<p>I am so upset with myself. I didn't know that I wanted to do music, and started attending a community college. As my interests developed, I realized that I could actually do this for the rest of my life. I was a little late in deciding this, November 2010, and quickly recorded prescreens and sent them to Bienen School of Music and Jacobs School of Music. I sent an application to Boston Conservatory, but I do not have the funds to fly there to audition, and am sending in a recorded audition.</p>
<p>I did not pass the prescreens for Northwestern and Indiana (unsurprisingly - looking back at my prescreens, I am embarassed that I even sent them! Nerves and time were not my friends), and I feel that because I am sending a recorded audition to Boston, that my chances are taking a huge blow there too. I don't know what to do for next semester - I have been accepted into a school that is sub-par, but I don't really want to go there. It seems I may have to though.</p>
<p>I guess I just need a few words of advice. I never had experience doing things like this, simply because my family just didn't have the money to allow me to. I want to succeed, which I know takes a lot of hard work that I am willing to give, I just don't know where to go from here.</p>
<p>It’s never to late to follow your passion. What is your instrument and what is your experience? There are plenty of experts here that can give you guidance.</p>
<p>I am a vocal performance major. I have been singing since I was little, and all throughout highschool, also doing plays and musicals. I’m from a very small town, and I’m like a local star - and I thought that my talent couldn’t cut it past this little town. But my new voice teacher this year attended Northwester as an undergrad and the University of Washington as a grad student, and with his advice and guidance, he said that I really have the talent to get into a good school if I work hard. I know I’m not that experienced, but I know I can do this. I just don’t know where to start.</p>
<p>It takes a long time to develop the voice. It is definitely not too late. Keep working on your technique and learning the ins and outs of music. Do searches on this forum and learn all you can about what you need to do with regards to vocal training, audition song selection, how to record it properly… There are also a couple of classical voice forums where you can get a lot of info in preparation, schools & teachers. Learn all you can then if you decide to apply to other schools again you will be far more prepared as to what is expected.
Good Luck!</p>
<p>What state are you in? You mentioned that finances are an issue. There are plenty of state universities, besides IU, that have good solid voice programs and they might be more appropriate for an undergrad that needs more experience.</p>
<p>Because the voice matures so late and because vocal performance is an art that encompasses many more elements than instrumental performance, you are in a far better position as a vocalist than you would be as a pianist or violinist. A vocalist uses all the musical elements that an instrumentalist does (tone colour, dynamics, rhythm, tempo etc.), but also uses language (so you should do some 2nd and 3rd language study), uses dramatic arts (so it can be useful to study drama), uses text (so the study of poetry/literature is valuable), and has much more of a visual element than instrumental music usually does. Thus vocalists tend to require a much more well-rounded liberal arts education than instrumentalists do. As well, many instrumentalists have to practice for 4 to 6 hours a day to be competitive and thus find it very difficult to take a full slate of non-music classes; because no vocalist should sing 4 to 6 hours daily, you won’t be as far behind your vocal peers as you would be behind instrumental peers. </p>
<p>In other words, it is far less detrimental to a vocalist to spend part or all of their undergrad in a liberal arts environment rather than a conservatory. Of course, you want the best voice teacher you can find regardless of what environment you are in. While a few top instrumentalists have come from outside the music school route, many top vocalists seem to come from outside the music school route. </p>
<p>If for this fall, you can’t get into a music school that will help you develop your potential, then it will not be a major setback to audition again in a year. Just be certain that you have a good voice teacher for the extra year. You should consider attending a good summer program in order to get an extra leg up on your prescreen and audition repertoire. If finances are a major issue, then staying at home in a low-tuition community college is not a bad idea. Try to take courses that are likely to transfer into you music program or at least prepare you for it. If your community college doesn’t offer those sorts of courses, then you may want to work to save up for school (NW and Indiana are still expensive even for most of those with scholarships).</p>