When I made the decision to go to Georgetown last spring, I knew what the school was known for and, well, what it was not known for. The strengths, which in my eyes outweighed any drawbacks, included its relatively small size, location in D.C., and academic reputation. But my decision still meant making sacrifices. As a musician who plays many instruments, including piano, guitar, and (my personal favorite) drums, I found Georgetown had relatively few outlets to satisfy a non-music major’s cravings for jamming.
At the center of the problem is a lack of musical practice rooms. As of now, the campus has a pair of rundown practice rooms in New South, as well as several other practice rooms in LXR and Reynolds. The New South rooms, open 24/7, have been my go-to place for brushing up on my piano skills. The rooms are shabby and the pianos far from perfect, but it gets the job done for an amateur. Though the Reynolds rooms are newer, the pianos are never tuned.
However, Georgetown’s diverse student body likely includes more than a handful of extremely talented pianists who have no affiliation with the music department. When a desire to practice requires the use of a worn, out-of-tune piano, the frustration of these talented musicians can be close to unbearable. Again, this isn’t a college known for its music program, but the wide range of musicians not enrolled in any music classes should have access to quality instruments.
While pianists may have to deal with amateur equipment, the option to practice is nevertheless on the table. However, what happens when a drummer or guitarist wants to play? The sad truth is that these musicians may have to suppress their yearning to jam out for the duration of the school year. There are currently no practice rooms containing drum sets or guitar amplifiers that are accessible to the whole student body. The Guild of Bands, a course that requires bands to audition, gives students an opportunity to access this type of gear, but anyone who wants to practice individually or cannot afford to dedicate credits to a musical course is out of luck.
This leaves drummers and guitarists unassociated with the music department with two options: put your equipment where you live, or join the Guild of Bands. The first option could work in a townhouse (if you have understanding neighbors), but as a freshman, I have to wait another full year before my abode has the room to store musical equipment. This disheartening fact means another school year free of any drumming and a summer spent getting my drum skills back to the level I was at three years ago.
The second option would involve an unpleasant conversation with my parents about their tuition money going toward a rock band class, actually forming a band, and then trying out and making the cut for the course.
While frustrating, these unsatisfactory options do not mean all hope is lost. The music department is still growing. The Guild of Bands may not be a great option for all students, but it is nonetheless open for all students to enroll in and, to give the department credit, represents a step in the right direction.
The primary problems that must be overcome to offer more advanced practice rooms to the general public are space and funding. Music equipment is not cheap, and Georgetown’s lazy approach to the arts hinders the allocation of funds toward new musical equipment and facilities. Since the current practice rooms are spread out across campus, monitoring equipment is difficult, too, and if the public practice rooms were to add expensive equipment, close supervision would be essential to prevent thefts and mistreatment of equipment.
New practice rooms won’t spring up unless a benevolent patron steps forward. The Student Activities Fee Endowment is a possible source for the cash, and spending some of the $3.4 million on music space would be a brilliant move on GUSA’s part. Otherwise, while the Department of Performing Arts will likely open additional rooms in the future, as a frustrated musician I may have to sit back and subdue any hope for immediate change. It looks like my air guitar accompaniments to Zeppelin tunes, a pathetic attempt to appease my jamming drought, will continue until I move into a townhouse.
