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From:  Ian Belsey <Idbelsey@y...>
Ian Belsey <Idbelsey@y...>
Date:  Thu Dec 27, 2001  10:39 am
Subject:  Re: [vocalist] Three schools in London



Hello Kerubino,

Well, as someone who attended the Guildhall and the
Royal College, I guess I'm as well qualified as any to
give opinion!!

These are three of the top schools in the world. The
Royal College of Music has more applications than any
other music college, and of course limited resource
and space, so only the so-called best should get in.
Not so when I was there!! The Royal Academy is the
oldest conservertoire of music in Europe, and the
Guilhall the ugliest!! Like any sort of institution,
these have their high days and holidays as it were,
and sometimes the RCM is best, sometimes, the RAM etc.
This can generally be attributed (in my experience)to
the standard of the pupil in the academy at any one
time, and obviously, the teaching staff, both
permanent and visiting. When I was at the RCM, the
best place for singing was the Guildhall. The RCM was
best for string players and so on and so forth. For
instance, if you're a singer in the UK at the moment,
the best place (so they say!) is the Royal Scottish
Academy of Music & Drama. I've generally found them to
be of a high standard whatever they do.

I'm very wary of singers in music college in any case.
I think you generally have much more benefitial
tuition with a private teacher. You should (as used to
be done in the golden age) have a lesson everyday, but
you just get an hour a week or one and a half hours
for post grads, which I think is pathetic. I hated
every minute at music college and all it did was to
set me back big time. I'd been singing professionally
for fourteen years before the RCM, and within three
months I couldn't speak due to a vocal muck up!! That,
of course is on a personal level, and many students
get loads out of it: it just depends on what sort of
student you or one may be. I react badly to group type
classes for example, and I'm very much better working
on my own. Some students are opposite of course.

Er. . .what else can I say? Your friend should just do
the auditions and go for it!! London is a great place
to be for a musician as there's simply much more
happening at any one time than any where else in the
world, with more theatres, concert halls, cabaret
spaces,clubs etc. And it's useful of course seeing the
big names live.

Hope that old rubbish has been of some assistance?

Ian Voice wrecker to the stars!!!

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