 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mohammeddisto
Date: 2003-05-19 04:25
how different will being a music major be from high school? right now, i study two "big" solo pieces a year, with etudes, etc. will college be really different?
also, there aren't like all-state, all-easterns, etc....what takes the place of this kinda stuff in college?
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2003-05-19 11:47
Here in Australia, I do about 6 - 8 pieces a semester, and 2 studies a week. Not all of them are for the end of semester exam though, usually only 2.
Expect to be able to play ALL major and minor scales, in 3rds, and arpeggios, dominant 7ths, diminished 7th, from memory, by the end of 1st semester. Expect a lot of pressure, and expect to be pushed to your limits. Expect to be frustrated, busy, sometimes negative. But, expect to enjoy it at the same time and LOVE what you do!
All-state will be your college orchestra. Which will be of a much higher standard, and there may be even more competitive auditions for. Also, you may be placed in small ensembles. This semester, I'm doing the Khachaturian Trio, which is a pretty difficult one, for a 1st year anyway. But it brings me back to my point that you will be pushed and challenged.
Look forward to it, it's going to be challenging, exciting, and LOADS of FUN!
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Author: msloss
Date: 2003-05-19 13:08
Depends on the university and the chosen specialization. 1st year as a performance major you'll probably be taking basic music theory, music history, ear training, perhaps musicology and composition, private lessons, and whatever the university requires in the way of non-major classes (lit, math, etc.). Again, school-dependent, there will likely be large- and small-ensemble playing. For a clarinetist, almost a guarantee of band or wind ensemble. At Northwestern at the time I was there, the clarinet program was too large compared to the orchestral seats available, so getting an opportunity to play in the symphony was rare for many, and a good taste of how difficult it is to get a "real" gig in a professional ensemble.
If you are at any kind of decent school, every day is all-state day. It is extremely competitive to get to sit in the top ensembles, so you've got to bring your best game every day you are there. As far as literature, your teacher is g*d-allmighty in deciding what you work on and how, but you make every effort to touch as much music as possible because 4 years is not really that long when you have to learn the canon of the clarinet.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2003-05-19 17:33
Mohammeddisto -
First, the good news. You'll be out of the kiddy pool and in with the big guys. You'll find all kinds of good people and interesting things to do. You'll get to spread your wings and soar with the eagles.
The flip side is that there will be plenty of people just as good as you, or better. You'll be at the bottom or at best the middle of the heap, rather than the top. There will be people who play a LOT better than you, if only because they have several more years of intense practice. Also, you'll probably feel like a beginner again with your teacher, who will not be impressed that you can toss off the Nielsen Concerto, but will show you that you haven't learned to play a C major scale perfectly even and in tune, with every change seamless.
Also, there will be more than you can possibly do. In high school, you can do almost everything, and each project is in nice, bite-sized chunks. In college, you need to pick and choose, and it's easy to jump into much more than you have time or energy for. With greater freedom comes greater responsibility to decide. I mean this not in the moral sense, but in the sense that you're in charge and need to organize your own time. People won't be there to do it for you the way they are in high school. If you're a performance major, you have to discipline yourself to spend the necessary hours in the practice room, even though there are other great things happening at the same time. It's also the place to discover whether you have the single-mindedness -- even the narrow-mindedness -- that it takes to be a professional performer.
It's a great change. You just jump in and do it, and if you can get yourself wrapped around 50% of it at the outset, the rest will come along fine.
As to the all-state equivalent, that's not as big a thing in college. There are festivals, but you have to seek them out yourself and apply for them.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: darien3r34
Date: 2003-05-22 17:41
i go to northwestern. you practice a lot more
IMO, music school isn't that much fun...ˇ
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Author: darien3r34
Date: 2003-05-27 15:28
by the way, who teaches at mcgill?
how much is the tuition?
im getting tired of northwestern. it's better than yale, but im getting tired of it.
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Author: msloss
Date: 2003-05-27 18:27
Wow, strong words about Northwestern (and Yale, for that matter). Are we talking about NU in Evanston, IL? Reason I ask is because the MEC (and the Tech High School) is in Mass.
As an alumn, I'm not going to sing the praises of NU too loudly because I took great issue with many aspects of their program, but for the most part the program is de rigeur for music school. I myself didn't get as many shots at orchestral playing as I would have liked, but I was playing and performing non-stop for four years in every ensemble I could get into on every instrument I could play. When not rehearsing and performing, I was practicing and studying (unfortunate side effect of a Bachelor's program). I was tired, but not tired "of it".
Can you illuminate of what you are tired? How do you define fun? If you aren't enjoying it, stop now and find something that stimulates you. Morrigan's got the right attitude. If music school isn't fun or is too tiring, the real music world is going to be one heck of a drag.
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