July 29, 2025 • 20 mins
When I moved to the UK to study music, there were a few things that I wasn't expecting. Here are some musical culture shocks about the UK.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Confident Musicianing
Podcast.
My name is Eleanor and I am aBritish American oboist studying
at the Royal Conservatoire ofScotland literally my dream
school and it took me a long wayto get there.
I applied and auditioned for 12schools in three different
countries.
It was a lot of hard work but,oh my gosh, so worth it.
(00:24):
I want you to have theconfidence to work hard in
achieving your goals, so comewith me as we go on this journey
together.
So sit down, pull up a chair,take a seat or, if you're on the
go, welcome to the ConfidentMusicianing Podcast.
Hello everybody, and welcomeback to another episode of the
(00:50):
Confident Musicianing podcast.
Today we are going to be talkingall about culture shocks since
moving to the UK.
I have been living in the UKfor about almost a year now and
there's a lot of like differentculture shocks and it's
interesting because I so I'm adual citizen.
I am British, I'm also American, um, I grew up in the states,
(01:13):
um, and I've since moved back tothe UK and it's very
interesting having two culturesright, being being part of kind
of two countries, and so there'sa lot of things about the UK
that I am used to because I amactually British.
But then there are also thingsthat I'm not as used to and
(01:36):
today I want to dive into morekind of the musical culture
shocks, because I definitely,before moving to the UK, was
very American in my musical self.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, I grew up in the Stateslearning music and it is
actually quite different to theUK.
So I want to chit chat a littlebit about that Before we get
(02:00):
into the actual kind of part ofthat um, part of that episode.
Um, I want to just kind of startthis off with like a little
life update.
I think I want to, um, movingon with the episodes, have a
little section at the beginningwhere I just tell you like
something about my life,something that's happened
recently, kind of just like chitchat about that, and then we
(02:23):
can get to the actual content ofthe episode.
I will, um put like timestampthat out, um, in the audio bit
at least.
Um.
So if you want to skip just tothe content bits, that's
perfectly fine, but let's do alittle bit of a little bit of a
life update.
Um, it's not a big one but it'san interesting one, because
(02:44):
recently I went to the park withsome friends.
I took the bus to the park andit was interesting because, you
know, that day, like I went inthe afternoon and in the morning
I had planned on doing apractice session and something
(03:05):
happened.
It was like, oh my gosh, it wascrazy.
So I literally, just as when Iwas about to start my practice
session, a wasp flew into theflat and it was making all the
noise because obviously the waspwanted out of the flat.
The wasp didn't want to stay inthe flat, so it was like trying
to get out and it was hitting awindow and it was getting
(03:27):
annoyed and it was buzzing andit was really like loud to me
and I really wanted to help thiswasp get out of the flat.
And you know it's like.
So it was like opening windowstrying to get it to leave and it
took up my entire practice timethat I had set out in the
morning and I was just in such akind of flurry and a kind of
(03:53):
rush to just get this wasp outthat I did not realize that when
it finally went out, not onlydid I, not only was I just
absolutely exhausted from theentire endeavor, my practice
time was gone and I was like, oh, no, um.
And then it was time to to hangout in the park with some
(04:14):
friends and I just I realized,you know, I had two options.
I could either beat myself up,be like, oh my gosh, you missed
your practice time.
You know, you should have justbeen okay with the practicing
with the wasp and honestly,looking back, maybe, but the
wasp was so I don't know, I justit was so distracting and I
(04:35):
just really wanted it out of theflat and I could have beat
myself up.
You know, I could have gone tothe park with my friends, I
could have had fun, but therecould have been a little voice
in the back of my head beinglike, why didn't you just, you
know, get on with things?
But I decided to change that upa bit and I decided to be kind
to myself, because the only wayforward in my experience at
(04:59):
least, the way forward isthrough kindness, through
empathy and compassion.
I've found that when I shamemyself or when I beat myself up,
I don't really grow as a personor as a musician.
So I decided I'm going to showmyself empathy and be like, okay
, maybe today, maybe today is arest day, you know, maybe, like
(05:19):
I've been practicing so muchrecently, like maybe maybe it's
just a day to rest and and becalm and be okay.
And I decided you know what I'mjust going to have?
I'm just going to go to thepark, I'm going to have fun with
my friends.
It's going to be great.
And I did.
And I had so much fun and I sawHighland cows Um, first time
(05:39):
first time forever, cause I livein Scotland.
So, uh, the first time I'veever seen Highland cows.
They're just big puppies,they're lovely.
And I just had so much fun atthe park.
And, you know, after the park Iwent and I grabbed a coffee with
someone and it was just sochill and I was like you know
what, today is just a day to bein the moment and to enjoy just
(06:03):
the beautiful things of life.
Do you know what I mean?
And I think that that is suchan important thing to just kind
of talk about, because, you know, some days we wake up and we
practice, and practice, andpractice and it's great and we
feel confident and we feelproductive and it's amazing.
But other days we don't, youknow, and other days we just
something happens the wasp fliesinto the apartment and all of a
(06:23):
sudden, we need to to take careof that or we don't get as much
time, or maybe even ourpractice isn't, as you know,
productive or effective, andthat's okay, you know, and it's
okay and we still deserve, aspeople, to go to the park with
our friends.
You know what I mean.
It's so important.
So I'm really proud of myselffor doing that, for choosing
empathy over you you know,shaming myself and I felt that
(06:45):
it was an important thing to totell you, um, because as
musicians, we all struggle withthat, we all are working towards
that and it's good to good tohave some, some wins about that
and yeah, all right.
Shall we move on to the actualtopic of the episode, and that
is culture shocks in the UK,specifically music culture
(07:06):
shocks.
I might do an episode, um aboutlike more general culture
shocks in the UK, because thereare also that it's it's very
strange if you have twonationalities you can probably
relate to, like in bothcountries.
For me, the states and the UKlike going someplace and and
there being a culture shock andyou being like, okay, I have
(07:29):
this culture shock, but I amactually, you know this country,
I am actually part of thiscountry.
Do you know what I mean?
Like it would make sense for me, for instance, if I went to
like I don't know Norway, youknow I'm not Norwegian.
But if I went to Norway and Ihad a culture shock in Norway,
that would make sense becauseI'm not Norwegian.
Do you know what I mean?
But because I am actuallyBritish and I had a culture
shock in Norway, that would makesense because I'm not Norwegian
.
Do you know what I mean?
But because I am actuallyBritish and I am actually
American, when I have cultureshocks in these two countries,
(07:50):
I'm like it's a bit strange.
But alright, let's get intoculture shocks in the UK,
specifically in terms of musicconservatoires or like that kind
of thing.
The first thing and, by the way, this is a disclaimer this is
all in my experience.
Someone else might have acompletely different experience.
(08:11):
This is my experience of thesetwo places.
The first thing that I foundwas this is specifically with,
like my oboe teachers, I findthat in the States you look at
oboes more from a, or you lookat learning an instrument for me
(08:33):
it was the oboe more from amechanical point of view.
Like this is how you do it,this is how you need to do it,
this is how you make it work.
And then from in the UK UK it'smore of an artistic point of
view, it's more of like a youknow, if you want, if you want
to do this specific thing, thentry that, or try this other
(08:53):
thing.
I remember in the States myteacher would be like okay, when
you have I don't know a trill,you play it this way.
Or when you have this, you doit like this.
And there was just one option.
And then I got to the UK and myteacher at my conservatoire was
like let me give you some ideasand you can choose from them
whatever fits you.
And I was like what?
I was so shocked because I waslike but, but but which?
(09:15):
Which one is correct?
You know, I, I don't want tomake a choice, tell me which one
I should do.
And that was a big shock for me.
And I find that, you know,everyone kind of looks at it
more from an artistic point ofview, especially because at the
conservatory we have performanceclass, which basically means
that people go up and theyperform a piece and then they
get feedback from everyone inthe room.
(09:36):
And that was, for me quite ashock, because I was well from
the shock was the.
The feedback was quite anartistic thing.
It was like show more color,show more expression, you know,
show your artistic side, whereasI think for me, at least in the
states, it was more of like amechanical point of view, like
this is how you do it, do youknow?
I mean, it was a big shock forme and it's still something that
(09:58):
I'm kind of struggling with,because I do get quite nervous
about, like, what if I choosethe wrong option?
You know, my teacher gave methree options to play this.
What?
What if I do the wrong one?
But I think for me it's it'slearning how to be more open to
these things.
You know, um, before we move onto the next one, I'm gonna.
I have a pizza in the oven, soI'm gonna quickly get that and
(10:21):
then check on it and then we'llmove on to the next one.
So just give me a wee sec.
Oh my gosh, this pizza looks sogood.
I'm really excited about it.
Um, all right, the next thing.
This is interesting.
Um, I found, especially in aconservatory setting, teachers
are more laid back, and this isjust my experience.
(10:41):
There are so many musicteachers in the UK, there's so
many in the US.
But from my personal experiencewith teachers I found that
they're more laid back.
I think, like, for instance, atChristmas time my oboe teacher
took the entire oboe class tothe pub and I think in the UK or
(11:04):
US that would never happen,like I don't know, at least in
my experience.
Like I couldn't imagine thathappening in the States.
Like your teacher actually,like takes you out for drinks at
the pub.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, and I remember I toldsomeone in the States like that
they do this in the UK and theywere like what?
Like, what it was?
(11:26):
It is a big culture shock.
The teachers here, I feel, aremore laid back.
Like, for instance, I call allmy teachers by their first names
.
And I mean, again, this is myexperience, but in the in the in
the States, I found that,especially like conservatory,
you know, music school they saylike professor so-and-so,
(11:46):
professor so-and-so, and I think, I'm sure I mean I don't know,
but maybe in more traditionaluniversities in the UK they
might say professor, but atleast in my conservatoire, like
I call my teachers by theirfirst names.
Like my oboe teacher, I callhim by his first name, um, and
(12:06):
that is something that's alittle different like, for I
mean to be fair, in the in theUS I called my private teacher
by his first name, but thatwasn't part of, he wasn't like a
part of like a music school.
Do you know what I mean?
But when I went and visitedmusic schools I saw students
calling the teachers by likeprofessor, so-and-so, and yeah,
(12:28):
it's just a little bit of aculture shock, because in the UK
you say or at least in myexperience, I say, my teacher is
just their first names andthey're fine with that, and
that's a very different thing,and they like introduce
themselves, you know, by theirfirst name, which is a very
different thing, and that's abit of a culture shock.
(12:49):
Um, the third one this one'sreally funny, um, and I think I
think it makes, I mean, totalsense in the world of being a
Brit, but it is so funny andthat is tea etiquette.
Um, I literally have in mynotes like, like notes on tea
(13:11):
etiquette.
So, for instance, um, likewe've had classes or a class
where we all sat down and wetalked about gigging and we
talked about, like you know,freelancing and if you were a
freelance classical musician andyou know if you've got um gigs
in specific orchestras, how toact, how to behave, you know, be
on time, blah blah.
(13:31):
But there was an entire sectionof that class that was how many
cups of tea should you get?
Who?
You know who?
Who should you give the tea to?
Um, you know, should you buytea or should you let them give
you to?
You know, it was just like somuch and I was like I sat there
and it was like, oh my gosh,this would never happen in the
(13:51):
states.
But like you know, for instance, like during orchestra
rehearsals, during the breaks,you know who'd you give tea to,
and I have notes on that.
And I remember sitting in thatclass thinking this would never
happen in the States.
And this is brilliant Because Imean, in the UK, like I know
that we have this kind ofreputation of everyone drinks
(14:14):
tea and blah, blah, blah.
And it's so true, it is so trueLike I have tea behind me, me,
um, everyone drinks tea.
It's so important and you knowso much so that I've I've had
classes where we talk about teaetiquette in orchestras, which
is which you know.
I think the American side of meis blown away.
(14:35):
The British side of me make youknow.
It's like, yeah, no, that makessense, but that is something
that's quite different.
The next one is this idea oflike, everyone being on a
different path, and this is justmy experience, but I feel like
in the UK people are on more oftheir own individual paths,
(14:56):
whereas I feel like in the USeveryone's kind of doing the
same thing.
So like, for instance, like inthe UK, you might go to a
conservatoire to be in anorchestra, but you might also go
to a conservatoire because youjust want to freelance, or you
might go to a conservatoire justbecause you want to I don't
know do something else or dosomething different.
Or like, use your degree.
(15:17):
I feel like everyone has a planfor their degree and it's
different.
I feel like in the US everyonewants to do the same thing and I
think that that's that'sinteresting.
I think it kind of comes in asimilarity to like, the
individualism versus like, orsorry, the mechanic versus the
(15:38):
artist.
So, like in the US it's kind ofmore of a mechanical way, the
UK more of an artistic way.
I think it's kind of the samething.
I think in the US it's more ofum.
In the US it's more of like aeveryone's doing this thing and
that's all they.
They want to do that and I'msure you know people branch off
and people do different things,but I feel like everyone has a
similar goal, whereas in the UKeveryone kind of just does like,
(16:03):
like, has their own path andhas their own idea of what they
want to do, and I think thatthat was a different thing.
I mean, for the most part,every like.
Obviously, everyone wants toplay their instrument.
That's kind of it, um.
But I feel like in the UKthere's a little more
individualism as to what youspecifically want to do, um, I
feel like in the US the idea isokay, everyone, everyone gets a
(16:27):
undergraduate degree and thenthey get a graduate.
You know, they go to gradschool, they get their graduate
degree and then they apply fororchestras.
And in the UK, like, I havefriends who, for instance, just
graduated from their bachelordegree, from their undergraduate
, and they're like okay, do Iwant to go to grad school or do
I want to like?
You know, you can dointernships with orchestras, or
(16:48):
do I want to do this or do Iwant to do that?
You know it's it's all verydifferent.
Um, and this is you know,obviously, from my own
experience, but it's, it's quiteinteresting to see the more
individualism in the UK.
Um, and I think for me thatfits me a bit more, because I
feel like I want to be in anorchestra but there's so many
(17:09):
other things in my mind relatingto my oboe that I'm like I want
to try this, I want to do this,all of these things which I'm
so excited about.
It's a little bit different,but I'm really happy that I'm
going to this conservatoire,that I'm going to and I'm going
to this conservatoire that I'mgoing to and I'm studying here
and it's absolutely amazing.
(17:29):
So those are.
I don't know how many.
There were One, two, three,four, four, four culture shocks.
I just counted off my littlescript or like my outline of the
episode.
So, yeah, those are the fourculture shocks, at least from in
(17:49):
the musician side of things.
Before we do a little recap, Iwant to let you know about a
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to reflect my practice orreflect on my practice, and that
is a notable practice journal.
This journal is so helpful.
Not only can I plan my practiceso that I know exactly what I
want to do in my practicesession.
(18:09):
I can also reflect, so that Imake sure that I grow after
every single session.
As soon as I realized that thisjournal was helping me, I knew
I needed to tell you about itand I knew I needed to give you
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So use code Eleanor15 for 15%off your journal.
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(18:32):
because we all love effectivesessions.
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commission with no extra costto you.
All right, let's do a wee recap.
So the first thing, in myexperience at least, in the US
it's kind of more going atplaying an instrument from a
(18:54):
mechanical point of view,whereas in the UK it's more of
an artistic point of view.
In the UK the teachers seem tobe a bit more laid back.
Obviously, everyone's stillvery focused, but, you know, in
terms of like, calling them bytheir first name and things like
that, it's a bit more laid back.
Obviously, everyone's stillvery focused, but, you know, in
terms of like, calling them bytheir first name and things like
that it's a bit more laid back.
The third thing is teaetiquette.
This was a big thing.
(19:14):
I was like whoa, tea etiquettelike you actually learn in
conservatoire.
You know how many cups of teayou should give people and
things like that.
And then the fourth thing iseveryone is on a different path.
I feel in the UK, whereas inthe US it's kind of more,
everyone has a similar goal, atleast in my experience.
(19:35):
Yeah, but it's so much fun to behere in the UK and studying at
the Conservatoire and I'm soexcited to kind of share this
with you through the podcast,through my social medias, to
kind of share this with youthrough the podcast, through my
social medias.
You know all of these things.
It's absolutely lovely and,yeah, so I hope you enjoyed this
episode.
If you did, please do show allthe love, like, subscribe,
comment, share, share with allof your friends, especially the
(19:57):
ones if you have any friends whoare thinking of going to a
different country, studying in adifferent country, especially
if it's the UK or even if it'sthe US or any other country.
Just send it to all of yourfriends who you think might
benefit from this.
Yeah, and I hope that you havea lovely rest of your day and I
will see you in the next episode.
(20:17):
All right, take care.
Bye-bye.
Hello and welcome to the Confident Musicianing
Podcast.
My name is Eleanor and I am aBritish American oboist studying
at the Royal Conservatoire ofScotland literally my dream
school and it took me a long wayto get there.
I applied and auditioned for 12schools in three different
countries.
It was a lot of hard work but,oh my gosh, so worth it.
(00:24):
I want you to have theconfidence to work hard in
achieving your goals, so comewith me as we go on this journey
together.
So sit down, pull up a chair,take a seat or, if you're on the
go, welcome to the ConfidentMusicianing Podcast.
Hello everybody, and welcomeback to another episode of the
(00:50):
Confident Musicianing podcast.
Today we are going to be talkingall about culture shocks since
moving to the UK.
I have been living in the UKfor about almost a year now and
there's a lot of like differentculture shocks and it's
interesting because I so I'm adual citizen.
I am British, I'm also American, um, I grew up in the states,
(01:13):
um, and I've since moved back tothe UK and it's very
interesting having two culturesright, being being part of kind
of two countries, and so there'sa lot of things about the UK
that I am used to because I amactually British.
But then there are also thingsthat I'm not as used to and
(01:36):
today I want to dive into morekind of the musical culture
shocks, because I definitely,before moving to the UK, was
very American in my musical self.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, I grew up in the Stateslearning music and it is
actually quite different to theUK.
So I want to chit chat a littlebit about that Before we get
(02:00):
into the actual kind of part ofthat um, part of that episode.
Um, I want to just kind of startthis off with like a little
life update.
I think I want to, um, movingon with the episodes, have a
little section at the beginningwhere I just tell you like
something about my life,something that's happened
recently, kind of just like chitchat about that, and then we
(02:23):
can get to the actual content ofthe episode.
I will, um put like timestampthat out, um, in the audio bit
at least.
Um.
So if you want to skip just tothe content bits, that's
perfectly fine, but let's do alittle bit of a little bit of a
life update.
Um, it's not a big one but it'san interesting one, because
(02:44):
recently I went to the park withsome friends.
I took the bus to the park andit was interesting because, you
know, that day, like I went inthe afternoon and in the morning
I had planned on doing apractice session and something
(03:05):
happened.
It was like, oh my gosh, it wascrazy.
So I literally, just as when Iwas about to start my practice
session, a wasp flew into theflat and it was making all the
noise because obviously the waspwanted out of the flat.
The wasp didn't want to stay inthe flat, so it was like trying
to get out and it was hitting awindow and it was getting
(03:27):
annoyed and it was buzzing andit was really like loud to me
and I really wanted to help thiswasp get out of the flat.
And you know it's like.
So it was like opening windowstrying to get it to leave and it
took up my entire practice timethat I had set out in the
morning and I was just in such akind of flurry and a kind of
(03:53):
rush to just get this wasp outthat I did not realize that when
it finally went out, not onlydid I, not only was I just
absolutely exhausted from theentire endeavor, my practice
time was gone and I was like, oh, no, um.
And then it was time to to hangout in the park with some
(04:14):
friends and I just I realized,you know, I had two options.
I could either beat myself up,be like, oh my gosh, you missed
your practice time.
You know, you should have justbeen okay with the practicing
with the wasp and honestly,looking back, maybe, but the
wasp was so I don't know, I justit was so distracting and I
(04:35):
just really wanted it out of theflat and I could have beat
myself up.
You know, I could have gone tothe park with my friends, I
could have had fun, but therecould have been a little voice
in the back of my head beinglike, why didn't you just, you
know, get on with things?
But I decided to change that upa bit and I decided to be kind
to myself, because the only wayforward in my experience at
(04:59):
least, the way forward isthrough kindness, through
empathy and compassion.
I've found that when I shamemyself or when I beat myself up,
I don't really grow as a personor as a musician.
So I decided I'm going to showmyself empathy and be like, okay
, maybe today, maybe today is arest day, you know, maybe, like
(05:19):
I've been practicing so muchrecently, like maybe maybe it's
just a day to rest and and becalm and be okay.
And I decided you know what I'mjust going to have?
I'm just going to go to thepark, I'm going to have fun with
my friends.
It's going to be great.
And I did.
And I had so much fun and I sawHighland cows Um, first time
(05:39):
first time forever, cause I livein Scotland.
So, uh, the first time I'veever seen Highland cows.
They're just big puppies,they're lovely.
And I just had so much fun atthe park.
And, you know, after the park Iwent and I grabbed a coffee with
someone and it was just sochill and I was like you know
what, today is just a day to bein the moment and to enjoy just
(06:03):
the beautiful things of life.
Do you know what I mean?
And I think that that is suchan important thing to just kind
of talk about, because, you know, some days we wake up and we
practice, and practice, andpractice and it's great and we
feel confident and we feelproductive and it's amazing.
But other days we don't, youknow, and other days we just
something happens the wasp fliesinto the apartment and all of a
(06:23):
sudden, we need to to take careof that or we don't get as much
time, or maybe even ourpractice isn't, as you know,
productive or effective, andthat's okay, you know, and it's
okay and we still deserve, aspeople, to go to the park with
our friends.
You know what I mean.
It's so important.
So I'm really proud of myselffor doing that, for choosing
empathy over you you know,shaming myself and I felt that
(06:45):
it was an important thing to totell you, um, because as
musicians, we all struggle withthat, we all are working towards
that and it's good to good tohave some, some wins about that
and yeah, all right.
Shall we move on to the actualtopic of the episode, and that
is culture shocks in the UK,specifically music culture
(07:06):
shocks.
I might do an episode, um aboutlike more general culture
shocks in the UK, because thereare also that it's it's very
strange if you have twonationalities you can probably
relate to, like in bothcountries.
For me, the states and the UKlike going someplace and and
there being a culture shock andyou being like, okay, I have
(07:29):
this culture shock, but I amactually, you know this country,
I am actually part of thiscountry.
Do you know what I mean?
Like it would make sense for me, for instance, if I went to
like I don't know Norway, youknow I'm not Norwegian.
But if I went to Norway and Ihad a culture shock in Norway,
that would make sense becauseI'm not Norwegian.
Do you know what I mean?
But because I am actuallyBritish and I had a culture
shock in Norway, that would makesense because I'm not Norwegian
.
Do you know what I mean?
But because I am actuallyBritish and I am actually
American, when I have cultureshocks in these two countries,
(07:50):
I'm like it's a bit strange.
But alright, let's get intoculture shocks in the UK,
specifically in terms of musicconservatoires or like that kind
of thing.
The first thing and, by the way, this is a disclaimer this is
all in my experience.
Someone else might have acompletely different experience.
(08:11):
This is my experience of thesetwo places.
The first thing that I foundwas this is specifically with,
like my oboe teachers, I findthat in the States you look at
oboes more from a, or you lookat learning an instrument for me
(08:33):
it was the oboe more from amechanical point of view.
Like this is how you do it,this is how you need to do it,
this is how you make it work.
And then from in the UK UK it'smore of an artistic point of
view, it's more of like a youknow, if you want, if you want
to do this specific thing, thentry that, or try this other
(08:53):
thing.
I remember in the States myteacher would be like okay, when
you have I don't know a trill,you play it this way.
Or when you have this, you doit like this.
And there was just one option.
And then I got to the UK and myteacher at my conservatoire was
like let me give you some ideasand you can choose from them
whatever fits you.
And I was like what?
I was so shocked because I waslike but, but but which?
(09:15):
Which one is correct?
You know, I, I don't want tomake a choice, tell me which one
I should do.
And that was a big shock for me.
And I find that, you know,everyone kind of looks at it
more from an artistic point ofview, especially because at the
conservatory we have performanceclass, which basically means
that people go up and theyperform a piece and then they
get feedback from everyone inthe room.
(09:36):
And that was, for me quite ashock, because I was well from
the shock was the.
The feedback was quite anartistic thing.
It was like show more color,show more expression, you know,
show your artistic side, whereasI think for me, at least in the
states, it was more of like amechanical point of view, like
this is how you do it, do youknow?
I mean, it was a big shock forme and it's still something that
(09:58):
I'm kind of struggling with,because I do get quite nervous
about, like, what if I choosethe wrong option?
You know, my teacher gave methree options to play this.
What?
What if I do the wrong one?
But I think for me it's it'slearning how to be more open to
these things.
You know, um, before we move onto the next one, I'm gonna.
I have a pizza in the oven, soI'm gonna quickly get that and
(10:21):
then check on it and then we'llmove on to the next one.
So just give me a wee sec.
Oh my gosh, this pizza looks sogood.
I'm really excited about it.
Um, all right, the next thing.
This is interesting.
Um, I found, especially in aconservatory setting, teachers
are more laid back, and this isjust my experience.
(10:41):
There are so many musicteachers in the UK, there's so
many in the US.
But from my personal experiencewith teachers I found that
they're more laid back.
I think, like, for instance, atChristmas time my oboe teacher
took the entire oboe class tothe pub and I think in the UK or
(11:04):
US that would never happen,like I don't know, at least in
my experience.
Like I couldn't imagine thathappening in the States.
Like your teacher actually,like takes you out for drinks at
the pub.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, and I remember I toldsomeone in the States like that
they do this in the UK and theywere like what?
Like, what it was?
(11:26):
It is a big culture shock.
The teachers here, I feel, aremore laid back.
Like, for instance, I call allmy teachers by their first names
.
And I mean, again, this is myexperience, but in the in the in
the States, I found that,especially like conservatory,
you know, music school they saylike professor so-and-so,
(11:46):
professor so-and-so, and I think, I'm sure I mean I don't know,
but maybe in more traditionaluniversities in the UK they
might say professor, but atleast in my conservatoire, like
I call my teachers by theirfirst names.
Like my oboe teacher, I callhim by his first name, um, and
(12:06):
that is something that's alittle different like, for I
mean to be fair, in the in theUS I called my private teacher
by his first name, but thatwasn't part of, he wasn't like a
part of like a music school.
Do you know what I mean?
But when I went and visitedmusic schools I saw students
calling the teachers by likeprofessor, so-and-so, and yeah,
(12:28):
it's just a little bit of aculture shock, because in the UK
you say or at least in myexperience, I say, my teacher is
just their first names andthey're fine with that, and
that's a very different thing,and they like introduce
themselves, you know, by theirfirst name, which is a very
different thing, and that's abit of a culture shock.
(12:49):
Um, the third one this one'sreally funny, um, and I think I
think it makes, I mean, totalsense in the world of being a
Brit, but it is so funny andthat is tea etiquette.
Um, I literally have in mynotes like, like notes on tea
(13:11):
etiquette.
So, for instance, um, likewe've had classes or a class
where we all sat down and wetalked about gigging and we
talked about, like you know,freelancing and if you were a
freelance classical musician andyou know if you've got um gigs
in specific orchestras, how toact, how to behave, you know, be
on time, blah blah.
(13:31):
But there was an entire sectionof that class that was how many
cups of tea should you get?
Who?
You know who?
Who should you give the tea to?
Um, you know, should you buytea or should you let them give
you to?
You know, it was just like somuch and I was like I sat there
and it was like, oh my gosh,this would never happen in the
(13:51):
states.
But like you know, for instance, like during orchestra
rehearsals, during the breaks,you know who'd you give tea to,
and I have notes on that.
And I remember sitting in thatclass thinking this would never
happen in the States.
And this is brilliant Because Imean, in the UK, like I know
that we have this kind ofreputation of everyone drinks
(14:14):
tea and blah, blah, blah.
And it's so true, it is so trueLike I have tea behind me, me,
um, everyone drinks tea.
It's so important and you knowso much so that I've I've had
classes where we talk about teaetiquette in orchestras, which
is which you know.
I think the American side of meis blown away.
(14:35):
The British side of me make youknow.
It's like, yeah, no, that makessense, but that is something
that's quite different.
The next one is this idea oflike, everyone being on a
different path, and this is justmy experience, but I feel like
in the UK people are on more oftheir own individual paths,
(14:56):
whereas I feel like in the USeveryone's kind of doing the
same thing.
So like, for instance, like inthe UK, you might go to a
conservatoire to be in anorchestra, but you might also go
to a conservatoire because youjust want to freelance, or you
might go to a conservatoire justbecause you want to I don't
know do something else or dosomething different.
Or like, use your degree.
(15:17):
I feel like everyone has a planfor their degree and it's
different.
I feel like in the US everyonewants to do the same thing and I
think that that's that'sinteresting.
I think it kind of comes in asimilarity to like, the
individualism versus like, orsorry, the mechanic versus the
(15:38):
artist.
So, like in the US it's kind ofmore of a mechanical way, the
UK more of an artistic way.
I think it's kind of the samething.
I think in the US it's more ofum.
In the US it's more of like aeveryone's doing this thing and
that's all they.
They want to do that and I'msure you know people branch off
and people do different things,but I feel like everyone has a
similar goal, whereas in the UKeveryone kind of just does like,
(16:03):
like, has their own path andhas their own idea of what they
want to do, and I think thatthat was a different thing.
I mean, for the most part,every like.
Obviously, everyone wants toplay their instrument.
That's kind of it, um.
But I feel like in the UKthere's a little more
individualism as to what youspecifically want to do, um, I
feel like in the US the idea isokay, everyone, everyone gets a
(16:27):
undergraduate degree and thenthey get a graduate.
You know, they go to gradschool, they get their graduate
degree and then they apply fororchestras.
And in the UK, like, I havefriends who, for instance, just
graduated from their bachelordegree, from their undergraduate
, and they're like okay, do Iwant to go to grad school or do
I want to like?
You know, you can dointernships with orchestras, or
(16:48):
do I want to do this or do Iwant to do that?
You know it's it's all verydifferent.
Um, and this is you know,obviously, from my own
experience, but it's, it's quiteinteresting to see the more
individualism in the UK.
Um, and I think for me thatfits me a bit more, because I
feel like I want to be in anorchestra but there's so many
(17:09):
other things in my mind relatingto my oboe that I'm like I want
to try this, I want to do this,all of these things which I'm
so excited about.
It's a little bit different,but I'm really happy that I'm
going to this conservatoire,that I'm going to and I'm going
to this conservatoire that I'mgoing to and I'm studying here
and it's absolutely amazing.
(17:29):
So those are.
I don't know how many.
There were One, two, three,four, four, four culture shocks.
I just counted off my littlescript or like my outline of the
episode.
So, yeah, those are the fourculture shocks, at least from in
(17:49):
the musician side of things.
Before we do a little recap, Iwant to let you know about a
tool that really helps me in mypracticing to plan my practice,
to reflect my practice orreflect on my practice, and that
is a notable practice journal.
This journal is so helpful.
Not only can I plan my practiceso that I know exactly what I
want to do in my practicesession.
(18:09):
I can also reflect, so that Imake sure that I grow after
every single session.
As soon as I realized that thisjournal was helping me, I knew
I needed to tell you about itand I knew I needed to give you
a code.
So use code Eleanor15 for 15%off your journal.
And, yeah, go practice and planit and make it effective,
(18:32):
because we all love effectivesessions.
You know I don't recommendanything that I don't absolutely
love.
So this code is an affiliatecode, which means I do receive a
commission with no extra costto you.
All right, let's do a wee recap.
So the first thing, in myexperience at least, in the US
it's kind of more going atplaying an instrument from a
(18:54):
mechanical point of view,whereas in the UK it's more of
an artistic point of view.
In the UK the teachers seem tobe a bit more laid back.
Obviously, everyone's stillvery focused, but, you know, in
terms of like, calling them bytheir first name and things like
that, it's a bit more laid back.
Obviously, everyone's stillvery focused, but, you know, in
terms of like, calling them bytheir first name and things like
that it's a bit more laid back.
The third thing is teaetiquette.
This was a big thing.
(19:14):
I was like whoa, tea etiquettelike you actually learn in
conservatoire.
You know how many cups of teayou should give people and
things like that.
And then the fourth thing iseveryone is on a different path.
I feel in the UK, whereas inthe US it's kind of more,
everyone has a similar goal, atleast in my experience.
(19:35):
Yeah, but it's so much fun to behere in the UK and studying at
the Conservatoire and I'm soexcited to kind of share this
with you through the podcast,through my social medias, to
kind of share this with youthrough the podcast, through my
social medias.
You know all of these things.
It's absolutely lovely and,yeah, so I hope you enjoyed this
episode.
If you did, please do show allthe love, like, subscribe,
comment, share, share with allof your friends, especially the
(19:57):
ones if you have any friends whoare thinking of going to a
different country, studying in adifferent country, especially
if it's the UK or even if it'sthe US or any other country.
Just send it to all of yourfriends who you think might
benefit from this.
Yeah, and I hope that you havea lovely rest of your day and I
will see you in the next episode.
(20:17):
All right, take care.
Bye-bye.
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