Composition Portfolios for College Application

So, I've got one more year of high school left, and although after that I might possibly take a year or two taking general ed courses at a community college, the time for me to really begin constructing my portfolio so I can apply to a school for composition has begun.

I guess what one of my main questions would be is; "What are they looking for?" and "Would they care if the pieces are relatively short?"

One of my main problems with composition is my inability to implement more long term forms. I hope to especially work on this in my college studies, but would they be turned off to my application if I only submitted short pieces? (4-5 minutes or less)

Would it depend on what school I apply to? I would assume that Peabody or Berklee would be more selective than Shenandoah University. (basically my fallback college if the more prestigious ones don't work out)

Is being yourself more important than being conventional? Some of my ideas for compositions for my portfolio would be;

One based on Bossa Nova rhythms (possibly a fantasy or prelude)

An two part Invention in pelogic temperament (Major and minor are essentially reversed, E.A. 4 perfect fifths equals a minor third)

A concerto featuring a Fender Rhodes keyboard (or an excerpt of one, because I probably am not disciplined enough to write an entire concerto)

just to give you an example of a few of my ideas.

I personally wouldn't write pieces specifically for your portfolio -- that to me (as an outsider) seems a bit... I dunno. At my job, we're told to "not chase the algorithm," though we're told what generally factors into it all -- that is certainly good advice when it comes to colleges and universities. I'd say show them what you have at that point -- worst they'll do is say that it'll need work, and that's the whole point of going to somewhere to learn about something.

However, make sure that a school that is more traditional gets your more traditional works and vice versa. Know your audience. You wouldn't want a stuffy department to get your aleatoric kazoo album; and you wouldn't want a Bach string quartet going to a school that specializes in bleep-bloop computer music.

If you're going to do the community college route, I'd say get that done during your senior year instead of immediately following HS; though be aware of which schools will take what kinds of credits. (Does AP count as college credit? What about IB? How does that compare to a collegiate course at a community college? at a full 4-year college that you took some classes at?) This isn't to add to all the stresses of heading to college, but to make sure you're not needlessly spinning your wheels.

First off as Composer Phil wrote Quality over Quantity. But if you are going to write pieces as short as Webern - well they better be astounding.

Second as a HS student taking some community college courses, don't worry too much about long forms though it does help if you show you can write: a Sonatina or Sonata; a contrapuntal piece (canonic variations, fugue, an Invention or Sinfonia); variation form (chaconne, passacaglia or variations on a theme). As for what they are looking for? Some sign of a voice - that is someone willing to take chances but shows solid knowledge of historic practices. What I have seen here and I think is an example of what NOT to submit, is say a piano piece tilted "Atonal Piece 2" and the result is a clumsy attempt at Wagner without the composer realizing this. You are best writing as naturally as possible - in other words if you commit to an experiment, show you did your homework by investigating if there are similar experiemtns out there or, if exploring new grtound for you, investigate thoroughly this "new ground". If I were to write a piece using micropolyphony, the first think I would do is study a ton of Ligeti scores, then listen to them and then read up on how they work before committing to a single pitch or rhythm. If you are writing in an idiom you are very comfortable with, show the creative ways you use it to create a convincing piece of music.

Third, clean scores tell very muchg about a composer's knowledge and/or commitment to the craft. You may have written a piece that shows a deep understanding of advanced compositional principles and breaks boundaries but all of this will be moot if you don't show any sensitivity and professionalism to present a clean score.

In parting, why don't you review your works in light of our comments and then post the links of the top 5 pieces and have us pick a top 3.

Ok, so here's what it is...

as for you're first question, i had a similar question when I applied to college for comp, so I e-mailed the faculty and this is what they said back:

Hello Miggy,

Nice to hear from you. Just submit two scores that show your compositional ability while exhibiting as wide range of experience as possible. So one choral and one instrumental, or two choral pieces very contrasting in nature. We're simply trying to get to know you as a composer.

Live performances are best on recording, as they demonstrate that you've had the experience of rehearsing, recording, and hearing a live performance of the work. MIDI, however, is acceptable, as we understand that getting enough performers together can be a challenge.

The "audition" is really simply an interview (unless you're also auditioning on voice)--a half hour as a group addressing the nature of the program, and then a short personal interview (one on one) with a composition faculty member. Unfortunately that day I have to be at a festival outside of Chicago, so you'll meet with my colleague Dr. [...]

I certainly look forward to getting to know your music.

Regards,

Dr. [...]

This will probably be the story for most schools you apply to. Don't worry about the "audition" for now (if you are worried about it, here's a link to a post i made about my audition at Ithaca Collage, the school I attend). Also, I emailed the faculty telling them that I focus a lot on CHORAL music. that's why they said to write one choral piece and one instrumental. That part of the email isn't important. What IS important is that you should submit "scores that show your compositional ability while exhibiting as wide range of experience as possible." In other words, contrasting pieces.

They're also trying to "get to know you as a composer."

Therefore, it's very important that you be yourself with your writing. If you're applying to schools with faculty that truly understand what it means to be an artist, they'll expect to hear unconventional pieces. Not only that, but they might be used to that type of music. That said, don't try too hard to be unconventional. Just be yourself. Write for yourself, not for them. Still, you want to show the extent of your range for them. So for example, I submitted a slower contemporary classical choral piece and a faster jazzy instrumental movie score theme. Two pieces of very varying styles.

As far as length goes, it doesn't matter so much. Both my pieces were relatively short—about two or three minutes each. My interviewer did comment on how short the pieces were, but I don't think anything bad came from it. The first one needed to be short, because it just did. And the second was basically a movie cue which don't tend to go on for that long.

Still, if theme development and length are things which you think you could definitely improve on, then I'd try to work on those starting right now. Try to think about the pieces you write from a more structural or architectural point of view at the beginning. Begin by sketching out the overall structure of the piece. Maybe write down prose about how you want each part of the song to make people feel, or where the climax is, or just what the song is about. Clarifying these things for yourself at the beginning can help you to flesh out the main structure of a piece before even having the pressure of writing a note, and a lack of overall sense of structure may be one of the problems underlying the symptom you describe (It was for me! :) ).

As far as i know, more prestigious schools wont be looking for longer compositions. They'll just be looking for more promising artists. People who show that they have a lot of potential, and who have the drive to reach that potential and then keep growing even more. That said, different schools have different focuses when it comes to music. A school like Ithaca College or USC, for example, focuses a lot more on classical composition, where as a school like Berklee or Belmont focuses a lot more on songwriting. They're all great schools, of course. Just depends what kind of program you like better. You can still do classical stuff at Berklee, and you can still do songwriting at Ithaca.

As with any college application process, you're gonna have your reach schools, your're gonna have your safety schools, and you're gonna have your middle-ground schools. Like i said before though, compose for you, and the right thing will happen. Nothing wrong with composing for a portfolio, I did. just remember not to write trying to "live up to" your adjudicator's "expectations." THAT'S how you get writer's block ;).

As far as your ideas go, the bossa nova thing sounds pretty cool. I have no idea what pelogic temperament is. I didn't even know that was a thing. Sounds a bit pretentious to me, but hey, if you think it's cool, and if the final product rocks, go ahead. The concerto's also a cool idea. don't worry about how "disciplined" you are right now. Give it a try. You have one year left after all, and there are probably four thousand books out there on the study, appreciation, and composition of the concerto. Keep working hard, and you'll be surprised how much you will have grown over the next year.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more q's. Good luck.

--Miggy Torres

Oh—and one more thing. If you wanna do what Composerorganist said, and post up like five pieces here, etc. that's fine... But I wouldn't waste the energy on two superfluous pieces you are not gonna use for your portfolio and that will just get you more stressed out in the end. If you wanna post what you're thinking of submitting up here, that's fine, too... but dont take what we say too, too seriously. A lot of the composers who review songs on YC are about our age, which is great, but god knows a college faculty member who has interviewed and taught hundreds of kids over the years is gonna be able to look at your piece more objectively than someone who just listens to Beethoven, Mahler, and Whitacre all day, and who may not be used to your personal sound (Nothing against Beethoven, Mahler, or Whitacre. I pre-ordered "Light and Gold" days before it came out).

I agree with Miggtorr about posting pieces and thanks for the clarification. Here is how to get the most from my suggestion:

1) Pick what you think are 5 of your best pieces. If one of your pieces is a multi-movement work, post only what you think is the best mvmt of the piece. Please post midis of long works as many people here don't have much time to review an hour of music and scores --- see if you can present about 20 minutes of music at most.

2) Put up a thread but pm those members who show great deal of experience or in grad school and ask if they would have time to review.

From that point, make your decision of the top 3 to submit.

Hello guys. Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it!

Anyway, as far as community college goes, the one I am going to has a program with Shenandoah where there are certain credits that are guaranteed to transfer. If I decide (E.A, get accepted into) a more prestigious school, I figure it won't really matter to me if the credits transfer or not, because for any one of my dream schools, I would do anything to make it work out. I will probably get my bachelors in composition at Shenandoah anyway, and after that if I want to continue I'll just transfer to another school to get my masters.

I think I am going to attempt to write a short sonata, (or maybe just a sonatina) to try and work on my form, I will definitely upload it here when it is finished. I am watching this Bernstein lecture on youtube, and that has already given me some good information about form. I hope to get some books and analyze some pieces as well.

Being an older student, I decided to go the same route you are discussing here keys. I attended a community college for the past year to get my feet wet in academic setting again. A few suggestions on this:

1. Try to set up a varied portfolio. In mine, I placed 5 works (1 piano, 1 orchestral, 1 string quartet, 1 vocal, and 1 wind trio). I chose works that I felt best exemplified my compositional ability - and wrote notes on each one that I included in the portfolio. You don't have to do 5 - though, the more varied in scores you get, the better an understanding your future teacher(S) will have of your abilities.

2. While attending a community college is good... you don't want to get behind on your music courses for your degree. Most music courses offered at a community college do not count at a regular institution - though, I think some will count them as elective. Thus... I would recommend only spending about 1 year at your community college.

I hope that helps. I'd love to share my portfolio with you if you like. It might give you a good idea of what to do for your own?

Not to long ago a friend of mine had applied for a college with composition as his major. He has a fairly succesfull band that make really unconventional music, yet manage to be populair(in the regoin, but are expending). He writes and produces all their music. Beisdes being more than familiar with writing for his band ensemble and having a lot of knowledge of production/music-editing, he also writes for 'classical' ensembles and has a great ear. Before he applied everybody was absolutely convinced he would be accepted and so did he himself. The professors who interviewd him and had judged his music and production (producion is a major isseu in that college, since it's a major part of the programme) where quite overwhelmd by what they had heard from his portfolio and his score on the test (every music-college in the Netherlands wants you to take a test during you aplication to test you ear and knowledge of theory). But he was rejected.......

Why?

Because the professors where uncertain about whether or not he was commited to the profession he was about to persue. He had given the professors the notion that he liked to make music and was pretty good at it, but he had no clue what he wanted to learn in their classes. So they felt it was best not accepting him. In stead they accepted people with less impressive portfolios, but with a clearer commitment.

When I found out he was not accepted I was quite suprised to say it lightly, but now I think I understand why they had made the disicion to favor a less talented aplicant with a obvious drive over a more talented aplicant with a less obvious drive. It probebly boils down to the post I made in another thread and I will quote myself here:

In the spirit of SCC it's useless to argue whether college/ lessons/classes/teachers will make you a better composer, since the term 'better' means nothing. What does mean something though is your personal goal and what college/lessons/classes/treachers can contribute to that goal. And the term 'personal goal' says it all, I think. If you go into college or take a course in composition with the idea that they will provide you with a goal, you are wrong. College/lessons/classes/teachers can, however, contribute a lot to you if YOU take the responsibility to where and what they should contribute. If you have at least a vague idea about what is important for you to become what you want to become at the level that you want to reach college/lessons/classes/teachers can be very effective. It will, however, not be impossible to go without it. If you keep figuring out what you need to know to stay on track there is no reason you shouldn't stay on track. There is a lot information on every compositional subject. You just need to figure out where to get it and how to deal with the information.

As for me my goal is to combine counterpointal music (without any rules to it) and pop music. I actualy realized I wanted to be able to do this when I had just started being interested in music. I don't mean to brag, but I don't think it's kind of funny, since it's so specific. Anyhow, I just went and try to do it and it turned out to be difficult. I realised I had to learn to a lot about music and composional techniques and I knew nothing. Besides I wasn't going to have an awfull lot of time ot spent on it, since I just started college and my major had nothing to do with music. I degreaded it to a hobby and went out to learn what I tought I needed to learn. I'm now 8 years further and I haven't reached my goals yet. Although I'm getting nearer.

So, did/do I need college/lessons/classes/teachers? No. I will probebly reach my goal sooner or later. But, if had done so I would have probebly reached that goal sooner.

So, again, I think it all depents on your goal. Where do you want to be and how quick do you want to be there? If you have an answer to these questions you will probebly also know whether or not college/lessons/classes/treachers will be a neccasity, beneficial, etc.

WHAT'S YOUR GOAL AND WHAT DO YOU NEED TO REACH IT?

I do think the college your applying to is selecting on certain criteria and I would certainly not recommend ditching everbody's advise replied in this thread .I do also think that being driven and being able to explain to the people who are going to interview you where that drive comes from (make sure it's realistic) is something to keep in mind on top of your portfolio. Why do you want to be in their college? What do you want to accomplish by studying there? What are your weaknesses? What are your strengts?

I could be that the college my friend applied to is an exception and other colleges will take you in solely on you portfolio. Or my friend was stonded like a banana and behaved like a bavoon during the interview and that's the reason he got rejected. I will, however, share this with you, so you might be aware of this (if you already weren't) and it might help you get accepted.

I love some of these posts! There are some great things that have been written here! I would like to reaffirmed the importance of quality scores here. I believe that makes an impression. I remember most of what I sent to college. Ironically, all of my scores were handwritten (quite a laborious task I must say) so remarkable penmanship was a must. I sent a chamber arrangement of happy birthday (yessir), a movement of a musical, a tenor/trumpet duet, and a jazz band piece.

Gijs

I like your comments. Having an idea of direction is a big help. One reason I never made music a full time profession because teaching kids and performing didn't interest me enough to get into it. And the church music field and field as a media composer don't catch my interest that much. The timeliness of your post is great as I feel taking the classes I did made me a more confident and a better composer but diudn't provide as much a sense of direction. To be honest, as I mentioned the only teaching I could see myself doing is at college level. As for writing for income, I have found from talking to people at YC that that is not where I am at. Hearing about Marius' work and the technological requirements of recording and developing sound banks really don't excite me as much as writing a piece of music for performers and collaborating with them. I am happy to get a recording and performances as a reward.

So, I guess what I am saying is you can be a composer without a degree. You could do the study thru private study and your own study. As a composer you will be surprised that for many periods half or a quarter of your time will be composing new music, more often you will be

1) revising scores after rehearsals and workshops

2) and before 1) finding performers and seeking or creating your own opportunities to have your music performed

3) as in Daniel's post about recording his piano works, deciding to DIY for creating CDs or getting money for a recording project

4) Promotion of larger projects such as operas, musicals or other musical dramatic works or audiovisual works

5) if in media composition, learning, updating and researching soundbanks and mixing programs

6) if you have a publisher and belong to music licensing agencies such as ASCAP and BMI, logging performances, cleaning and submitting scores, updating bios and a blog possibly

So, as you can see even if you are a concert composer not working in electronics, you still have quite a few administrative and promotional tasks to do which can take 50+% of your time for short to moderate periods. And as you know when fulfilling a commission or starting a composition you find as you progress you start with study of scores and, if required, librettos.

I am actually at a point right now where I realize I am not sure how much further I want to go as a composer. One could say I am very happy how far I have gone but feel very,very tired now. I feel the expense of the effort. I mean I want to write for orchestra and more ... it is just a question of whether I have the money and energy to go for another degree to be able to teach at the college levlel or even seek performances.

OK, so without this being all about me, just remember too that a school is a business at heart. Schools will treat you like an assembly line if you timidly go through the process. Your friend should be very thankful that the school seemed to care about the career goals of its applicants. If I were him, I'd arrange for some private study outside his muisical comfort zone and learn something like IT, a trade, or get a more general college degree. Hey, why not just work?

Gijs

I like your comments. Having an idea of direction is a big help. One reason I never made music a full time profession because teaching kids and performing didn't interest me enough to get into it. And the church music field and field as a media composer don't catch my interest that much. The timeliness of your post is great as I feel taking the classes I did made me a more confident and a better composer but diudn't provide as much a sense of direction. To be honest, as I mentioned the only teaching I could see myself doing is at college level. As for writing for income, I have found from talking to people at YC that that is not where I am at. Hearing about Marius' work and the technological requirements of recording and developing sound banks really don't excite me as much as writing a piece of music for performers and collaborating with them. I am happy to get a recording and performances as a reward.

So, I guess what I am saying is you can be a composer without a degree. You could do the study thru private study and your own study. As a composer you will be surprised that for many periods half or a quarter of your time will be composing new music, more often you will be

1) revising scores after rehearsals and workshops

2) and before 1) finding performers and seeking or creating your own opportunities to have your music performed

3) as in Daniel's post about recording his piano works, deciding to DIY for creating CDs or getting money for a recording project

4) Promotion of larger projects such as operas, musicals or other musical dramatic works or audiovisual works

5) if in media composition, learning, updating and researching soundbanks and mixing programs

6) if you have a publisher and belong to music licensing agencies such as ASCAP and BMI, logging performances, cleaning and submitting scores, updating bios and a blog possibly

So, as you can see even if you are a concert composer not working in electronics, you still have quite a few administrative and promotional tasks to do which can take 50+% of your time for short to moderate periods. And as you know when fulfilling a commission or starting a composition you find as you progress you start with study of scores and, if required, librettos.

I am actually at a point right now where I realize I am not sure how much further I want to go as a composer. One could say I am very happy how far I have gone but feel very,very tired now. I feel the expense of the effort. I mean I want to write for orchestra and more ... it is just a question of whether I have the money and energy to go for another degree to be able to teach at the college levlel or even seek performances.

OK, so without this being all about me, just remember too that a school is a business at heart. Schools will treat you like an assembly line if you timidly go through the process. Your friend should be very thankful that the school seemed to care about the career goals of its applicants. If I were him, I'd arrange for some private study outside his muisical comfort zone and learn something like IT, a trade, or get a more general college degree. Hey, why not just work?

I agree that it's a good thing that the college he applied to selects on the drive of their future students. I think there are a lot of people who want to be a composer/musician who have a fairly bad understanding of what it means to be a composer/musician. When people look into something from the outsite they always tend to think something is easier than it is when you actually pursue it. I remember my little brother watching a soccer game on the TV in, I think it was 1998. I remember him saying: How hard can it be to score a goal? You just have to run with the ball to the goal and kick it in.. He never played soccer himself, of course. Or my father listening to one my pieces and saying: I liked that piece of Chopin you showed me better.. When people look from outside into something they tend to underestimate how difficult it is. I think it's logical, because if this wasn't the case people would never venture to do thing outside their comfort-zone. We need a little childish-underestimating in order for us to develop, I think. The most calculated disicions are not the ones that bring us moon-landings or peace.

As for my friend: He has (succefully) aplied to a college with international politics as his major. He is still busy with his music, especialy his band. They are doing fairly well and he can be a bit of a rockstar with it. He will probebly not be able to make a profit with his band/music. Which is to bad since he is such a talent (in my eyes).

I'm sorry to hear you're struggling a bit CO. Maybe the same advise is aplicable in you situation as well: What do you want and what do you need to get that?

Gijs -

Part of my situation is I have covered new territory - writing for an opera scena and going thru the rehearsal to performance process was more exciting and fun than working with just a set of performers on a non-dramatic piece. it was commission which I took a dive into never before writing an opera scena. SO, that gave me a clue of one direction I'd like to go with composition. The struggle is more do I have the resources - time and energy - to do this in a setting I prefer- a college or university. I feel most at home in an academic setting where there would be great musicians and musical drama department to write works. The only drawback I see is being too closed off from other trends and developments in composition as I have seen with teachers at conservatories and universities. This is not a huge deal as I believe I would find a way to prevent any narrow mindedness to develop .

The recent frustration with resources (time, money and energy) comes from a mix of events - as you may know I had deaths in the family last year and over the past month or so things are finally beginning to return to a calmer pace. Yet, as I got laid off my job in late March, I am seeking employment which throws into doubt my ability to afford to take coursework that would help with my goals as a composer. Plus, after several years of working and taking classes at night, fulfilling commissions or prepping for the occasional concert or service, while attending to family, I yearn for a period of reduced activity - maybe time to just work, pay off some debts, and not be so busy. One thought is to reduce my study to occasional private lessons in theory, aural skills as well as piano. Or possibly just focus on composing and have a composer check my progress once in awhile. I have even thought of just doing self study or something here at YC.

I know the priority is to get a job to have sufficient and steady income and everything else (aside maintaining musical gains and helping with my family) is secondary. With all of this in mind, you may see my doubts about my long-term goals as a composer.

I'm sorry to hear about the loss in your family and loss of your job.

I can see the strungle you have between you goals dreams and necessities. I think this a question of making dicisions. I know it sounds so much easier than it is. I should know, becuase I study to become somehting which is no always the same as would like to spent my time on. So I'm worried a lot on whether I will have time at all to spent on my dreams. Because it will be quite hard between work , family, friends, other hobbies and more.

I don't know. For me it feels best to make decisions about these things and just stick with it.

P.s. I know my post might kind off come off as a psychologist in training quoting his study books, but I ment it a bit more personal than that.

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uhm.. hi guys. I just joined this site.

Like kesguitar, I am currently a senior at high school and I really want to become a composer.

Is there any way I can hear some of the compositions or see some of the scores that go on the portfolio for college application?

I've been composing by myself without really showing it to anyone... so I want to know where I am at.

keysguitar, or anyone else trying to go in as composition major, can you please share some of the pieces you have?

I'd really appreciate it.

Check out my posts under "Composer's headquarters"

As a college teacher I would recommend that you submit music that really shows your individual voice. Length is not important.

Make sure that your scores look good and are in professional notation, such as finale.

Teachers are looking for imagination and talent.

Good luck! And don't give up!

Ghmus7@hotmail.com

Ok what is meant by imagination and talent? From the piano piece I heard over at newmusicbox which David Lang wrote and is seeking over the internet for players, his piece is lacking in some imagination. I heard a Kernis string symphony work in Nov and honestly thought some grad students show more creativity and skill with what were great ideas

The real answer is check the composition faculty thoroughly. Unfortunately like people here and in the real world, it is very difficult for the college faculty reviewing your compositions to surpress their stylistic prejudices entirely. Many are aware of this but I think it is impossible to override it. But check the faculty and see who attracts you and what they offer that you'd like to learn.

So, yes clean scores, variety of instrumentation and forces, and what you believe is your best. Everything else is a crapshot.