personal statement for music business

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Music Personal Statement Guide

Personal statements can be a bit of a paradox. On the one hand, they all need to do the same things as each other, namely describe your interest in a subject, your motivation for studying it at university, and your readiness to undertake the course. On the other, they have to be unique to you and to stand out from all the others. It’s little wonder that students struggle to know how and where to begin.

It’s also understandable if the prospect of putting pen to paper is daunting, but the best way to approach it is not to delay but instead to look at the writing of it as you might an essay. There are certain requirements that it must fulfil, it needs to follow a structure, and it should be interesting and entertaining to read.

To dispel any concerns you might have about what to do and not do when writing your statement, this guide will take you through the following steps:

• Why are Personal Statements Important?
• What Should I Include in a Music Personal Statement?  
• What Should I Avoid in a Music   Personal Statement ?  
• Advice on How to Start a Music Personal Statement
• Advice on How to Finish a Music Personal Statement

What Should I Avoid in a Music Personal Statement ?  

Don’t just focus on the one or two aspects you’re most interested in, e.g. playing jazz piano or analysing the works of lesser-known German Romantic composers. As the degree is a broad one, show that you’re willing to learn about other areas and to acquire new skills .

The language of your personal statement should maintain a polite formality and avoid casual language . You should also never rely on banal clichés or other people’s words, i.e. quotations, because this is your chance to talk about you in your own words and way.

Above all else, don’t exaggerate and don’t lie ; tutors can tell when abilities are overstated and books haven’t been read. This is especially important if you’re going for an interview or have to give a performance as questions will be asked.

Register to access our complimentary e-book "So You Want To Go To Oxbridge? Tell me about a banana…"

Advice on How to Start a Music Personal Statement  

One way to open your personal statement is to begin with why you’re compelled to study music at university and talk about how your interest has developed up to this point. It’s not necessary to trace your deep interest in music all the way back to the first piece you ever heard. It’s enough to mention a moment of recognition or realisation in your relationship with music that set you on this path.

If you don't want to begin at the chronological start of your musical journey, you could instead open with the area that most captures your interest. Use this as an opportunity to jump straight into an academic discussion and set the tone for the rest of your statement.

Universities want to see you’re going to maintain your interest and passion, but also that you can develop further as a musician and academic. It's difficult to encompass this in an opening statement, so sometimes it helps to brainstorm ideas around the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of your choice, and only then begin to draft an interesting introduction.

Advice on How to Finish a Music Personal Statement  

A degree in music is going to expose you to so much more than you have encountered up to now in this field, so universities want to know this won’t be lost on you. If you feel so inclined, you can talk about various modules you like the look of (as long as each university in your application offers something similar) and what you think studying those will bring you.

The conclusion to an effective statement brings together your ideas, interests, motivation, and ambition to reiterate your desire to study music to an advanced level and your suitability to do so.

• What are some Tips for Writing a Strong Music Personal Statement?
• How Long Should my Music Personal Statement Be?
• What Kind of Extracurricular Activities Should I Include in my Music Personal Statement?
• How Can I Tailor my Music Personal Statement to the Oxford/Cambridge Course?

It’s likely that some of your music degree will involve working as part of groups, as well as independently. This reflects the music industry more widely as, whether it’s in a studio or an orchestra pit, musicians, composers, conductors, and sound technicians all have to work together to produce what you ultimately hear. Your statement should therefore reference the extent to which you’ve collaborated with others to achieve common goals, as well as what your own independent endeavours have produced.

A degree in music relies on a range of skills, many of which you’ll have started to develop at school. Examples of these include problem-solving, analysis, critical thinking, creative invention, an eye for detail, and performance under pressure. It’s not necessary to list all your skills and how you’ve acquired them, but mentioning how you’ve come by some and the ways they could be transferable to the academic study of music will enable you to demonstrate your readiness for the degree.

The personal statement cannot exceed 4000 characters (including spaces), or alternatively 47 lines of the UCAS form. It’s therefore paramount you make the most of all the available limit you’re given by working out in advance what you should include and exclude, based on how important you deem the information to be. When you start writing, it will become easier to work out how best to express your ideas concisely.

Naturally, your extracurricular engagement with music should be given space in the statement, but it’s not enough just to list what you do and to what level. Universities want to see how you’ve learned and grown as a student and musician, and whether you have the potential to develop even further. Over and above your musical competencies, it’s always worthwhile talking about instances where you’ve done something out of the ordinary, which might be leading a youth orchestra, playing the piano in a care home, or teaching music to toddlers. Finally, your reading and thoughts around the subject should always feature in the statement as this is a surefire way of demonstrating intellectual curiosity and independent thinking.

Whilst you cannot be too specific (since the same statement is sent to all your university choices), there are some styles and techniques you can employ to ensure your personal statement is Oxbridge-appropriate.

A main consideration to make is that the Oxford and Cambridge courses are expectedly broad, but give you scope to tailor your path to suit your interests. This means you have free rein, within reason, to choose modules that suit you. That said, the universities will want to see your willingness to learn what might not initially appeal to you, as this is a mark of a dispassionate and intellectually free approach to study. You shouldn’t, therefore, rule anything out either in your statement or interview, but rather maintain an open mind and be prepared to throw yourself into all that the course can offer.

Furthermore, Oxbridge personal statements should be incredibly discerning on content, and should only mention academically-relevant experiences or resources which prove either your interest, motivations, or skills relevant to the music degree course.

Book your Music Personal Statement Package

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If you’d like to know more about Music, we have admissions test guidance and interview preparation readily available.  

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 Music Business Personal Statement: Why Most Musicians Do This Wrong

I remember back in College Management class having to write a business plan for a fictitious business. We were told to write a “Mission Statement” for the business and were given some extremely generic guidelines and excruciatingly boring examples to follow.

If you’ve read even a handful of mission statements, you know what I mean. Generally, they were written because someone told them it had to be done and it was necessary to incorporate the business or get some proper paperwork, make a board of Directors happy or just to check off a box on a list of “to dos” when creating a business.  Mission statements are often so generic that you could think of a boatload of businesses they would describe.

I’ve seen the same thing happen with musicians. They are told to write a music business plan by manager, teacher, or mentor, and they write a very broad, bland statement. Some of the music mission statement examples I’ve seen talk generally about how the musician wants to “follow her dreams” or “have a full time career in music”. But there is nothing personal about it. They need a music business personal statement that is actually personal (stands to reason, right?).  They need to reach down deep, be vulnerable, and really examine their motives for wanting to start a music business.

When these music mission statement examples were crafted, what did the writers have in mind? Did their mission statement really MEAN something to them? Did it really reflect what they wanted their career and future life to look like, who they saw as their audience, and why it was SO important to them to make their dreams a reality? Probably not.

Music Business Personal Statement of Purpose: How To Begin

Try asking yourself these questions that I gathered while reading some really good business statements of purpose from online entrepreneurs. I suggest you do a “mind dump” onto a blank piece of paper when answering these questions. Write down anything that comes to mind, no matter how silly it may seem. Don’t sensor yourself.

• What is unique about you that isn’t common in other musicians in your genre or niche.
• What exactly do you do or hope to do in your music business?
• Why do you do it?  Your “why” is a key driving factor and chief motivator for everything else.
• What markets are you serving, and what benefits do you offer them?
• What exactly is your product and how will you deliver it to your audience?
• How would you feel if you couldn’t be a musician? What’s at stake if you don’t follow through?
• What would you like your life to look like in 1 year?
• What monetary goals do you have in your music business?
• What non-monetary goals do you have and why are they important to you?

Then Discuss, Digest, Cut, Polish, Review, Revise

Here’s where discussing this with friends and family or specific “super fans” can be really helpful.  It’s often difficult for us to see ourselves clearly since we tend to “live in our own head”.Ask people close to you or fans who enjoy your music to answer some of the above questions and compare them to yours.  If you see some similarities…that’s exciting. You are surely on the right track. You may also see some things you missed or hadn’t thought of. An outside perspective can be so valuable!

From this data, refine and re-write your music business personal statement of purpose so it is congruent with your need and desires and those of your audience. A clear focus and published objectives will make it so much easier to achieve your music career goals because it will chart a clear course for you to follow.

Re-evaluate if your music business personal statement of purpose is still valid and relevant every year. If it is, evaluate how you are measuring up to achieving the business and personal outcomes you desired when writing it.  It may be that after a year your music career has been redirected and you’ll need to re-do this exercise and create a new statement.  Or, even better, maybe you will have moved to a higher level and you can create a more aggressive strategy and statement of purpose.

If you take the time to do this exercise and review where you are bout every quarter, you WILL move to the next level. It’s just a matter of how soon.

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Writing a Personal Statement for Music courses

This article is intended to provide advice and suggestions for students who are applying for Music courses in the U.K. and who are about to start, or have already started, writing their personal statements. It should be noted that this advice is aimed at those applying for straight Music courses at either a university or conservatoire, where the course content is primarily or solely classical. Students who are applying for Joint Honours courses, or derivatives of a Music course (e.g. Music Tech or Popular Music courses) are welcome to use the advice given here but should change bits as necessary. Writing a personal statement for Music isn't an easy task. Many potential Music students may find that their schools have little or no experience of helping Music applicants (particularly in the case of conservatoires) and are subsequently less able or less willing to advise such students. Often, Music applicants may find that advice given to their class is negligible for them, or that it conflicts with the very nature of the subject (e.g. "We don't want to read about your extra-curricular activities"). Sometimes, Music applicants can find it difficult to communicate why they wish to study the course to a higher level.

Writing a Music Personal statement for UCAS/CUKAS

Many people have different ideas about how to write and structure a personal statement. Some of this advice, as has been noted above, doesn't really work in a Music personal statement! Things that should go into a Music personal statement include:

- instruments and standard on these instruments. You may have already put this in the "Other Qualifications" for your practical exam grades but don't assume that all admissions tutors will read this section properly! In particular, applicants should make sure that somewhere in their personal statement, their level of keyboard playing is clearly mentioned, since many universities have a compulsory "Keyboard Skills" course.

- How you came to be interested in music/how you came to play your principal study/how you came to compose or to conduct.

- Your musical interests. Are you a performer, composer, conductor or budding academic? What styles interest you?

- Extra-curricular activities and achievements. Many Music applicants will have lots and for this reason, it is essential to only list the most important things. The most important things will be competition wins and big ensembles, or things which you have organised or had a leading role in.

- Non-musical things. Whilst obviously it's important to show what a good musician you are and why you'd be a good uni student, it's great if you can show that you have multiple interests and/or talents!

Things not to mention or do in a Music personal statement:

- Avoid the word "always". You didn't emerge from your mother's womb loving Mahler or wanting to compose! Also avoid words such as "love", "passion", etc.

- Don't give your life story. Anything mentioned, whether it's practical exam grades or competition wins, should be within the last few years. Certainly don't stretch before Year 10.

- Don't exaggerate your performing capabilities, particular regarding the piano. You may come to regret it later on!

- Try to avoid talking about things in a list form. It's better to talk about a few things and have a sentence or two about why this interested you, how you developed from this competition win, etc.

- Don't put module marks, exam result marks, etc. in your personal statement. You're wasting space by doing so! Ask your teacher to put it in his/her reference.

Whilst you can use the same statement for both UCAS and CUKAS, it is sometimes better to write two slightly different statements. Conservatoires will want more detail about performing activities and

competition wins, whilst universities will want to get a sense of a rounded character (so non-musical interests, other A Level subjects etc.)

Based on the advice above, a template structure Music applicants may wish to use would be the following:

- Introduction. (How your interest in Music arose)

- Musical performance (instruments, ensembles, summer schools, etc.)

- Academic music interests (specific areas of interests, academic books, work experience etc.)

- Non-musical interests (sports, charity work, etc.) and other A Level subjects

- Conclusion (reminding them why they should pick you, but in a subtle way. Future career plans if already known)

This is by no means an absolutely rigid structure. "Musical performance" and "Academic music interests" are interchangeable within the structure and the length of these will depend on the nature of the course one is applying for. If you lack work experience, non-musical ECs, etc. do not panic! It's not the end of the world and is unlikely to create a negative impact.

Writing a Music PS for Oxford or Cambridge

Writing a Music PS for either institution is not significantly different from writing one for another university. There are two things applicants must bear in mind though:

- These two courses are academic Music courses. Whilst there is little point mentioning books or specific authors read if you haven't got a particular academic musical interest in a certain topic, if one mentions a book it's important to have subsequent comments to make about it! There is little point saying "I read X by Y" and leaving it at that: tutors will want to see that you can think critically about academic music literature if you've already read some.

- Both unis interview and may well ask you about things you have written in your PS. If you mention a book, make sure you read it before the interview! If possible, try and re-read it too! Don't write anything you cannot expand upon, explain or defend in an interview. You must be prepared to discuss anything that you've written.

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Music Personal Statement Tips Sheet

A musical personal statement is quite important especially for someone who wants to further their studies in the field of music. It will show the selections or admissions committee or team since it sheds light on your career aspirations in this field as well as your character. In a personal statement music technology developments in the music industry are shown to show familiarity with the field of interest.

Steps on How to Write a Music Personal Statement

There are some steps that you should follow in order for you to come up with an exemplary and flawless music statement of purpose, you can use these steps for any ps, including personal philosophy statement . The steps are as follows:

• Begin the music technology personal statement with a catchy opening sentence. It should be original and precise and it should not be copied or regularly used as a cliché.
• Make sure you answer particular questions. This includes explaining who you are, what your goals are as well as the personal reasons for desiring admissions to a specific music program.
• In your music technology personal statement, use logical and concrete examples to demonstrate your statements. You could end the personal statement using very modest language. In the personal statement music technology is given focus.

Dos and Don’ts While Writing a Music Personal Statement

There are a couple of dos and don’ts that you should put into account so that you come up with an exemplary music statement of purpose (as well as for writing a diversity statement ). The don’ts include:

Image credit: slidesharecdn.com

• Don’t be chatty and unofficial. Considering you are using the personal statement to seek a competitive position, make sure that you avoid using slang and approaching the subject matter casually.
• Famous quotes should be avoided since these will be applied in countless other applications. Many people will be using them equally yet you intend to be as unique and authentic as possible.
• Don’t be tempted to ask another party to write the personal statement for you. You should also avoid rewriting it from another person’s copy. Rather, write it personally from scratch to present the best version of yourself in it.

Some of the Dos That You Should Put into Consideration Include

• Organizing the write-up appropriately. You can make bullet points and also address the issues from the most to the least important.
• Making sure you spare enough time to review and edit personal statement music conservatoire before submitting it. Proofreading gets rid of all mistakes and errors made during writing.
• Being specific while addressing the key points that make up the personal statement about music rather than being general about them.
• In the music personal statement, do a proper show on the subject matter to show you are up to date with the developments in the particular field.

Tips on How to Make Your Music Personal Statement Win

There are a couple of tips that you should put into consideration to make sure that your personal statement music production is winning. The tips are as follows:

• In your music grad school personal statement, you should show your enthusiasm for the subject in whatever you put across to show that you are really interested. You could state the reason for interest as well as anything you are doing differently that’s to do with the subject.
• You should make the graduate music personal statement convincing enough, so make sure to provide the reader with your academic interest and future plans, and how it can change the world in the future.
• Apart from listing your academic qualifications as well as job experiences, you should show evidence you have actually thought about the choice of degree and you are excited about it. You could put out some information or questions you would like answered by the study.
• While expressing yourself be less emotional and organize your thoughts in a logic way, even when you say about your passion for the subject.
• Be specific enough as well, for instance, you can mention some particular books or someone’s activity that inspired you. This will display your awareness of study field you are applying to.
• To stand out, you could make references to sources that are not in the A level syllabus. This depicts some kind of independence in reading.

If you need any form of help with writing your statement about music, make sure to reach out to us and we will be ready to assist you and work with you.

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The best statements tend to be genuine and specific from the very start. You'll be on the right track if you show your enthusiasm for the subject or course, your understanding of it, and what you want to achieve.

Admissions tutors – the people who read and score your personal statement – say don’t get stressed about trying to think of a ‘killer opening’. Discover the advice below and take your time to think about how best to introduce yourself.

Liz Bryan: HE Coordinator and Careers Advisor, Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College

Preparing to write your personal statement.

Start by making some notes . The personal statement allows admissions tutors to form a picture of who you are. So, for the opener, think about writing down things, such as:

• why you’re a good candidate
• your motivations
• what brings you to this course

If you’re applying for multiple courses , think about how your skills, academic interests, and the way you think are relevant to all the courses you've chosen.

Top tips on how to write your statement opener

We spoke to admissions tutors at unis and colleges – read on for their tips.

1. Don't begin with the overkill opening

Try not to overthink the opening sentence. You need to engage the reader with your relevant thoughts and ideas, but not go overboard .

Tutors said: ‘The opening is your chance to introduce yourself, to explain your motivation for studying the course and to demonstrate your understanding of it. The best personal statements get to the point quickly. Go straight in. What excites you about the course and why do you want to learn about it more?’

Be succinct and draw the reader in, but not with a gimmick. This isn't the X Factor. Admissions tutor

2. Write about why you want to study that course

Think about why you want to study the course and how you can demonstrate this in your written statement :

’Your interest in the course is the biggest thing. Start with a short sentence that captures the reason why you’re interested in studying the area you’re applying for and that communicates your enthusiasm for it. Don't waffle or say you want to study something just because it's interesting. Explain what you find interesting about it.’

It's much better to engage us with something interesting, relevant, specific and current in your opening line… Start with what's inspiring you now, not what inspired you when you were six. Admissions tutor

3. Avoid cliches

Try to avoid cliches and the most obvious opening sentences so you stand out from the very first line . UCAS publishes a list of common opening lines each year. Here are just some overused phrases to avoid using in your personal statement:

• From a young age…      
• For as long as I can remember…
• I am applying for this course because…
• I have always been interested in…
• Throughout my life I have always enjoyed…

And try not to use quotes . Quotations are top of the list of admissions tutors' pet hates.

4. Maybe don't begin at the start?

’Concentrate on the main content of your statement and write the introduction last. I think the opening line is the hardest one to write, so I often say leave it until the end and just try and get something down on paper.’

It may be easier to get on with writing the main content of your statement and coming back to the introduction afterwards –that way you will also know what you’re introducing.

I often advise applicants to start with paragraph two, where you get into why you want to study the course. That's what we're really interested in. Admissions tutor

The personal statement tool image

Don’t be tempted to copy or share your statement.

UCAS scans all personal statements through a similarity detection system to compare them with previous statements.

Any similarity greater than 30% will be flagged and we'll inform the universities and colleges to which you have applied. 

Find out more

Joseph bolton: year 2 history& politics student, university of liverpool.

• Do talk about you and your enthusiasm for the subject from the very start.
• Do be specific. Explain what you want to study and why in the first two sentences.
• Do come back to the opening sentences if you can’t think what to write straightaway.
• Don’t waste time trying to think of a catchy opening.
• Don't waffle – simply explain what you find interesting about the subject and show that you know what you are applying for.
• Don't rely on someone else's words. It's your statement after all – they want to know what you think.

One final thought

Think about making a link between your opening sentence and closing paragraph – a technique sometimes called the 'necklace approach’.

You can reinforce what you said at the start or add an extra dimension. For example, if you started with an interesting line about what’s currently motivating you to study your chosen degree course, you could link back to it at the end, perhaps with something about why you’d love to study this further at uni.

Need more advice?

• Struggling with the conclusion to your personal statement? Read our guide on how to finish your statement the right way .
• Read more dos and don’ts when writing your personal statement . 
• Discover what to include in your personal statement .
• Start your opening sentences with our personal statement builder now.

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Academic music personal statement example.

Like many, my love of music was first cultivated through my love of performing. However, over time I realised that my true interests lie in studying music as an academic discipline. For me, the sheer beauty of music is its ability to communicate emotion. I believe that it is far from mere coincidence that we speak of harmonic 'vocabulary' or associate cadences with punctuation. Music is fundamentally a language; it is a form of communication. However, it is far less defined than the spoken word. This makes music subjective and it is this subjectivity that intrigues me. It encourages musical debate in which I look forward to participating whilst at university.

The thing that attracts me most about studying music at degree level is the vast array of sub-disciplines it encompasses. From something as mathematically involved as advanced musical analysis (Set-theoretical in particular) to the artistic freedom of composition, music is a remarkably broad field. I see musical study as essentially an exploration of human culture, but through a unique and incredibly stimulating medium. This is, of course, the fundamental premise of ethnomusicology. Nonetheless, the same approaches are as applicable to Western Art Music. Musicology at this interface is one area I hope to explore further.

Always keen to explore beyond my A Level syllabus, I have recently subscribed to Music Theory Spectrum and have read Nicholas Cook's 'Music: A Very Short Introduction' and 'A Guide To Musical Analysis.' The former was an accessible insight into thinking philosophically about music while the latter presented a fascinating critical response to contemporary analyses, each of which was introduced very sympathetically.

My other A level subjects, namely Chemistry and Maths, complement music well. Both revolve around recognising and manipulating patterns. Their aim is to rationalise and bring order to the natural chaos of the universe. Similarly, the principles of tonality are designed to bring order and hierarchy to what could otherwise be perceived as musical chaos. I have always had a natural flair for maths as well as passion for the subject. I can think of nothing more convincing or rigorous than using mathematical models to prove a hypothesis. I enjoy very much the process of discovering algebraic proofs and hope to develop this skill in the future.

Outside College I have a very active life. I am Principal Horn in Luton Youth Concert Band, Wind Ensemble and Orchestra, as well as a member of Bedfordshire Youth County Orchestra. I am a keen singer and a member of an amateur dramatics group. I feel that these endeavours have helped me mature as both a performer and musician. I have achieved ABRSM Grade 8 merit on my Horn and plan to take an ATCL diploma in left-handed piano in 2008. A particular strength of mine is a willingness to be flexible and diverse in my interests. Recently, I took on the role of editor for my College team in the T.E.S Newsday Competition. We finished second overall in this prestigious national event. I have recently joined the College's debating society with whom I intend to enter the national competition, 'Debating Matters.' I have taken a one year course run by NFTE which, taken independently from my studies, allowed me to create and run a small enterprise. This helped me develop my skills in teamwork and organisation, attributes which will undoubtedly prove valuable at university.

My recent experience at a Cambridge University Sutton Trust Summer School affirmed my desire to study a music related course in higher education. I am extremely excited about my enrolment onto a degree course and look forward to speaking with you at interview.

Profile info

This personal statement was written by joanfi for application in 2008.

joanfi's Comments

This statement is what I used when applying to academic degree courses in Music (as opposed to conservatoire courses). It got me in to Cambridge so it can't be that bad!

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