 year old self.</p>
<p>I hope you understand that people are being straight with you in order to help you. The conservatories you mention are top schools. I know people who didn’t even go to high school at all in order to focus on music, and others who have not done anything else at all in high school years. It is a judgment call for each individual whether that kind of single-minded focus is healthy and beneficial for each musician. </p>
<p>Even if you want to go to a conservatory that is less prestigious, you would still probably need to ramp up what you are doing considerably. You definitely need a private teacher, for both clarinet and composition (if that is something you want to do), and a summer program next year would be good. </p>
<p>State universities are often good for music education and often have excellent BM programs.</p>
<p>It is unfortunate that life choices sometimes need to be made earlier than one would wish. All I can say it that maybe it should not be seen that way, but that you should do what comes naturally and then make college plans from there, rather than the other way around. </p>
<p>One of my kids is a dancer, the other a composer. The dancer didn’t even do senior year of high school, but danced. This wasn’t a manner of deliberative planning: it was a calling. Ironically, when she did apply to college, the schools welcomed her as an “outlier” dedicated enough to have made some sacrifices, even without any stats or EC’s. My other daughter seemed, through sophomore year of high school, to be headed toward writing or theater, but suddenly her music took off. She also made sacrifices, spending weekends at conservatory prep for those last two years, meeting with two private teachers, attending a summer program, writing a lot of music, but didn’t even take a science class in senior year, and stopped all other activities. She took some AP’s but kept her schedule very reasonable. She applied and got into a bunch of conservatories, which was affirming, but ended up at a college w/great composition faculty and the opportunity to study art history and other subjects that feed her music. She decided at the very last minute!</p>
<p>The point is, this all develops in zigs and zags, but there is a point where the “passion” becomes a real focus and other things have to go, if that is what you are truly called to do. Even for your health, this is necessary. If you still want to take a lot of AP’s, and keep up your stats so your options are open that is fine, but make sure you don’t have too much stress while ramping up your music. If you want to stick with the resources of your high school, that is also fine: you may be able to do a music school or college, but not a top one, not without a teacher who can help you pull that off and the understanding that you have to make an all out effort. If you do not want to make that all out effort, that may be a loss, or it may be the healthiest decision you can make. It’s fine.</p>
<p>There are many ways to study music and have music in your life. You can go to school for anything at all and do music classes and participate in music performance in extracurriculars. Admission auditions can be tough: look up the repertoire on websites, as someone suggested. Conservatories do not always offer music education: others know more about that. Composition is very intensely competitive and you are up against students who have won national awards and already have orchestral commissions. Writing pieces and getting them played is a major undertaking.</p>
<p>This is not to discourage. You have time. I agree with StacJip that your life needs to be healthy, and you cannot do it all. I hope you can proceed in a way that preserves all your options but try to make decisions based on authentic interest, rather than what is expected, and also on what preserves your well-being. You will find your way. Good luck!</p>
<p>I also don’t want to be discouraging. But you need to consider what you want to do as a career. If you really want to be a Music Ed major and teach band - consider some other state schools, especially in the state you want to teach in. If you are a Texas resident, consider Texas Tech, UT-Arlington, A&M - Commerce, Stephen F. Austin - or some smaller private schools - Abilene Christian, McMurray, Trinity, Southwestern. All of those schools have very good music departments and have job placement rates for their Music Ed. graduates. You will still need to be a competent player, but the level needed is not the same as a top conservatory.</p>
<p>I agree with megpmom - if your main desire is to teach public schools, you really have no need to go to a conservatory (and most don’t offer music ed anyway). To be honest, a school that routinely graduates teachers is going to have a better music ed department than one that doesn’t have many in a music ed program. I would stay instate, and go to one of the public universities with a good music program. Or find an OOS one with good scholarships, especially if you don’t see yourself staying in TX.</p>