Music school Recommendations!
Hi, does anyone know any good classical guitar program at university/conservatiry? I’m applying for master next year and it would help me a ton if you give some tips!
preferably, I would like to know the name of the school and the teacher that you are recommending. The location doesn’t matter. The difficulty of getting admitted doesn’t matter since that’s my part to work on :D
While searching for programs on my own, I found a lot of new options that I wasn’t aware of(I had no idea that Christopher Parkening teaches); and there is no way that I find all of the options by my self. I would really appreciate you sharing your wisdom on the subject matter, no matter how well known/common the suggestion is :)
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HI! You are faced with a tough situation. You have to know it will work out for you and there may be some swings and misses. Tonebase is a good example. Most of the videos lack a producer who can help the teacher approach the audience a better way.
There are some good ones but everyone can teach you something but it is a lot of work to extract what you want. They just cannot put themselves in the viewer's shoes.
They talk and talk and talk -- then they play a passage of the song for three seconds way too fast to comprehend. Three seconds of demonstration and ten minutes of confusion , explaining how "sometimes they do this and sometimes they don't!"
No! Bad! Play the passage slowly and explain the fingering clearly. They don't get it and Tonebase doesn't have a general manager who can tell the instructors what to do. I want to hear them play the piece, the whole piece, no stopping, not a performance how fast they can go but slowly so we can hear it ourselves.
Most of these people cannot explain what they are doing because they see it differently than we do.
But we CAN HEAR IT !!!!SO PLAY IT FOR US SLOWLY. IF YOU OFFER THE TRANSCRIPT , THEN PLAY THE TRANSCRIPT!
DON'T SIT THERE FOR AN HOUR PENCILING IN YOUR OWN FINGERING WHILE WE WATCH IN PAIN.
THERE ARE VIDEOS IN SPANISH. CERTAINLY AI CIOULD TRANSLATE THEM. VILLA LOBOS , TWO GOOD PERFORMANCES, ONE WAS GRAN VALS AND MAYBE CHORO NUBMER ONE IN SPANISH.
THANKS! SO YOU ARE ON A JOURNEY.
You will find the right teacher but try to get something from even the bad ones. The guy doing Studio Brilliante on Tonebase is a good player but the video is trash. However, I slow down certain parts and pause it to get some fingerings he flys through and then he pencils is his finger for and hour. I could tell him what to do but Tonebase has no one doing it.
It's a challenge but you will do it and succeed. So be happy and know you will find the right person. Maybe the first may the eleventh. Who know?
The key is to stay positive and be happy think you are learning something from everyone you meet even if it is WHAT NOT TO DO!
Someday, you will be a master and maybe you will understand the way to teach someone. It's a lost art on almost everything on YouTube and the internet and yes, even at music schools. I won't throw my school under the bus but let's just say these people can help turn you into a better player than themselves. Think about it.
There have been many music geniuses in history where there teacher would approach them a couple months after starting and tell them to move on because they have passed them up in eight weeks. They are teachers and if they can teach it's beautiful.
Now, if you find a pro player. It probably will be no different in their teaching skills but you will be there and you will see someone who does something really special. You'll see it. Say, could you play that part again, slowly? Is this right? Oh, so the a-finger, third, ring, goes on the 3rd-string, the g-string on the b-flat, the third fret? You gotta do that or you won't learn.They think you know what they know. How? Why would you be paying them? Just accept it. It's all good.
Tonebase, please tell your instructors to play the entire song top to bottom as the transcript is written without stopping. The Cavatina video is dreadful. Again, talk, talk, talk and who cares, it doesn't make sense.Teach your teachers. Don't be afraid to ask them to slow down. Hey even if you come away with only one thing in an hour it's a win. It could be a difficult chord change or fingering or it could be playing something the same way as your transcript is written because when you see him play it differently you want to scream..
You will succeed. If you believe it and your emotions match your ideas and behavior !!!! Smile! Success! Stardom!!!
Go collect some ammo.. You want it.
You got this... -
I have heard that Yale actually has an endowment, and the program is free to anyone who is chosen. The teacher is Ben Verdery.
I live in Rochester, NY, and obviously the Eastman School of Music is excellent. The guitar teacher is Nick Goluses.
Personally, I would strongly consider the University of Texas and Adam Holtzman. Not only is Adam a great guitarist and teacher, but from what I hear, the classical guitar scene in Austin is amazing.
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There are so many great programs out there. I was going to mention Yale, but I see that Eric beat me to the punch. One proviso ... Ben Verdery is retiring at the end of the year. There are some really strong players who are applying to take over the position, and I am sure that you would be satisfied with any of those teachers.
Some other thoughts...
Here in New York City, we have Julliard (Sharon Isbin), Mannes (Michael Newman and Joao Luis), Manhattan School of Music (David Leisner, Oren Fader), and Hunter College (Joao Luis). All are great, but Hunter College might be the least expensive of them all.
The most recent GFA winner came from Columbus State University in Georgia. I am not sure what the quality of their faculty is, but they did produce a GFA winner.
There is Denver University with Jonathan Leathwood. Plus you get to live in the magnificent Rockies.
But you might find an amazing teacher who is associated with a smaller and not-as-popular university. This happened to me when I studied the marimba (and classical percussion) in college.
Hope this helps,
Marc -
I agree with Eric Phillips - you need to consider what is best for you, not what is 'best' in some general sense. In particular, you should take into account your own particular aims: do you simply wish to become a better musician (in which case almost any reputable school will do) or are you hoping to make a career out of music? If the latter, what sort of career? Each program will have its own strengths and weaknesses, and I think it advisable to look beyond the celebrity of a particular instructor in deciding which is most suitable for you.
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A couple of schools / feachers to add to the list.
Stanley Yates teaches at Austin Peay University in Tennessee. I have heard he is an excellent teacher and has a series of excellent transcriptions. Alan Mearns was a student of his.
USC has an excellent music program with a lot of great names in all music departments. Scott Tenant (Pumping Nylon), Bill Kenengiser and Pepe Romero (maybe retired) teach there. By all accounts Scott Tenent is an excellent teacher.
I have attended and participated in a master class (respectively) by Sharon Isbin and can personally attest to her excellent teaching. She is at Manhattan School of music as Eric has mentioned.
There are online resources for school listings for classical guitar. Perhaps GFA has some information as well as some of the classical guitar websites (Bradford Werner - This is Classical Guitar.)
If you are at the graduate level and are focusing on performance I would recommend looking for performers you admire for their interpretations and see if they are also professors. You can, and should, supplement your education with master classes.
Finally, there is probably no perfect teacher other than yourself.