<p>I love playing the piano, however, I know that I am no prodigy or concert pianist. I'm wondering if I should do a music supplement though, but I don't even know if the pieces I'm currently working at are 'difficult' or 'diverse' enough to be helpful in admissions. The most difficult pieces I'm currently working on are Wedding Day at Troldhaugen by Grieg and the second movement of Beethoven's Pathetique.</p>
<p>I am NOT interested in being a music major (in fact, I'll probably major in math or engineering), but I'd love to take classes/lessons in college. I'm thinking of applying to MIT, Cornell, and CMU. Will these pieces (if played well) make a good supplement?</p>
<p>Well those schools probably get a number of talented musician and supplements and I’m not familiar with those pieces but you should probably be good enough for at least All State level music for your supplement to have any significant effect.</p>
<p>Do a music supplement. While you’re not playing a particularly “sought after” instrument, if anything the supplement will reinforce your passion for the piano. Make sure to check each school though because some schools prefer their arts supplement to the common app one even if that school uses the common app.</p>
<p>Check with your music teacher to see what he/she thinks about whether your proficiency is good enough to help you or not. As far as I know, CMU will not accept music supplements unless you are applying to the music program, but double check on that. </p>
<p>What I have also heard is that if it is not exceptional, don’t bother sending it. It will be reviewed by the music dept., and they will be critical unless it is well above the norm. I would disagree with Lagging, as showing how many years you have studied certainly shows your passion. But if your level of skill is not exceptional, a mediocre recording will not help you, and may hurt you.</p>
<p>At the five colleges (all selective LAC’s) that my son visited this summer he was told that the Arts Supplement cannot hurt his chances at all; it will either help (if his tape is really good) or just be “neutral”, ie not help but not hurt (if the tape is “so-so”). It is supposed to be under 10 minutes long. He too does not plan on going into music as a career, but he loves to play and has studied for many years, so he went ahead and made a tape. I think that your selections sound just fine. Those are standards in the classical piano literature (and beautiful pieces). You don’t have to play some crazy hard Liszt piece to make a recording.</p>
<p>I’d disagree with @maggiedog because number of years doesn’t necessarily indicate passion (rather persistence and very often persistence from a parent more than the student). Also, when I was applying I was told by every single school that in no way could an arts supplement hurt. I’d also disagree that your level of skill needs to be “exceptional.” Very few people consider themselves “exceptional” (and a good number would be conceited to do so). If you’re a good piano player I’d urge you to do one. </p>
<p>I think it’s a good suggestion though to talk with your music teacher. If your teacher doesn’t know then talk with a school music teacher and possibly play for him/her to see what they think.</p>
<p>@wittynickname What state do you live in? I live in New York and here we have NYSSMA festivals (New york state student music association) where you play a solo piece from a list released by the NYSSMA committee and is broken into 6 levels, I, II, III, IV, V, VI and while they are all solo pieces, you can play any of the level VI pieces at “All State level” which means you have a piano accompanist. I know at least some other states, if not all, have some sort of state wide festival with lists of possible solo pieces for each instrument or vocalist, so check with your music teacher and see how difficult your intended pieces are and where they would lie on the list (on the most difficult end, medium, or easiest end) (and if they ARE on the solos list) and , if played perfectly or exceptionally, would be impressive.</p>
<p>What i also mean by all state is that you would play good enough to be in all state ensembles (which you get into through the music festivals and by your solo evaluation). Again, talk to your music teacher about that</p>
<p>Actually, can anyone provide insights into how music supplements are evaluated by HYP? for someone who isn’t planning to major in music?</p>
<p>What happens to the “mediocre” supplements? Can they hurt an applicant, even if the applicant is not a music major? Or will they become “neutral”?</p>