How Competitive Are Music Schools?

old_music_prnt
Sat, 07 Sep 2024 03:28:01 +0000

Sorry this is a bit late, but since people go back and read these threads, I wanted to comment on some of it (I can’t talk about voice, that is a world since my son is a violinist has its own dynamics I don’t know well).

With music programs (I am leaving the academics out with schools inside a university, ppl have commented on that and each school is different) as others have pointed out it is the audition, roughly 10 minutes to sell yourself. The schools publish their audition requirements and as threads on here over the years have said, once you have an idea of the schools you are interested in, you will likely have to figure out repertoire (if it works like instrumental, where there are options, where a requirement at one school might fit a requirement at another that seems different. For example, if school A wants Bartok and School B wants a 20th century piece, a Bartok Sonata could do both. The idea is to limit the amount of rep you have to learn.

And I agree totally that if your D has a private teacher, talk to them, they hopefully will know what is out there.

In terms of how competitive music programs are, that really depends on the nature of the program. When you are talking the supposed A list music schools (and these are just examples, it isn’t comprehensive), the Juilliards, NEC, Curtis and so forth, the competition level is insane (and even there, it varies, NEC has a higher acceptance rate than Juilliard or Curtis for example, because so many see those two schools as “the best” and they are flooded with applicants. There are a lot of music programs out there now, and there are programs that if you are halfway decent you will get in, there are others where you can be top 1% and not get in, so it is hard to say without talking specific programs. IU/Jacobs admits a lot of students (it is huge), so they are easier than some of the other programs (doesn’t mean it isn’t a great program, friend of mine described it(he went there) as kind of survival of the fittest, if you didn’t get to the top tier with things, they would suggest dual majoring or switching).

A friend on here when I was on here said that with vocal music, because voices develop later and the nature of the beast, that with undergraduate you don’t necessarily have to go to the showcase schools, that you can develop at a decent vocal program then attempt the big leagues in grad school (which these days is getting to be more and more de rigeur for musicans. My son and the members of his group have multiple masters degrees and ads and the like. So it may be fine to find a program that is affordable and you can get in, then make the push in grad school (again, not claiming much knowledge there).

One big thing I can’t emphasize enough, the audition is only 50% of the challenge. With music school admissions the other part is a teacher has to be willing to teach you. Teacher availability plays into it, they have limited space and that plays into who they can take (I went to an admissions event at Juilliard, the admissions person mentioned that year on flute that they literally had 1 slot available with one teacher, grad or undergrad).

This was debated a lot and one of the things I can tell you is that getting exposed to the teacher is a significant advantage. Can people get in without that? Of course, like anything in music there are no absolute rules IMO. If you are interested in teachers and can do it, teachers will often arrange sample lessons to see if there is a fit (both ways). Some do it for free, others charge, but it can really be helpful. You get to see what their teaching style is like, and they get to see you. Some kids do it when they are at the school for auditions, but scheduling may be difficult.

Hopefully this helped a bit. I know how hard it is, we didnt know much, and even though my son had been in Juilliards pre college program and had been around a lot of musicians at levels from gig musicians to members of orchestras and chamber groups and soloists, and it still was difficult to navigate.