Opinion on music schools

September 30, 2010 at 04:46 PM ·

Great things can happen at any of those schools.  There are so many things to consider like where you want to live, how much money you want to spend, and what you want ultimately want to do in your career.  If you are unsure about whether or not you want to commit to the life of being a musician then I would opt for a liberal arts school with a great music department.  If you want to get an education degree down the line then a conservatory will certainly hold you back in academics.  At a conservatory you will be lacking lots of classes like sciences, math, language, etc which you will have to make up for later.  It's a serious issue to consider - conservatories are not for everybody.

Aside from that key issue, it is important to take lessons with teachers at these various schools.  You'll want to have a teacher you can live with for 4 years, someone who will be a good match for you.  Don't go to any school, if you don't know how your teacher will be.  Choose the teacher, not the school.

October 1, 2010 at 12:28 PM · What Marina said. Come back for opinions once you've been accepted. There's a million hopeful young people out there these days trying to be admitted to "name" schools.

October 3, 2010 at 02:59 PM ·

Rachel, those are all great music schools.  I have always believed that if you are great, you will shine no matter what school you choose.  It is your fate!  Anyway, if money is a concern, I would go for the Queens College's Aaron Copeland School of Music.  I passed their audition, but decided to pursue a career in a totally different field.  Since you are young, I would highly suggest going to a university/college setting instead of a conservatory setting.  Someone had mentioned that in a college setting, you will have more course offerings in the sciences, history, religion, the arts, social sciences, and so forth.  In a conservatory setting, you will focus more on music; i.e. performance, theory, ensemble practice, and so forth.  I think it's better to be well-rounded in a lot of disciplines.  There are a lot of talented musicians out there who are unemployed.  Good luck with your decision! 

October 3, 2010 at 05:44 PM ·

Well here's my opinion.  A lot of people are easily dazzled by the name and reputation of a school but THE MOST important thing is the teacher you will be studying with.  If you are going to be auditioning for an orchestral position when you graduate it will not improve your chances of getting the job one tiny bit if there's a fancy school on your resume.  They don't care where you went, they only care how well you play.  You are likely to find very good teachers at fancy schools but there are also many great teachers working at state universities that often are overlooked.  It's not like medicine or law where a degree from a big name like Harvard or Yale is a big deal.  The judges aren't going to know or care if you graduated magna cum laude from Juilliard.  

March 9, 2011 at 02:17 PM ·

Thanks for all that responded! Since I last posted, I have broadened the list of colleges that I auditioned to. (I just finished the 9th and final audition) Now I'm anxiously waiting on some results. This is by far the worst part yet.

March 10, 2011 at 05:30 AM ·

As an Oberlin student I can say it's a wonderful school.  It is a small town, but recently a number of businesses have moved in around the college and it's quite a comfortable place to go to study.  I believe as conservatories go the general education is fairly strenuous (I am double degree so I don't really know).  

Once you are admitted I suggest you visit the schools you were admitted to if you can.  While I agree with trying to have a lesson, I know people here and elsewhere who had bad first lessons and love their teachers and vice versa (or perhaps not quite literally so) so try to consider what four years with a given teacher may be like.  

March 10, 2011 at 08:22 AM ·

 Above all else: make sure the teacher is a good fit.  Make sure you genuinely like the person you're going to study with, make sure you're impressed with their experience, make sure their methods work well for you and that you're sure they really have a good plan for your progress.  I studied with a very high-profile well-known person who didn't care about helping me, was abusive and rude to me and made me feel like quitting (I'm not saying who it was but it's not any of the teachers I listed in my bio page,  those people are awesome).  Then I left and went to study with someone who really cares about helping me and I finally feel good about my progress.  My playing is improving quickly from week to week.  Finding the right teacher is a major relief.

Great things can happen at any school.  It's the teacher that makes or breaks your experience.  When you audition for a job they don't care if you graduated from a conservatory or a high school.  If your playing is good that's all that matters.  It is true that you can make connections in college that can lead to greater things but in the end you're going there to learn to play like a champ and the teacher is what makes that possible.

March 10, 2011 at 04:16 PM ·

 I agree that there's no single factor more important than your teacher at a conservatory, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's all-important.  Just as it's possible to obsess over a "name" school to the exclusion of other important factors, it's possible to do the same with a particular teacher.

Everyone here has said to keep an open mind, and that's great advice.  I was accepted to four schools, and only got my choice of teacher at one (I didn't end up going to that school).  Instead, I was assigned four different teachers during my four years (I sound like a problem student!) and I hadn't had a lesson with any of them beforehand.  They didn't all seem to be perfect fits in the beginning, but I learned a great deal from each one as I got used to each one's style and vice versa.  I probably learned as much from my fellow students, simply because I had more contact with them.

By all means, if you know that a particular teacher would be great for you, audition for his/her studio.  But keep the school in mind even if that doesn't work out!

March 10, 2011 at 06:11 PM ·

Were these auditions taped or live?  Don't commit to any school without spending a day or two on campus.  You'll find that some places immediately feel like "home,"  while others don't seem like any place you would want to be for four years.