<p>HI! I am attending school for MT and I was just wondering what some must have items to take to college with me are?
It's not a regular major, so it has been especially difficult to make a list of things.
All I have come up with is dance attire, jazz and tap shoes and maybe a keyboard....?
see, that list is pathetic.</p>
<p>HELP?!?!</p>
<p>Usually, your college program will send you a list of what is needed. If not, you can either call or e-mail them.</p>
<p>You will want something to record your voice lessons or group singing classes. D records all of her in class vocals and even sometimes the work she does in acting classes. She has an older ipod that we purchased an external mini mic attachment for. But she indicates that those who have an iphone can do what she does without having to carry her ipod and mic. (She doesn’t have an iphone). I believe you can do the same thing with any mac computer and garage band, too. Just know how to use it!</p>
<p>D also has teacher play the music and she records it so she can practice with it whenever and wherever she is.</p>
<p>I have a list that I send to our incoming freshmen and transfers each year. Most schools will send a similar list. </p>
<p>I will post it here after I update it and send it to our incoming freshmen. :)</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>Some random but I think necessary things to have that I learned from my freshman year in MT:</p>
<p>Make sure that you bring a few audition-type “dress up” (for lack of a better word) but not super fancy outfits- At least at my school, there were a lot of times that we had to make ourselves look nice to perform in class or in program meeting, and everything that I had was either too casual or too formal, so I had to go shopping REALLY quickly.</p>
<p>As for the recording device, you definitely need something, but if you have an iPhone or another smartphone of the same type, I wouldn’t go out and buy something special. Unless one of your professors is really stingy about not using cell phones (which none of mine were) you can just use the voice recorder that comes on most newer phones- I think that the iPhone recorder is actually better quality that a nice (read- cost a good chunk of money) digital recorder that I bought a couple years ago, and that quit on me 3/4 of the way through the year. Do record ALL of your voice lessons though- I grew so much just from hearing what I sounded like to others!</p>
<p>Make sure that you either bring or buy Woolite so that you can wash leotards and dance tights in your sink so that you don’t have to run an entire load of laundry the night before you have dance when you are out of clean ones- I speak from experience. If you are a girl, make sure that you have a SUPPORTIVE sports-type bra for dance (sounds obvious but you’d be surprised).</p>
<p>A keyboard is nice, but I think you only would need one if you live far away from the music building or if your school does not have an abundance of practice rooms. They do take up a lot of room, and if you are only using it to learn music, most people don’t like it when their neighbor is belting out showtunes in the dorms. It might be a good thing if you have to take a keyboard or piano class- it was nice for me to not have to plan a 2 hour block of time where I could go to the practice room to sing AND practice for my keyboard class- I could do the second half late at night with headphones on if I wanted.</p>
<p>Get an electric kettle- most dorms allow them if they don’t have exposed heating coils or anything like that. This was INVALUABLE to me when I would come home from a long day of theater and music classes and my voice would be so tired and I just wanted a hot cup of tea- also THROAT COAT THROAT COAT THROAT COAT (if you don’t know what it is look it up). Also good for making Ramen and other instant-soup type things for midnight studying snacks. You also may want to look into getting a personal steam inhaler- Vick’s makes a really good one that is sold at most drug stores for not a lot of money. Steam really helps for soothing a tired or sick voice and reduces swelling (I think- someone who knows vocal therapy more may want to chime in on that) I just know that mine has saved me more than a couple of times :)</p>
<p>Kind of general, but you may want to get a Brita or some other type of water filtering container- my tap water seemed to be fine, but some other water around my campus seemed to be questionable, and it would be difficult to keep myself hydrated. If you have one, you can just refill your water bottle every time you come back to your room and you’d be fine.</p>
<p>Bring lots of scarves- I don’t know where you are going to school, but I was in the Northeast and the winter was COOOOOOOOLD. A warm singer’s throat is a happy singer’s throat :)</p>
<p>That’s all I can think of for now- If I think of something later I’ll add it on.</p>
<p>Congratulations and good luck to everyone who is starting in the fall, I know you’ll have an amazing time!!</p>
<p>Thanks KSwag!! Very helpful.</p>
<p>D has discovered that no matter how many sets of dance clothes you take, you’ll wish you had even more. She has also needed resumes and headshots at various times throughout the year.</p>
<p>Which style of tap shoes for girls? Character shoe height or flat heel?</p>
<p>That is a good question for the individual school. We say both. In most tap musicals women need to tap in character heels, so getting used to that is important… 42nd Street, Millie, etc… However, some tap combinations are more well suited to oxford taps, and some more contemporary musical theatre shows will ask women to tap in oxfords.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>I don’t know if this goes into the “dance clothes” category, but you may want to get a “longish” rehearsal skirt. I know I’ve needed them several times for class work and it makes it much easier than renting them from the costume shop. You can get them at dance stores or even at thrift stores.</p>
<p>My daughter got black character taps last year as a graduation present from friends. Her school was doing Anything Goes and she knew that she needed character taps. Once audition information for the show came out (after classes started) they were told that they needed to be t-strap characters in beige…</p>
<p>D took a required tech class that included half a semester on costumes. Two projects on the costume shop sewing machines. She made a bag for her tap shoes and a rehearsal skirt! She uses both!</p>
<p>Bring both pairs of tap shoes if you have them! Girls tapped in their heels for “Anything Goes” obviously, but rehearsed in their flats a lot, especially after a long day. Our tap class was mixed- I did it all in heels because it’s generally more difficult but the flats were good to have, as KatMT says, for specific styles (more low to the ground).</p>
<p>As for character skirts, if you have one that you like- bring it. If you don’t, I wouldn’t stress because you may make one in costuming or at CCU you just head to the costume shop and pick one out if you know you need one.</p>
<p>Thank you to everyone who posted!
I have written down everything y’all have recommended!</p>
<p>Well… Everything except the skirts and supportive bras. I am a boy. Haha!!</p>
<p>then dance belts Mjredd!</p>