I’m about to start the third year of my degree (dual honours music and geography) and I’m having a bit of a dilemma. At the end of last term I made the decision to do recital as one of my third year options. I talked to my oboe teacher about it and we talked through all the worries I had (it’s kind of like putting all my eggs in one basket, this recital is about 1/6th of my overall degree result and the thought of that is quite scary). Anyways, I got the results of my second year performance and I didn’t do particularly well (I got 57%) which really dragged down my average mark. This means that if I want to do well this year I have to do really well in my remaining modules.
You can probably see where this is going, I decided that I would wait to make my final decision about whether to swap and do something different until I had the mark sheets back. I went and got them today and they didn’t make for great reading. The comments about the actual performance I could live with, they were general things such as the ensemble went a bit wrong at one point and you could have done this or this. The comments from my oboe teacher were a bit less positive though (and quite contradictory in parts). “She has trouble mastering the reeds” “technical aspects mar the musicality of her pieces” “finds it hard to express the music to the audience”
From the person who really wanted me to do recital, these aren’t the kinds of things I expected. I haven’t been playing the oboe for a great deal of time and I do have a lot of technical difficulties because I played the flute first and my first oboe teacher didn’t work on the little things. Clearly my current oboe teacher sees these as big problems and sure, I can work on them but I only have 6 months to not only work on these things but prepare a program which is the equivalent of a dipabrsm.
So I guess my question is, what would you do in this situation? I love playing my oboe and it was always my plan to perform but is it worth risking my degree over? I don’t do any performing outside of my performance class because the standard of the orchestra here is not great and it frustrated me so much when I was part of it. I’m not looking for loads of encouragement or anything like that, but I can’t figure out what to do either. Any thoughts you have would be greatly appreciated

That's a tough situation/decision. Do any of the other modules appeal to you?

Not really, but I know that doing one of them would probably be a lot less stressful than recital...

Yes, you are very right there. However, it depends on how much you want that music part of your degree. Only you can make that decision, albeit a hard one. You need to think whether you may regret not working really hard to get through that recital - will you, at some point after graduation, feel that you let yourself down, that you gave in too easily because of negative comments. If you want to do something enough, you'll do it and you can overcome many hurdles that may stand in your way. It's always very easy to feel nagative and ready to give up after a bad result, but it's possible to use that to your advantage and turn things around.

I wouldn't want to advise either way, but one way of trying to make up your mind might be to make a list of pros and cons of doing the recital and the same for opting for another course. Be honest about what you write down, as it's very easy for your thoughts to be clouded in such a situation.

Is there anyone you can talk it through with? Perhaps one of the university counsellors (or anyone who's not directly linked to your course) might be able to offer some impartial advice.

I think it depends what is more important to you... if you feel it'll really pull your marks down and you need or really really want a 1st or a 2-1, then that's a reason not to do it, on the other hand if you're less worried about marks, but just want to work your hardest, see what you can do, and hope to get a good mark but if it isn't great then know you've done your best, go for it.

57% may not be incredible but it's not bad - it's only a shade off a 2-1. You never know what you might achieve with loads of focused work. On the other hand, if you want a 1st at all costs, then it wouldn't be worth the risk.

I agree - are you likely to get a 2:2 if you do the recital? How much would that bother you? I didn't do it personally because I knew it would affect my degree result. In the end, I did composition and just missed out on a 1st overall. Had I done a dissertation, I might have got a 1st, but maybe I wouldn't have. I'd have been advised to do something very historical (my dept was a bit old fashioned with only one or two 20th century specialists) and not allowed to write about folk-rock. So I did something I loved, which I knew could produce a good result. Not quite many marks as I'd have liked - but a lot better than my performance would have been, and a whole lot less stressful than a dissertation I'd have hated.

I hope you manage to work this out. I think you probably know in your heart whether you want to do performance, or get a better degree, more. Go for the one that feels right.

Not having done this I sympathize with the dilemma. Doesn't it more depend on what you want to do with the degree long term?? Will getting a lower degree hold you back in your chosen career or not. I know someone who just got a third, she was gutted to use the modern term. However, it hasn't stopped her from starting her PGCE. Look at it long term too.
Beverley.

Hmm, this is a tough one. I was in the same situation at the beginning of my third year. I knew that performance was not my strongest point and that the 'sensible' (and recommended by the tutors) option would be to drop it and concentrate on history or analysis. In the end I decided to go for the performance anyway, because it was the part of the course that I enjoyed the most. Luckily my violin teacher was very supportive of my decision, and gave me a lot of extra help over the year. My final mark for performance was a mid 2:2, but I was very proud of my final recital. Overall I got a mid 2:1. Maybe I could have got a first if I had chosen other options. Part of me was disappointed, but overall I don't regret it.

It really is your decision and only you can weigh up what is most important to you.