optional arts (recording, mediocrity, and arrogance)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Princeton University
1

<p>ok, i spent a lot of time on violin i honestly did, i practice maybe an hour and half a day, and have done so for the past 10 years... but, i don't want to send in a recording that's not spectacular, and have it construe it as arrogance, in addition i don't want to audition prior to applying and have that lower my chances... perhaps half of this stems from insecurity of how good i am, but i'm really on the fence here, i hear that submitting it can only be a plus, but i'm afraid it turns out to bite me in the ass.</p>

<p>my essay is on music, as are a lot of my activities, would it be frowned upon if i didn't submit this part?</p>

<p><em>also</em> if i chose to do this, how did you guys do recordings, cuz i've tried before and through computer it sounds really low quality</p>

2

<p>I've also been playing an instrument since I was seven (ten years). I go to private lessons all the time (once a week) but I didn't send in a recording because while I loooooooooooooooooooooove playing and I'm quite good, I'm not a concert player or anything like that. I read in a guidebook that the optional supplements are not for 'weekend pianists' or anyone like that. Which I'm afraid I might fall into. ;)
What piece are you playing right now, out of curiosity?</p>

3

<p>mendelssohn violin concerto, and the butterfly lover's concerto... along with some random kreutzer etudes...</p>

<p>and you?</p>

4

<p>I'm in the same boat as filmxoxo! Actually, the exact same boat (10 years, "weekend pianist", didn't send in because I thought others would be too spectacular)...</p>

<p>I'm sure they won't frown upon it if your essays are about music, but you don't send in a supplement. You could just send in a supplementary rec letter by your teacher...? That's what I did. Not as good, definitely, but still something.</p>

5

<p>ooh good idea... i wouldn't say i'm a weekend violinist... although i'm not even sure what that means, but i'm by no means a prodigy</p>

6

<p>Right now I'm playing Bach's Bourree, Handel's Sonata in E Major and Stravinsky's Danse Infernale from the Firebird Suite.
By "weekend pianist/violinist" I mean that your instrument is important to you, but not your life -- you aren't the first violin of a big orchestra, etc. That's my case.</p>

7

<p>eh... 3rd chair of my symphony, but who's counting!</p>

<p>the firebird suite is sweet... er... i just like the harmonic glisses for the violin accompaniment, but that is damn hard</p>

8

<p>if i were you i'd submit cujoe</p>

9

<p>check if your school has recording equipment and try to persuade your director to let you borrow it for a weekend</p>

10

<p>A CD recorder with a mic input works best if you have one.
A cassette deck with the mic input will work as well.
You can rent these things for a few days from sound equipment rental places.</p>

11

<p>k... thanks for the advice, i'll try to see if my teacher has recording crap...</p>

12

<p>Joe,</p>

<p>Definitely send in a CD, doesn't have to be studio quality. I ripped the audio tracks from my camcorder, and burnt the tracks with iTunes and Apple Lossless. I had a pretty nice CD, and I sent that to the music department.</p>

<p>More importantly, SET UP AN AUDITION. I can't tell you how important I think this is. I thought, like you, that an audition might hurt my chances. It won't. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The worst that can happen, the director of undergraduate music programs told me, is that the department will send no recommendation to admissions. Basically, if you play well, they'll send an evaluation to admissions. If you don't play well, they won't send anything. You have absolutely nothing to lose by auditioning, so, if it's not too late, call and set up an audition.</p>

13

<p>they said 2 weeks prior to app deadline so i have another 3 weeks to mull over what to do</p>

14

<p>A supplement and an audition can only help; they can never hurt you. If you make a recording, definitely look into the possibility of using your school district’s facilities or even consider a studio if you could afford to pay for the time. You should be aware that Princeton gets a lot of applications from accomplished violinists each year, some of whom are graduates of pre-college conservatory programs, such as the one at Juilliard. Even though it's definitlely worth a try, especially since you wouldn't have to travel far for the audition, unless you play at least at the “All-State” level and probably above that such as being a medalist in a regional or national competition, I think it is some what of a reach to expect that the music Department will recommend you for admission. Still, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so why not go for it.</p>

15

<p>i've actually never tried out for the all state/region thing since i missed the cut in 7th grade, i was afraid i'd be rejected again and again... but thinking back i might've done ok since i missed by 3 pts overall in the 7-9th grade bracket... yea that wasn't smart</p>