My son is jazz guitar and he recorded all of his prescreens at a studio that one of his teachers has with a live rhythm section (even if the audition said to play with a backing track lol). We used a schure (I think that’s how it’s spelled) microphone attached to his iPhone to record. I don’t even want to know how many videos are sitting on his phone still because I’m sure like others here he’s a perfectionist and I’m sure taped every song a billion times.
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So I was all excited to NOT get any more school emails and then BAM on Saturday MSM comes back extending their deadline to today the 4th lol I mean you can extend your deadline all you want it doesn’t mean I’m going to magically come up with the money you wouldn’t give me to make your school a better financial offer than Berklee. SMH
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It would seem from your post that MSM is struggling with lower enrollment and also financial difficulties. I am sure they would love to have more money to give. And if the lack of funds means lower enrollment, or demographics alone are lowering enrollment, that just makes future aid harder and the cycle continues. This is going on in a lot of schools. I am reading a book right now on this topic!
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The writing for sure is on the wall with them. I do not doubt that the loan limits are going to severely impact a lot of schools this year. Granted I’d never take that much of a loan in the first place unless it was med/law school but still it has to be hitting some of these pricey schools HARD
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I think the standalone conservatories (and art schools, etc) have to be far more creative with their funding/loans offered/merit offered than those within larger colleges and universities that have other subjects to offer. It wasn’t long ago that Berklee and Boco merged which was a good and likely preemptive move to make sure they can both stay solvent.
That said, we have heard of students getting generous offers this season at MSM and not as generous at Berklee, so there’s no way to really make sense of it! The schools want who they want and offer what they offer and it’s excellent that your student found a place at Berklee and they showed him they are anxious to have him!
Enjoy this time! The 4 years FLY.
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Agree….it is so hard to know what they want and need. I know someone who got great money at MSM and insignificant at Berklee too. Just so hard to know. Unrelated, two committed athletes I know had their college in MA up and close last week.
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Which college in MA was that? how horrible for these athletes.
Anna Maria
How do families thank music teachers?
Would love any suggestions to thank and “close out” our family’s chapter with teachers (past two years), knowing that our musician may continue with them occasionally as an adult.
Looking back we have had a fair number of teachers to thank over these past years. He is still regularly in touch with all of them. My son has usually given gifts of some type of food or beverage that he knows his teacher enjoys. So a gift basket of coffees, or special cheeses and fruit, or a bottle of wine with a thoughtful card.
For his very first teacher we framed a photo of the two of them together when he was 9 or 10. She was moved almost to tears as it showed really how long they had worked together. This teacher is almost like a member of the family.
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We took their families out for dinner, gave them token presents (little things, less than $50) of their choices, and my son is staying in close contact with them - talking to them and younger students (in person and on social mesia), playing alongside during breaks, etc. It’s not ending the relationships but more like changing the dynamics.
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