Pre-college music experiences

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>Now that I have gotten over my embarrassment at misinterpreting what kind of public school was meant in another thread, I find that I really am interested in what people's pre-college experience has been. I spent a good bit of time advocating the public school music programs when my children were younger. Budget cuts and re-allocating resources often meant that music programs were cut or downsized or devalued.</p>

<p>But most people reading this thread are pursuing musical careers, or parents of those who are. I am curious how you got here. Was your introduction to music via family or school? Is your family musical? What role did your school play? Did you find yourself supported at school, or bucking the trend? Did you pursue music heavily within the school system, or primarily on your own? Did your school pay more attention to one kind of music over another -- marching band vs. choral, for example? Orchestra, or jazz band? What was your defining moment as a musician, that made you decide to pursue this? (Or are you still waiting for it?)</p>

<p>I am expecting there are many different paths, but am wondering if there are "trends" for those who become serious enough to bring them to the music thread on CC.</p>

2

<p>The earliest experience my kids had with music (besides toddler music-making!) was attending orchestral programs for children given by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. As they got older, we subscribed and attended as a family (still do). We also exposed them to jazz, park concerts, ballet, etc, whenever possible.</p>

<p>BTW, I studied music when I was young and was decent, but quit in high school in favor of visual arts. My husband never really took to music lessons and cannot read music, but plays guitar intuitively.</p>

<p>My kids attend a large public school that happens to have a pretty nice music department, including band, chorus, orchestra and music technology, as well as theater and smaller ensembles. There were many, many music festivals! However, I think the credit mostly goes to a wonderful private teacher. He nurtured my kids and was all a parent could ask for. </p>

<p>My son, a college student, picked up an old clarinet one day in third grade and in a matter of days could intuitively play the national anthem. He declared his intention to be a classical musician in 4th grade. My daughter plays also, but is more often seen singing and dancing around our house. </p>

<p>Son is not studying music as a college major, but still studies performance and theory privately. Whether he ever works as a musician or not, I know music will always be an important part of his life.</p>

<p>Now you probably know WAY more than you wanted to about my family and music! :)</p>

3

<p>Thanks, lkf, that's exactly the kind of response I'm hoping to get. </p>

<p>Your kids benefitted from early exposure to music at home, as well as a strong school program, and valuable private teachers. That's similar to our situation.</p>

<p>Is two enough for statistical significance? :)</p>

4

<p>We've always had lots of music playing in the house and took D to concerts/operas etc. since she was young. Husband loves jazz and used to play sax, I love classical and used to poorly play the violin and still play the piano. D loves all kinds of music and plans to be a performance major.</p>

<p>School has had minimal influence on D's interest in music. She played in middle school band for a couple of years and hated it, so she's found opportunities on her own-youth/community orchestras, chamber music, pit orchestra, etc.</p>

<p>Defining moment for her was when she felt that she couldn't imagine herself doing anything else.</p>

5

<p>Hi binx! Thanks for the fun topic. My son apparently inherited his musical talent on a recessive gene. Had we been astute enough to recognize the significance of his first words being lyrics to a popular song he heard on the radio, we might have encouraged music earlier. But as it was, his talent was recognized by an elementary school music teacher when she taught the kids to play the recorder in 4th grade and he quickly rose to the top of the class. Around the same time, his uncle gave him an old cornet and flute from his attic. Within a few weeks he had taught himself to play both instruments and was begging for private trumpet lessons.</p>

<p>We live in a small city with a school system that surprisingly allocates considerable resources to fine arts and has a well-respected music program. The emphasis is on marching band and wind ensemble, but orchestra is a weak area, probably due to a shortage of advanced strings teachers in the region. Our city also has the only youth orchestra within a 100 mile radius, but it too is limited by the same weakness in strings instruction.</p>

<p>The defining moment for him and for us occurred when he submitted a recorded audition (he made the recording in his bedroom with Smart Music accompaniment) and was selected as a semifinalist in the middle school division of the National Trumpet Competition. When we attended the competition and saw the quality of musicianship at the high school and college levels and the excitement that it generated in him, we immediatley realized that he would need our support to broaden his resources beyond the school and local community in order to develop his talent to the next level. And so began the endless hours of driving to lessons, rehearsals, concerts, competitions and summer programs in other cities and other states. He has just completed 7 college auditions in the last 7 weeks, and we are "waiting to exhale" on April 1, so everyone can take another deep breath and move on to the next step, whatever that may be!</p>

6

<p>Binx, don't be embarrassed. I was about to follow your lead in that same thread until someone else asked whether the OP was asking about high schools or colleges. To answer your question:</p>

<p>We are very much a musical family. Mom and dad are both part-time pros with non-musical day jobs. Mom teaches flute at a local college. Dad gets minor roles with area opera companies and theater groups. Both parents perform in several ensembles. The largest room in our house is a studio that is used for rehearsals, lessons, practice and hosted the occasional informal recital when the kids were taking lessons.</p>

<p>Both children attended Kindermusik classes at an early age (Note from teacher: "In my fifteen years of teaching at all levels, your four-year-old son is the first who has ever cited the krumhorn when asked for an example of a woodwind instrument.") Both of them went to concerts with us (Two-and-a-half--year-old daughter to a fussing six-month old sitting near her: "SSShhh! Baby! Quiet! Concert.")</p>

<p>Daughter showed early interest in music and started private piano lessons at 6, violin at 10 and voice at 13. She was good, but did not seem like conservatory material at the time. Eighth grade string teachers asked for a volunteer from among the violinists to switch to bass. Guess who raised her hand first.</p>

<p>In high school she played and sang in the scool orchestra, select strings, jazz ensemble, pit band, concert choir, touring choir, women's choir, area orchestra, regional band (yes, they take a string bass) and orchestra, all-state band and orchestra, all-eastern orchestra and a few others I am probably forgetting. She also sang with a community chorus and played with a youth symphony outside of school. By junior year she was playing the occasional paying gig at churches and in pit bands for musicals at other high schools. Add in a full academic load and I have no idea when she slept.</p>

<p>The high school orchestra director was extremely supportive, as was one of the choir directors. There was a bit of friction with the jazz ensemble director over missing a mandatory rehearsal so could play at Carnegie Hall with her youth symphony. Amid threats of kicking her out of the jazz group, the orchestra director (an excellent violinist who also played a bit of bass) stepped in, subbed for her at the rehearsal and probably got the other teacher to see reason.</p>

<p>Things got really serious the summer before junior year when she attended four separate music camps and started lessons with the principal bass of the Philadelphia orchestra. He did not have time to continue teaching her once school started up, but he did send her to his best student at Curtis, with whom she studied for two years. The following summer, she was accepted for the BUTI Tanglewood Festival. I think that summer in the BUTI orchestra was the defining moment when she knew that she had to be a performance major.</p>

7

<p>Great topic! D told me at age 5, out of the blue one day, that she wanted to learn how to play the violin. I thought it was one of those one-day enthusiasms -- you know, be a ballerina, an astronaut, a karate kid...but she kept badgering and I started researching. Found a little music store that rented instruments and gave lessons. After lesson two, her teacher (a young music ed grad student) offered to give her 45 minute lessons privately for what I was paying for half-hr at the store. She liked him, he worked well with her and we did that for a year or so until he said she needed a "real" violin teacher (his primary instrument was double bass; his lasting teaching legacy to her has been an amazing rhythmic sense). He sent us to a wonderful teacher who was great until she moved away a year later. SHE sent us to D's current teacher, who she's been with for 8 years. Interestingly teacher has been encouraging D to spread her wings and move to a new teacher for her last two years of high school (they have been discussing this process and potential candidates...)</p>

<p>She's been involved in our community's youth ochestra organization since age 11, first with the beginning string ensemble, then the first level full orchestra, and now the top level youth ochestra. </p>

<p>So for our family, it was private and self-directed; my daughter's school is very small and has not had a strong music program. D has been one of the strongest musicians in her school.</p>

<p>I studied piano for 12 years, quit when I went to college, never had the natural talent/aptitude my D has. H had no musical training growing up, can't read music. His great-aunt was an opera singer, my grandmother played the piano. But all that's several generations and more than half-a-century in the past! </p>

<p>Now as a sophomore she's starting to think about how she wants to proceed with college and music, and I know it's going to be a very interesting adventure!
Mommab -- fingers crossed for your son. Keep us posted!</p>

8

<p>Both my S's are extremely musical, youngest found MT first year of high school he was in chorus/ensamble in Les Mis, he started voice lessons at that time. Sophmore year he was offered the roll of voice of Audrey II in Little Shop, quit the football team, that was that, now he's going to OCU next fall for MT. When he was very little I noticed that he liked to sing and picked up the lyrics and tunes to songs he heard quite easily, he could also always pick out any song on the piano, but I had no idea it would become such a passion with him. He's been in chorus at school since mid elementary grades and has continued through HS, been in regional and state choir. When he was younger he tried the viola and trumpet, but it was quickly seen that playing an instrument was not his thing.</p>

<p>My older S didn't show any interest in music when he was little, wouldn't sing along to music at home, etc. When he was in 4th grade he wanted to play an instrument and chose the viola, he did well teachers always said he had promise, he quit after his freshman year, because it wasn't "cool". In the meantime, when he was in the 5th grade he put all of his toys away (freaked me out) requested a guitar for Christmas, now he plays just about anything with strings and the keybord, is currently learning drums and clairinet. While he has taken some music classes in college he is largely self taught, has had one "split" CD released, been on one released compilation with limited distribution in the northwest and has 2 or 3 more CD's being released this spring. He has played in "traditional" rock bands, but has always composed his own music, the stuff thats being released now is mostly singer/songwriter stuff with the occasional guest musican. He is currently working on more complex pieces with movements and plans on bringing in more musicians to create sort of an orchestra. It will be interesting to see where this will go, I think he's in a real experimental phase so I don't know if it will have much commercial value, but he does all of this to satisfy something within himself, not to be rich or famous.</p>

<p>As far as my husband and myself, we got nothin', you could bring us the biggest buckets you could find and we still could not carry tunes. While we enjoy music and have it around alot, we are deffinately not musicians. We've just tried to support our boys however we could.</p>

9

<p>Son's elementary teacher put an oboe in his hands at 7. He needed an oboist. Said he knew he would do well. This guy did things his way. He set up an orchestra for the school and at one point 75% of our school kids were in music. He was like the Pied Piper. He brought in state musicians to play the instruments the orchestra lacked, parents whatever. Music lessons were then and are now after school and taught in the building by very talented musicians for all orchestral instruments. We should have changed our name to the international Music School. The sport coaches were up in arms! It's about a 50-50 split now.Well, that's how it started. The students who made it to middle school could try out for the state youth orchestra and all lessons from that point on were paid by the government. Yipppeeeee! In fact, the kids were paid a salary to play when they practiced all day Saturday and on concert tour abroad. My son's first pay check came from the government. Now it wasn't much...pennies, but gee, I thought it was so cool. What a way to motivate young people.</p>

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<p>This is fun. Bassdad, I laughed out loud about the krumhorn! One thing I'm noticing in a lot of the posts is lots of drive on the part of our kids. ("Passion" is the prefered term, I guess, but drive seems more active, somehow. Or maybe I'm just identifying with Mommab about our hours in the car.) Anyway, I'm amazed at the accomplishments mentioned. I think it's been well established that child prodigies didn't necessarily grow up in musical families, but almost always in families that love music. (I tried to Google it, but can't find the article I read.) </p>

<p>In lots of your stories, I find myself saying, "Yeah, us too." All three of my kids are musical and accomplished (and we have a strong family history for music, too), but only one child is obsessed with it. He was the one who talked the latest -- but started making up tunes without words before he could talk. It has always been his preferred method of communication. </p>

<p>He flew through his early piano lessons. Entered a song he wrote in a competition in third grade, and it was disqualified because they said a child with only one year of lessons couldn't possibly have written it. By 5th grade, he had decided that he was going to pursue music lifelong. He also announced that he wanted to play horn when he got to middle school -- over my objections, I'm sorry to say! (I felt like we were paying for enough music lessons.) His middle school band teacher felt he was a natural, and overruled me by providing an instrument free.</p>

<p>Somebody started a thread about luck vs. talent, and I don't know where the line is. But he has been fortunate enough to have people in his path to encourage him and teach him and get excited by him, both private and school teachers. My mom used to say, "You like what you're good at" and I think that's really true in his case. </p>

<p>Overseas, I love the idea of paying the kids! One of those little strokes that helps kids get excited. Mommab - sending good wishes your way for positive audition results.</p>

11

<p>Fun question!</p>

<p>Both my children are very, very musical, but the son is the one with God-given ability and talent. We have always listened to all types of music, and even as a toddler, he woulnd't go to sleep without classical music playing in the background.</p>

<p>At five, he began to fiddle around on the piano, but I couldn't find a decent classically trained piano teacher who would take him, due to his small hands. He finally started at a local music school age 7, and quickly advanced so that he was playing Clementi and Cesar Francke at the end of his very first academic year of lessons.</p>

<p>Although piano was (and still is) his principal instrument, he expressed a strong interest in percussion, which he began in grade five. He started playing in band, which continued, along with orchestra, through middle school. In high school, he hasn't let a single potential musical opportunity pass him by; music is so deep a passion I sometimes think he doesn't really care as much about anything else. The kid lives and breathes music.</p>

<p>My daughter is very artistic, and didn't show early natural musical proclivity like her brother. However, she began the cello last year, and has also advanced very, very quickly.</p>

<p>Both children have had private teachers in each of their instruments, and we are in a musically rich area with top notch teachers. We have been very, very lucky.</p>

<p>I consider their love of music a great gift, and one I couldn't possibly be happier to nurture.</p>

12

<p>DS was able to sing the song BINGO (you know that one...there was a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name o) in perfect pitch when he was 18 months old. We thought we were hearing things. He heard a fabulous Children's Choir sing at his elementary school when he was in 2nd grade and announced that he wanted to audition. I conveniently "lost" the audition notice. I was NOT ready to cart an 8 year old to two rehearsals a week a substantial distance from home. The following year..yes one year later....he gave me the audition notice again...and said "either you make the call or I'm going to". He auditioned and was accepted into what was a wonderful 5 year program. DD did the same choir for 7 years. The director is a Grammy award winning keyboard player and composer. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for both kids. Next...their school music programs were outstanding. In fact, we bought property and built our house her because of the music program reputation. We were not disappointed. The elementary instrumental teacher was a mentor to DS and actually sold him his first professional instrument. His other teachers were terrific too...all the way through school (dd has the same teachers). We also live near the Hartt School and both kids participated in their precollege orchestra, and wind ensemble, and in the case of DS, the chamber music groups. DS also studied his instrument with the principal player of the Hartford Symphony. Their earlier summers were spent at New England Music Camp in Sidney Maine, on the recommendation of a professional musician friend. Again...the experience was terrific. DS then followed with two summers at Tanglewood, then two at Eastern Music Festival. My husband has a terrific ear...used to be a lighting person with a ballet company and called the cues based on the MUSIC (not the dancing). I was a vocal music major who defected in the better interest of earning a living. Plus, I just didn't (and don't) have the performance drive you need to succeed as a professional musician. We both continue to participate in community theater, and I in other singing venues. The kids were surrounded by music always. In fact, I had lead roles in musicals when pregnant with both. As newborns they came to rehearsals. The greatest joy <em>I</em> had was getting to sing with them for two years...I was a member of the adult choir that sang with the kids for two years. Truthfully, my kids have much more talent than I or my husband have...but they have also both had opportunities neither of us had (private music lessons, for example). It sounds like we parents could get together and do some kind of performance. Binx could play the piano, I'll sing...what about that krumhorn Bassdad?? Could it be in the show?? And I'll volunteer my husband to do the lights and sound!!</p>

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<p>I can be the chauffeur and drive everyone to the rehearsals :)</p>

14

<p>Someone switched babies on me at the birth of my daughter! (only kidding) Her musical talent is REALLY a recessive gene. I was a decent clarinetist, but neither my husband or I can carry a tune. D started singing in school performances in preschool. She started formal voice lessons as a high school sophomore. With her artistic temperament, the teenage years were quite emotional. She attended Interlochen Arts Academy for her last two years of high school, in order to be around similarly gifted young artists. Interlochen is simply the most amazing place on earth. She thrived and was an ARTS finalist senior year. She is now a junior vocal performance major at Rice and very happy with her college choice.</p>

15

<p>My musical experience is somewhat unusual in that it took a number of twists to get me to where I am now (studying commercial music/vocal performance and counseling psychology). My parents are both in the medical field. Although they have always sung on worship teams and the like as well as having been in band and choir when they were growing up, neither has ever been a professional musician or performer of any kind. My extended family has had a couple of music educators in it, but on the whole is more of an intelligentsia type of family.
Basically, I started out as an actor. I loved drama from a very young age and was in plays and so forth since about age 4 or 5. (I also did choir and band from 4th grade on.) When I was in junior high, we decided to try putting me in a position from which I could truly grow as an actor, so we started looking for acting schools. The best one we could find nearby was an acting dept at a local conservatory, so I enrolled there. During my first class, my acting teacher recommended me for an opera they were doing and from there I ended up enrolling as a voice primary with theater and piano as secondary studies. I ended up assistant directing my high school choir, going to all state, joining a touring regional high school ensemble, etc.
So yes, strong musical education helped me get here, but it was also simply a teacher in my life pushing me to do a show and then getting the training necessary.
Hope that helps!</p>

16

<p>My H and I are tone deaf but all three of our kids have been active in our public high school's very good music program. I definitely must credit the school's program -- even beginning with elementary school --with introducing my kids to music. We are one of the top high school bands in the state. My eldest two sons do not perform now but are involved with music professionally. Son #1 loved the school music program and wasn't that talented but adored the band director at the time who was a very positive influence on him; this son continued playing in college and now is involved with college radio, music software and Napster like stuff. Son #2 has a great sense of rhythm and loved the school music program for awhile but grew frustrated with its regimentation and dropped out as a senior; in college he is a film major with specialization in sound and hopes to work in the sound field either in LA or NYC. Son #3 tolerates the high school music program but has soared and particpated in honors bands, state bands, Governor's school.
This all happened after 8th grade; he was a star athlete but tore his ACL, reduced his involvement in sports, and committed more time to music once in high school. He probably will not major in music at college but hopes to take private lessons and particpate in school/city ensembles.</p>

17

<p>Fun topic! Hubby and I both sang in our college choir. I was played flute through high school, but no great shakes. I also enjoyed playing guitar - campfire stuff, folk songs, church folk group - you get the picture. Neither of us have been formally involved in music since college, but we alway sang to the kids and they all sang along. Oldest, who is our musician, had a lovely voice as a youngster. The school music teacher encouraged him to audition for boy choir every year, but he would have none of it. We would have started him on piano at 6 or 7 but for one problem - he was born missing most of his right hand. Piano, woodwinds, percussion were not possible. I figured the perfect instrument for him would be horn. In our district they start strings in 4th grade and all other instruments in 6th. He came home at the beginning of 4th grade saying he was going to play the cello. Hubby and I couldn't figure out how in the heck he would hold the bow, but didn't say anything. We privately agreed to let him quit when he got too frustrated. </p>

<p>When semester report cards came out the strings teacher included a note that son was very talented and could he work with him after school. Son stayed 2 afternoons a week. Towards the end of the school year he came home and told me he HAD to have private lessons. He said his school teacher wouldn't be able to work with him over the summer and son could not imagine all that time without lessons. </p>

<p>He joined youth orchestra in 6th grade, but didn't like the conductor of the lower orchestra and quite in January. (She wasn't very good to be honest.) He went back to youth orchestra in 8th grade but only because he was able to audition up a level. In school, he was always way ahead of his classmates but the teacher worked with him as much as possible and he had his first solo opportunity in 7th grade, with many more to follow. </p>

<p>High school strings well below his level but helped him to develop leadership and teaching skills. He got to play 2 concertos with his high school orchestra. Through youth orchestra he got involved in an excellent string quartet with boys from 2 other high schools. They ended up going to national competition twice. He knew by the end of 8th grade that he was going to be a musician. "When I grow up I am going to play in the Chicago symphony!" </p>

<p>The school helped mostly by staying out of our way. His senior year he only went half days 1st semester while he prepped for auditions. If there was a master class at the university he wanted to attend he did with no problems. Occassionly he had to miss school for competitions or to work with his accompanist. Again, never any questions or hassles. </p>

<p>So for him, it was a combination of school, youth orchestra and us all working in concert (pun intented). Youngest son is also very musical but will not major in it. He plays viola, piano and composes. Middle son is tone deaf and ended up playing percussion, but never seriously.</p>

18

<p>Shennie, amazing story about your S, how talent and drive can overcome many things. I think its facinating how kids so very young can be drawn to such complicated things like playing an instrument, somehow they just "know"</p>

19

<p>shennie
What an inspiring story about your son! You must be so proud of him. Isn't it wonderful how things can unfold when we let them happen, trust our kids' judgement and (sometimes) stay out of their way?</p>

20

<p>Great topic! H has no musical background at all. I played clarinet pretty well as an elementary/junior high student, but quit in a panic upon entering high school after bombing my audition ( apparently my junior high band teacher talked me up a bit too much). The HS band teacher glared at me (or so I thought) for four years for not playing in his band; 30 years later, this same man, long since retired from teaching high school, is a mentor to musical S.
Small world.</p>

<p>S started saxophone lessons in fourth grade--he enjoyed it, was pretty good at it, but nothing special. He studied piano privately at the same time, and frankly, just tolerated it. After about three years, he declared he had had enough of piano. But he continued to progress on the saxophone, so we got him private lessons and had him audition for a program that is like a conservatory pre-college program, but independent. When he was in 8th grade, he heard one of his conservatory instructors perform an Ellington piece and that began his love affair with jazz. However, his private teacher was a classical saxophonist. By time to enter high school, frustrated, he declared he was quitting music in favor of football.</p>

<p>We struck a deal-- he quit the private lessons, but remained in the conservatory. He played frosh-soph football but took jazz improvisation classes at a different music school. He played in the concert and jazz bands at his high school, and was extremely fortunate that although the band program was on the decline, because of its history of excellence, it is one of a small number of schools in our city that is affiliated with the phenomenal Ravinia Festival Jazz Performance Program, and that is where he met my old high school band teacher, who now directs the program. Participation in that program led to other performing opportunities not affiliated with the school. Beginning in earnest in his sophomore year in high school (by which time it was painfully clear that he was NOT a football player), he just took off like a shot and made amazing progress. Oh, and he plays piano more now than he ever did when he was in lessons!</p>

<p>He is now applying to college and planning to major in jazz performance. We leave tomorrow for his last audition. It has been quite a thrilling ride. But I have called many relatives on both sides of my family to ask where the talent came from!</p>