Hello parents,
Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.
My son wants to submit a music supplement with his apps. (Btw he has a National level award in the instrument if that matters.) A recording studio nearby promises clean recording with ‘mixing and mastering’. I have no idea what that entails. Would this be acceptable to colleges if it is just cleaning up surrounding noise? Thanks for all and any suggestions on this.
For a college music supplement for a BA, it can be one piece and even cued for the best 3 minutes (ask the schools what they prefer). It does not have to be conservatory level quality in our experience. I would not go to huge expense. Does he already have a solo performance to submit?
We weren’t even sure that admissions passed my kid’s recording on to faculty. They may have just gone by the resume.
For a BM music prescreen it does need to be professional and there are requirements to meet, in order to gain audition.
Others can chime in…it’s been awhile for us. Those doing recordings or videos for BM programs can also share how they do them. We used a Zoom H-2.
1 Like
Thank you @compmom!
My son is staring his first year at an LAC and submitted music supplements. Most schools have specific requirements of what they want even for BA programs. He submitted contrasting pieces that were about 10 minutes in total for almost all programs since this is what they wanted. He had a single recording session done at a professional place so that I wouldn’t have to deal with the recordings. Others have done it at home. He did record specific excerpts at home on a video camera with a ZOom microphone. He also met with many teachers both in person and on zoom
3 Likes
I know for BM pre screen submissions, mixing/mastering is specifically not allowed.
So I certainly would recommend you submit recordings without any adjustments. You should not have surrounding noise if you are in a studio. And even if you record at home and there is some random noise of a plane overhead or a dog barking, for a supplement it would likely be completely acceptable. Whereas an altered after recording submission may be risky.
2 Likes
I am pretty sure for my kid, the resume and letters of recommendation were more important than the recording, but I can’t be sure.
I am surprised at the experience of @helpingthekid73 but my info is old and more related to a composer’s application. Certainly follow their advice and check each school’s requirements and/or call them.
Thank you @anotheroboemom !
Each school has its own requirements. Please urge your student to carefully research and follow those. Some schools prohibit recording manipulation and editing, using cell phone and a good microphone is usually enough not only for music supplemental recording, but conservatory applications and pre-screens…
My kid submitted music supplemental with majority of her academic applications and got to see her admissions file at Yale last year. Evaluation of her music supplemental was done by school’s band director who listened to all of the pieces she submitted and provided comprehensive feedback to all excerpts.
I assume the national award you mention is Young Arts, Fischoff competition or a similar level award, it will definitely give his application more edge. Good luck!
1 Like
If it is just a supplement, a home recording made with a borrowed mike would be sufficient. Talk to their music teacher.
1 Like
I agree that you don’t want anything highly edited or anything more than laying an audio track with a video track.
If your student is going to do music at college in any capacity, this might be a good time to just invest in a decent microphone. You should be able to get one in the 100-150 range and then you’ll have it. Talking to your music teacher about it is a good idea - if nothing else, using their studio space as a recording studio might be good.
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. If you’d like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.