Printer Friendly- General audition information for all applicants
- Theory profile examination
- Entrance audition requirements
In addition to meeting the general UML admission requirements, students applying to any of the music programs also must fulfill specific requirements that prove their musical ability and knowledge, including an audition and a music theory examination.
General Audition Information for All Applicants
There are three audition dates scheduled for 2009, and one overflow dateFebruary 6, Friday
March 6, Friday
April 10, Friday
May 8, Friday (overflow date; this date will only have auditions scheduled if needed)
The admissions process begins with acceptance to the University by the Admissions Office. Students then must choose a scheduled audition date to perform an entrance audition as well as complete a theory profile examination.
The admissions policies for all applicants to any of the Department of Music degree programs of performance, sound recording technology, music business, or music studies (preparatory degree for a master of music in teaching) require students to successfully complete an entrance audition before a member of the music faculty. Students must demonstrate sufficient technical and musical skill on an instrument or in the vocal area to provide evidence of readiness to undertake college-level instruction. Potential music majors are encouraged to confer with their private instructor or band director to prepare for the entrance audition using the entrance audition requirements included on this page as a guide. The lists of repertoire provided here should be used as a guideline for the audition and to indicate the standards expected of an undergraduate student. However, students are not limited to these suggestions when selecting their audition repertoire.
It is expected that students will spend extensive time in preparation for the entrance audition process; private instrumental or vocal instruction is essential.
The results of the entrance audition will be one of the following:
Student-demonstrated technical and musical preparation suitable for college-level study. Reaudition Recommendation
Although the student did not demonstrate sufficient proficiency in an instrumental or vocal area, the student did demonstrate potential to achieve college-level entrance proficiency in one semester of remedial study. The student is given an opportunity to complete one semester of remedial study. Department of Music faculty members are available to give remedial applied music lessons arranged through the Division of Continuing Studies and Corporate Education for an additional fee. During this semester, students may enroll in academic music courses but may not enroll in college-level applied music or ensembles. The student will be required to pass a reaudition at the end of the semester of remedial study. If the student does not successfully complete the reaudition, he/she will not be permitted to continue in any of the Department of Music degree programs. Admissions counselors are available to assist students in exploring options beyond music major study at the University. Unsuccessful Audition -- Not Recommended for Reaudition
Students who are unable to complete the entrance audition successfully nor demonstrate sufficient background that one semester of remedial lessons would result in a successful reaudition are not permitted to enroll in any music major courses.
Students who receive notice that their auditions were unsuccessful and have not been recommended for reaudition must change their intended majors. Admissions counselors are available to assist students in exploring options beyond music major study at the University.
Theory Profile Examination
All entering music majors are required to take a theory profile examination on the scheduled audition day that tests their level of musical knowledge. This knowledge includes the following:- Standard notational practices in treble, bass and c clefs;
- Conventional beaming practices in simple and compound meters;
- Identification of commonly used meters;
- All major and minor (natural, harmonic, and melodic) scales;
- The spelling and recognition of simple intervals;
- The key signatures of all major and minor keys; and
- The spelling and recognition of major, minor, and augmented triads.
The Theory Profile Examination determines students who are at risk of not performing well in Music Theory 1. For those students, and students unable to take the examination, we recommend doing one of the following before entering:
- Complete the basic Music Theory course, usually offered in the summer session through Continuing and Corporate Education.
- Complete a similar course at another school.
- Pursue self -study from one of the texts listed below.
For self study, we recommend the purchase of one of the following:
- Practica Musica, Jeff Evans. ARS Nova Software
- Paul Harder and Greg Steinke. Basic Materials in Music Theory. Allyn and Bacon.
- John Clough and Joyce Conley. Scales, Intervals, Keys, Triads, Rhythm and Meter. W.W. Norton.
You may also wish to go to this site for additional practice: http://www.musictheory.net/index.html
The fall semester Music Theory 1 course will begin with an intensive study of music fundamentals, followed by an examination given in the fifth week of classes. Students failing this exam will be withdrawn from Music Theory 1 as well as from Aural Skills 1. Any student unable to pass Theory 1 on the second attempt will be considered not to be making sufficient progress as a music major and required to change majors.
Entrance Audition Requirements
Keyboard
In addition to all major scales, applicants to the keyboard program must be prepared to perform two pieces of contrasting style and character.Piano
The following examples represent the minimum degree of difficulty required for the piano audition:- Bach: Two-part Inventions
- Clementi: Sonatinas, op. 36
- Schumann: Scenes from Childhood, op. 15
- Bartok: Mikrokosmos, Vol. IV
Applicants may perform one or more pieces in jazz and/or other styles, but must include at least one piece from the above repertoire or a selection of equal difficulty as those listed.
Applicants wishing to perform on an electronic keyboard must supply their own instrument. In addition, they must be prepared to play at least one piece on the acoustic piano.
Organ
In addition to the following, all applicants should be able to perform scales and arpeggios in all major and minor keys on the pedals:- Work by J.S. Bach, Buxtehude, Couperin, or other baroque composer
- Romantic work, such as a movement from a sonata by Mendelssohn or chorale-prelude by Brahms
- Twentieth century composition
Voice
All applicants for the Bachelor of Music Degree in Sound Recording Technology, Music Business, Performance, or Music Studies (preparatory degree for our Master of Music in Teaching), must successfully audition in the vocal area in order to be accepted into the program. Auditions are held on campus as scheduled by the Department of Music.Private instruction is essential, and it is expected that students will spend extensive time in preparation for the audition.
All applicants for admission to the undergraduate voice program must be prepared to perform, from memory, selections from the following:
Solos: A selection from the Classical Italian Anthology.
Two art songs (one must be in English).
An art song is a classical song written from the 17th century to the present (not pop, musical theatre, jazz and not an aria from an opera or an oratorio). An art song can also include classical arrangements of folk songs. In brief, it’s a short form classical vocal piece with a poetic text. Examples of art song composers in English (American and British) are: Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Roger Quilter, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, John Dowland, Gerald Finzi, Ned Rorem, Leonard Bernstein, John Duke, Charles Ives, Henry Purcell, Michael Head. On audition day, applicants must bring a copy of the audition pieces to be performed--no original compositions
Percussion
The purpose of the percussion audition is to evaluate the applicant's musicality, technique, rhythm, sense of pitch and ability to read musical notation. Selection of literature for the audition should be discussed with the applicant's percussion instructor or band director.All candidates must successfully demonstrate ability to execute on snare drum:
- A roll (open and closed) at various dynamic levels
- Rudiments
- Sight-reading
- A snare drum solo of at least intermediate difficulty, for example, Intermediate Snare Drum by M. Peters or Portraits in Rhythm by A. Cirones.
In addition, candidates also must audition in one of the following three areas:
- Drumset:
- Demonstrate ability to play various "grooves" (ex. bossa nova, samba, jazz, funk, jazz waltz, etc.).
- Demonstrate ability to "trade two's."
- Demonstrate ability to musically improvise solo.
- Mallets:
- Demonstrate ability to play all major scales (two octaves).
- Play a prepared, written solo on xylophone, marimba or vibes.
- Timpani:
- Demonstrate ability to tune timpani.
- Demonstrate knowledge of fundamental technique.
- Play a prepared, written solo of intermediate difficulty.
UML will supply all percussion instruments for the audition. Applicants should bring their own sticks and mallets.
Strings
The audition requirements for applicants to the strings program are to play the following:- Two contrasting solos demonstrating technical facility and musical expressiveness
- Two etudes/technical studies from recognized string literature
- Scales/arpeggios in two octaves (classical bass-one octave) all major/minor keys
The following lists of repertoire should be used as a guideline for auditions and to indicate the standards expected of undergraduate students. However, applicants are not limited to these suggestions when selecting their audition repertoire:
- Violin:
- Etudes/technical studies - Kayser, Mazas, Schradieck, Sevcik
- Sonatas - Bach, Handel, Corelli
- Concerti - Bach, Mozart
- Viola:
- Etudes/technical studies - Kayser, Mazas, Schradlieck, Sevcik
- Sonatas - Telemann, Handel
- Concerti - Telemann, CPE Bach
- Cello:
Classical Bass
Applicants planning to study classical bass (acoustic) will be expected to have prepared a minimum of the following materials:- Two pieces or movements of contrasting tempo and/or style
- Two etudes/technical studies from recognized string literature
- Scales/arpeggios, one octave in all major and minor keys
The following lists of repertoire should be used as a guideline for the audition and to indicate the standards expected of undergraduate students. However, applicants are not limited to these suggestions when selecting their audition repertoire.
- Etudes/technical studies - Nanny, Simandl, Zimmerman
- Sonatas - Eccles, Vivaldi, Marcello
- Concerti - Dragonetti, Koussevitzky, Capuzzi
Jazz Bass
Applicants who wish to study jazz bass (electric or acoustic) will be expected to have prepared a minimum of the following materials:- Two pieces, of contrasting tempo and/or style
- Read a simple bass line encompassing eighth-note syncopations
- Improvise a simple quarter-note bass line reading chord changes
- Scales and arpeggios, one octave in all major and minor keys Top
Steel-String Electric or Acoustic Guitar
Guitarists will be asked to play the following:
- Any standard 32-bar tune, the melody and the accompaniment separately (examples: Misty, Satin Doll, Autumn Leaves, etc.)
- Any classical piece, not less than one page in length, either in pick or finger style
- Major scale, two octaves, ascending and descending; two types of minor scales
- A melody at sight in moderate tempo, with half, quarter and eighth notes
- Chord accompaniment, moderate tempo including the following types of chords: dominant seventh, major seventh, minor seventh, diminished seventh, minor seventh/flat five
Classical Guitar
The following lists of repertoire should be used as a guideline for the audition and to indicate the standards expected of undergraduate students. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of major and minor scales. Performance should include (preferably from memory) one etude, study, or concert piece from two of the following categories (other composers of the same period may be used):- Renaissance or Baroque:
- Milan
- Sans
- Narvaez
- Weiss
- Dowland
- Bach
- Classical or Romantic:
- Carcassi
- Tarrega
- Sor
- Coste
- Giuliani
- Mertz
- Twentieth Century:
- Brouwer
- Villa-Lobos
- Smith-Brindle
Woodwinds
In addition to major scales, all applicants for admission to the undergraduate woodwind program should prepare one solo work and one etude. The following lists of repertoire should be used as a guideline for their audition and to indicate the standards expected of undergraduate students. However, students are not limited to these suggestions when selecting their audition repertoire.Flute
- Andersen - 25 Etudes, op.15
- Bach - Sonatas
- Mozart - Concerti
- Boza, Debussy, Ibert - French Solo Pieces
Oboe
- W. Ferling - 48 Famous Studies for Oboe
- Handel - Sonatas
- Schumann - Romances
Clarinet
- Jeanjean - Excerpts from 25 Etudes
- Rose - Excerpts from 32 Etudes
- Weber - Concerto
- Mozart - Concerto
Bassoon
- Weissenborn - Excerpts from Studies, Volume II
- Mozart - Concerto
Saxophone
- Voxman - Excerpts from Selected Studies
- Heiden - Sonata
- Glazunov - Concerto
Brass
In addition to major scales, all applicants for admission to the undergraduate brass program should prepare one solo work and one etude. The following lists of repertoire should be used as a guideline for their audition and to indicate the standards expected of undergraduate students. However, they are not limited to these suggestions when selecting their audition repertoire.Trumpet
- Studies
- Saint Jacome/Bousquet - 36 Studies
- Brandt-Nagel - 34 Studies
- Solos
- J. Mouquet - Legende Heroique
- Otto Ketting - Intrada
- Goedicke (Glover) - Concert Etude
- H.L. Clarke - Debutante
- Arutunian - Concerto in B flat
Horn
- Studies
- Maxime-Alphonse - 40 Etudes
- Kopprasch - 60 Etudes
- Solos
- Mozart - Four (4) Concertos
- Richard Strauss - Concerto #1
- E. Bozza - Chant Lointain
Trombone/Euphonium
- Studies
- Bordogni-Rouchut - Melodious Etudes 1
- Kopprasch - 60 Selected Studies
- Solos
- Barat - Andante and Allegro
- Guilmant - Morceau Symphonique
- Rousseau - Piece Concertante
- Vivaldi - Concerto in A minor
Tuba
- Studies
- Bordogni-Roberts - 43 Bel Canto Studies
- Kopprasch - 60 Studies
- Solos
- Bach-Bell - Air and Bourree
- Haddad - Suite for Tuba
- Spillman - Two Songs