ecarroll

TMers,

Some of you might be interested to know that acceptance rates at Dartmouth (and other Ivies) posted a record low of 15% this year (Harvard @ 9%, for those of you keeping score). SAT average math and verbal scores at Dartmouth were 726 and 723 respectively and 37.2% of the accepted students were valedictorians of their high school class. A record 94.4 were ranked in the top 10% of their class.

Why post this here? Simply for the music slant. I listened to 34 trumpet CDs this year submitted by students wanting to pad their chances of acceptance by showing their ability to play the Arutunian Concerto and the like. Only 2 actually got in.

Could back-pressure cause diminished neuro skills? If so, let's start opening up those backbores! Yikes.

Discuss amongst yourselves,
EC

trumpetnick

It seems that (ar least as music colleges and conservatoires are concerned) requirements gets higher and higher...not only on the quality of the performance, but also on the repertoire side. While my trumpet teacher played in his finale exam Arutunian concerto (and I should say that he has made quite a carreer) I had to play it for my admission exam...

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Spada Bach B flat 72, leadpipe 2L/DWMM1.5C
Spada Bach C 256, leadpipe 2LQ/DWMM1.5C
1956 Olds Ambassador Cornet


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ecarroll

Nick,

Dartmouth isn't a music school but I agree completely with your comment. Technical standards continue to rise. I only wish that we were making similar cultural gains as well (a great topic for a thread).

Best,
EC

rowuk

Ed, interesting thread!
I'll bet that too many of the CDs that you received had very basic "irregularities" especially with rhythm.
I know many trumpet players that don't even know how badly that they play. They brag about their performances and even post very mediocre stuff into youTube.
Perhaps in this time of extreme "political correctness" where it is almost impossible to tell a student that they are not even close, we pay the price elsewhere. It is actually a shame that the truth can be considered "demotivating" by some.
When is the right time to start sifting for talent? Will a trumpet player "get it" when they are turned down by 5 or 6 schools, or just attribute the problem to unfair audition practices? If they have been told their entire teenage life how wonderful they are and how they blow everybody away, will they ever be able to realistically judge their own qualities?
Do we need to augment the art of trumpet pedagogy with a touch of Darwin(survival of the fittest)?
False pride in my students is the hardest thing for me to deal with when teaching especially when they excel at only one aspect of playing! Humility is a trait not often found.............

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trumpetnick

Robin,

You make me recall some experiences from my teenage years...Then I was attending an Adventist Church and often played there. People often told me how wonderful I had played but often I knew that this WAS NOT TRUE. This made me feel quite badly as I did not know if I had to receive their compliments with gratitude or give them my opinion....

__________________
http://www.wix.com/nikolayiliev/nikolayiliev

Spada Bach B flat 72, leadpipe 2L/DWMM1.5C
Spada Bach C 256, leadpipe 2LQ/DWMM1.5C
1956 Olds Ambassador Cornet


If you don't know where you are going, you 'll end up someplace else

mahaberio

Ed,
This concept really hit home for me today. We hosted the Ohio ITG conference at CCM with Joe Burgstaller as the guest clinician and recitalist (is that a word?). Joe played some music that I personally don't find particularly interesting, but he played it incredibly musically. Anyone who has every heard Joe knows that he is an incredible player, but what I really learned about him he he's not nearly as concerned with technical precision as he is in musicality. He knows he'll miss notes; and he did but he really didn't care. The result of this was that he played so musically that he drew me into music that I generally could care less about hearing. This is not to say that he is not concerned with the quality of his performances, quite the opposite. He is, to me, enhancing the quality of his performances by taking musical chances at the risk of not being technically perfect; which is impossible anyway.

timothypierson

When I auditioned for the University of Oregon, I focused on making music than playing anything technically difficult. I played the 1st movement of the Purcell trumpet sonata, the 1st movement of the Thorvald Hansen Sonata and the 2nd movement of the Haydn trumpet concerto. I did use different horns but just wanted to sound as great as possible. If I played something technically demanding it could have gone great or bombed. I was accepted at the 200 level and am looking forward to studying with Brian McWhorter next year. I think the most important thing for young trumpet players to worry about is develping a nice sound and an understanding of the artistic nature of the trumpet. I've heard many trumpet players trying to play things over there head and are unable to play musically. I was guilty of that when I was younger.

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Tim Pierson
http://www.myspace.com/timothyepierson

ecarroll

Timothy,

Congratulations. I'm sure that you'll love your time spent with Brian. He's the real deal and Oregon is beautiful.

This thread has taken an unexpected direction. Dartmouth, as many of you know, isn't a music school. . . it's a first rate liberal arts college and those taking music classes do so mostly to enhance their experience there.

I agree, however, in what has been said. Musicality is far more important than technical prowess at most auditions for music schools. The latter can be taught rather quickly.

Matthew,

I agree. . . Joe B is sensational.

Best,
EC

_TrumpeT_

(Sigh)... I'm mainly talking about myself here. At times it feels so hard to face the music, working on your weaknesses (mainly making music, phrasing). Reminds me of something Hardenberger said like pleasing yourself by going over what you can already do in your practice room then begin to practise on stage while performing! (hope this makes sense).

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Bach 1.5C

"I built my staccato like the piano; low register with the warmth of the cello; lyrical melodies like the violin; running notes like the clarinet" - Maurice André

Khora

I had a slightly different take on what EC was getting at - why aren't trumpet players in the top numbers in their high schools, and doing well on their SATs and doing well OVERALL - academically, musically and athletically?

So I'm setting down the translation of Plato I am working on - and share the gist of it here. SYMMETRY. Balance between soul and body (and intellect). "To be a truly healthy, a great athlete must study philosophy and music (by which Plato means mental culture, not just organized sound), and a great intellect must be physically active."

I think, unfortunately, (or perhaps I unfortunately think) that these days there is a lot of pressure to excel at just one thing to the exclusion of all else. But that also leads to a loss of balance - technically perfect but uninformed performances, or performance based on what you have been told to do, rather than what you have thought through and decided on your own.

All subjects are inter-related. Knowing the how and why things work, how they have developed, the underlying principles -all these lead to informed decision making and informed performance.

College's like the Ivies, and other liberal arts schools are looking for well-balanced students who achieve at a high level in more than one area. It is a good indicator that they will succeed at whatever they pursue. Colleges do want alumni who are successful!

IBM's motto was THINK. Along came Apple with "Think Different". Do both! Read. Absorb. Learn as much about everything as you can. Push your own boundaries. Work hardest on the things you have the most trouble with, until they are the easiest. Not just in practicing - in every subject. Grow.

Leaving my soapbox for the practice room now.....

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Sandy

"Conventional Wisdom" should not be applied to unconventional thinking.