There are many concerns for anyone considering a music degree. There are many concerns beyond high tuition costs, housing costs, limited financial aid, finding the right school and teacher, getting enough performance opportunities, and managing rehearsals, auditions, and coursework.
The best way to ensure a rewarding educational experience is to be informed and strategic in your higher-ed investments.
Musicians find that finding the right teacher to study with is the most important aspect of choosing a grad program or an undergrad program. Don’t judge a school or teacher based on their reputation. It’s all about finding the right teacher for you! The most important thing to becoming a professional is having the right teacher in the early stages of a career. Your studio teacher is the most important part of your education, especially if you want to develop your musical voice as a composer or performer.
Please don’t choose a teacher solely based on their reputation or likeability. You need someone who is both inspiring and challenging, who can help you overcome technical and musical obstacles and help you reach your full potential.
In order to develop as a performer, you need the right teacher at just the right moment. This will be different for everyone. If you are looking for help in tone production, technique, and musicianship, then it is a mistake to learn from someone who focuses on advanced interpretation. It would also be wrong to learn from a teacher without a sound or who doesn’t know how to produce one. If you’re interested in a career as an orchestral musician, it makes sense to work with an experienced teacher and attend a school that has a great orchestral program.
There are many excellent teachers out there, but it comes down to how the teacher communicates with each student and their learning style. It is not enough to choose teachers based on their reputations, how they sound on recordings or in concert, or what you saw in their master classes. By taking a lesson with the teacher or participating in a masterclass, you can get a feel for how they will work with students.
Start by creating a list of potential teachers to find the perfect match. Ask your friends, family, former and current teachers, conductors, and coaches, as well as directors. Ask your friends and colleagues about the teachers they believe would be a good match for you. Find out what they have to say about their teaching methods and what they enjoy.
You can listen to recordings and watch master classes. Summer festivals and workshops are a great way to find your next teacher. In master classes and at summer festivals, you can get an idea of how a teacher may work with students.
Once you have a list of potential teachers, search for summer programs and schools that employ them. If you are still looking for the teacher’s email address on the school’s website, then please email the Admissions office to ask how you can reach them. It is a good idea to ask for an introductory lesson before the formal audition. This should be done in the spring or summer. These lessons are only sometimes available. Some teachers may not be available, or they might not have the time. However, it is worth asking.
You can arrange to have a lesson with the teacher before you go to school for the formal audition. This will give you the opportunity to meet the right teacher and receive valuable feedback about your skills. While online teaching is becoming more popular, I still recommend meeting in person. This can be costly as you will likely have to travel and cover the cost of the lesson. However, it is well worth it. You are doing the research necessary to make a more significant investment, the years and tuition dollars required for a degree program. You may be able to convince the teacher who is a good fit for you and your work that financial support and tuition funding are available. Do not gamble on a bad match between you and your instructor.
Last minute tips: Many faculty work part-time at multiple schools. If you are interested in learning with one teacher, make sure to weigh the pros and con’s of each school.
Please don’t assume that the school will accept you and give you the teacher you want — they might not. It would help if you did not assume that a teacher would accept you into her/his class because you have been verbally accepted. It would help if you got an official acceptance from Admissions. The teacher must also confirm that you have been accepted to her/his studio.
No matter who you choose to study music, the true test of the quality of your education lies in how you use it. Charles Stier’s book “What happens after graduation?” outlines the following: The Classical Musician & the Music Business: “The most important thing to do in order to become a professional musician is seek out the best teacher and stay with them. Knowing when to go is the second step. The third step is to learn from your mistakes and create your own values.
Angela Myles Beeching, a music career strategist, is the author of Beyond Talent. She has advised hundreds upon a wide range of career-related issues. This article is a reprint of a piece she wrote for New England Conservatory’s Career Services Center, where she was the director from 1993 to 2010. This article is a excerpt from a piece she originally wrote for New England Conservatory’s Career Services Center, where she was director from 1993-2010.