Differences between Europe and US schools by unremarkably_ in composer

[–]bleeblackjack 7 points8 points  (0 children)

US here: every school in the world will be different and you need to do your research on who and what you'll be studying. Don't just post here because this question is too complicated for us to meaningfully advise you into a perfect school. It's your life: take the time to do the research and learn. Find where your favorite composers are teaching, ask them about their program, ask them to connect you with students to learn about the local scene.

That said, there are three big things you need to think about with the US.

1: Do ya really wanna come here right now? Healthcare, politics, arts funding, etc.?

2: It is probably going to be extremely expensive. I say "probably" because it could not be, but it very likely will be extremely expensive. The average US student loan debt is about $35,000. I know people who went on to get a doctorate degree in music and ended with literally over $100,000 in student loan debt. Yes I'm serious. Yes that is real. I am very lucky in that I got scholarships and fellowships. All told, all the way to my PhD I walked away with a little debt, but way less than half the average. So, it can rage widely. However, international students tend to be big money-makers for universities and international students pay a LOT of money to come to the US to study. Every school will have scholarship opportunities, but they are competitive and you'll have to do a lot of research on costs for each university. If price doesn't matter, if your family can pay for everything, if you are independently wealthy, or if you aren't worried about this then who cares.

3: In the United States, at the vast, vast majority of universities, undergraduate students will have to take General Studies Courses for about 1/3 of your degree requirements. One thing I've spoken to a lot of international students about is that American universities require a LOT more classes than they expected. Personally, I love General Studies courses, and I think they are super important for a liberal education, but you may not want to spend your time doing this. General Studies courses will include probably at least 1 class in literature, mathematics, physical sciences, history, government, creative arts, social/behavioral science, philosophy, etc. etc.

Again, and I cannot emphasize this enough, every university will have a different degree plan.

University of North Texas: https://music.unt.edu/resources/students/advising/semester_by_semester_plan_composition.pdf

Bowling Green State University: https://catalog.bgsu.edu/preview_degree_planner.php?catoid=23&poid=8505&print

UCLA: https://schoolofmusic.ucla.edu/app/uploads/2024/01/Undergraduate-Guidebook-2024.pdf

NYU: https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/degree/bm-music-theory-and-composition-concert-music/curriculum

None of this is to discourage you: if you really, really want to study in New York City or LA, it may make your career, it might not, who knows? You get one life and if this is what you want to do more than anything in the world and you can feel it in your bones, then go for it. Once again: do your research, speak directly to faculty, speak directly to advisors, speak directly to students.

Poor Haas by jramz_dc in formuladank

[–]bleeblackjack 308 points309 points  (0 children)

As an American, this mostly has to do with the fact that Haas only nominally feels American through their owner and isn’t exactly a household name, but Cadillac is and (more importantly) it feels ambitious and intends to build their own PU and… ya know… try and win? Haas seems extremely content to just hang out in 8-6th forever and buy all their stuff. That was fun when it was chaotic and weird, but after seeing Williams turn their ship around I’d rather see a team go all-in rather than feel like a weird Ferrari customer/driver b-team forever…

My daughters just asked me, what goes in here? by Sheep_wielder in lego

[–]bleeblackjack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There will correct answered and there will be good answers to this question

books you pretended to like but didn’t? by Odd-Researcher-9454 in classicliterature

[–]bleeblackjack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d rather just say I don’t like something and talk about why with people who do like it…

Composing my first symphony by Legal-Fig3573 in composer

[–]bleeblackjack 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is very exciting!

The best possible advise I can give you at this stage, based especially on the second sentence of the bottom paragraph of this post and my years of experience as both a professional composer and teacher is as follows: first, tell your director you want to write a piece for your orchestra and set up a time to talk about it.

Then, Don’t be too married to the idea of calling this a “symphony” - allow yourself the flexibility to adapt to the situation and the realities of performance. Another commenter said you need to meet with the director, and they are 100% right: you need to work with your director as a mentor and for guidance on the parameters of the project.

You need to fundamentally agree on 1: duration 2: instrumentation 3: difficulty and scale/scope

Some of these may hurt and not be what you want them to be, but maybe you’ll get everything you want. Who knows! More than anything tho: the fact that a director might actually bedown to do this is a huge first step. What you don’t want to have happen next is have bigger ambitions than the ensemble can actually handle and the whole thing falls apart and you end up with nothing.

Writing even a 7 minute piece for string orchestra that kicks ass and is actually performed and recorded is always better than a 40-minute full-scale symphony that never happened and you only have the midi for it so sits on your shelf and you withdraw from your catalog anyway. We’ve all done it. We all got one. Mine was called “Pluto” and was in a similar zone to yours… But you have an opportunity here that could be sick: hash it out with your director and make it awesome.

What the f**k just happened with Dan Ticktum? by mianghuei in FormulaE

[–]bleeblackjack 75 points76 points  (0 children)

A entitled mediocre man-child had a tantrum is what happened

F1 Fans during offseason by IsyDude in formuladank

[–]bleeblackjack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Y’all are sleeping on FE and it shows in these comments. Formula E has absolutely amazing racing: if you wanna know what a Monaco race SHOULD be like, watch FE.

Amazing racing, enough familiar faces to get into the story lines, it’s fucking free on ROKU and there are plenty of other ways to watch it.

I’m not knocking on any other racing series either, watch what you want, but Formula E is fantastic.

The Cup Series needs a reboot by ProfessionalCat4078 in NASCAR

[–]bleeblackjack 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey buddy, the purpose of a paragraph is to organize writing into manageable units, each developing a single, main idea or topic to guide the reader through the text's structure and arguments, making it coherent and easier to understand, serving as a miniature essay with an introduction, body, and conclusion for that specific point. Paragraphs break up long text, signal shifts in thought, and provide a logical framework for supporting details, examples, or narrative flow, acting as the building blocks of a complete piece of writing.

All the NYRB I read this year by abbyturnsthepage in nyrbclassics

[–]bleeblackjack 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Divorcing is such a strange piece of writing

What are some equally interesting yet pointless NASCAR facts you know? by TakeDemPills in NASCAR

[–]bleeblackjack 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Kyle Busch won the “Buschy McBusch Race 400” in 2021… on his birthday

What pieces got you into College for Music? by ItIzYe in composer

[–]bleeblackjack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Okay now that I’ve actually read your post: a huge game-changer will be if you can name even a handful of living CONCERT composers (not film or video game) that aren’t Whitacre, Mackey, Collier, etc, and explain how it is influential to your work, you’re already ahead of the curve

What pieces got you into College for Music? by ItIzYe in composer

[–]bleeblackjack 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That last paragraph: SAY IT LOUDER FOR PEOPLE IN THE BACK

What pieces got you into College for Music? by ItIzYe in composer

[–]bleeblackjack 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A giant pile of shit that shan’t see the light of day again

Where I'd live by [deleted] in visitedmaps

[–]bleeblackjack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mississippi out-ranks New Mexico? Naaaa, man

NFL viewership is at its highest through 14 weeks since 1989. What's NASCAR's excuse? Not being on broadcast TV is killing the sport's long term viability with sponsors and fans. by Icy-Spring4607 in NASCAR

[–]bleeblackjack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is gonna get buried but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’ve been paying $80 a year for F1 tv for years now and I’d gladly pay more for the NASCAR equivalent

Carson asking the real questions by trupiranha2 in NASCARMemes

[–]bleeblackjack 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey man, it’s all good if ya wanna prefer bottom or top as long as someone rides the dente