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Many young musicians will decide they want to pursue a career in music at an early age and will choose it as their major. Of those that decide to get a degree, they will have to choose between going to a university or to a conservatory. Conservatories of music may seem intimidating to many of these undergraduate musicians, so here are some things to expect if you decide to attend a conservatory.
1. You Have to Love What You Do - At a conservatory, you will have to eat, breathe, and sleep in music. If you don’t really love what you’re doing or you are unsure, the experience will not be fun for you and you will most likely burn out. That being said, if you do love it, it will be one of the best times of your life. Every single class you take will be centered around music in one way or another - whether it be music theory, history, or philosophy. Your classes accommodate for any ensembles you are in, and your teachers support your career every step of the way. Be prepared to work hard, because even if you love what you do, it is not necessarily easy.
2. Make Your Own Opportunities - There will be some performance opportunities for you, but depending on the conservatory, they can vary. This is the time of your life when you are building up your experience and creating connections, so look outside what the school is offering, reach out to a local school, create your own themed recital or chamber opera. You create your own future. What are you waiting for?
3. Everybody Wants You to Succeed - It may not seem this way, and there is a good chance that you will feel some underlying competitive tension between colleagues; HOWEVER, everybody is, honestly, down to the core, rooting for you. Your teachers want to help you in every way they can and your classmates will do everything in their power to lift you up because you have chosen one of the hardest and most rewarding careers out there. The only thing you should be afraid of is being somebody you’re not.
If you want to learn more about how to tackle performance anxiety, here are the tips and tricks that are super useful!
4. Singers Tend to Clique Together - This isn't necessarily a bad thing either. It may feel intimidating at first because all the singers are extremely talented, but so are you! That is why you got into the conservatory in the first place! Singers stick together because it is very easy to relate to somebody who shares the same passion and love for singing that you do. The people you get to know here will be your connections when you graduate and are trying to find jobs and gigs. It would be helpful to talk to people that aren’t singers as well. Try to go outside of your usual group and make friends with composers and instrumentalists. The more connections the better! Plus, if you’re lucky, some of your composer friends might want you to be their guinea pig for a piece! Experience and friendship never hurt anybody!
5. No “College Experience” - It’s a different (and better IMO) college experience and not the one that is advertised in pop culture. There are no frat parties to spend your nights at and very few non-musical extracurriculars to participate in. Because it is such a small environment, you get a really small, supportive group of people that will stay with you throughout your life, no matter where you go. You are a part of a network that cannot be found anywhere else, where everybody is learning and growing together.
6. The First Two Years Are Like Any Other University… but More Musical - The first two years of college are packed with academic classes and “GE’s” also known as General Education classes. These are necessary to graduate and to earn an accredited degree. Even though you are at a conservatory, you will need to take the writing class, the history class, and the philosophy class; however, your teachers may gear them more towards music than they would if you were at a regular university or college. After the two years are up, you have more freedom to choose classes in topics that interest you (like Music and the Brain or Musical Politics). Just be prepared to be studying more than you’re performing for the first two years.
7. More Writing Than You Think - You’re probably thinking that you came to do music and you left the dubious amounts of writing behind you. I’m sorry to break it to you, but you’re going to have to start loving to write or at least tolerating it. Almost every class will require a good chunk of writing for its assignments. Some teachers require lesson logs and reflections. You will need to be writing your own program notes which require a lot of research and academic writing. When you are not making music, you are writing, so brush up on your writing skills, or take an extra class so you can excel in your studies.
8. Take Advantage of the Time Between Your Classes - As a music student, you will not have a lot of free time. You will either be practicing, studying, writing a paper, or working. The little time you do have, you will most likely want to spend with your friends. Take advantage of the time you have between classes to do some extra ‘table work’ to learn music or even take a nap. Power naps will save you during busy weeks when you don’t get the chance to get a full night of sleep and you need to sing for 2-3 hours the next day.
Get ready for your college auditions with these awesome insights!
I hope these points gave you a little bit of clarity about what it will be like to attend a conservatory of music for your degree! Happy singing!
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