<p>Tom, I forgot to add.....I was in the class of '79 in college too!</p>
<p>NMR...you are just a mere "babe." :p</p>
<p>um. I hate to butt in, but on the piano subject... I don't have time and/or can't afford piano lessons. Would a book such as "Piano for Dummies" be at all beneficial to teaching myself how to play? I already know how to read music, and can find middle C... I just need to learn how to play without pausing after every note to figure out where to go next. ;)</p>
<p>Thank you soozievt and NMR!</p>
<p>Although it is nowhere near 15 out of 18, I have heard mention of a couple of people my D knows at school having a hard time with music theory. One of the girls who matriculated with my D dropped out of school after about 6 weeks because she was flunking theory. There was some strategy mentioned about dropping out before accumulating any credits so she could start over somewhere else as a freshman instead of a transfer the next year. My D has also casually mentioned a 5+ year student who had not graduated because she couldn't pass music theory but was still trying.</p>
<p>Generally speaking (not specific to ANY particular college), it could be that a BFA program which accepts students mostly based on their audition and with a low academic standard for admission, may run into students who cannot handle the more academic coursework (classes that are not singing, dancing, or acting). I have heard of kids in some programs who are very talented but not very good "students" who may struggle doing the college courses that are not the training classes. There are some BFA/BM programs that accept students with a pretty low level of academic admissions requirements or stats. Such students may indeed struggle with the college coursework if they don't have the work ethic or ability to do the studies. That is why I think academic qualifications are taken into account with regard to admissionss at some programs because they are looking for students who can succeed in the entire courseload, not just the training and are students with a proven track record of doing well at school. I think excellent students DO attend some BFA/BM colleges with a low academic bar for admissions, BUT students with a lower academic profile can ALSO get into some of those colleges, whereas they cannot be admitted to colleges that have a higher academic "bar" for admissions. Colleges that offer BFA or BM degrees in MT vary greatly in terms of the academic selectivity for admissions. This is actually something to consider when applying as well and in deciding where to matriculate.</p>
<p>chellybelly42 -- I do not know if there is a book called "Piano for Dummies" but there are some very good piano books that are organized in greater and greater levels of difficulty... there are also some software programs that will help. I know nothing about the quality, but I believe that there is a series under the name "Alfred" that also has CD-rom interface.</p>
<p>If you can read music, and can find middle c, you should be able to figure out how to read what you are seeing on the page and translate that to playing the notes on the piano. This may not turn you into a concert pianist, but help you develop some of the skills to become a "functional pianist".</p>
<p>The only way to be able to play without having to pause between each note is to practice alot. The more you practice the easier it will be for your brain to translate what you see on the music page into a direction telling your hands what to do on the piano keys.</p>
<p>Also, know that a lot of accompanisits who have to sight-read piano parts with singers during rehearsal are very good at 'faking'--knowing what parts they can leave out. That's also a skill that comes with expereince of course.</p>
<p>Thank you, thank you, thank you for re-iterating this importance. I can't tell you how many times in NYC I was given music for callbacks that had to be sight read right then and there! I emphasize this with my students in the Ball State MT program; in fact, after the year of theory, piano and sight singing students are still required to play piano examples at each semester's voice jury as well as sight sing. The faculty that I know in many different universities' programs will take the time to help any student that asks for it, so I encourage everyone out there to go to them or your teaching assistants and just ask. We all want you to succeed and to understand this wonderful language of music! Most schools also have tutoring programs in which they
pay theory and piano student experts to assist you...and it is free to those in school. "Piano Lab" by Lindeman, "Sightsinging" by Campbell and "Music Fundamentals" by Puopuolo are good refresher books. In addition, check out
<a href="http://www.musictheory.net%5B/url%5D">www.musictheory.net</a>. This is a great online trainer site that is free. No matter what, this is a skill that has to be refreshed all of the time.</p>