Some helpful advice that the author has for students of music, especially at the undergraduate level

D'Angelo, Michael

NC DOCKS at The University of North Carolina Wilmington

English

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Advice to a College Music Student - exported from MediumAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from Medium.htm[12/5/2013 10:42:02 AM]Advice to a College MusicStudent “Barely Breathing”by Brett William DietzI started teaching at the University of North Carolina Wilmington right after finishingmy Master’s degree at Indiana University in 2012. While I wasn’t expecting to get backinto academia so quick, it was enlightening to get the teacher’s perspective, especially inAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from MediumAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from Medium.htm[12/5/2013 10:42:02 AM]a smaller school environment.I went to two universities with very large schools of music. It’s difficult not only to seeeverything that happens within these schools, but even more difficult to interact witheveryone on a consistent basis. One nice benefit of being at a smaller school is that Iinteract with both students I teach and other students that are in the department.In the last year and a half, I’ve seen the many differences between large establishedschools of music and smaller developing departments of music. For us teachers, we aretrying to train our students for the professional world, but most of the larger universitiesare already at the same level as professionals. This relativity can be discouraging tostudents in a smaller school, and the biggest thing I have noticed so far in my teachingcareer is where professional ability lacks, potential replaces. It’s up to the student to seetheir own potential and develop it.Below is some helpful advice that I have for students of music, especially at theundergraduate level. Some of these were the reasons why I was very successful inschool, some were things I learned and realized as I progressed through school, andsome I learned the hard way. If I knew then what I know now…Your professional career starts as soon as you step foot on campus.Your time in school has much more of an impact on your professional career than youthink. The people you meet and the experiences you will have will directly affect yoursuccess when you graduate and are long gone.Most importantly, people’s perception of you is what carries the most after you’vegraduated.You wouldn’t believe how many groups today have members that went tohigh school or college together. Once you’re out of school, the network of people thatyou created will stick with you for the rest of your career.What that means is you have to make the best impression you can while you’re inAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from MediumAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from Medium.htm[12/5/2013 10:42:02 AM]school.Your peers will be your colleagues, and your teachers will be your references. Ifyou develop a history of being unreliable, unprepared, late to rehearsals andperformances, or just plain unpleasant to work with, people will remember that aboutyou. Once you’ve fallen into a trap, it takes twice as much effort (or even more) torebuild your reputation.It’s OK to make mistakes, that’s what being in school is for. What’s most important ishow you react to those mistakes. Sometimes a simple apology in person is all it needs, ormaking up for it by making sure it never happens again.Be prepared.Or better put, stay on top of things. When you’re in school, you have so many things towork on all at the same time. Ensemble music, private lesson materials, outsideprojects, theory homework, music history listening, those pesky general educationcourses, the list goes on…The absolute worst thing to do is procrastinate, especially with practicing. What workedthe best for me is if I had things to do, I prioritized and did them before extracurricularactivities. It’s OK to postpone socializing to stay on top of your work. Give yourselfample time to complete what you need to do. What may work for one person may notwork for another, so find the system that’s right for you and stay on top of things. To-dolists work really well for me, but it only works if you make sure it’s cleared as soon asyou can. I like to get things done at the beginning of the day, so I have my evenings free.I also recommend not cramming as many hours as possible into one semester. All ofthose classes (and the work associated with them) can pile up. When I was anundergrad, I never went over 15 hours. It took an extra semester to graduate, but it wasnice being involved in more performing related activities than bookwork.With all of that being said, if you find yourself not prepared, don’t make excuses for it.Be honest with your professors. The best things you can say are “I’ll do my best” or “It’llAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from MediumAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from Medium.htm[12/5/2013 10:42:02 AM]be better next time”. Your professors can tell if you did the work or not, so don’t try tocover it up.Be reliable.By being prepared, you’ll be more reliable. You’ll have your parts learned, have betterlessons, and become a better musician while doing it. I always appreciate and admireplayers that are “solid”: they always bring their “A” game, play their parts beautifully,and they look effortless while doing it. Their bad days are better than the great days ofsome.Reliable musicians are always on time, always engaged, and always willing to contributeto the music as a whole than their own personal gain or ego. They’re always professionaltoo. They treat every practice session, rehearsal, and performance like it’s the biggest gigthey’ve done.These guys and gals get the calls first.Practice your ass off.It should go without saying, but school is the time to hit the practice room hard. It’s verytrue that you don’t have as much time to practice when you’re not in school. (I didn’teven have as much time as I wanted in grad school!)It’s not so much that you’re practicing, but it’s the intent of which you practice. You canget the most out of your practice time by really thinking about what you’re doing andhow you can make it better. Practicing is more about problem solving than anythingelse. A good teacher will give you the tools to make your problem solving easier andmore effective.What I really learned from my teachers is how to teach myself.Advice to a College Music Student - exported from MediumAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from Medium.htm[12/5/2013 10:42:02 AM]Record yourself often.This is something I wish I did more in school. You should always record yourself inmany different situations. Record practice sessions, rehearsals, lessons, performances,etc. Not only should you listen to them immediately and use that for personal feedback,take a moment a year later to listen to the same recording. Progress can only bemeasured over long periods of time. You may not notice your progress in weeklyincrements, but it’s surprising to listen back to what you sounded like a long time agoand how far you’ve come.Listen.I can always tell who will be great students from the very first conversation I have withthem. I ask them what they listen to. You’d be surprised how many students coming toschool to study jazz don’t listen to it!The best resource for any musician is the music itself. The more you listen to the musicyou want to create, the more it will become a part of you, and of course you have amodel for your own development.When I was studying with Ed Soph, he would always ask me what I listened to. Hewould follow my answer with, “What makes he/she/it sound so good?” I thank Edalmost every day because he taught me how to listen to music with intent. Byrecognizing the qualities that make the music successful, it will be easier to incorporatethose qualities into your own playing.Listen to everything you can. Listen to the music you want to create. Listen to things youdon’t normally listen to. Find and listen to recordings of what you’re working on,whether it’s solo, chamber music, wind ensemble piece, symphony, big band chart, etc.There are so many resources available now like Spotify, YouTube, CD’s, your school’slibrary, et al. Find multiple versions. You’ll gain more perspective on differentinterpretations of the dots and lines you see in front of you. It might also answer anyAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from MediumAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from Medium.htm[12/5/2013 10:42:02 AM]questions you have about the music.Don’t get discouraged.The old saying goes: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”But sometimes in school you have to. There is so much material that has to be coveredin four years, and as a result you may have to push through an idea or technique thatisn’t fully realized.Don’t let that be discouraging to you. With time, you’ll eventually grasp the concept thatseemed daunting to you. When things get tough, try not to let emotion get to you.Discouragement can kill your brain’s ability to learn something new. Trust that you’ll getit with time.Honestly, most of the concepts I learned in school finally clicked for me well after Igraduated. So give it some time.Save everything.Now this is something I didn’t do and I surely wish I had. I did a little bit during gradschool, but I’m still kicking myself for not doing it thoroughly.Save everything. Everything. Yes, even your textbooks. (I know, it’s tempting to sellthem back, but don’t.) The more information you physcially have when you’re out ofschool, the more resources you’ll have when you don’t have access to all of the resourcesavailable when you were in school. That one time you forget how Neapolitan sixthchords work…My advice is to catalogue every course you take. For physical media, keep a separatebinder for each course with all of your notes, assignments, tests, etc. and file it away atthe end of the semester. You can do the same digitally. Keep a “College” folder, organizethat by semester, then by course. Keep PDF’s, Finale/Sibelius files, audio files, and all ofAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from MediumAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from Medium.htm[12/5/2013 10:42:02 AM]the other things you accumulate during the semester. Organize it in such a way that youcan find things easily later down the road.You’ll be glad you did.Perform as much as possible.Play as much as you can in every possible situation you can find yourself in. Try to be inevery university ensemble you can play in during your four years, and then play somemore outside of school. Play in symphony orchestra, play in a chamber group, sightreadduets with friends, help someone on their recital, etc.If your school has something unique like steel band or gamelan ensemble, do that too.The more you play, the better you get, and the more people you’ll meet.Get out of your comfort zone.This almost ties in with performing as much as possible. At least once you shouldparticipate in something completely out of your comfort zone. It may be a format you’renot familiar with, or the music might not be your cup of tea. Whatever it is, go for it.I’ve found that participating in something out of my comfort zone made me appreciateand respect that particular art form much more by being involved in it. It actuallyhelped me come to appreciate free jazz — not only do I enjoy playing it, I enjoy listeningto it as well.You may actually find that something you may not like will turn out to be incrediblyrewarding.Don’t be afraid to ask for help.I will be forever grateful to Christopher Deane for all of the help he has given me overAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from MediumAdvice to a College Music Student - exported from Medium.htm[12/5/2013 10:42:02 AM]the years.Never be afraid to talk to someone if you’re having trouble. It doesn’t even have to dealwith music. When I was in school, I used to suffer from perfectionism issues: so muchso that I would become really discouraged in myself if I felt like I didn’t play one singlenote perfectly. I would become overwhelmed with anxiety.But then I asked Mr. Deane for help. I told him what I was experiencing, and he had noproblems talking to me and helping me work out these issues while working on piecesfor my lessons. As a result, the lessons were phenomenal, and I will forever call him amentor and a friend. (I still am a perfectionist, but it doesn’t bother me anymore.)So don’t be afraid to ask for help. That’s what your teachers are there for.Last but certainly not least, have fun.Music is such an enjoyable experience: listening to it as well as creating it. No matterwhere you are in your studies, while you are always striving to be a better musician andartist, always remember to enjoy this process. Be happy with the gift that you have: theability to create great music.So have fun, and create beautiful music.Exported from Medium on December 5, 2013.View the original

Advice to a college music student

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