All right, hello, guys.
Welcome to another episode of TwoSet Violin.
Du-Shh!
Okay, about a week ago or a few days ago...
I can't remember when.
We did an Instagram story asking you guys...
Ow, that hurt.
Uh... To ask us any questions regarding...
Music conservatory life or music college life.
So we're just gonna go through some of them now.
On that note, accent the like button.
Music gang.
Asks...
- Now, all of the classes were music related. - It's music related.
Well...
Well, loosely...
- Music related. - They're meant to be music related.
How much some of these classes achieve that goal...
- Is questionable... - Yeah.
But I have heard...
- Yeah, they added more like... - In some colleges...
Different curriculums or different courses.
- Yeah. - That you have to take.
As a musician that makes me very sad
because we just want to get good at our art.
- We don't want to know how to write essays. - Oh, I think someone like took language classes.
Yeah and essays, it's like...
We just want to get better at our instrument.
And look, music research. We had to do that, you know?
I have to research about Bach.
But you can at least see the connection there.
One class that was kind of funny though...
That was compulsory for first years for us.
- Oh, yeah... - It was choir.
So we had to sing.
La la la la~
Maybe it's for people that have literally never
performed in an ensemble before, I don't know.
That's true, I feel like some classes out there just...
So everyone can get the scope of everything.
I mean, we went into music college
with prior experience.
- Mhm. - With music.
Yeah.
We kind of knew what was going on
and we went there cause we want to practice more.
Yeah, but for some people that haven't experienced
- some of these things, it could be really cool. - Makes sense.
- Yeah. - Cool.
Says...
Well, we did do performance major.
Yeah, so we played almost every week.
But in our uni, weekly workshops was optional.
So what ended up happening was
Brett and I played every week...
Maybe one or two others will play every second week.
And the majority of students never performed.
Which is really a waste, in my opinion.
Actually, if you have performance opportunity, I think...
- You should take it. - Any performance opportunity.
I know it's tricky, you get performance anxiety. But...
If you want to become a musician to perform,
you can't skip that process,
So you just do it while you can.
While you're with your peers.
It's something we do miss, you know.
You don't even have to try and get an audience.
They're already there because they have to get their...
Attendance marks.
So I think, give it a shot.
Half of practice is performing.
Now, going back to the question.
If you're not a performance major...
I don't know.
I don't think so.
Nah, you don't have to.
I think you just need more references in your essays.
Yeah...
- Yeah, say that, I think I said the name wrong. - Yaraakar.
Depending on your music college, the standard as well.
And depending how much you pay them.
Just kidding.
- Or am I? Am I kidding? - Cha-ching. Cha-ching.
- I don't know. I don't know. - Well...
- Some universities really like their cha-ching, cha-ching. - I only hear rumors about how this world works.
Where are you from?
International student, oh!
Ohhohoho!
Serious answer to that though...
Depends on the level of the university and
what level is around you as well.
Because obviously, it's a lot harder to get into Curtis...
Than it is to get into...
- Well, the music university we got into. - Yeah.
Curtis accepts like what, three people a year?
- With everyone applying from all over the world. - And you have to be like under 12.
Yeah, something ridiculous.
For those of you that don't know, Curtis is where...
Hilary Hahn and Ray Chen and all of them studied at.
Usually, the process though, is you have an audition.
So you're really being selected amongst
the peers that audition that year.
You know we did the ABRSM video recently, right?
That gives you an idea of the grades.
We both did the equivalent of the highest grade
when we were like 12.
- Yeah, yeah, 12, 13, I think. - 12, 13? Probably 13.
At that level though...
The highest level, you would get in.
Yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure.
So...
Probably, you know those like exams...
That you probably have in your country...
AMEB, ABRSM, RCM, whatever.
The highest or second-highest grade
will probably get you into a standard music university.
- Yeah. - But then, if you're going for...
One of the more competitive or prestigious schools...
You might have to be either really good or...
- Be really rich. - Connections...
There's three options, really good, really rich, really good conne -
- I'm just joking. Maybe cut them out. - Just kidding.
But if our editor forgets to cut it out, it's not our fault.
Yeah, it's not our fault, yeah.
I think it depends...
I was lucky enough to have a teacher
that was quite open-minded...
And encouraged me to think for myself.
I did wish I had a bit more confidence
in thinking for myself back then.
But my suggestion would be try to understand
not so much just what they're teaching you,
but the principles behind why they teach you something.
Why are they trying to give you this technique?
What are you trying to achieve?
- Yes. - Is it better tone? Is it better phrasing?
Is it better articulation, whatever it is...
Yeah, always try to internalize for yourself, like...
Don't rush.
Why shouldn't I rush?
Oh, okay, it's because rushing creates this effect
in the music that's not good, you know.
I have heard of some teachers
that force you to play a certain way.
Okay, if a teacher force you to play a certain way...
- That's not good. - That's questionable.
Even if they have all the experiences in the world.
Because not everyone plays the same.
- At the end of the day, use your ears. - Yes.
Actually, just listen to the sound.
Record yourself. Do something.
Like listen, use your ears.
And I think you'll find your answers there.
Actually the most -
More important question is, did you practice?
Yeah, did you practice!
Cause at the end of the day, if you practiced,
- you're gonna get pretty good. - Yeah.
If you don't practice, then wishful thinking.
Yes.
40 hours a day.
Duh.
Yeah, duh.
Um, we did like 4-5 hours a day.
Depending on the circumstances.
Yeah, I still suck.
I still remember that room 1.11.
Yeah. Yeah.
With the big acoustics.
- So you go in there to think you sound better. - You sound good, yeah, yeah.
And always looking for a practice room.
Actually, half the time,
practicing is looking for a practice room.
Dude, we just practice outside at the end.
I think we pissed some people off.
I don't care, like I need to practice.
Yeah, all the rooms are gone, I have a class in one hour,
what am I gonna do, I need to practice.
Some students don't practice,
but some students also practice a lot.
We knew a guy that practiced like eight hours a day.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I think it's also about practicing smart.
You do have to practice a lot...
But don't stress practice.
Stress practice is one of the most
ineffective things you could probably do.
Some people under stress perform better,
but I'm talking about the ones where they're just like...
"Oh my god. Oh my god, audition is tomorrow."
And they're not really processing what's going on.
That's not good.
- That's actually really counterproductive, yeah. - Counterproductive.
Asks...
- Yeah... - Love you too.
Thanks for the love.
Oh, ****.
Hello?
- All right, guys. Video is finished. - Time to go.
Please like and subscribe.
Joking.
What's the admission process like?
Um...
All right, you apply.
They send you an invitation to audition.
You audition by playing...
Depending on the uni, but for our case,
it was like two pieces.
Yeah, two pieces.
And then they ask you a few questions like a...
Five-minute interview and then you get your results.
Very straightforward.
Well, actually I never did an audition.
I did it in my lesson.
Connections...
To be fair, um...
I don't know if I got in because of connections,
but I had already known my teacher
- before going into the uni. - Yeah, yeah exactly.
But we're also - To be fair though - We also played okay.
- Like... Our playing was good enough for it. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
- It's not like we sucked. - Sucked. Yeah.
- I mean... - But I mean, we suck...
But we're not, yeah.
We don't suck suck.
Uh, watch more prodigies.
Ten-year-old destroys our self-esteem.
Destroy your self-esteem. You have no more self-esteem.
You just go for it.
You're like, "who the hell cares, let's go."
Rather than trying to build a self-esteem...
Just let go.
- Just let go. Get rid of it. There's no self-esteem - - Have no self-esteem.
Self-esteem is just is.
- The ego is gone. - Yes.
Yes. I don't really wanna talk about it.
Oh yeah, he was a...
Interesting...
Situation.
But yeah, I had to take eight months off playing
and I got into a wheelchair.
Yeah, gotta be careful.
Do your stretches.
One became a Youtuber.
Ahahahaha.
- A lot of them are teaching. - Teaching. A lot teaching, some -
Some in orchestra.
And also, a lot of them are doing something else.
Sometimes music related,
sometimes they just go completely to engineering.
Yeah, I think it can go either way.
It's probably the same for most -
I get the feeling with most courses as well.
Cause you might do it and
you might not like it after awhile.
Yeah.
Asks...
Depends on the subject.
You have aural class, where they give you aural exams.
They'll play like a tune on the piano,
you have to dictate it, write it out.
Clap the rhythms.
Then, there's theory exams
where they give you theory questions
and you gotta be able to be like...
Okay, these are the notes in an A major scale.
Write a four-part harmony progression.
There's also like essays and like...
Yeah. Essays, assessments where you have to...
- Write a... - Thesis...
Do your APA style references. If you...
Put the semicolon wrong, you get two marks taken off.
Oh, great days.
Uh, anyway and performing, of course.
- Yes. - We performed a lot so...
Performing was part of the curriculum.
It's the only one we really cared about, to be honest.
- Dude, that's the only one I cared about. - Yeah.
I winged all of them.
Ah! Sorry teachers!
I winged them all except for performance.
Wing!
Whoo-hoo! I just flew by the exams.
You guys know that video we made, um...
A long time ago?
Cheating with perfect pitch.
Where it's like...
*Knocking*
- Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. - It's like "question 4," and I'm like "la".
I actually did that at a Con exam once.
Oh! That's so good!
Disclaimer, in case you...
- Take back my graduation degree. - Degree.
It's a joke, it didn't actually happen.
Yeah.
You don't, you practice.
Yeah, you just be like...
"What do you play? Viola? Nah."
Nah, just kidding, actually...
- I think - Yeah. - I do think...
Personally, we cared more about
practicing than networking.
But, I do think networking is important.
It plays a part. I -
Networking is also like
you also meet a lot of your friends there as well.
You're sharing the same journey together.
Okay, to be fair, I'm with you on that.
I much prefer thinking about it as just making friends.
Cause there's always this kind of icky feeling
- when it becomes too transactional. - Yeah, yeah.
I never spent uni being like...
"Oh, what do you play?"
- "Here's my business card." - Yeah, don't do that.
Save yourself, don't do that.
Just actually try to make friends
and once you get friends, things will naturally come.
You know, hang out with people you vibe with.
We had a group of friends that we always hang out with.
- Yeah. - And we all played different instruments, so...
Yeah.
I didn't give my business card to Brett.
We kind of just hung out.
Imagine that, bro.
Dude, if you did, I'll be like this guy's weird.
Run away.
Ooo...
- Depends on the - Depends - - How...
Good you were, because we were so good
that it wasn't a comp - nah, just kidding.
Oh!!!
Nah. I think it also depends on where you are.
Where we were, it's a bit more relaxed
compared to places like Juilliard.
- Yeah. Yeah. - We've heard a lot of stories as well.
It's competitive finding a practice room there.
Like you have to sign up three days before
- to get one hour practice. - Yeah. Yeah.
- That's a bit hectic. - Yeah.
Being competitive is fine.
Sometimes it goes a bit too far as well.
You're here to just become a better player,
not become I'm better than you.
- Yeah, I agree. - And then it kind of takes the joy away from it.
Competitiveness should be a spirit.
- Where you just want to do the best you can. - Yup.
But if competitiveness means...
Doing little sabotaging things or
passive aggressiveness against others.
Oh, that's bad.
You don't - Dude, that's not worth winning.
- It's not worth wining. - In my opinion.
Yeah, and I think it also...
Reflects a lot about the person themselves
that thinks of it that way.
I don't think it's a healthy thing to take with you.
Eddy said it right like,
I think competition should be a good spirit.
If you think it's something else,
then I would really question
why you're doing it in the first place.
I think everyone should be...
Healthily competing against each other
and supporting each other.
Like that story about
the person that snuck a blade into a piano.
- Yeah, that is - You're just a horrible human being. - That's just... Dude, don't.
- Don't do that. - Yeah.
Performance opportunity.
Like literally, that's the only one, performance.
- We got to play concertos - - The only one.
- I mean, okay. Joking. - That's not the only one, but it's the...
- In our opinion the most important one. - Yeah, it's true.
And also we got to play with orchestras with it.
That was the coolest experience.
We both got to play a solo.
Tchaikovsky violin concerto. Barber violin concerto.
Yeah, and then not a lot of people get to do that.
Universities, music college do present the opportunity.
You just have to work really hard for it.
There's also opportunities to get masterclasses.
Yeah, it is. Oh, that is the best.
- When artists come... - We had masterclass with like...
Vengerov...
- Yeah, that is the best. - I had masterclass with, um...
Tasmin Little.
Yeah, I remember that, I remember all of them.
So that is a really good thing.
Masterclass, nice.
Make sure to check out the TwoSet masterclass.
All right, last one.
Very...
Next one.
Com -
Just kidding.
If you want.
Yeah, let's do next one, let's go.
- Um... - No!
Because there's definitely people that made it
- Yeah. I think... - that started at 16 or older.
- It's harder. - It's harder.
But it's definitely not impossible.
It has been done.
It has been done and if you want to start at 16,
you have all the time in the world,
because 16 you're so young.
There's that guy that won the
Tchaikovsky piano concerto?
- Yeah, he started... - I think he started at 16.
Yeah, and then like won the
London Phil principal cello or something.
- Yeah. - He started the cello at 16.
You just have to double focus, double down focus.
I don't want to be like too naive about it.
You are at a slight age disadvantage.
But it's not impossible.
If it's something that you think is meaningful.
Yeah.
- Go for it. - And if you do what you love, it's perfect.
In capital letters.
Well that's on student debt.
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And hit the legato subscribe button.
So we can pay off our student loans.
Thank you guys so much for watching.
We hope you keep practicing.