Oxford Uni VS Kings for music

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

Reply 1

Szara_SOAS

Official Rep

9

Original post by Emiai

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

Hi there,

Have you considered attending Open Days? These are a great opportunity to chat to students and academics and to experience the cities first-hand. Sometimes, visiting a campus can give you a clearer sense of whether a university is the right fit - culturally and academically.

It’s also quite common to attend Open Days with family members, so perhaps you could visit them with your dad? This could help show him the aspects of the city and universities that appeal to you.

I hope this helps!

Reply 2

Katya25

2

Original post by Emiai

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

Hey! Just finishing my music degree at Oxford, and insured KCL three years ago so hopefully I can be of help. Oxford is great if you don’t really want to perform as part of the degree. In fact, you can choose to do no performance papers at all, they are all optional. From an ethnomusicological perspective, there are optional papers which you can take all three years (and its implicit within the core of the degree). I am even taking a paper on the making of modern china through music for finals, where some people had the chance to take lessons at SOAS to learn the pipa etc. The course was really broad-I ended up researching on mandopop which was great. The downside of Oxford is that you can’t really get out of ‘early musicology’ (think opera, early song) - but it does only make up c.10% of the final degree. I would say it’s worth going on an open day and seeing if it’s the faculty for you by having a chat to the tutors and current students. I was worried Oxford was going to be too small and maybe limited socially/ in concert offering but honestly, I have loved it and have gone to so many cool concerts of all genres-it definitely has a mini London feel to it. KCL I’m pretty sure has a compulsory performance paper in first year. I liked the look of it because you could cross-register courses with SOAS. Aside from this though, I remember it being fairly traditional in terms of optional modules (think quartet, 19th c opera etc). I assume their workload is probably less than oxford’s so that’s something to consider. Maybe look at Sheffield,Leeds or Bristol if you want a city vibe - happy to answer any more specific questions!

Reply 3

Emiai

OP

5

Original post by Katya25

Hey! Just finishing my music degree at Oxford, and insured KCL three years ago so hopefully I can be of help. Oxford is great if you don’t really want to perform as part of the degree. In fact, you can choose to do no performance papers at all, they are all optional. From an ethnomusicological perspective, there are optional papers which you can take all three years (and its implicit within the core of the degree). I am even taking a paper on the making of modern china through music for finals, where some people had the chance to take lessons at SOAS to learn the pipa etc. The course was really broad-I ended up researching on mandopop which was great. The downside of Oxford is that you can’t really get out of ‘early musicology’ (think opera, early song) - but it does only make up c.10% of the final degree. I would say it’s worth going on an open day and seeing if it’s the faculty for you by having a chat to the tutors and current students. I was worried Oxford was going to be too small and maybe limited socially/ in concert offering but honestly, I have loved it and have gone to so many cool concerts of all genres-it definitely has a mini London feel to it. KCL I’m pretty sure has a compulsory performance paper in first year. I liked the look of it because you could cross-register courses with SOAS. Aside from this though, I remember it being fairly traditional in terms of optional modules (think quartet, 19th c opera etc). I assume their workload is probably less than oxford’s so that’s something to consider. Maybe look at Sheffield,Leeds or Bristol if you want a city vibe - happy to answer any more specific questions!

Do you mind if I ask you a bit more about the application process to Oxford?The website says that I need to prepare additional essays and performance videos, along with the interview, what advice and experience do you have about things like these and your personal statement?

Reply 4

Euapp

21

Original post by Emiai

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

@The_Lonely_Goatherd any advice?

Reply 5

The_Lonely_Goatherd

20

Original post by Euapp

@The_Lonely_Goatherd any advice?

Thanks for the tag, I did see this thread but figured Katya25's post would give more up-to-date advice than I could manage (having left Oxford 15 years ago).

OP: I think you'd stand a chance (though I believe your eventual predicted grade for music would need to be an A minimum?) and it would be worth applying. I'd urge you to go to the open day, see the place for yourself, and then make up your mind. There was huge parental pressure for me to apply to Oxford and so I went to an open day purely because I was expected to - but it really was a gamechanger for me, attending the open days and a summer school at Oxford Uni. I went from not wanting to apply at all, to really wanting to get in - and for me/my own sake, not my parents'.

Generally speaking, do make sure you go to as many open days as you can! I insured KCL in early 2007, without seeing the place (having got offers from all the unis I applied to, bar Royal Holloway which I withdrew from coz they were taking too long - imho - to reply to my application). BAD IDEA! Went to an offer holders' open day and personally hated the environment. This is of course just my personal taste - yours might be very different - and this was nearly 2 decades ago, so the place may have changed anyway. But the moral of the story (see the unis you're seriously considering in person, ideally! Don't be lazy like me!) still holds true :nopity:

Reply 6

The_Lonely_Goatherd

20

Original post by Emiai

Do you mind if I ask you a bit more about the application process to Oxford?The website says that I need to prepare additional essays and performance videos, along with the interview, what advice and experience do you have about things like these and your personal statement?

The essays are technically meant to be essays you've written in class/for homework, as part of your course. You need to send one music essay, the other can be from your RS classes if you're lacking music essays. The performance video is just a formality to ensure that if you said you're LRAM piano standard (for example), that you're not ********ting. It's not really a huge part of offer decision making. (Like Katya said, once you start at Oxford, you need never touch your instrument(s) again if you don't want to! :awesome:

)

It's hard for me to advise about personal statements as the format changes for 2026 entrance and I don't know enough about the new format to comment. Generally speaking, you want to demonstrate enthusiasm and curiosity about music beyond merely playing your instrument. That said, you can and should show off any experiences you have musically (even if you're not a performer!).

The interviews can be variable, but generally speaking it's their way of seeing whether you suit the Oxford teaching system. The interview is like a mini tutorial. You'll likely be presented with a written extract about a musical topic, and asked questions about it. (Good preparation for this part of the interview is to read Nicholas Cook's Music: A Very Short Introduction. Published by Oxford Uni Press!) You'll also be given a bit of a musical score to analyse. They will guide you through the analysis by asking questions like:

•

What form do you think this is? Which instrument(s) is it written for?

•

What musical era/period do you think it's from?

•

Who may have composed this?

•

Do you think what we've given you is the whole piece, or an excerpt from a wider piece of music?

•

Comment on key changes and stylistic features

etc.

Reply 7

Katya25

2

Original post by Emiai

Do you mind if I ask you a bit more about the application process to Oxford?The website says that I need to prepare additional essays and performance videos, along with the interview, what advice and experience do you have about things like these and your personal statement?

Yeah the submitted work consists of 2 essays (I drew from fragments of EPQ which was music based so I could engineer conversations towards my interests and away from set works), 2 harmonic exercises (Bach chorales - just to see where you are as there is compulsory stylistic harmony papers in first year - you drop it for finals), and optional composition submission.

I also am not sure about PS changes this year but TLG’s advice is pretty accurate to what I imagine the faculty would say (it’s worth emailing them and just asking them - they are very friendly!).

Interviews are varied but usually centre around an unseen text or score. So, you need to sharpen your ability to appraise unseen scores (of all varieties, classical and not) and musicological texts. Reading is the best way to practice this. And listening to any music that interests you (the more the better!).

The best advice I can give at this stage is read regularly (doesn’t matter if it’s serious musicology or just newspaper articles) and listen loads. Coming to the faculty’s open day in June/July is the best way to ask more specific questions and interact with current students!

(edited 3 weeks ago)

Reply 8

Flamingo10

9

Original post by Emiai

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

What do you want to do? Your dad's opinion doesn't actually matter because he isn't the one who has to do the course.

Reply 9

Emiai

OP

5

Thank you so much for this information! I would like to ask whether you have any reading recommendations and if i could get a short explanation on the college system? Does which college I am under affect the teaching or is it just a smaller social community? I am taking part in Oxford's UNIQ program this June, and hopefully that will be really beneficial to me, my mocks are in two weeks and hopefully I should be able to get that A. Again thank you (and @The_Lonely_Goatherd ) for all the advice and help!

Reply 10

The_Lonely_Goatherd

20

Original post by Emiai

Thank you so much for this information! I would like to ask whether you have any reading recommendations and if i could get a short explanation on the college system? Does which college I am under affect the teaching or is it just a smaller social community? I am taking part in Oxford's UNIQ program this June, and hopefully that will be really beneficial to me, my mocks are in two weeks and hopefully I should be able to get that A. Again thank you (and @The_Lonely_Goatherd ) for all the advice and help!

Ahhh that's so great you're doing UNIQ, hopefully that'll give you a better sense of the uni and how the music degree works. Then you can make an informed decision about applying or not applying. Like another user said, it's you doing the degree not your dad (though being South Asian, I totally get how parental comments and influence is heavy for Asian applicants! :sadnod:

)

The way I explain colleges to people is that it's where you primarily eat, sleep, and socialise. Lectures are centralised but tutorials are held in colleges. That said, it doesn't (for the most part) have a huge bearing on how or what you're taught. You might find yourself having tutorials on different modules to your friends each term, because each college gets to decide how, when and where they will run their tutorials. Generally speaking though (unless things have radically changed the last few years?!), your college tutor will make arrangements to ensure that you have the best possible teaching for each module - which may include sending you to have tutorials at other colleges. (To give an example: I was at Worcester College, where the college tutor was a famous composer and the second tutor was a medieval music DPhil (PhD) student. So they made reciprocal arrangements with other colleges so that we were taught elsewhere for, say, 19th century modules on Wagner or symphonic tone poem, and then students from those tutors' colleges would come to Worcester for composition and medieval and early music!)

I got sidetracked. Going back to the "eat/sleep/socialise" thing. When trying to narrow down colleges, you should consider what you would ideally like out of the Oxford experience. For example, would you prefer:

•

a big or small college

•

an older, more 'traditional' Oxford college, or a newer college

•

Accommodation for all three years (not a given at each college offering music)

•

Ensuite or kitchen facilities

•

Completely catered or the option for self-catering

•

Music practice room facilities within the college

•

Access to sports facilities or gym facilities nearby/onsite

•

Proximity to the Faculty and other libraries, etc. (can you ride a bike or are you like me and just want a fairly short walk each way? :biggrin: )

Once you've done that, you can use the Oxford SU college suggester to get some ideas and then go to the open days and see a few of those colleges and speak to the lecturers/college tutors :yep:

Good luck with your mocks! :hugs:

Reply 11

uniacceptmepls

12

Original post by Emiai

I'm in year 12, and in around 3 months, I will take my YR12 end-of-year mocks that will decide my predicted grades. I currently do Art, Music, RS, Maths, and Mandarin A level. My current grades in these subjects are B, B(low A), A, A(high B), and A*(that's due to me being ethnically Chinese). I play the violin(weak grade 7) and an ethnic instrument, the Chinese lute, otherwise known as the PIPA,(weak grade 9 out of the 10 grades), and my music theory is working at a weak grade 8, as I do a lot of four-part harmony writing out of school.
I wish to study music at university, but it is quite niche as I want to study ethnomusicology, I don't take part in orchestras, as I honestly dislike performing, but what I do enjoy is reading about the evolution of the eras and how the instruments change and how societal changes also affect musical trends, especially in China, as I feel a connection between me and the pipa.
My dad really wants me to apply to Oxford, and I just feel like it isn't the right place for me, I enjoy the bustling city of London, I enjoy the diversity of London, I enjoy the idea of going to Kings, or maybe SOAS, where UK Chinese music is centred. He says I should have a try, but I do not enjoy the idea of preparing the extra essays and performance videos and dealing with an interview. He just won't understand what I am trying to tell him, I feel like I might just have a biased idea of Oxford because of this, I honestly don't think I will stand a chance.
Could I please have some advice over these two universities and maybe some other universities?

People that have commented here have a lot more knowledge than me, but I find it cool Yiruma is a KCL alumni

Oxford Uni VS Kings for music

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