music colleges help please

hello there, ive been really depressed lately because im a sophmore and i plan to go to schools like juilliard, berklee, boston conservatory for singing, composing or conducting, but i donno how good i would have to be

im just wondering if anyone is/was a student there or is planning to go

i have a few questions:

how complex does the audition composition pieces have to be?

how much music experience do they ask for?

what activities are good for resume?

please help me, THANK YOU

i had an audition at berklee on violin the first of this month...really it boils down to what instrument you are looking to get in with, for example the strings are higher in demand than the thousands of guitarists, thus your chances as a cellist or something is more likely...because I am not a jazz player and am only ok at improv, i had to perform a classical piece...and because berklee is big on contempory styles and not so much on traditional classical, I prepared a 20th century classical piece, the first Mythe by Szymanowski

im a sophmore and i plan to go to schools like juilliard, berklee, boston conservatory for singing, composing or conducting, but i donno how good i would have to be...

• how complex does the audition composition pieces have to be?
  - As complex or simple as you want to write them. Schools (any school) will want to see a fairly advanced level of comprehension and potential. That is, they're not expecting professional results right off, but an above average understanding of theory/counterpoint/orchestration/history/etc. write your music, be honest and present the BEST representations of your music.
  
• how much music experience do they ask for?
  - Some. None. A lot. Enough.
  
• what activities are good for resume?
  - Anything...it probably doesn't matter. Also, the activity of using proper spelling and grammer will help a lot ;) ...
  

...really it boils down to what instrument you are looking to get in with...

:blink: This doesn't make any sense. It all boils down to your level of ability. It doesn't matter if you're auditioning as one of two contra-bassoonists or one of 175 violinists...if you suck, you don't get in.

Hmmm...

proper spelling and grammer

Hmmm...

I'm not really qualified to give you an opinion, but I would suggest that you just focus on getting in on your primary instrument. And you'll know if you're good enough to get in (my instinct tells me 'no', but then again I've never heard you sing).

You can always transfer to different programs and such once you're in school: I know someone who went into Eastman as a theory major and came out a jazz pianist.

And I'm sure that the websites of those schools that you listed will have audition requirements and other useful information, so visit them.

thanks you guys so much

i just feel im really behind compared to everyone else here, is everyone thats uploading big orchestral pieces high school students or professionals?

i will start uploading some soon since i just joined

:blink: This doesn't make any sense. It all boils down to your level of ability. It doesn't matter if you're auditioning as one of two contra-bassoonists or one of 175 violinists...if you suck, you don't get in.

If you suck you won't get in, no matter what your instrument is, but that doesn't mean the instrument doesn't matter at all. I don't know exactly how it is in the US, but generally there are lots of factors that matter, many of which have to do with your instrument:

What is the teachers/students ratio for your instrument, i.e. are there a lot of available teachers who'd like more students, or are all already fully occupied? Do you already know a teacher that is willing to take you as a student? How good are you in comparison to the other applicants (there, the instrument matters a lot. You'll get a lot more competition if you're playing the piano than if you're a tubist)? There are lots of cases where an applicant fulfills the requirements, but isn't accepted because the available places have been given to even better applicants.

...but that doesn't mean the instrument doesn't matter at all.

Of course it matters...but your chosen instrument isn't the ultimate deciding factor.

im best at classical singing and composing i think, beside that i play piano but its not as amazing as everyone else but im goin for level 8 this year for CM, and i play flute in band, basically taught myself after 3 years of training

sorry if i sounded like a showoff, im trying to give a good background detail

but i figured its not how many instruments u can play its how good u are in one specific field so im kinda screwed right now

Ok, here's the deal. Completely immerse yourself in your main instrument and focus on that. That is what you'll be known for in school. The schools that you mentioned are highly acclaimed schools when it comes to playing one instrument well. The fact that you are versatile in several other instruments is a very good quality. I would mention that on your application, but only put ones that you feel that you can strongly play as well or close to the level of your primary. However, when you audition at a music college especially schools such as Juilliard and Boco, the audition committee wants to see how well you perform on your primary instrument. In your case I would concentrate on your voice and it wouldnt hurt to do a bit of work on composition especially form. The other thing that I would reccomend not doing is putting yourself at a level because levels of study are all relative to how much work one puts into them and they mean nothing to an audition committee. Someone who has been singing for 3 years and is an outstanding musician can easily beat out someone who's been studying classical voice since they were 9 years old.

I give you a lot of credit for setting such high musical goals for yourself in the way of school choices. I really want to go to Boston Conservatory as well for my Master's or Doctorate so hopefully we both get lucky.

Hope this helped. :)

good luck to you too! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

is there anyone on this site thats a student at any music university?

Yes, there is, and don't worry about it! I sent in the compositions I did because I felt they were a good sampling of my style. I had no recordings of any kind, which I thought was going to hurt me, but here I am!

Pretty much, from what I got, they're looking for professionalism. They don't want to take someone they think is not going to work at their chosen area, which means they do somewhat look down on spreading out your abilities. (for composition, this means making pretty looking scores! and scores that are very clear in what you want, dynamics, tempo markings, expression, etc.) So choose the one you REALLY want to do, and go for it. If you're meant for that one, you'll get in. Good luck!

What about some safety schools for composition? Any good ones? :sadtears:

I was referring only to Berklee and the fact that string players are high in demand there...a question of my own too...does anyone know how much trouble it generally would be to transfer into composition about a semester or two into college? One of the schools I'm applying to is Hartt and I'd love to double with composition there (I'm going for Music Production/Engineering) but seeing as I was a late bloomer to composition, I didn't feel prepared enough to compose and submit stuff, especially since I'm studying post-romantic/20th century classical

id say if u really have the passion then go for it

if u really like composing now, then face whats ahead, do u play any instruments? that might help. and study music theury/harmony and stuff. if u work hard (which is gonna be some trouble) then the classes will be so much easier for u.

right now im in ap music theory i think its really easy because i already take piano. so if u just read some harmony and theory you will find most stuff in class are repeating

But, in all seriousness...if you can't spell or use proper grammar, then ANY school won't even bother to look at your application. Now, you strike me as an intelligent young man...so please, put some effort into your posts. We'll take you a lot more seriously here.

Sorry about that, I'm used to AIM talking. I'm not that intelligent...

That simply must be quoted.

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/201937-post120.html

haha, Mark, you making fun of me?

I've heard much about julliard being a bluff (I don't share this view), but from what I've herad many say it's just a name. and you can pay someone else half the price to get you to the same level.

haha I kind of got the idea of bluff before. I mean if one is truly talented, they will rise above no matter what.

So which music schools are really the good ones?

So which music schools are really the good ones?

Which ever one has the right prof for you.

Seriously, we could spout off schools (MSM, NEC, UNT, Guildhall, and so on) all day long... but SOME have profs you will be compatible with, others won't. Call, email, visit the schools. Talk to the profs with whom you'd be studying. Factor in the city you'd be living in, and tuition costs. It all counts. If you want to write choral music, but the school has no choir...or you want to learn jazz theory, but the school has no jazz department...or you want to gig outside of school, but there's no scene...

Find a department that works for you and your goals and needs.

There's a lot more to it than simply picking the 5 top schools and settling on them.

Which ever one has the right prof for you.

Seriously, we could spout off schools (MSM, NEC, UNT, Guildhall, and so on) all day long... but SOME have profs you will be compatible with, others won't. Call, email, visit the schools. Talk to the profs with whom you'd be studying. Factor in the city you'd be living in, and tuition costs. It all counts. If you want to write choral music, but the school has no choir...or you want to learn jazz theory, but the school has no jazz department...or you want to gig outside of school, but there's no scene...

Find a department that works for you and your goals and needs.

There's a lot more to it than simply picking the 5 top schools and settling on them.

I agree, but are the schools you mentioned (MSM, NEC, UNT) canadian schools?

I agree, but are the schools you mentioned (MSM, NEC, UNT) canadian schools?

• Manhattan School Of Music
  
• New England Conservatory
  
• University of North Texas
  

;)

• Manhattan School Of Music
  
• New England Conservatory
  
• University of North Texas
  

;)

Oh duh I should know the first one, I lived in New York For almost half my life1