It turns out that textbooks are like, HELLA expensive. Just, so expensive. So costly. Too much. A student who has their first semester of Many Required Textbooks can really face some sticker shock when it comes to getting their books. But fear not! Here are some tips to HALVE your textbook costs this semester! Check your school’s library for books before you buy them. A lot of textbooks are held…
Read MoreFour Ways to Improve Pit Classes
Most people end up taking at least a couple pit classes in college – yes, even musicians. It’s a rite of passage, almost. A ritual. Imagine: You sit in a room with three hundred other people. You watch the Elder in front of you, listen to their words, write down what you can and hope to remember the rest. There will be a Test. Those who pass the Test will…
Read MoreSeven Study Moods to Start School Strong!
Semester begins, for me at least, in about two weeks. Academic stuff is already beginning to fill my plate, with graduate school applications starting to be due in MID OCTOBER, jeegus. This means that it’s time for my first STUDY MOOD post of the new school year! These are all ways I like to study – they keep me focused and grounded in what I’m trying to do. Pick your…
Read MoreHow to Survive Week 1
So college starts again soon. Like, really soon. My sister has a countdown until she moves in – she has 25 days. However, a lot of people don’t really think beyond the whole “school is starting up again aaaaaaaaaaaaah” panic to figure out exactly how they’re going to handle that first week back. It’s an important week – starting off strong will give you a good foundation for the rest…
Read More4 Reasons Why You Should Be Friends with Your Classmates
Hey, did you know it’s good for you to be friends with your fellow students? I’m always surprised when people are shocked about this. It may be something about the majors I’m in, but many people I know were genuinely surprised at how many career musicians got to where they are today based on the people they know. It’s something business majors have pounded into their skulls, but music majors…
Read MoreI’M RELEASING AN eBOOK.
It’s happening. I’ve hinted online, I’ve mentioned surprises, and this is it! What what! I will be releasing How to Music Major: Surviving the College Search this coming week. This is my guide to, you guessed it, surviving and thriving during the music major application process. This book contains some of my most requested answers, including: How auditions actually work! How to figure out whether a music major is right for…
Read MoreHow to Start a Performance Group
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 MoreThings to Prepare for the School Year
So I saw the first “Back to School” ad on Amazon today, which means it is time to start reminding people of what is Actually Necessary for the school year. This isn’t a school supplies list, really. It’s more of a guide as to what you should probably have ready before the school year begins. A planner system that works for you. I like the bullet journal system, but that’s…
Read MoreHow to Start Teaching
Most musicians end up teaching at least a little, in order to help make ends meet. Some teach as their primary source of income. The thing is, to the young musician, there is no real guide to how to start teaching in the first place. It can be confusing to begin, I know, but as someone who has started teaching recently (look at the top of the page! There’s my…
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…
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