I am a rising sophomore in high school and am wondering how I can build on a unique activity I do.
I play tabla, which are Indian drums. I have been taking classes since I was 5 and now I’m pretty good at it. However, there are not many people that play tabla around me. No one in my school of 2000 plays tabla, and I know only 3 people that play tabla besides my teacher (and one of them is 40 years old).
My teacher is a master and works at MIT, and knows how important unique activities are to admission officers.
I want to get some ideas about how I could make my ability to play tabla into something bigger. There isn’t much of an audience that plays it over even knows what it is. In fact, when Zakir Hussain, the best tabla player in the world, came to Boston I got to tlk to him because there were only a few hundred people there!
Some ideas I had were:
-entering an international music competition (you guys know of any?)
-composing pieces and putting them on youtube
-putting lessons on youtube
-making tabla remixes
Are you preforming or accompanying classical singers in your area? If not, you should work through your master and identify groups you can practice & preform with. There are cultural functions all across the country, so this would be an area to tap into if you haven’t already. Other than that, making tabla remixes sounds like the the most creative and interesting of what you listed imo
I would think that finding a way to volunteer and serve others would be a great option to look into. Introducing children to music can have a powerful impact. For the purposes of college admissions, showing your passion for this music by playing it to underprivileged children could give you a starting point for an interesting essay or a topic for conversation in interviews.
Another group that appreciates visitors is nursing and retirement homes. Elementary schools, local festivals and parks are options to pursue. Smaller towns might be easier to deal with and get permission to play in their events.
@powercropper Sounds good. Thanks so much! You gave me another idea:
I am already doing community service at my Indian Culture school and bet many kids would be interested in learning how to play the drums (instead of doing yoga XD)
@dblazer thanks for your opinion! I will continue to find people to accompany! Also, I kind of said tabla remixes as a joke but now that I think about it, it is pretty creative
I don’t know how I would go about doing that but I’ll look into it. Thanks!
Read the book “How to be a High School Superstar” by Cal Newport…he talks about how to take an interest and make it more impactful.
I am an alumni ambassador and what I have seen with students like you (e.g., someone interested in Indian Dance) is
that they have done the activity, and then tried to share the activity with others of their culture…so maybe beginner class for kids at your local Indian Cultural society…join or start a Multi-cultural club at your HS where you demonstrate your skill. or ask your Tabla teacher if there are competitions or groups you could join that would kind of validate your skill.
Also, in what context are Tabla drums played? are they a solo instrument or do you play with a group or as an accompanist to say, dancing or something? If so, can you get involved in that?
Can you talk to your band director at school and see if you can incorporate your drums somehow?
I like the idea of using your performance as community service as mentioned above.
@bopper
Thanks so much for your reply! I’ll try to get my hands on that book!
Also, Tabla is a versatile instrument. It can be played in groups or as a solo instrument. However, in my opinion, I think it sounds the best when it is accompanying or accompanied by a melodic instrument like the sitar, violin, harmonium, flute, or voice.
I guess they could accompany dancing, though that would be harder to organize.
Since you are a alumni ambassador, I would like to ask you for some examples of what people have done with other unique talents. Also, I was wondering if the fact that my instructor is a professor at MIT will help my application, especially if I get him involved somehow. Down the road, how would I do that?
Usually what I see is a theme…not just that they play piano but they won competions or not that they do dance but they were asked by the teacher to start teaching younger students and that they take higher level classes themselves. Or the person interested in medicine may volunteer, work at a senior center, and do research.
No, the fact that your teacher is from MIT would not mean anything on an application…I don’t think that you would need a recommendation letter from a EC adviser.
@bopper
Ok thanks! Last question, I promise I won’t bother you anymore after this. Should I quit piano? I have only played for 2 years and therefore can’t win competitions because I am playing against people who have been playing for their whole life. I just don’t have the motivation. Would it hurt me to continue playing piano but having nothing to show for it (just for fun)?
