<p>Hi dswinnh—just a little advice from a parent of a student who had to transfer after her freshman year. Do not make any assumptions about the ability to transfer music credits, especially music theory. Even though my D transferred from one reputable music department to another AND the credits technically transferred…virtually every music school has there own music theory sequence and your D may be looking at an extra year to graduate. If she does plan on auditioning for a sophomore transfer, she needs to get busy now. The talent pool for sopranos is vast and deep.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sounds like you’ll fit right in! ;)</p>
<p>Although the actual music theory class may not transfer, credit wise, it’s a great way to beef up knowledge while finding out if the “academic side” of a performance degree is at all appealing.</p>
<p>Will she be able to continue private voice lessons while in college? That would seem to be important, both in refining skills and having a mentor/guide through the audition process.</p>
<p>I was about to answer “absolutely” (to the question of whether she’ll take voice lessons in college), then I remembered it’s not really my decision 
I suspect that she’s planning on it, though she hasn’t signed up yet (nor has she had the opportunity.) I will recomend that she explore during orientation (coming up soon!) whether she can take lessons from a teacher who teaches music majors. (From glancing at the college catalog, it appears that they offer voice lessons for music majors and voice lessons for non-majors. I’m not sure if the difference is in intensity, lesson repertoire, teachers, or what…) I know that her current voice teacher (and she is definitely continuing her voice lessons over the summer) is already working with her on selecting and preparing her audition repertoire, and has already told her that he will retain a lesson slot for her if she wishes to continue voice lessons with him next summer.</p>
<p>Thanks for the warning about the potential non-transferability of a music theory course – I wouldn’t have thought to be on the lookout for that…</p>
<p>dswinnh—when my D transferred, she was told her class would definitely transfer, but it was not until AFTER she was enrolled that we discovered that it would not be towards her music schools specific theory sequence. If I understood music theory or music schools I would be able to expound in detail why. 
From what I do understand (reading this board) the transfer issue is pretty common .
By the way D is finishing her MM with more than one fellow VP Grad student who did not study voice as undergrads, but pursued their lessons privately during that time. It can be done and done well. Your D is right to still take the theory coursework in her freshman year.</p>
<p>Have fun and keep us posted!</p>
<p>I also know little about music and zero about voice, but I strongly support my D’s dream to do something with the music that flows around in her head and voice. It’s fascinating to watch her follow her passion, which she tried to ignore but it finally won out. My D transferred from pre-med at one college to music (w/ voice as her instrument) at another. While in her 3rd semester at school 1, she took a music theory class. While the music theory did not itself transfer to the music college, it did prepare my D for the entrance placement tests which put her in a 3rd or 4th semester series of music theory, harmony and ear training, which was helpful in getting her into her series almost where she needed to be. She transferred in 2nd semester of her sophomore year, so it was risky, but fortunately having 1 year off of music just made her work harder once she turned it back on again. The summer after her freshman year and before she applied to the music school, she re-started her private voice/piano lessons, which helped her get her audition ready as well.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for all the helpful info here. I am the parent of a D, going into senior year, has played flute for 8 years (private lessons, school band, marching band, pit orchestra, private youth orchestra, music honor society, etc etc) & wants a music major but not in performance. Maybe music business or industry, maybe a music major at an LAC with a strong music department and chances to play. Maybe double major with history…</p>
<p>I am a rising HS senior looking at pursuing a double degree (music comp and physics). My principle instrument is percussion - currently drumline captain at my school, region band junior year, got a division 1 rating on a snare solo at region and state two consecutive years in a row (as a soph and junior). Looking mainly at med-large universities in the south/west. Open to any advice!</p>
<p>I’m a high school freshman, ‘bout to be a sophomore. Going for a double music performance/comp degree - maybe switching out the comp for education if my mind changes. I play violin and viola, learnt violin first but prefer viola. Recently got into MYO’s Chamber Orch. and Mannes’ precollege division on violin and viola, respectively. Going to Point Counterpoint for 3 weeks this summer. Considering a whole load of different summer programs for the next few years and different colleges. Hey all!</p>
<p>I am a flutist:) I have a BMus a long time ago and am considering going back for a masters in performance</p>
<p>I am a trumpet player and am currently studying trumpet performance at a small liberal arts school. I hope to continue on in the pursuit of a music history degree in grad school… and my studio teacher loves this since he has his masters and phd in it. He is pushing for me to go to the same school he did, actually.</p>
<p>I may also add a BA in Economics thanks to have a really free schedule because of AP scores. Can’t change the BM at all for fear of them changing my scholarship. And we can’t have that, of course!</p>
<p>Hi, I’m a rising senior hoping to major in Violin Performance. I’m going to be applying to the following schools:
USC, UCLA, San Francisco Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Peabody/Johns Hopkins, New England Conservatory, Cleveland Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, CSULB.</p>
<p>I’m just nervous because my GPA/SAT’s are EXTREMELY low and I’m afraid that these colleges/conservatories will not accept me because of them.</p>
<p>Low GPA/SAT’s will be more of a problem at the universities (Northwestern, USC, UCLA) than the conservatories (SFC, Manhattan, Peabody, NEC, CIM). If you can play well, then low academics are not usually a big factor at the conservatories unless the conservatory feels that you just won’t be capable of music theory/history.</p>
<p>I’ve taken AP theory and I’ve passed…my dream school is USC. I’m willing to do anything in order to get in…so, is there anything I can do to boost my gpa? i.e. online classes?</p>
<p>I don’t know what you mean by an extremely low GPA, but it is a bit late for you to pull it up all that much even with a semester of straight A’s. You only have one semester because final grades will not be out until long after admission decisions have been made. For example, with six semesters of 2.0 in the books, one semester of straight A’s will bring you up to about a 2.3. If you are starting with a 3.0, it would rise to about 3.15. Realize that colleges use only academic core subjects (English, Math, Sciences, Social Studies, Languages) to recalculate your GPA for admissions purposes. They do not include subjects like Music, Phys Ed, Art or Shop.</p>
<p>Adding online courses may not be a great idea. Next semester is going to be pretty busy as is with your regular course load, preparing your audition materials, filling out college applications, perhaps retaking the SATs and possibly taking some sample lessons. Can you reasonably expect to do all of that well if you are overloading with extra classes?</p>
<p>So the question becomes one of what is it that you can do. One is to make sure you can present a great audition. Another is to contact the violin teachers at your schools of interest and ask them whether your GPA and test scores will disqualify you regardless of how well you audition. At schools like Northwestern, the answer could well be that it will unless you are measuring your GPA by warped College Confidential standards and it is actually much higher than what most would consider extremely low.</p>
<p>At this point, you need to concentrate on schools where you have at least some chance of admission.</p>
<p>Another path to consider, assuming you can continue to study with a very good private teacher, might be a year at a community college with the intent of transferring to a university or conservatory later. Any music classes that you take at a community college will probably not transfer, but some academics like a writing class, a foreign language class and so forth might. It is still quite possible that you would need four years to complete a BM even with some credits transferred. You would have the opportunity to start over on your GPA and demonstrate to the Universities on your list that you can handle academic classes at the college level.</p>
<p>I’m a high school sophomore. I play electric jazz bass, classical upright bass, and both jazz and classical trumpet. My dad and all 5 of his brothers also play instruments, and 3 or 4 of them have music degrees. My brother plays guitar and trombone. I made it into a local orchestra on trumpet this year, and I’m first trumpet in my school’s concert band. I’m also joining marching band this year, where I will be lead trumpet. I played bass in my school’s jazz band, and also I played bass in the pit ensemble for my school’s summer and school year plays. I’d like to double major in music and something else.</p>
<p>Welcome basstrumpet … what do you imagine doing with music in your future or is it too early? You certainly have a lot of music energy and family history with music.</p>
<p>I haven’t posted in this “Introduce yourself” thread yet even though I joined over a month ago! Hope I’m not too late to the party. =)</p>
<p>I am an upcoming senior in high school! I have been in marching band (marching tenors, 2 years section leader), indoor percussion line (marching tenors), multiple concert bands (all concert percussion), and jazz ensemble (drum set) in all my high school years, and have been learning the piano for over a year! I have had the privilege of volunteering in my school’s summer music camp for elementary and middle school band students, teaching and performing percussion! I’m passionate about music, and truly devote a lot of time to practicing! </p>
<p>I really want to major in Music Education at an in-state university in my state. I enjoy helping others just to see them grow as musicians, I have been told I can get along with others easily, and I especially enjoy working/volunteering if it is something I love (music)! I enjoy learning new instruments too, which I found out once I took up piano. =) I’m excited to be able to peruse all the valuable information on this Music Major thread! =)</p>
<p>Welcome RandomAc1206 … you are in the right place, and welcome! Your in-state universities will enjoy having an application from you as it is clear you are excited to study music education. Good luck over the coming months … the experts that post on these threads will cheer you along the way to applications and decisions.</p>
<p>My violinist D is an upcoming senior. We live in a small northern California town. She’s had 12 years of instruction with a Julliard trained teacher, and is just now trying out a different teacher who is more inspiring and suits where she is at right now. Several years of summer music, though nothing terribly competitive (Humbolt 2 yrs, CSSSA), and some competition experience where she is always in the top 3. She plays with our local music festival, has done a composers program for the past 2 years, has had some paid gigs, and has wonderful passion and musicality, but also diverse interests. GPA at 3.97 (all AP classes), will get SATs over 2000 next go round. She would like to double major in music and international relations. </p>
<p>We are not in a financial position to subsidize her entire education and she will need significant financial aid/scholarships. I’m a nonprofit executive and her stepdad is an acupuncturist 
While I would love for her to stay on the west coast, she is interested in traveling if the right opportunity came along. Here are some of the preliminary schools we are looking at:</p>
<p>UCLA
UCSB
University of Puget Sound (visited last spring and they loved her)
Boston University
Bard (reach?)
Vanderbilt</p>
<p>It is difficult for me to assess her talents. Some have said she has a ton (conductor of said music festival, new teacher), but her confidence has been a little rocked by staying too long with a teacher who she hasn’t been clicking with in the past couple of years. She is currently studying the Mendelssohn concerto and has a tendency to like to stretch herself with difficult or contemporary pieces (sometimes before she is technically ready). </p>
<p>Okay, I’ve jumped in! Any and all advice extremely welcome. This forum has been so helpful already!</p>
<p>Welcome! My second daughter is a student at Bard, not a music major, but she does play viola for fun, so if you have any questions, I’m happy to help. My third daughter ended up auditioning on viola but was a violinist right up until her senior year, and would have auditioned with Carolyn Heubl at Vanderbilt as a first choice had she stuck with violin. We also know several violinists who are very happy at BU.</p>
<p>Since you’ve been reading the forum, I’ll just say that the advice about getting independent estimates of your D’s ability and taking sample lessons (even during audition weekends for those East Coast schools) are right on target. </p>
<p>In terms of finances, D3 found that the best merit scholarships came from schools where she was in the top range of applicants…sometimes you trade a little prestige for a lot of assistance.</p>