Find Music School

My list is;

Wellesley, MIT, Yale, Harvard, Rensselaer, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, Caltech, and Vanderbilt.

My SAT scores are 800 CR, 760 Math, and 730 Writing, and my SATII subject tests are 800 Math 2, 660 Biology (ouch), and 720 literature. I'm in almost all AP classes with good grades, and I do music and other extracurriculars.

So where should I go? I've applied to all those schools and haven't gotten any responses yet.

That was a pretty stupid question considering all you posted about yourself was test scores and grades and nothing about your personality.

Just go where you think you'll learn a lot and have a lot of fun and fit in well.

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“Michael! Stop freaking out! It’s going to be okay! Just grab my hand and be quiet!” whispered Aubrey. If he keeps talking, both of us will get caught, thought Aubrey. She was glad he was there though, because she wouldn’t have been brave enough to do it herself. This was all Haley’s fault, though. If she wasn’t such a brat to her the other day, there would be no point in Aubrey sneaking into the school to destroy Haley’s life. Well, not her real life, but her material life. Haley practically kept everything in her locker, her phone, wallet, and day planner, everything Aubrey needed to make her sister’s life miserable. Aubrey felt bad doing this, but she almost lost Michael, her perfect quarter back boyfriend, thanks to Haley. Haley had no right to follow Aubrey around when she was shopping the other day. Aubrey had gone to the mall with her best guy friend, Austin, and Haley saw the two of them holding hands, so just to make Aubrey’s life miserable, she took a picture of the scene, and immediately sent it to Michael. Of course Michael was frazzled, so he called Aubrey to see what the deal was. Aubrey told Michael that she had been friends with Austin for forever and that they were very close and it didn’t mean anything. It took Michael forever to forgive Aubrey, so she had planned to break into the school, break into Haley’s locker, and steal all her stuff to get Haley back for what she did. Also, Aubrey had prewritten nasty rumors about Haley’s friends and had also signed Haley’s name on the bottom to seal the deal. Aubrey planned to post her signs everywhere in the school, especially in the girl’s restroom. Since construction was going on in the gym, and the doors were unlocked, all Haley had to do was dress her and Michael in all black, drive to the school, be as quiet as ever, and her plan would go perfectly.

Aubrey dropped off Michael and was back in bed by three in the morning. Everything had gone wonderfully! When she walked into the school the next morning, the yelling and crying was music to her ears. She walked past Haley’s locker and saw that her friends were yelling at her, and there stood Haley, sobbing her eyes out because her stupid stuff was missing. Oh, come on, thought Aubrey, your phone is the cheapest phone alive, you have a total of five dollars and twenty-three cents in you wallet, and your day planner is a useless piece of trash. Aubrey was having the happiest day of her life until fifth-period, when she got called down to the guidance counselor’s office. Aubrey couldn’t think of why she had to go down. There’s no way this is about last night, thought Aubrey. No one saw us or heard us. When Aubrey arrived at the guidance office, the counselor, Mrs. Prane, was as red as the gushing lava from a volcano. Gees, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, thought Aubrey. Mrs. Prane had never liked Aubrey. Nobody really cared for Aubrey, however, everyone loved Haley. Haley was a junior and Aubrey was a senior, but Haley still managed to rule the throne. Aubrey took a seat in her favorite chair and grabbed the Rubik cube off Mrs. Prane’s desk. Mrs. Prane snatched it out of Aubrey’s hands before she even had the chance to play with it. Mrs. Prane told somebody behind Aubrey to please take a seat. Aubrey looked behind her and froze up. There was little miss perfect, smirking at Aubrey. Oh no, I am so dead, thought Aubrey. Just when Aubrey thought things couldn’t get any worse, in walked Michael. Aubrey knew that Haley would rat them out quicker then you could say,”Stop!” This definitely meant expulsion and possibly juvy. This made Aubrey so mad that she wanted to stand up, smack Haley across the face, and run away with Michael. Right as Aubrey was standing up; Mrs. Prane exploded. She yelled at Aubrey and Michael so loud, that Aubrey felt like she would never be able to hear again. Aubrey couldn’t understand anything she was saying, so she pulled out her cell phone and started texting Austin. Five minutes later, Mr. Vons, the principal, walked in. He simply stood in the doorway and said, “Michael and Aubrey, I will be seeing you now.”

Aubrey and Michael walked into Mr. Von’s office together. Mr. Vons told Michael and Aubrey to sit down. ‘’I am very disappointed in you two,” said Mr. Vons. “Why would you do such a thing?”
“What thing?” said Aubrey, carelessly.
“You know exactly what thing, Miss Jorge,” said Mr. Vons. “Sounds like you’re a little forgetful today, so let’s take a jog down memory lawn. Shall we?”
“What are you talking about?” demanded Aubrey.
Mr. Vons pulled out a portable DVD player, revealing a clip of Michael and Aubrey in the act.
“That’s not Michael and I. We would never do such a thing, and we had a lot of homework last night!”
“So this is Haley and her boyfriend breaking into the school, getting into Haley’s locker, and practically destroying her life last night?” questioned Mr. Vons.
Aubrey fought back. “We didn’t break i
This is Part 1. Part 2 will be posted momentarily.

Interesting idea, you might want to work on your sentences through, its a bit awkward in places. Just a plot question; if that stuff, the phone etc was so important to her sister, why would she leave it at school over night?

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Hi guys…I am a sophomore in high school, I play the guitar. I've been taking private lessons for the last 6 years, and I consider myself pretty proficient in the jazz world, and very proficient in the rock world. I'd like to go to school for those two realms, probably more in the jazz realm. I've looked into Berklee after I graduate, but what are some other schools I can look into? What are things i can practice to make my acceptance more possible? Is there anything in the bay area preferably, where I'd like to be? The rest of california works too

Thank you.

For Pete's sake, you'll never get into Berkeley spelling it that way.

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Okay, so I've been singing choral/pop/Broadway songs for a while, and I'm a tenor.

I've developed tone, a strong timbre, vibrato, and I make use of dynamics and proper breath support.

However, I'm not on that brink; you know, when you hear the ease of projection and the complete freedom of the voice, I haven't hit that yet.

It's awkward, because I already have my own technique and I like it much, but I'd like to expand my repertoire a little more for some classical pieces, maybe some arias.

I actually have a friend who just got accepted to Manhattan School of Music and has been singing opera/classical for a few years. She has a beautiful, effortless, golden spinto soprano voice and she's been so encouraging, but she is stubborn and will never, "bown down," to sing pop (she sings with the back space of an owl in chorus.) She's tried to help me learn for All-State, but I decided to not do it last year.

Is there anything I can do before lessons to help my voice develop?

First of all, there is nothing wrong with switching from that to classical singing. That's how I found classical music, since most of the time these other art forms are introduced to us before opera/classical singing. Learning how to sing classically will only enhance what you have. Many broadway singers trained through classical music.

Two things. I am not sure if you meant before your upcoming voice lesson or before taking voice lessons period. If you are lined up for voice lessons, I would tell you this. I usually tell my voice students who are just starting to do nothing. I would prefer a clean slate when they come in. That way, I can teach the correct techniques instead of something they "think' might help. Sometimes what they think sounds better is counteractive to what is best for them vocally. Its just best that you allow your voice teacher to "diagnose" your problems should you have any vocally.

If you aren't taking voice lessons and you would like help without the prospect of having them, I would say you are on the right track with chorus.It sounds like your chorus teacher has a grounded program being the fact she has a student going to Manhattan School of Music, and there are All State students in the making. Next year, I hope you audition! All State is such a wonderful experience. But back to the subject at hand, listen to the advice your chorus teacher gives you. I'm sure your teacher has sparked something in you that pulls you closer to new forms of music. I think that's great and you're off to a good start.

As far as technique, you already have diaphragmatic breathing down, which is a wonderful start. If you feel tightness (where you talk about freedom in your voice), try this before vocalization. Go in the mirror without any self conscious issues. Make your face look "dumb". Keep your posture erect, and make sure you have fully relaxed your body before trying the exercise (meaning do some stretching of the body to fully relax your body). Now slowly vocalize on 1-3-5-3-1 on the vowel Ah (for example if you are in the key of C, sing CEGEC on AH). Keep the dumb look the whole time. As you go up in range (this is usually when singers become tense), keep the feeling of "dumbness' as you go up, but give the sound more energy. You can also try pulling your hands towards the side of your face like a breeze to give you an impression of the voice coming to you, not so much out of you. Take your TIME. Don't rush the vocalization. If you feel yourself tightening up, stop. Try again. Don't think "this note is too high" or "OH NO! Its getting HIGHER!" If you think that way, you will automatically tighten up and lose freedom of the voice. If you think "More Energy" you will give the sound more energy instead of making your body resist the natural sound that's there.

Also remember, you've got a long ways before your voice completes maturation. This doesn't happen for most singers until their forties. So the best is yet to come. Since you are still in high school, your voice is going through growing pains, particularly in your teens. This too shall pass. Don't fret over it.

As far as classical music, I would say ask a professional vocalist who knows diction well (German, French, Italian particularly). Buy the standard 24 Italian Songs and Arias published by Schirmer. Almost every classical singer starts off with this book. They usually have phonetics that can help you with the Italian language, but have someone help you in addition to this. You can order this book anywhere. Amazon.com, Sheetmusicplus.com, etc.

I would encourage you to keep doing what you're doing. You are worthy just as your friend. Keep growing, increase your basic theory (nothing over the top, just basics), and keep singing. You never know where this genre may lead you!

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I am trying out for this music high school in NYC, and i need to have a song to play for them. I am thinking, an Al Di Meola song. I want something that style. If, you don’t know him, he is fusion. It needs to be fast
FOR GUITAR

Angel of death by Slayer
I won’t see you tonight pt2 by Avenged Sevenfold

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I am a 14 year old viola player and am going into my fourth year of playing. I'll be a freshman in high school this year. My dream is to attend Juilliard and study the Viola and music. How much should I start to practice and what can help me reach this goal? Is it easier to get in for Viola than Violin? Also, are there any good viola/string instrument books? Thanks in advance!

At this point in your life, you should be studying intensely with the BEST viola specialist you can get to. An hour lessons week is minimal – and plan on about 4 hours a day of practice. Serious, intense practice – playing in orchestra or for fun does not count towards this. Do not plan on having any other life. Treat this like preparing for the Olympics – although making the Olympics might actually be easier – we send more athletes to the Olympics than musicians are accepted into Juilliard. A former choral student of mine graduated this year – a horn player – I was NOT her HS horn teacher. She is now in their graduate division. The level of competition is like nothing that can even be described to you, until you experience it. You should have accumulated EVERY POSSIBLE honor group membership possible in HS – Area, All-State, All-US, etc. You should have an incredible repertoire and technique BEFORE you even apply. And you should have excellent academic grades. The people accepted are the top FRACTION of 1% in the WORLD – not just the US. If this sounds like you, fabulous. If NOT -then do not give up your dream -just adjust it for a top music school to which you CAN gain admission.

Your current private teacher can assist you. If you do NOT have a private teacher – and study only with your orchestra teacher in school – then you better get going IMMEDIATELY and find the best private teacher you can – even if it means driving a great distance. Parents who take their kids to such lessons are like those parents who take their kids 2 hours each , every day, to SKATE from 5 to 7 am every morning.

I wish you much luck. My student had a great time, and received a wonderful education. There re FOUR of us in this family with very fine conservatory educations – but not from there – we made other choices, and maybe ONE of us could have gotten in, and survived the pressure, but not the other 3. We all have Masters degrees in music now, too – and some of us are going further. It's a wonderful life – but a tremendous committment.

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