Artfulmom

My D is a sophomore at a public high school in a suburb of Chicago. She has taken piano privately for 8 years, played flute in school bands for 6 years, and sings in chorale (mainly for fun.) Although she is involved in all these musical activities, she has never been one to sit and practice for hours. She has played around with some very basic music composition - very juvenile stuff at this point. She is also an athlete (track and cross country) so she doesn't really have alot of free time to practice. She has worked her way up to first chair in the second year band at school. In previous piano competitions she has done well but when I heard other kids her age or younger playing full sonatas (to her sonantina) I felt like they were out of her league.

Even though she has done all this musical stuff, I was surprised when she mentioned an interest in majoring in music in college. She would rather spend her spare hours IM'ing or reading Harry Potter blogs than practice. On the other hand, her piano teacher (who has a PhD in Music from Northwestern) has been very encouraging about the idea of her pursuing music. She has studied with him for less than a year but since she mentioned a possible music major, he was changed the focus of her lessons a bit.

When I recently discovered this wonderful site, it made be realize how naive my D and I are about music. I don't want to discourage her and yet I don't want her to be put in a position where she is competing for spots with others who are much more passionate and willing to put time and effort into practice and audition preparation.

Sorry for rambling on. I'd appreciate any thoughts from you veterans. Thanks.

Coconino

I am a junior at a public high school in Flagstaff, Arizona. I play in band and started singing in choir last year. Basically, when I got to high school I had never sang, was mediocre at saxophone (at best) and my director decided to switch me to Euphonium. Sophomore year started choir my second semester.

This year I basically decided music is what I wanted to do and got more serious about practice and such, made All-State Choir (middle of the bass section) and totally bombed my Euphonium audition, reason I made choir was mostly because I have pretty good ears.

My teacher has told me to do some research and find some schools that I want to go to, and this is when I stumbled upon this sight, seems like quite the blessing, hope to get some questions answered as I made a jump towards going to high school.

PS: I currently use my school's instrument and my parents aren't likely going to be able to afford a 6000$ euphonium, is there a chance scholarship money could be used on a new instrument?

-very new to this

BassDad

Not many scholarships would cover the purchase of a new instrument. Most scholarships cover just a portion of tuition and, if you get a really big one, it may also cover housing expenses and meals. The ones that actually pay you a stipend above the cost of attendance are extremely rare.

Some colleges have loaner instruments, but don't count on them being the kind of professional instrument that $6000 would buy. More likely they would be an intermediate level instrument costing a third to a half of that amount.

tyaj07

My daughter will be a freshman at the University of Michigan in the fall majoring in harp performance. Any other music majors headed to U of M?

violadad

tyaj07, Welcome and congrats to your D. The thread here Master List of Music School Acceptances, Fall 2008 details acceptances by both user name and school. There are currently six CC posters with acceptances to UMich.

The sister list of final decisions is here, Master List of Final Decisions, Fall 2008 and though post #82, no one has yet committed to UMich.

I've added your D to the final list. If you want to add her other acceptances, list them by school (here or in the acceptances thread) and they'll get posted.

violadad

Coconino, welcome. If you are new to this, take time to read the threads under "Featured Discussions" at the top. Since BassDad did not toot his own horn, I'll do it for him: be sure to read his thread. You will not get a better view of the process anywhere.

Instrument purchase and acquisition is a stumbling block and a financial burden for many students. A couple of ways to address it would be to look at for sources for a high quality used instrument... community band members, professional musicians in your area (contact your Am Fed of Musicians local, they may well have a listing service of members' "for sale" instruments). Community music schools, colleges with music programs have bulletin boards and many student/faculty instruments are often posted there. Ask your current teacher... he may have ideas, contacts.

Some colleges will consider an instrument upgrade as a necessary expense, some won't. A lot will depend upon the institution, program, and their endowment, and departmental allocation. A lot will depend on your family's financial situation when you prepare the financial documents when you apply. Ask the question when you begin to visit schools. It's not the norm, but it can and does happen.

binx

Artfulmom and Cocino, welcome!

I am addressing you both, because I see some similarities in your posts - namely the somewhat late decision to pursue music. There are some wonderful threads on this board. New posters are always encouraged to start by reading Bassdad's missive. So You Want To Be Music Major - One Family's Experience

[Edit - cross-posted with violadad. See, I told you!]

First, I want to say that there is more than one path to success, so please don't feel that there is only one right way. The flip side of that is that there are multiple paths to failure, and there are no guarantees one way or another!

The number of music majors who "make it" as performers is really pretty small in comparison to the number who start out that direction. Common denominators are things like passion, dedication, practice, talent. Other things that seem to be fairly common (though not universal) are an early start, strong support network, great teachers, and a no-holds-barred approach to getting what they need to succeed. A single-mindedness, if you will. (Yes, you need an instrument, too.)

If you are thinking of a career as a full-time performer, I want you to understand that you are facing an uphill battle. A wise sage once said, if you can imagine yourself doing anything at all besides music, do that. If you are first chair at your all-state, that might possibly put you in the top 100 or so people in the country. But perhaps there is only 1 or 2 openings at Juilliard and the handful of similar conservatories this year. And when those dozen graduate, they will all be competing for a handful of orchestra openings - along with a hundred others who graduated earlier. Sobering.

There are many people who major in music who go on to do other things. Music, in my opinion, is as good as many other liberal arts degrees - where the student spends four years studying something he/she loves, then goes on to grad school for something more practical. I have a D who is probably following this path. (I have an S who is aiming higher.) I have no desire to discourage anyone from studying music who wants to. It's only 4 years of your life. There's grad school, or you can change your major, or double...

In many high schools, music is considered an EC, or an easy A in the schedule. Every years there are a handful of kids who think a music major might be an easier degree than other things out there. Or there are parents who think because their kid got an A in band, and Bs and Cs in everything else, that music is the obvious path. College music is not like HS music. Along with the in-depth theory, music history, sight-singing, etc, my D is required to practice an hour a day PER CREDIT on her instrument(s). For her, that means 3 hours a day of violin practice, and 1 hour a day of piano. Music courses are hard.

There are many colleges who offer double majors, music minors, or welcome non-majors into their music programs. These are usually not going to be conservatory-level programs. Many schools have music departments, who are eager to keep their teachers employed, and have varying levels of ability. There is something for almost everyone, as long as they are realistic that a degree from one of these schools is probably not going to lead to a big 10 symphony job.

Quite often, late-starting musicians find that an undergrad program with a great teacher will allow them to aim higher for grad school, or transfer during undergrad. A violin student at my D's non-conservatory college transferred to Oberlin this year, for example. My S's roommate last year transferred to Juilliard from Georgia State. I don't know the back stories - whether they didn't get accepted the first time around, or whether they needed a couple years to "catch up."

In otherwords, you probably can't go head to head with talented kids who've been studying for 10 or 15 years - and practicing, until you've been studying a bit longer yourself.

These are generalities - I don't know either of you except what you've posted, and I don't mean to be negative or discouraging. As I said, I've got an S pursuing conservatory-level, and a D at a non-con, so I have some experience with both. Ironically, my D has played her instrument longer. Both my kids are talented, smart, and have excellent ears. Both practice. My S has a level of intensity that D can't approach. He's also had some luck - great teachers, a lot of support and enthusiasm from the outside, lots of strokes.

We still don't know if he'll ever be employed, though. No guarantees.

slovesviola

Hi all, I am a relatively new member and have been actively reading through the music major threads and find them incredibly educational. I figured that it was time that I posted on this thread to introduce myself.

I am so glad that I found this site. My S, a Violist, is a junior at an Arts High School in Florida. He started playing piano (age 4-9) swithced to violin (age 8-17) added viola at age 15 and has just dropped violin to concentrate on viola for more time to prep for college auditions. He said that he just does not have time to practice 2 instruments and do all his school work. It has been a challenging year academically.

Although he attends an all arts high school there is not much support or information from his HS music teacher or counselor regarding applying for music, auditions, etc. The music guidance counselor is also in charge of all the "Ivy" applications and I hear she is so overwhelmed that she cannot get all the info out on time. (Actually 2 horror stories of info never sent out). S has a private college advisor who is pretty clueless also when it comes to music programs but she will keep him on track writing essays. So we are on our own.

S also plays in small local Youth Orchestra where he is principal viola, attended all state for violin for 2 years and viola for this past year. He also attends music camp in the summer.

In our area there are not that many quality string teachers to choose from. I feel lucky to have found a teacher that my S adores and she is very strong in teaching theory, technique, etc. and is encouraging him to continue in Music but it is way past time to move on. She was his violin teacher up until a year and a half ago and is still teaching him viola. (She is a violist primarily). We are in the process of looking for another viola teacher but it will require travel of 1-2 hours each way for lessons. Some do not come very well reccommended. Current teacher does not have a lot of music connections in this community.

S has a list of schools, he initially thought he would apply strictly for Music Business but after looking through a lot of the course requirements is now thinking of a Performance major with a business minor or even music ed.

He had good feedback from his first trial lesson at what is his first choice University, so that is favorable for him. He is now thinking of Performance more seriously. When that Professor asked what other schools he was thinking of applying to she commented that he should not have any problems at any of the schools. She also offered to give him lessons this fall but it is a 2+ hour drive. He will try to do that once or twice a month in the fall.

We have visited 3 schools so far but only 1 with a lesson. He has another one scheduled this June and is trying to set up another meeting with a teacher for August.

Having read the comments of CC Music major posters H and I feel better about having agreed to let him lighten his academic load for next year, although the private counselor is not happy (I will send her the link for comments about guidance counselors). 4 academic classes, 3 honors plus AP music theory, then 3 music classes, one of which he can use as practice time.

So I feel that we have things kind of under control at this point.
Any suggestions about finding, screening for a good local private teacher?

Thanks and I look forward to my continued CC reading and participation.

musicianmom

Welcome slovesviola!
You are so right about the teacher end of this. We've been lucky to always be in metro areas with several amazingly good choices of teachers. The only answer I've seen for those not so situated is weekly or biweekly travel to teachers. My kids' violin and piano teachers had students commuting distances of up to 400 miles! (I admire those parents - I couldn't have done it.) Some students from my area fly to Juiliiard pre-college - despite what I think to be excellent opportunities here. I think it really comes down to committment, desire, need and stamina! When we were busiest getting kids to different places just locally, I consoled myself that there was an end - the amount of time I spent for a few years now would, at a minimum, pay back in wonderful experiences and memories for them later in life. It sounds like you're doing well in your search - best of luck!

violadad

slovesviola, welcome. Are you within reasonable driving distance to FSU, U of South Florida, UMiami or Fl Intl U? If yes, consider possibly contacting faculty as source of instruction.

Open this link Florida Orchestras, Symphonies and Operas and scroll down, there's a list of Florida orchestras/symphonies, and many performers teach privately. This is another source if proximity works for you.

Distance and proper fit between student and instructor can be hard to find and balance.

slovesviola

Thanks violadad and musicianmom

We are in the process of contacting some of these faculty, trying to get some feedback from local teachers and students who might be familiar with them before making a commitment to any one teacher.

Do you think it is advisable to try sample lessons from several of these teachers before making a decision on one? What is the best approach with the teacher, just to ask for a trial lesson? We could ask one, who is a professor at a conservatory, for a lesson as a potential applicant to that school and see how it goes from there. I am willing to drive the distance, up to 2 hours I guess, for the right teacher.

At this point in time the end of junior year crunch is in place and it is hard to find any extra time in the day. But of course it is best to find a teacher now for the fall before their studios fill up and there may already be waiting lists.

violadad

Without prior knowledge and exposure to a potential instructor's teaching philosophy and style, it's imperative to have a trial lesson. And yes, you'll probably need to try a couple of different teachers.

Besides networking as you are doing, another way of compiling a list is to identify a style or sound that your son would like to pursue. If he is enamored with a particular artist's technique and interpretation (across a variey of pieces), this may be an instuctor he would like to have. Listen to recordings, internet clips, etc. This is more applicable to an undergrad search or metro area however, than in your particular situation.

A private instructor/student relationship needs to be based on some common ground, and personality, teaching and learning styles, ability to assess skills and potential and move a student forward solidly have to be compatible with a student's realistic expectations, goals, talent and work ethic. The perfect match is a true mentor/student bond.

In arranging a trial, be honest about goals. Is the need to develop or refine skills and technique, or concentrate on potential audition rep for undergrad auditions. I'd be wary of an instructor who wishes to concentrate soley on audition rep at the expense of addressing specific or general areas of a student's technique and skill set that may require attention.

Personally, I would not hesitate to begin your contact and search now, even with the committments of junior year-end. Many faculty are engaged in summer programs, festival performances, performing committments and could be unavailable a good part of the summer. Time constraints and issues may well be more apparent in the coming senior year, with school selection, visits, audition prep and app deadlines. He seems ok as you've begun some of the processes from what I gather, but earlier than later tends to be best.

Some additional threads on teacher selection: Importance of Master Teacher? Does a phenomenal applied teacher really trump everything?

Artfulmom

Thanks for the good advice Binx. I know we are too late for a summer program this year, but can you (or anyone else out there) suggest any workshops or festivals that may still be available? We live in the midwest so anything in this area would be best. My D plays both flute and piano. Just so we know for next year, when do we need to start applying for summer school? Thanks.

violadad

Artfulmom, a couple of threads on summer programs:
SUMMER PROGRAMS FOR MUSIC
Summer programs with late application deadlines?
Free Summer Orchestra Programs
Summer Programs 2008
Music Summer Programs
Summer Festival/Program Reports
Last minute summer music camp

There are more, but this will give you a good overview. They are in no particular order. There are more, but I grabbed the most recent or generic to highlight.

I honestly would look at some of the websites now as a prelude to next summer just to get an idea of timing, requirements, costs.

The application dates range from as early as December to mid-April, with most falling in the Jab-Feb-early March time frame. The "free" programs, festival programs tend to be the highest level, and therefore the most competitve.

Linde

Try Interlochen. It is in the Midwest, so travel expenses might be minimal, depending on where you are. Interlochen will accept qualified students this late so long as there is still an opening in a particular program and for a particular instrument. The website is www.interlochen.org; follow the link to the Summer Arts Camp.

My son has a wonderful private teacher at home, but grows/learns/improves so much over the summer, it is amazing. Also, he comes back very inspired by the other musicians and very excited about music, in general.

Financial aid is available.

For next year, priority application date generally is Feb. 1, but the camp continues to accept applications after that date.