5. Ask a School’s Music Students
In all of my years interacting with people from a diversity of backgrounds and participating in a number of social groups, I have never seen as chatty of a crowd as music students.
Music students absolutely love to express their opinion on their teachers, their peers, the school they attend, etc.
To do this right, you’ll have to speak to a few students – hopefully good students too who can really express their opinions clearly.
One way you can do this if you can sneak into the cafeteria of a music school. If you just ask a student for his or her opinion of a school/teacher, you can likely find out a lot more information than just by looking online.
4. Track Student Success
Ask yourself this question: What are my professional career goals? What is it I would like to accomplish as an artist working in the real-world?
Pretty valid questions, if you ask me.
If you wish to perform in an orchestra, then studying with a teacher who has a track record of success getting students employed into orchestras is a good way to start. Bonus points if you find a teacher who is also an accomplished orchestral performer.
If you wish to perform in an unconventional setting, perhaps find a school that offers not only traditional training, but also opportunities to perform in pit orchestras for musicals, ensembles for recording studio sessions, etc.
If you wish to become a teacher in music, look for a school that has a high track record of getting students employed in the real world.
Whatever your goals are, investigating the backgrounds & track records of teachers at various music schools can be integral to your success in finding the right-fit school.
3. Investigate Performance Opportunities
Does the teacher you are interested in offer enough interesting performance opportunities for his or her students to satisfy you personally?
For example, the composition programs at some schools, such as those at Cleveland Institute of Music and the University of Michigan, will have performance students come into the lessons of composition majors to help “workshop” pieces that will eventually have a public showing.
Doing this provides an interesting performance opportunity for both the composition student looking to realize his original artistic creations as well as for the performance student interested in modern music perhaps not staged within the traditional concert hall.
Often times, the percussion faculty at some schools, such as that of the University of New Mexico, will place an unusual emphasis in popular music, jazz, and contemporary music, as well as the traditional classical orchestral styles. Such a well-rounded curriculum could be beneficial to music students interested in contemporary music performance.