Realistic College List for Music Composition?

College Majors Music Major
1

<p>I'm going to be a HS senior this year, and for college I'm thinking about majoring in Music Composition. The problem is, I have pretty much no idea how to pick a college. (I know...It's pretty late to be picking out colleges...)</p>

<p>The main problem I'm having is that I can't really tell what "level" the colleges are at, and whether I have a chance at getting into the school. I've been looking around online at a bunch of different colleges in the Northeast (Berklee, NEC, Boston Conservatory, NYU Steinhardt, BU, ect.) but I can't really tell which schools are "reaches", and which ones are "safeties". </p>

<p>I don't know of anyone at my school who composes music, so I'm not really sure of what "level" I'm at either. Being in the band at my school, most of my compositions are for a Concert Band instrumentation and I have been writing them for several years now. (unfortunately, due to my lack of knowledge in instrument ranges, most of my earlier pieces are probably unplayable) I have had no lessons in composition, and I took a music theory class at school last year...so I'm pretty much self-taught.</p>

<p>Basically, what I'm asking for is someone who would be willing to take a look at some of my compositions (I can send you a link to my youtube acct. in a PM), and then maybe provide some information on where I stand compared to other people who are applying to be composition majors.</p>

<p>Any help/advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.</p>

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<p>It seems to me if at this point in your life you’re only thinking about majoring in music composition and don’t know for sure it’s the only thing you could possibly imagine doing that you would be wise to choose a college program that will give you lots of latitude to grow in whichever direction that may be. You can get the basic training you need in composition as a music major at many, if not most, undergraduate programs - either in a BA program, or, a BM. There are also a number of colleges, even offering BM’s (Bachelor of Music degrees) that do not formally accept you into the program until Junior year at which time you will have much more experience with composition and will know for sure that is what you want.</p>

<p>At this point I think you could look at your choices for other reasons first - size, location, financial options, academics - then, after narrowing down your search, research the music department. Do you want a music only school, a conservatory - or do you want to take other classes? What are your grades/scores like? Are you in the running academically for the schools on your list apart from your composition talents?</p>

<p>You mention Berklee - do you want to write popular contemporary music or are you more interested in a classical tradition?</p>

<p>As for your experience - there are many composition students who have only recently begun to compose. You won’t be alone. On the other hand, there will be a group of applicants with way more experience than you - years of private lessons, performances, commissions, awards etc.</p>

<p>One way to guess whether a school will be a hard admit or not is to find out how large the composition studio is - if they enroll 15 students per year (meaning they probably accept 30 or more) you’ll have a better chance than if they only are looking for 1-2.</p>

<p>But, again, I urge you to consider a more generalized undergraduate experience until you know for sure that composition is your path.</p>

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<p>It would probably be helpful for you to have a composition teacher this year, who can help you develop, help you get a portfolio together, and help you figure out which schools are appropriate for you to apply to. If you are near a conservatory prep program, or a college, you could probably find a teacher there. You can see the teacher every month, if money is an issue…and write music in the intervening weeks.</p>

<p>You have mentioned only conservatories, and some of those you mention are very hard to get into as a composer. I am not saying too hard, for you, because I don’t know your music or you! But just so you know…Also, as SpiritManager said, Berklee has a different focus than, say, NEC, though we do know one composer who writes more “contemporary classical” who went to Berklee.</p>

<p>To apply for composition at a conservatory, you will need to send 3-5 CD’s and scores, by Dec. 1, and many schools prefer that at least some of them be performed by real musicians (as opposed to MIDI). Do you have recordings of the band concerts? Most conservatories do have “auditions” for composers in late Feb., which are usually an interview, maybe a theory (placement) exam, and in one case we know, an overnight composition exercise that you then defend before a panel.</p>

<p>Some BM Programs at colleges or conservatories require that the composer also audition on an instrument, others don’t.</p>

<p>You would want to know who teachers are, because teachers are very important in this kind of choice of school.</p>

<p>SpiritManager makes some good suggestions if you are not ready as yet to fully commit to composition as a narrow and intense focus.</p>

<p>Many colleges have excellent music departments, and many composers do choose to go to college rather than conservatory (BA versus BM). Composition can be considered more of an academic rather than “performance” pursuit, and composers can work for decades, often improving with age. So taking the time to learn about literature, history, art etc., as well as theory, music history, world music…can be helpful.</p>

<p>For colleges, you do not have to audition, but it can be helpful to submit a supplement with a piece or two, and a score, maybe a concert program, that kind of thing. Music majors at colleges are rarely “composition” majors, though some schools do have that strand within the music major itself.</p>

<p>We bought a book entitled “Creative Colleges” online, which is a great resource for investigating schools for music, including both colleges and conservatories, by state.</p>

<p>Oberlin and Bard both have double degree programs. If you are not sure of your path, you could look into those or other schools where you could start off as a music major, but switch later on if it does not work for you.</p>

<p>State universities seem to often have BM programs too, by the way…worth looking at as well.</p>

<p>SpiritManager is absolutely right in saying that experience and years spent composing do not matter. For composers, it is similar to instrumentalist’ auditions in that conservatories really do go mainly by the music itself, in their decisions. Colleges tend to look at a bigger picture.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the advice.
I guess I should have worded that sentence a little differently…Instead of “thinking” about majoring in composition, I guess a more appropriate term would be “strongly considering”.</p>

<p>Regarding the question about Berklee- I’m more interested in writing contemporary classical music than popular music. After looking around on Berklee’s website some more, I realize that it probably wouldn’t be the right school for me. </p>

<p>And finally, regarding the advice about looking at the number of accepted students for the major- I looked on the college websites but I couldn’t find anything about the number of students accepted in a certain major…Is this something I should ask the colleges directly by emailing them?</p>

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<p>I recommend that you include at least a few colleges/universities that offer a composition major on your list. Conservatories (like NEC, Steinhardt, etc.) tend to attract the most competitive candidates – the kids who have been studying/performing music as a passion for years – and therefore these are usually the most difficult to get into. While it may be appropriate to include a few on your list as potential reach schools, you may be at a significant disadvantage being self-taught and with only one formal course in music theory. There are a wide variety of schools that offer a BA or BM in music composition, so you should be able to find several that match your level of musical expertise and academic credentials.</p>

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<p>Okay, so far my list is:
Boston Conservatory, Mannes College/New School of Music, New England Conservatory, NYU Steinhardt. </p>

<p>I know there aren’t really any “rankings” for music schools, but in your opinion which colleges do you think are the easiest/hardest to get in to on my list?</p>

<p>All of these schools seem like they’re going to be pretty hard to get in to though, so I want to have some sort of “safety” just in case none of them work out.</p>

<p>@worried_mom- Do you have any suggestions on universities with music programs? I’ve been looking around on several university websites, and some of them barely have any information on their music school…Is it safe to assume that the schools with less detailed websites generally have less “focus” on their music programs?</p>

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<p>If you search on this forum you will find thread after thread with recommendations for schools with music composition. The list is long and varied.</p>

<p>What criteria are you using to pick these schools besides location? I take it you don’t want any academics - just music?</p>

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<p>As SpiritManager suggests, a good bit of the info here is cross referenced <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063934121-post21.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063934121-post21.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>This should get you started.</p>

<p>As for which is harder to get in, you’ll get no definitive answers. NYU/Steinhardt is an academic and portfolio admit; NEC and Mannes are portfolio/audition based, as is BoCo. NEC and Mannes are tough for even those with the best credentials, BoCo will be a tad less tough, but within conservatory admissions, the strength of the applicant pool in any given year can change drastically, and few spots may be available.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the link, violadad. It’s been really helpful and has answered a lot of questions I’ve had.</p>

<p>I think what I’m going to do, is try to apply to a wide range of schools (in terms of safeties/reaches, and classical/contemporary) and then narrow my choices down after I’ve (hopefully) been accepted to some of the schools.</p>

<p>Just one question left…hahah</p>

<p>As I mentioned previously, I’ve written several band compositions, but a majority of them aren’t really playable/wouldn’t sound very good if played live because of my lack of knowledge in instrument ranges. I’ve gotten a little bit better at keeping the music within an acceptable range, but I’m sure there are still problems…should I avoid submitting these pieces? or should I go ahead and send a MIDI recording, and hope the people who listen to my pieces look over the range issues, and focus more on the ideas themselves?</p>

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<p>I really would try to find a teacher who can evaluate your pieces.</p>

<p>The schools you list are still conservatories, and selective ones at that.</p>

<p>Are you hoping to avoid a lot of academics?</p>

<p>If not, then it would seem that a college BA program might suit you very well, as those programs suit many young composers. Look at the music courses on the department sites, and also check into distribution requirements and how many music courses that curriculum leaves for you to take.</p>

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<p>They will certainly be looking for your ideas, but if you have totally disregarded the ability of an instrument to produce the sound you have called for as a composer, that is likely to be noticed. Particularly if the person looking at or listening to your composition happens to play the instrument in question. (Both inexperienced and highly experienced composers do this sometimes, the difference being that the experienced composers usually know that they are exceeding normal limits, have a reason for doing so and may even have someone in mind who can play it anyway.) </p>

<p>You might want to consult a basic text in orchestration and raise or lower some passages by an octave here and there to keep the parts playable before submitting your compositions. Either that, or remove the instrument designations from the parts and score and say that it is a piece for synthesizer.</p>

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<p>Just a note - my son, when getting advice about college, was told separately by three world famous successful composers that the best education for him as an undergraduate was not to go to a conservatory, but to go to an American style college and take as wide a range of courses as possible - perhaps not even majoring in music. They felt there was always time for specializing at the graduate level and that he would be a much better composer as a well-educated man, rather than just a learned maker of music.</p>

<p>In the end, he chose what he feels, for him, is the both of best worlds - pursuing a double degree.</p>

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<p>ComposerGuy,</p>

<p>It occurred to me that if you are not familiar with the ranges of various band instruments, that you may also not be aware that some of them are transposing instruments for which the part really should be written in a different key than for the non-transposing instruments. In particular, you need to be careful about trumpets, clarinets, saxophones and horns in this respect, as well as many less common instruments. You may wish to have a look at [Transposing</a> instrument - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transposing_instrument]Transposing”>Transposing instrument - Wikipedia) if none of this sounds familiar.</p>

<p>If you are writing for viola, trombone, bassoon, cello, double bass or euphonium, you may also want to read up on alto and tenor clefs at <a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clef[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clef&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>ComposerGuy, among others, you may want to take a look at the University of Michigan’s School of Music if you’re willing to travel outside the eastern seaboard. It is well ranked for composition and offers a WIDE range of styles (contemporary thru classical to digital shenanigans) and is a larger music school (1050 students), meaning it may have a few more composition spots than some of the smaller programs. That said, it is nonetheless a competitive admit, NEVER a safety, but they HAVE been known to occasionally admit a student who showed promise/potential but did not have a lot of private instruction or regional awards. They will, just like the conservatories, need a portfolio, repertoire, essays discussing your work and aims, recommendations and will – if shortlisted – interview you by panel. Give the profs a listen over at [UM</a> School of Music, Theatre & Dance](<a href=“http://www.music.umich.edu%5DUM”>http://www.music.umich.edu) to see if you like their styles.</p>

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<p>I would echo the advice to seriously consider looking at a music major in a university rather than (or as an alternative to) a conservatory. Another reason to do this, in addition to those mentioned above, is that you are much more likely to be able to identify one or two genuinely safe schools for you.</p>

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<p>You mention band - what instrument do you play? And have you had any piano?</p>

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<p>Do you have any suggestions for universities? (I’ve checked the other threads but most of them suggest really high-ranking schools like Harvard)
BU and UMass Amherst are not on my list because they require a full audition in an instrument. (which for me, means 4 pieces-including a full sonata-from memory…which I can’t do)</p>

<p>My GPA unweighted is probably going to end up around 3.7-3.8, so I do pretty well in my classes, but my SAT/ACT’s aren’t as high so universities like harvard/yale are out of the question.</p>

<p>For the “safeties”, I’m thinking about applying to some schools in Virginia (where I live right now), like Christopher Newport, or JMU since they both have fairly decent music programs.</p>

<p>About the problem with instrument ranges- I use Sibelius to write music, and it automatically tells me which notes are physically impossible to play on an instrument, but it doesn’t really tell me what a “comfortable” range is for the instrument. So, I guess the problem isn’t really that serious…I hope.</p>

<p>@Binx- This is my 9th year playing alto sax (without lessons), and 11th year playing piano (with lessons, but I’m nowhere near being at the level to consider piano performance)</p>

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<p>There are tons of good universities & colleges for music composition that are not at Ivy level. This is not as difficult as you fear. Look for colleges at your level and that you can afford, with everything else you’re looking for - then check the music department after. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how many choices you’ll have. (Btw. my son’s previous composition professor is now at College of Charleston and before that was at University of Virginia.)</p>

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<p>Composer Guy,
My son also wants to major in composition.
I echo the suggestions of other posters about finding a composition teacher, even though
I realize that in the case of some programs you have only about 3 months to get your portfolio together.
I found a composition teacher for my S at the end of the summer and it has made a world of difference to my son’s confidence and also helped enormously in helping him fine tune his compositions and work towards completing a portfolio that will look professional and polished.
He is going to apply to 1 or maybe 2 well-known conservatories, but also several lesser known conservatories and several good liberal arts colleges. </p>

<p>If you are passionate about music then follow your heart and dream big, but do try and include a couple of places where you have a good chance of being accepted and where you would be happy to attend.
Good Luck with your search.</p>

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<p>Just out of curiosity…what exactly does a composition teacher do? Do they focus mostly on music theory or the overall structure/flow of the pieces?</p>

<p>Unfortunately, as much as I would like to have a composition teacher, I don’t think my parents would be willing to pay for composition lessons…along with the piano lessons i’m currently taking. (I’m not really sure whether i’d have time for the lessons either…)</p>

<p>I’m going to try to talk to my band director about some of my compositions to see if he has any feedback, and I could probably talk to some of my friends in band to help fix a lot of the range issues. </p>

<p>(I have a general list of colleges now…Just waiting on the “creative colleges” book i ordered to come in the mail so i can find out more about them…)</p>