music and interview

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Homoochan

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Did anyone hear anything about if you put down like.. oh I am a great piano player or something, then the interview can ask you to play the piano during the interview?
 
I've personally heard two examples of that, one with a piano and the other with a guitar.
 
I read in a book that this happened. Definitely weird though.
 
How do they do that? they bring it out and you to play something off the top of your head?
How does it work? How often does this happen?
 
hospitaldoctor1 said:
How do they do that? they bring it out and you to play something off the top of your head?
How does it work? How often does this happen?
Click to expand...


If you're too worried, I can promise you they wouldn’t do anything that rendered a potential PTSD.
 
Nobody will be able to tell you how often something like this happens (unless LizzyM knows). Bottom line is to not lie or even exaggerate, and you won't find yourself in this situation. If you feel like you'd be too embarrassed to play in an already stressful situation, I probably wouldn't worry about it too much. They aren't looking for the world's greatest musician, they just want to see a different side of you.
 
that's pretty awesome actually if this happens for real
 
I've heard of it happening. I didn't get the piano treatment, but I was called on the spot to justify myself by lecturing for 20 minutes on the history of western medicine, in its entirety.
 
Good thing I didn't put piano on the app.
I can play it but not good enough to show it off during the interview.
I put scuba diving though I guess i'll have to pack my wet suit :scared:
 
I put down that I DJ (I spin electronic music), and they had turntables and a mixer at the interview.
 
SB100 said:
I put down that I DJ (I spin electronic music), and they had turntables and a mixer at the interview.
Click to expand...

seriously? that would be really funny if it wasn't so scary.

I mean I know that anything you put on your application they can call you on (because you better not lie to them) but bringing in turn tables? That requires some serious planning.


I mentioned that I do pottery. I wonder if they'll bring in a potters wheel and clay and make me make something while I'm in my interview suit. haha
 
Nah just a joke. Though sometimes I wish that really happened 😛
 
Had that happen to me at Loyola. It was pretty cool. My first interviewer was excited when he read my app the night before and he brought in his '67 les paul for me to play for him in the room. I asked him what he wanted me to play b/c I was really thrown off guard and I ended up playing 2 zeppelin songs for him. By far the best interview experience I've ever had.
 
red10 said:
seriously? that would be really funny if it wasn't so scary.

I mean I know that anything you put on your application they can call you on (because you better not lie to them) but bringing in turn tables? That requires some serious planning.


I mentioned that I do pottery. I wonder if they'll bring in a potters wheel and clay and make me make something while I'm in my interview suit. haha
Click to expand...


And a piano doesn't? What do they do, put it on a fork lift?

ADCOM: "Oh, and it says here you play the piano. Is that true?"
Pre-Med: "Yes."
*boop* *boop* *boop* as the fork lift with the piano backs in
ADCOM: "Really? Well my favorite has always been Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto. Can you play that?"
Pre-Med: *blank stare*
 
msk86 said:
Had that happen to me at Loyola. It was pretty cool. My first interviewer was excited when he read my app the night before and he brought in his '67 les paul for me to play for him in the room. I asked him what he wanted me to play b/c I was really thrown off guard and I ended up playing 2 zeppelin songs for him. By far the best interview experience I've ever had.
Click to expand...


'67 les paul *drool*
 
Homoochan said:
Did anyone hear anything about if you put down like.. oh I am a great piano player or something, then the interview can ask you to play the piano during the interview?
Click to expand...

I think there's two points we can take away from this:

1. A lot of rumors circulate out there about this and that. A lot of them may be BS and some of them may have only occurred in a very rare isolated incident. The important thing to remember is that the time spent dwelling upon and stressing out about these stories can be better spent doing something productive.

2. Exaggerating or lying about certain parts of your application such as activities and ECs will only come back later and bite you in the ass in some shape or form. You will look like a fool during your interview or even when writing your essays. If you write in your app that you're the mac daddy at playing the piano, it will sound more convincing during interviews and essays if you actually are the mac daddy at playing the piano.
 
Trexate said:
And a piano doesn't? What do they do, put it on a fork lift?

ADCOM: "Oh, and it says here you play the piano. Is that true?"
Pre-Med: "Yes."
*boop* *boop* *boop* as the fork lift with the piano backs in
ADCOM: "Really? Well my favorite has always been Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto. Can you play that?"
Pre-Med: *blank stare*
Click to expand...

Well a lot of places have pianos chilling in lobbies or you can always grab an electric keyboard. Not many people have turn tables chilling in the lobby. Imagine being in med school and the adcoms coming in being like "hey we have a pre-med who thinks he can DJ! which one of you has turn tables so we can torture this newbie?"
 
Well thank god Im an artist. You can give me pen and paper and I'll produce something that'll captivate the audience.
 
red10 said:
Well a lot of places have pianos chilling in lobbies or you can always grab an electric keyboard. Not many people have turn tables chilling in the lobby. Imagine being in med school and the adcoms coming in being like "hey we have a pre-med who thinks he can DJ! which one of you has turn tables so we can torture this newbie?"
Click to expand...

I'm not going to lie, if I were in that situation I would go out and buy/rent turntables specifically for that.

Watch them squirm!
 
SB100 said:
I put down that I DJ (I spin electronic music), and they had turntables and a mixer at the interview.
Click to expand...
my PS is about hip-hop and medicine, and I also included in my activities that was a DJ. if they busted out some equipment, i would gladly take a spin at it. :laugh:
 
Jolt21 said:
my PS is about hip-hop and medicine, and I also included in my activities that was a DJ. if they busted out some equipment, i would gladly take a spin at it. :laugh:
Click to expand...

At which point, if it were up to me, you'd be in.

I'd like to think some of the adcoms appreciate things on the same level.
 
I am a amateau belly dancer..A girl who danced with me applied to med school and put it on her app..
So when she got an interview at Duke, the interviewer asked her to belly dance..

I can imagine how sensual it can be ...hahaha...^_^
 
ChinaDoll said:
I am a amateau belly dancer..A girl who danced with me applied to med school and put it on her app..
So when she got an interview at Duke, the interviewer asked her to belly dance..

I can imagine how sensual it can be ...hahaha...^_^
Click to expand...

Was the interviewer male or female? I think it'd be very awkward if the former.
 
I have a terrible mind but... what if one of your jobs to pay for college was being a stripper and you put it on your AMCAS? lol:laugh:
 
merryjoulton said:
During my interview at Colorado the student interviewer had me answer the "tell me about yourself" question in Spanish because I wrote about my study abroad experience in the secondary.
Click to expand...

That's so cool! I wish I could have interview in my own language
:scared:
 
merryjoulton said:
During my interview at Colorado the student interviewer had me answer the "tell me about yourself" question in Spanish because I wrote about my study abroad experience in the secondary.
Click to expand...

did the interviewer know Spanish?
 
BlueElmo said:
did the interviewer know Spanish?
Click to expand...

if he didn't merryjoulton could have just have given a 10 minute lecture on their favorite flavor of icecream for all the interviewer knew
 
red10 said:
if he didn't merryjoulton could have just have given a 10 minute lecture on their favorite flavor of icecream for all the interviewer knew
Click to expand...

if he didn't know any Spanish and you didn't know any Spanish and just BSed that part of your AMCAS, you could have spouted gibberish.:laugh:
 
I'm a dance major... wonder if they make me dance during the interview??? Actually, when I was interviewing for undergrad one lady asked me to show her some ballet - we were in this little tiny office. Definitely awkward. Hope I don't have to do that again!
 
Trexate said:
ADCOM: "Really? Well my favorite has always been Rachmaninoff's third piano concerto. Can you play that?"
Pre-Med: *blank stare*
Click to expand...

Rach 3 is a beast. Anyway, Liszt and Rachmaninoff are the best if you want to be a show off and impress. I played Waldesrauschen last month, got nervous and screwed it up horribly, but the audience thought it was wonderful because I was flying all over the piano.😀 On the other hand my teacher was mortified.😡
 
glypha1104 said:
Rach 3 is a beast. Anyway, Liszt and Rachmaninoff are the best if you want to be a show off and impress. I played Waldesrauschen last month, got nervous and screwed it up horribly, but the audience thought it was wonderful because I was flying all over the piano.😀 On the other hand my teacher was mortified.😡
Click to expand...
Bahaha. My teachers always tell me "if you can't play the runs, just move your fingers and move PASSIONATELY! The audience won't notice." And they were right! 😀
 
This thread is life-changing
 
coldkatanagirl said:
Bahaha. My teachers always tell me "if you can't play the runs, just move your fingers and move PASSIONATELY! The audience won't notice." And they were right! 😀
Click to expand...

so, so true!

i have an electric piano and i always, always play with headphones. so if i get asked to play at an interview i'm sure i will get incredibly embarrassed and suck majorly... piano has become like a super personal thing for me; even my roommates have heard me play only once.
 
Whatever... While I really do play the instruments I listed, if someone busts out a piano, I am likely to freeze-up. I mainly now play it (as dw2158 said) for myself...I haven't performed for an audience outside of my mom in a minute.

And if they bust out a guitar, I hope they understand that I'm not about to break or file-down my nails just to prove something...

Hopefully they'll ask me to draw or something simpler :xf:
 
I wouldn't put piano down as anything more as a hobby, personally. I played seriously as a teenager, but have since gravitated more towards trombone playing, although I do love to occasionally pull out a songbook and sightread some tunes on piano. I seriously doubt most people have a spare trombone and mouthpiece lying around a hospital though...
 
dancingdoc1 said:
I'm a dance major... wonder if they make me dance during the interview??? Actually, when I was interviewing for undergrad one lady asked me to show her some ballet - we were in this little tiny office. Definitely awkward. Hope I don't have to do that again!
Click to expand...


Oh gosh... that does sound a little awkward. Makes me wonder if I should note that I love to do musicals. It doesn't do justice if I don't get to warm up.

Were there windows where people could see inside the office?
 
Kaustikos said:
Well thank god Im an artist. You can give me pen and paper and I'll produce something that'll captivate the audience.
Click to expand...

I was always paranoid that an interviewer would demand me to demonstrate live and I would then proceed to suck.:scared:


An excellent thing it was, then, that none of them asked.:laugh:👍
 
I was interviewed in Spanish, but the interviewer had gone to the same university I had and we just chatted about mutual friends. The other people had no idea what we were talking about.
 
I could play the piano if they brought one in... i'd probably be nervous as hell and mess up a bit, but i could play it well nonetheless
 
I was a piano performance major in college, so the topic of pianism and music came up often in my interviews. No one asked me to play anything, but the topic of "Oh, we have a nice piano in the lobby of such-and-such hospital" did come up. Fortunately, as a music major, I always had something on the tips of my fingers. But it wasn't ever necessary.

If you do list it, be prepared to talk about. What are you working on currently? What have you played in the past? Do you gravitate toward any composers or periods? Why? Who are your favorite performing artists? Why? Why do you enjoy music so much?

I did have one experience where the first question out of my interviewers mouth was "What do you think about Lang-Lang?" I was slightly taken aback at first, but then I realized that my interviewer played the piano himself. He knew the Beethoven sonata I was working on at the time, and it made for a really neat interview.

If you play the piano only for yourself as stress relief, I would advise against putting it on AMCAS. If you have performed recently/as an undergraduate, you take lessons, and have a repertoire, include it. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.
 
I always tell myself if there was one thing I could have in the entire world it would be the ability to play the piano. I wish I could go back in time and tell my parents to invest in a piano instead of the an NES 🙁
 
Seraph 84 said:
I always tell myself if there was one thing I could have in the entire world it would be the ability to play the piano. I wish I could go back in time and tell my parents to invest in a piano instead of the an NES 🙁
Click to expand...

You can always start now.🙂
 
I don't get it, what's wrong with playing the piano for yourself?
i play classical music and know all the terms and i'm sure i could carry a conversation with someone about playing the piano if needed
 
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