Should I Keep Playing my Instrument in College?
Are you trying to decide whether or not to keep playing your instrument in college? So was Anya, a senior nursing and art major, when she first came to Southern.
What instrument do you play, and how did you start?
I play the violin, and I鈥檝e been playing since I was seven. My family was living in Michigan at the time, and our good friends there had a son who was taking violin. So my mom asked me, 鈥淒o you want to take violin?鈥� And I said 鈥淥h, sure!鈥� And then I started taking violin.
When you got to college, what made you decided whether or not to continue in an ensemble?
Well, my first three years I didn鈥檛 join an ensemble. I wasn鈥檛 in the orchestra because I didn鈥檛 think I would have time to practice. And I was correct. I was in the nursing program, and before then I was trying to do pre-med and graphic design together. All of that just felt like too much.
Why did you try orchestra this year?
This was supposed to be my last year. I thought, okay, this is my last year, and I鈥檝e always wanted to be in orchestra. So I thought, last year, let鈥檚 do it.
Do you wish you had joined earlier?
I do! I wish. I really enjoy it. I find happiness making music with a group of people, and doing it well. I鈥檝e always been wanting to join orchestra, even though I hadn鈥檛 done it. It鈥檚 because I really like playing together as a team to create something bigger than myself. It鈥檚 a really neat feeling to be a part of something like that.
Did you play the violin in other settings?
My first year I would play for outreach activities now and then. We would go to a nursing home and do a church service for the residents. It wasn鈥檛 too often. Sometimes I would just bring it out and play for fun.
How has being in orchestra positively impacted your college experience?
One thing that comes to my mind is friends. I don鈥檛 have a lot of close friends in orchestra because I haven鈥檛 been there for very long. But, if you鈥檝e been there for like four years, and you鈥檙e with the same people for four years, you develop very close relationships. In the short time that I鈥檝e been there, I鈥檝e made some good friends. It鈥檚 just good to be able to relate to people who play the same instrument as you. They understand your weird instrument jokes!
And, the other thing is being able to continue and keep up with the instrument that I have put so much time into playing. I know it鈥檚 not going to waste. I鈥檓 doing something with it. I鈥檓 using it for something. Just being a part of something bigger. I enjoy that and find it quite energizing to be able to contribute.
How much time should students plan in their week, realistically, to practice?
There鈥檚 this thing called efficient practicing. Mrs. Minner (the symphony orchestra conductor) says that if you just do 15 minutes a day and work on the hardest spots, then you鈥檒l get better. It鈥檚 just a matter of doing that.
What would you recommend for students who want to join an ensemble but aren鈥檛 sure? Is it better to try it even if they can鈥檛 continue?
I would say, try it. See if you can do it. Sometimes it鈥檚 hard to gauge because the beginning of the semester is not how it will be later. But I like to just try and see how it鈥檚 going. Then, when it comes to drop week, if I really didn鈥檛 feel like I could do it, then I would drop orchestra.
What should students consider before joining one of our ensembles?
They should consider how much time they should give to practicing. Because when you are part of an ensemble, you鈥檙e committed to a group, and you are committed to making something together. Whether you pull your weight or not directly affects the outcome.
If someone can鈥檛 be active in an ensemble, I think there are other ways to use your musical skills. Some outreach programs need musical instruments, dorm worships need instruments, and there are also Vespers praise teams. You could just get together and jam with friends! There are opportunities that you can make for yourself, you just have to go out there and get it. Just like most things in college.
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For more information about the several ensembles on our campus, see our webpage. Like Anya shared with us, joining an ensemble takes commitment, but it is also very rewarding. We hope you鈥檒l think about continuing to grow as a musician on our campus.