Lhasa

Great news, Susan! Congratulations to your S, and good luck making a final selection from four good choices.

lorelei2702

veteranmom: I would like to be able to contact you with private message, could you e-mail me in a way to which I could respond? Thanks. Lorelei

Clara87

Hi. I'm new to this forum and have just been accepted into a BM Vocal Performance program. I have been studying private voice since age 13 and have a legit soprano. I have scored superior ratings in state sponsored competitions and evaluations.

I am very excited to begin my collegiate music studies but don't have any piano experience and am concerned I'll be very far behind. I must have done well on the theory test because I got accepted, but I think I'm a little weak in theory.

Anybody have any words of wisdom for me?

lorelei2702

Congratulations. You will need to study piano for your degree. You will also need some piano skills for successful theory study. Singers are often weaker theory students than the instrumentalists in the class. The best thing you could do is take piano lessons this summer. You will be glad you did it, guaranteed. Good luck.

Erlkonig

Hello, I'm also interested in majoring in vocal performance, and I was accepted to a bunch of different programs. I have until tomorrow afternoon (Saturday at the very latest) to pick one because of scholarship deadlines, so I would really appreciate any insights any of you might have in terms of selecting a college.

I put a list of the colleges that I've been accpeted to and the primary ones that I am considering here:

One day left, help me decide where to go!

I would be eternally grateful if some of you would check that out. Thanks!

MidgetMom

My dd is in the same boat as Clara87. Can you give me a ballpark as to how much piano she should try and get in this summer so as to be competitive in August?

Thanks.

lorelei2702

At this stage, it is not a matter of being competitive, but rather being able to survive in required theory and piano classes. Most kids who are music majors have some piano background. While it is certainly possible to pass theory without keyboard visualization, it is easier to already understand how scales, keyboards, etc. are set up. Your music majors-to-be would want to find a teacher who knows they need the theory as well as keyboard skills. Some teachers might even offer a separate class, in addition to actual lessons.

Some summer music camps also offer theory classes, though so much time is taken with other activities, it will not move very fast. If there is a local university, check to see if there is a piano pedagogy program or class piano program, perhaps those teachers might be available who would understand more about what knowledge skills are needed. Be in contact with Music Teachers Association for your state, and they can help you find local teachers who are good with theory. Ask about this when you call prospective teachers, do not assume they emphasize theory.

I cannot overstate how important this is. I have had very talented university students not make it because of theory and piano requirements. Singers tend to have less general musicianship background and are more often really behind the rest of the class. If you can start now, do it, at least do the homework to line someone up with the necessary emphasis.

Good luck.

dancersmom

Thank you so much Lorelei for urging voice students to get some music theory and piano before going to college. I used to teach college level music theory classes. The students who were at the top of the pack in both the written and aural theory classes were the pianists. The other instrumental music majors were in the middle and the voice students were virtually always at the bottom of the heap. At the time I taught, there were voice majors accepted as freshmen who could not even read music. Of course they were at a tremendous disadvantage. I had the sad job of informing the musically illiterate students that if they were not able to read music fairly well by the around the 3rd week of the semester, they would fail my class. Even the voice students who came to the university able to read a bit still found themselves at the bottom of the pack. I have wished so many times that H.S. choral teachers and private voice teachers would stress to their young singers how critical general musicianship skills are. They can make or break you in a college music curriculum.

If all you can do is take some private piano/theory lessons the summer before your freshman year, then at least do that. You can learn a lot in that short amount of time. The basics are not really difficult. I have 7 year old private piano students who can tell you what a I chord or a V7 chord are and can recognize intervals from unisons through 6ths both aurally and on paper. All of my middle school aged private students can tell you the order of the sharps and flats, name both major and minor keys given a key signature, and can recognize root position triads and their inversions. (I have to wonder how many of the H.S. aged singers reading this thread even understand what I just said.)

As Lorelei says, before signing on with a piano teacher, be sure to find out whether or not he or she emphasizes theory. Many do, but not all. I'm a stickler with my private students. They have to understand what they are playing! However, I can attest to the fact that not all teachers deal with theory. I get transfer students all the time who I feel have not gotten the proper musical background.

Please, please start as soon as you can to get some piano and theory instruction. You'll be very glad you did

immajap88

that last sentence is touching.

immajap88

So here I am, an above average (but still waay below Ivy League) student interested in pursuing a vocal performance major and an economics major. Here's the thing: I want to be happy and pursue something I love (music), and I think it was one of the dads (Bassdad or gadad) who said that if music is their kid's first love, they don't want them to do something else in their lives just to keep from being a "failure." I was truly touched. But I also want to be able to buy me stuff! I hate to sound so materialistic, but I'm just human!
So here's my point/question of the day: Are there any GOOD universities that I can get accepted into the music program as a voice major, and use that acceptence as a backdoor into pursuing a social science major also? Kind of like those atheletes...I guess. Yknow, full scholarship to great schools, study whatever, just keep playing!

MidgetMom

Thanks for the advice, although it wasn't really the question I was asking. I am a music major myself, so I've been able to teach my younger dd piano. My older dd, however, was never interested and is now concerned about college. She has a pretty good command of first year theory, including notes, scales, chords, etc. Her voice teacher has always been a stickler in making sure she knew exactly what the composer intended in the pieces of music she was singing. As a matter of fact, she started formal lessons with me today (after realizing the mistake she's made in not studying earlier), and I was quite surprised at the amount of theory she was familiar with. She has also sung in choruses both in school and with a regional opera company, and that has helped her theory. She also has an excellent ear, which, of course, helps tremendously.

My question was to how much theory would be expected of a first year student? Are we talking basic note values, time signatures, Circle of 5ths, chords, scales, etc., or are we talking writing music from hearing it?

Thanks.

helloangel

MidgetMom -- depends on what school it is. You can test out of classes into different levels as a freshman, but some schools have higher level theory/ET classes than others. For example, NEC students in Theory IV are learning things Juilliard students in Theory Fundamentals (which is lower than Theory I) are learning.

helloangel

immajap88 -- a lot of schools actually do this. If you're an amazing musician and want to pursue a double-major at a university (like Northwestern, Carnegie-Mellon, USC, Harvard, Rice) your chances of being admitted are increased as well as financial aid opportunities. LACs like Oberlin also do the same. Of course, these places also expect you to be a pretty good student academically; to what extent varies from school to school.

MomofWildChild

The Rice music school is not keen on double majoring, but it can be done depending on the other major. Sciences with labs can not be done. Indiana is another good option with scholarship money available.

helloangel

MomofWildChild is right about Rice. I wanted to apply there last year as a double major for violin and psych, but none of the violin faculty there allow their students to double major (unless you're sneaky about it, that is.)

So... I ended up withdrawing my application and cancelling the audition.