Mistakes in Music CD

bobmallet1 · 11-13-2007, 10:02 AM

I'm sending a violin CD to my top schools I'm applying to as a music supplement... My CD is pretty good (first two movements of bruch violin concerto, and haydn concerto first movement)... However, seeing how I recorded the piece at like 8:30 and I didn't have a lot of time to edit, there are some wrong notes/out of tune notes in the recording (not a lot, but maybe around 7 in total)... Since nobody is perfect, will these out of tune notes count against me in admissions? (I'm not auditioning for violin performance degree or a conservatory)

binx · 11-13-2007, 11:15 AM

No, it won't. You aren't supposed to edit the CD anyway.

bobmallet1 · 11-13-2007, 06:24 PM

bump.......

violadad · 11-13-2007, 06:35 PM

binx is correct, taped supplements are supposed to be unedited. If you have time, redo the tape. An edited tape will kill your chances faster than one or two off notes.

It's not for a conservatory or music admit as you state, so don't sweat it. Nobody is perfect. Even the pros.

symphonymom · 11-17-2007, 02:18 PM

Having said no one is perfect earlier in another thread, I would qualify my response. Wrong notes are not good. It's slightly (very slightly) better if a wrong note lands in the middle of a fast run rather than in a half note at the end of a phrase. Either way, however, wrong notes are tough to listen to.
Out of tune notes: is the note just slightly sharp or flat or is it a real wonker? Think wince factor. If it's going to make the professor wince when he or she hears the CD, redo it. A penny sharp or flat here or there, and you are in the company of the pros. Your teacher should review it and make the decision.

musicalfeet · 11-17-2007, 02:46 PM

if you mean edit as in cut + paste, i think thats fine. honestly, a lot of people cut and paste their music. if you mean edit as in CHANGE the notes, then thats a...not supposed to be done. if the CD is just a supplement then I think it wont count AGAINST you, but it wont help. if its a preliminary CD, as long as the other parts of the pieces are fine and good, one wrong note wont do anything..and I'm proof of that. I made a tape where the third to last endign chord was out of tune, quite noticeable too, but I made it all the prelminary tape rounds in competitions that I wanted to compete in, as well as all of the music camps I applied to.

makin it rain · 11-17-2007, 02:55 PM

Ah yes, I made a topic like this. It's hard cause my piece is around 4 pages long with a lot of runs, so it's hard to get through without any mistakes. Try to redo it if you have time, and see if you can bring the number down a little.

violadad · 11-17-2007, 05:05 PM

musicalfeet wrote: < if you mean edit as in cut + paste, i think thats fine. honestly, a lot of people cut and paste their music.>

This may work for a musical supplement submission, but for a prescreen, camp/festival admission, competition or music school admission, submission requirements normally read that the material be sent unedited or unmodified.

catsushi · 11-17-2007, 05:07 PM

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I did the same with my flute recording, but it shows that you didn't splice your recording to death, which you really shouldn't do, anyway.

binx · 11-18-2007, 08:07 AM

My D taped her concerto three times, and chose the best one. She was worn out after that. None of them was perfect. The one she chose did have some slurry notes - kinda scrambled - in the middle of a run. And a couple slipped notes here and there. Oh well. She sent it for a scholarship audition and St. Olaf, and was awarded money. The violin teacher sent back a critique of her DVD, and never mentioned the missed notes. In fact, he made some stylistic suggestions on the other piece only.

I don't know that my S has ever made a perfect tape either, on horn. And yet his tapes have won him scholarships and admissions to many places.

Maybe perfection is easier to achieve on other instruments. If you taped once, and the recording doesn't really reflect how you play, then do it over. If you have never in your life played a 5 or 10 minute piece flawlessly, then I wouldn't expect the CD to do so either.

I attended a concert last night with a guest violinist who teaches at a big name school. He was pretty amazing, and yet we heard a bit of intonation trouble, and a slipped note or two. Even the greats do it. (He did it a bit more than I would expect at that level, but we're talking about high school seniors in this thread. I don't think perfection is required.)

barbmaz · 01-13-2008, 01:24 AM

I know these two "instruments" cannot compare, but my daughter's CD for Voice Performance had a few mistakes. I wanted to have it retaped ( I was paying a fortune!) but her voice teacher said to send it with the mistakes. I guess she was right because my daughter was invited to audition at CCM and Carnegie Mellon, mistakes and all. Her teacher said that too many times people do all sorts of things to make the CD's perfect, and then when they come in to audition...it's a different story. If you leave the imperfections, they will know it hasn't been doctored and will have a better idea of your potential. I was very worried to send it in that way, but it ended up being the right decision.

musicalfeet · 02-10-2008, 12:49 PM

as if people don't edit their music even if they aren't supposed to. *response to viola dad* i mean big flaws, missed a run, if its horribly out of tune. then i think it's fine to edit. i admit, my pre-screen CD was edited. i played it in chunks, because at that time i couldn't flawlessly play through the whole piece. but that doesn't even matter because come live audition, i still impressed the judges. what matters is the LIVE audtition. pre-screens are just to check you're not some noob beginner who can't play anything.

-Allmusic- · 02-10-2008, 03:19 PM

You have to be way better than a noob beginner, because we know a whole bunch of talented kids, from various instruments and voice, who weren't invited to live auditions from pre-screenings. I think they screen out 50%, and a lot of these kids are not just beginners.

musicalfeet · 02-10-2008, 08:45 PM

and what makes you think those screened out 50% are any worse of a player than those admitted? honestly a recording doesn't prove anything. there are enough people out there that edit their recordings regardless of the rules. so your aim should be to get a LIVE audition and really show the judges face front what you have.

jazzzmomm · 02-11-2008, 05:36 AM

Are there really that many dishonest students out there who would edit their CD's? I would think that listeners at the schools could tell if someone edited, and maybe that would disqualify one from the live audition invite. It must be very frustrating to be refused a live audition but teachers who have heard hundreds in their careers in Music admissions must be able to spot what they are looking for pretty easily, and, likewise, know when a student still has work to do. However, that being said, we all know of many cases when the decision just seems wrong or unfair.