Re: time off school (transferring)?


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Posted by Work on your scales on June 27, 2001 at 01:52:42:

In Reply to: time off school (transferring)? posted by Elizabeth K. on June 24, 2001 at 15:37:27:

The scales are the the keys to the musical universe!

I may be a bit forward, but you seem a little upset with your situation and surroundings. By the inflection in your voice, I detect that your unpleasantness has had an effect as to the way other students and faculty view you. As a result of your "hard work," no one is willing to work with you. I have rarely found this to be the case with hard working musicians.

Why did you choose the college you are now attending? Was an assistantship the whole reason for applying or was it the instructor? My guess: the instructor.

What are your (realistic) career goals? Has your instructor talked with you about professional career choices. The good teachers have a tactful (not always though) way of showing you where your abilities are as opposed to where they should be. Professionals find a way of making it work. Period.

Remember, positive role models are contagious!

Are you the type of musician that believes the purchase of a new horn or a master class will "put you over the edge" more so than careful, consistent, diligent practice?

I had a friend in college that bought a new Meinl. Thought it would put his playing over the top. He was always bragging about the new horn, as he could brag about little else. In two months, he was practing even less. He never did graduate.




A FEW TIPS FROM ME TO YOU (and others in a similar boat)

1. Find out what you want to do. (this is the hardest part)

2. Stick to it (no matter what situation or college you happen to be attending)

3. Bloom where you are planted. If you are not doing well at CollegeX, you will not be doing well at CollegeZ. Professionals find a way of making it work, so must you.

4. Accept compliments and learn to APPRECIATE criticism-it is not always easy for a professor to give criticism to student musicians

5. Work hard AND don't tell anybody about it...just do it. You didn't hear Mr. Jacobs bragging about the amount of time he spent practicing in school

6. Respect all members and ensembles in your college/studio...It is the only way you will earn their respect (which lends itself to assistantships and so forth)

7. Get all of your equipment squared away before you get to GRAD school. Nothing frustrates professors more than students trying to "get the perfect equipment" for themselves and re-inventing their sound on their own during the school year.

8. Show up for all lessons prepared and ready to play. NO EXCUSES

9. Learn to keep music department gossip out of conversations

10.Keep the relationship with your private instructor at the highest professional standard possible. Failure to do so will result in all types of far-reaching problems...these problems (often unknown to the student) may not surface for years or, they might just be remembered by faculty and colleagues at college ensemble auditions, in job references phone calls, in thesis defenses, etc.


Good Luck and stick to it! You can do it!


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