Ludwig von Dracula

Congrats!

I had a post up here a few weeks ago about a recommender who disappeared just as my letters were coming due (to Africa, as it turns out) and then didn't contact me for about 12 days. We have been in spotty email contact a few times, and in the last message, the professor informed me that the letters have been forwarded directly to colleagues at the schools I am applying to rather than through the email links sent by the universities themselves. I see this as partly positive as my professor is a well-respected senior scholar in our field and the contacts who received the letters are themselves prominent figures. But my concern is that the admissions committees may not manage to link up the letter with my application. Should I worry about my application getting tossed as incomplete before it makes it to the department? Three websites (my top choices) all show that this letter is still missing. I've already emailed my professor suggesting they also send in the letter through the expected channels but email access is limited. I don't really know that I'm looking for advice--no point in emailing the admissions committees over the holidays, but perhaps I should let them know where the letter is at the beginning of January? I see this as better than emailing the professors who now have my letter and asking them to go through the trouble themselves.

Ah, good metaphor. I worried for a moment that we might have to start an all-out-war for the title of Vampire Overlord of Gradcafe.

I looked to my left. I immediately and fervently wished that I'd looked to my right. There was a large green tree. Its branches looked contorted from the wind, but there wasn't even a breeze. A single, luscious pear hung from the highest branch. Unfortunately for my starving stomach, the trunk of the tree was crawling with enormous spiders.

Thanks--very helpful!

Thanks, Bhikaari. (And a very logically-argued post, I might add ) For those of us in the humanities, particularly those living in, shall we say, environments that are not so fond of "big government," it's quite easy to feel assailed by all the op-eds and other opinion pieces about how money is being wasted on worthless research (read: anything that doesn't cure a disease, increase technological productivity, etc.). Not to mention the constant conversations with people who aren't necessarily hostile, but just can't figure out why somebody would devote their professional career to some obscuro topic like the music of Swedish immigrants to North Dakota or whatever. I think these experiences help feed our inferiority complex. The general public seems to have more of a reverential attitude toward the sciences (even if they don't understand them), due to the obvious, measurable results I guess. But I'm glad that you feel like we in the humanities aren't all off simply arguing over minutiae or trying to measure the number of angels that can fit on the head of a pin. Of course in an ideal world there wouldn't be this huge divide. I've always been fascinated by cosmology, evolution, neuroscience, theoretical physics...and I think that the humanities have interesting things to offer scientists too. But the language is so specialized that interdisciplinarity is just freakin' impossible past certain broad generalities, at least in my experience. That's why I'm reading Carl Sagan and Daniel Levitin instead of science journals. I could go on a lot longer about all of this, but I think I've already started blathering.

At one point I was trying to write a mock bio for a fake industrial-goth-electronica-metal band that I put up on myspace. I decided that "Ludwig von Dracula" was a cool name that encompassed the cheesetastic, overblown evil pomposity of those musical genres and would serve as an excellent name for a frontman. Basically I still use it because it makes me laugh. Then I had to make a picture to go along with it, of course.

Yeah, I've heard a lot of similar complaints. I'm still jealous of them, although I feel like sight-reading choral music with perfect pitch would take all the fun out of it! When you say "relative pitch" do you mean that you can guess the general range of a note but not get it right on, or that once you know one note, you can figure out your other notes from there? Cool. I was wondering because many people with perfect pitch tend to describe particular notes as being a certain colour.

28. I did a 5-year teaching degree, taught high school for two years to get out of debt, got married and bought a house and got into enormous debt, and went back for my 2-year M.A.

Geez, totally. Maybe 3% of people in the world have some clue what ethnomusicology is. Most in this category ask me if I can play the sitar (nope). The people I study are actually right here in North America, and they don't have any "weird" musical instruments. "So why study them?" Aargh. "What are you going to do with an ethnomusicology degree?" Don't remind me. For the majority, I usually say it's like musical anthropology, or studying what people actually do with music, or how music intersects with culture, that sort of thing. Or I just tell people that I'm in music if I don't feel like watching eyes glaze over...

Wow, a lot of great suggestions on here so far. Shouts out for the Yo-Yo Ma/Bobby McFerrin duet album. And Johnny Cash's Hurt...that gets me every time. Currently digging: Katzenjammer--"Le Pop": mega mega high energy folk/acoustic music from four Scandinavian ladies Bellowhead--all: English trad/folk with a twist Dinosaur Jr.--all: indie/proto-grunge with wicked guitar playing Mute Math--all: electro-rock with jazz and techno influences. Amazing live band! Neon Horse--s/t and Songs of Love, Hate and Defiance: bizarro catchy hard rock with really odd vocals that I can't really describe Sufjan Stevens--Come on Feel the Illinoise!, Seven Swans, maybe the newest one: the king of orchestral indie-folk Nick Cave--No More Shall We Part, Abbatoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus: alt-rock/singer-songwriter with a gothic tinge Nickel Creek (not back!)--all: awesome newgrass by a group of super-talented acoustic musicians Great for writing papers: Arvo Pärt: anything by my favourite composer. His music is extremely soothing and timeless, with an ancient feel akin to Gregorian chant and medieval music. Recommended pieces: Magnificat, Fratres, Tabula Rasa, Spiegel im Spiegel, Te Deum, Berliner Messe, or anything else Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem or basically any of his instrumental music. Beautiful. Eric Whitacre: another incredible composer that makes listeners reevaluate their distaste for choral music Rachmaninoff: All-Night Vigil or any Russian liturgical music (really) I don't know that I'd want to write to Carmina Burana myself--I'd be far too tempted to grab my axe and go swinging into a horde of attacking orcs or something--but whatever works for you!

Wow, what an interesting thread! I must say that I'm jealous of the synaesthesiasts out there too. How many of you also have perfect pitch? (That's what I really want, I guess.) I made cheese from scratch in my kitchen two weeks ago. I play the mandolin and banjo badly, as well as a few other things. My parents are both legally blind so I became the family chauffeur at 16. I also accidentally destroyed two of the family vehicles in my teen years. I could spend an entire day looking at maps and atlases for fun. I am fascinated by the Amish and Hutterites and sometimes consider becoming one. I love singing barbershop and gospel quartet music. I'm more than a foot taller than my wife. Yes, we are a mixed-race couple (walking stereotype perhaps?). I love to read science fiction, fantasy, comics, and even some respectable literature, and own at least two thousand books. I'm browsing gradcafe and tvtropes instead of working on my final paper, which is due in less than a week. (Maybe I'm moving out of the realm of unique now?)

Interesting observation. I don't want to say anything too polemical, but I think that this just goes to show that the humanities are far from dead, and perhaps may be more necessary than ever to counteract some of the risks of scientific and technological advancement (head without heart and all that stuff). I'm not interested in starting a flamewar, so please take this as the personal opinion of a humanities student very aware of his own bias and fallibility

I already have a teaching degree and experience, so if the job market really sucks, or if I don't even get into Ph.D. programs, I'll be able to go back to teaching high school. Not sure how many school divisions will want to hire a teacher with a graduate degree (automatic pay raise) who has only two years of job experience, though...plus I don't really relish the idea of teaching teenagers again.

Hooray! I'm not alone! OK, in answer to your question--no, I don't think you're totally screwed. Each school will differ, so I can't speak for all of them, obviously. However, of the 5 of us in my entering MA cohort, 2 do not have music degrees. One was an English major and the other was in social work (but also an experienced blues performer). If you don't have the degree, it's good to have direct, hands-on experience--which you do. I don't know what your dream school prefers, but your conversation sounds encouraging. I'm actually surprised to hear your dean's response, because in my understanding, ethnoids pride themselves (ourselves) on interdisciplinarity. Of course, not every member of the music department shares this perspective. Being familiar with anthropological theory (and sociological/philosophical theory to a lesser degree) will stand you in very good stead. Don't despair. Make sure you play up your musical experience and how it relates to your proposed research in your SOP, and don't be afraid to include some references to critical theory. You'll be fine. May I ask where you plan to apply?

Pretty much what the topic says (hypothetical of course until application results come in). I've been hunting all over government websites and various forums and seen lots of conflicting information about F-1, J-1, and all that jazz. Has anybody been through this situation? How difficult is it for her to get a work permit, or is that even allowed? Any guidance would be appreciated. Maybe a bit early, but I want to be aware of these issues before offers start coming in.

Me too...but they're not going to see it until we get admitted, are they? Are they? ...are they...?

Yeah, despite that email a week ago saying that the letters would be out within two days, my prof hasn't submitted yet. Oh well--I guess we need to take it easy, trust our recommenders, and hope for the best.

Is anyone else is finishing up their degree this year and working on writing a thesis? If so, what is your timeline and do you have any strategies or tips you would like to share? Feel free to post your topic if you want. My topic (M.A. Ethnomusicology): Hutterite choral music in Manitoba Projected length: Likely 4 major chapters--100 pages? Timeline: I want to defend by mid-April, so I have to have my final draft done by mid-March (also when application results come in...yikes!) Fortunately, I'm done all of my coursework. Where I am now: ummm...I've got an outline, and a two-page ethnographic introductory hook! Will be starting this in earnest as soon as my last course paper is finished in a week. Hopefully writing a chapter every 2 weeks. Advice: Four of us in the department have formed a reading group (we're all in the same position--finishing our MAs in ethno). We've uploaded our outlines (and later, chapters) onto Google docs and shared them with each other so we can make suggestions, ask questions, and hopefully keep each other on track with a bit of accountability to our own deadlines. So far it's worked really well. We also plan to meet weekly at university to discuss things in person and commiserate over the whole process.

When I finished my undergraduate in music education, I had a teaching job lined up for the fall. So instead of working a summer job, I took Latin classes for fun at university. I really enjoyed not feeling any kind of pressure--I already had my degree and the grades didn't matter a bit (although they did bump up my GPA by .01, which is good for the present situation of Ph.D. apps I guess!). I'd been singing Latin pieces in choir for 10 years and wanted to understand what the heck they were about. Can't say I remember much of it, but I did at least finally learn what the nominative, accusative, genitive and dative cases are. It was a really nice way to finish off my undergrad, especially considering I hadn't really enjoyed the education classes that had replaced all my fun, awesome music classes in the last two years. This semester, though, I'll be frantically writing and re-writing my M.A. thesis in addition to studying for, likely failing, and hopefully eventually passing my German exam. Along with deciding between several fantastic grad school offers, like all of us (fingers crossed!).

I hate the snow and the cold too. My hometown has at least a month of -40 temperatures every year though, so to me basically everything's an upgrade. You do get used to it...I know Canadians are supposed to brag about our hardiness, but I'd far rather live somewhere with reasonable winters, all personal considerations aside. Then again, I do like our sun, so I don't think I'd do so well in the BC-Oregon rainforest either.

Are you serious?!? Wow, congratulations to you. On the other hand, it's not so comforting to think that those of us applying for next year might still be waiting around in hopes of this kind of message 7 months after the awards are supposed to be released...yikes!

In my experience, and possibly generally, you are admitted first and offered some kind of funding later. Can lead to nail-biting moments as the middle of April approaches and you're trying to decide between different offers.

Sure, I'll encourage you to take their website at its word

Have you already written your test? Try searching for "loophole"...I seem to recall somebody figuring out a way to get an extra free score report somehow. I would echo that it's important to not try to avoid this requirement, though.