One of the things people think about when they imagine the college music experience is participating in small performance groups. They think about rock bands, chamber music groups, quartets, all sorts of stuff. However, at least at my school, there are far fewer groups than there are students. This is despite the fact that the first advice pretty much any music graduate will give is to perform in and work…
Read MoreHow to Display Professionalism
As someone who’s spent a decent chunk of her life in and around stage stuff, I’ve spent a long time getting exposed to various types of performers. It’s to the point where I can tell how long someone’s been performing and how seriously they take it from how they react when the director starts talking at the beginning of rehearsal. And boy howdy, have I learned to appreciate the people…
Read MoreHow to Handle Failing an Audition
If you are, were, are going to be, or even considered being a music major in college, then you know the fear of Not Getting In. (Heck, in broader terms this applies to college in general, too.) It’s the fear of finishing the application, of doing the audition, of getting through everything, and then being told, “I’m sorry, but we had many wonderful applicants this year and you were unfortunately…
Read MoreHow to Find and Choose Repertoire
So you’ve finally hit the point in my musical career where you’re not just allowed or encouraged, but expected to bring your own ideas for new repertoire to the table. It’s intimidating, since before about 98% of what you’ve performed has always been at the suggestion of one of your teachers. You don’t really have many immediately apparent resources for finding new rep. What are you supposed to even do?? I’m in this…
Read MoreHow to Handle Impostor Syndrome
“I’m not as good as my classmates.” “I have no talent.” “I don’t deserve this.” “I’m never going to succeed.” “If people knew how bad I really am, they’d laugh at me.” All of these great comments, and more, brought to you courtesy of Impostor Syndrome! The insecurities-recommended way to talk yourself out of a career in music! Try it today! Impostor Syndrome is, to put it in scientific…
Read MoreHow to Use Your Summer
Hey! Are you like me? Do you ALSO have huge plans for stuff you are going to accomplish over the summer? And yet, do you wake up in September to find you didn’t do, like, anything? Awesome! And by awesome, I mean the opposite of that. We have a problem, you and I. We suffer from Summer Procrastination-itis. Summer Procrastination-itis can be rough. It stems from having too much free…
Read MoreMusical Burnout: How To Avoid It
Finals are basically over for most people, which means that burn-out may or may not be on your mind anymore. I know I feel amazing now that all my things are over, but if you had a rough semester, you might be feeling like you got hit by a truck and now you never want to play a note ever again. Or, on the flip side, you had an awesome…
Read MoreHow To Be A Better Singer
What is your foremost priority as a singer? I’m gonna bet that, unless you are already literally the best performer in the world, your goal is something along the lines of “be a better singer.” The problem is, that’s a pretty gosh-darn vague goal. Just “singing better” doesn’t mean very much. Your first step is to sit and think for a bit. What do you really mean when you say you want…
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