Music Handbook: Individual Performance Information

Individual Performance Studies

The foundation of a musician’s career is private study with an artist in their specialization; consequently, Individual Performance Studies (Music 1200-1223, 3200-3223) are required for seven semesters of a Music Major’s career at UMM.

Note that there is an additional fee for Individual Performance Studies.

Definitions

• Music 1200-1223 is private lessons for students who have not passed a jury (i.e. students in the early stages of their career at UMM). Each number in the series is designated for a particular instrument or voice.
• Music 3200-3223 is private lessons at the advanced level (i.e. students who have successfully passed a jury). The numbers in the series correspond to the numbers in the 1200 series (i.e. both 1200 and 3200 refer to piano lessons).
• Music Majors are required to take at least two semesters of 3000-level lessons in order to graduate.

Registration

These policies apply to all students enrolled in Individual Performance Studies, regardless of their standing as Music Majors, Minors, or Majors in other disciplines.

There are two sections of each Individual Performance Study Course: 001 and 095.

• Continuing students should contact their faculty instructor to receive a permission number, and then enroll in the 001 section.
• New students should enroll in the 095 section, and then contact the faculty instructor via email to obtain a permission number and then use the permission number to enroll in the 001 section.
• Remember that you are not officially enrolled in Individual Performance Studies until you are in the 001 section. It is the student’s responsibility to contact the faculty member for a permission number.
• The 095 section of Individual Performance Studies will be canceled two weeks into the semester.

Once the student is enrolled, they should set up a weekly time with the assigned faculty member.

• Remember that some faculty commute in once a week just for lessons, so be flexible when you are finding time in your schedule.
• Once your lesson time is set, make it a priority! A faculty member who drives three hours to give you a lesson will not appreciate you forgetting a lesson, or arriving unprepared!

For some courses of Individual Performance Studies, there are multiple teachers.

• Music majors will have priority to be assigned to tenured/tenure-track faculty members.
• Piano students will be assigned faculty instructors by Professor DuHamel.
• Voice students who are unsure of which voice instructor to sign up under should contact Professor Hodgson.

Procedures

All students enrolled in Individual Performance Studies are required to perform a final exam at the end of each semester enrolled.

• Students who perform a half recital, full recital, or jury are exempt from the performance final for that semester.

The final requirements are as follows for various courses.

Voice (Music 1204/3204)

• Students will sing repertoire prepared that semester.
• All repertoire must be memorized.
• The number of songs required will be based on the number of semesters of private voice study.
  • First semester students will prepare two songs.
  • Second semester students will prepare three songs.
  • Third (or more) semester students will prepare four songs.
• Two songs will be performed during the exam, one selected by the student and one randomly selected by the voice faculty.
• If one of the songs is performed on a mixed recital, only one song selected from the remainder of the repertoire will be required for the final exam.

Instrumental (Music 1205-1223/3205-3223)

• Students will perform a work or movement of a work from the standard repertoire of at least four minutes.
• The work must be performed with accompaniment (unless it is unaccompanied).
• A substantial etude, or two shorter etudes of contrasting styles, may be substituted the first semester of study.
• Students are responsible for the following scales. Faculty may on occasion require the performance of scales during the final exam.
  • First semester students will master the chromatic scale and all major scales through three sharps and three flats.
  • Second semester students will master the chromatic scale, all twelve major scales, and one form of the minor scale through three sharps and three flats.
  • Third (or more) semester students will master the chromatic scale, all major scales, and all three forms of the minor scales in all keys.
  • Students who are not Music Majors or Music Minors, or who are taking applied lessons on a secondary instrument, are required to master scales as assigned by the instructor. However, it is suggested that the aforementioned schedule of scales be adhered to as closely as possible.
• An instrumental student who performs a solo work on a mixed recital during the semester will be exempt from the final exam.
  • Note that all students must perform at the end of their second semester of study, regardless of whether they have performed on a mixed student recital or not.

Keyboards (Music 1200-1203)

• Students will prepare two works from the standard repertoire, one of which must be memorized.
• Scales and technical exercise must be prepared according to the requirements for students who are piano majors, piano minors, fulfilling piano proficiency requirements, or fulfilling the Artistic Performance (Art P) portion of the General Education Requirements.
• Any pianist who performs a solo work on a mixed recital during the semester will be exempt from the final exam.
  • Note that all students must perform at the end of their second semester of study, regardless of whether they have performed on a mixed student recital or not.

Accompanying

Gaining accompanying experience is important in the development of competent pianists, and is strongly recommended for piano students by the music faculty.

One credit per semester is offered on a S/N basis for accompanists through Music 1050, contingent upon the student’s accompanying load.

Music students who wish to work with an accompanist are responsible for securing their own accompanists.

• Pianists registered for Music 1050 are to be reimbursed by the soloist $75 per semester for up to 15 hours, and $5 an hour for any hours over 15.
• Larger projects require an additional fee of $25 per half recital or jury, and/or $50 per full recital.
• These fees should be paid in advance during the first week of each semester.

Please see Accompanying Policies on the Opportunities page for a complete discussion of the responsibilities of both accompanists and soloists.

Piano Proficiency

The goal of the piano proficiency is to demonstrate mastery of technical ability, sight-reading skills, accompaniment skills, and musicianship at the keyboard. This achievement is intended to prepare students for the minimal skills required as professional musicians. All Music Majors must enroll in piano lessons until the piano proficiency exam has been passed.

The piano proficiency exam will be given in HFA 64 at the following times:

• The first week of fall semester
• Concurrently with finals of fall semester
• Concurrently with finals of spring semester

A committee of 2-3 piano faculty will hear the piano proficiency exams.

The skills tested on the piano proficiency are dependent on the student’s primary performance medium.

Voice and Instrumental Majors

• Mo Major and harmonic minor scales, two octaves, hands together with correct fingering, sixteenth notes at quarter = 54.
• Major and minor triads and inversions, solid and broken, hands together.
• Major and minor arpeggios, two octaves, hands together, triplets at quarter = 54.
• I – IV – I – V –V7 – I cadence in all keys, with chords in both hands
• Score Reading
  • Vocal Major: Sight read two lines of an SATB score
  • Instrumental Major: Transpose at sight one instrumental line from a band or orchestra score to C concert pitch.
• Vocal Major: Prepare 3 accompaniments, of which 1 or 2 will be chosen:
  • 1 Italian Art Song from 26 Italian Art Songs and Arias or its equivalent;
  • 1 Fauré Melodie or its French song equivalent;
  • 1 Schubert, Schumann or Mendelssohn Lied (Songs do not have to be in the original key.)
• Instrumental Major: Prepare two pieces, of which 1 will be chosen, of comparable difficulty to those found in Suzuki Violin School Book 2
• Play two piano solos, one of which is memorized, of which the levels are comparable to the Level V repertoire of the MMTA (Minnesota Music Teacher’s Association) syllabus
  • Two pieces are required, as the proficiency will occur in lieu of the final for piano lesson that semester.

Keyboard Major

• Major, harmonic minor, and melodic minor scales, four octaves, hands together, sixteenth notes at quarter = 144.
• Major and minor triads and inversions, solid and broken, hands together
• Major and minor arpeggios, four octaves, hands together, triplets at quarter = 120 and sixteenth notes = 120.
• I – IV – viio – iii – VI – ii – V7 – I cadences in any major key, roots in the left hand are acceptable;
• i – VI – iv – iio – i64 – V7 – i cadences in any minor key, roots in the left hand are acceptable.
• Sight-read a piece of comparable difficulty to those found in Level VII of the MMTA (Minnesota Music Teacher’s Association) syllabus
• The accompaniment portion of the proficiency will be waived for keyboard majors with the completion of 4 successful semesters of MUS 1050
• Play two memorized piano solos from the standard repertoire
  • Two pieces required, as the proficiency will occur in lieu of the final for piano lesson that semester.

Performance Assessment

In addition to the ongoing academic assessment that students undergo regularly through coursework and associated projects, Music Majors undergo regular assessment of their performance skills to ensure they are progressing at an appropriate pace. There are three major points at which performance ability is assessed: the end of the second semester of lessons, the jury, and the senior recital.

The End of Second Semester

The first performance assessment takes place at the end of a student’s second semester of lessons.

• Faculty members should prepare an End of Second Semester Form, available from Professor Odello,and bring it to the regular Individual Performance Studies final.
• Students should perform the repertoire that is expected of them for their Individual Performance Studies final (see above).
• The faculty present at the final will advise the students with comments on the End of Second Semester Form, which the Individual Performance Studies Instructor will prepare.
• Students will be advised on the form if their current progress will lead them to be prepared for a jury one year from the end of their second semester, or if they will need to address issues before they will be prepared for a jury.
• One copy of the form will be filed with the Music Discipline, while one copy of the form will be given to the student. The student should keep their copy for their portfolio (see Music 4901: Senior Project on the Curriculum page for more information).

The Jury

The second performance assessment is the jury, which generally takes place at the end of a student’s second year, or during a student’s third year. The jury determines if students are ready to enroll in the advanced level of Individual Performance Studies (Music 3200-3223).

Students may perform a jury if they are enrolled in their fourth (or later) semester of lessons.

• Remember that Music Majors are required to take at least two semesters of advanced Individual Performance Studies, so you will need to pass the jury by the end of your third year if you wish to graduate in four years.
• Plan carefully – you will want the opportunity to take your jury again if needed, so do not wait until the end of your third year to perform a jury.

Requirements for the jury

• Students should prepare a mini-recital of twenty minutes of music.
• At the discretion of the Individual Performance Studies instructor, the repertoire should include three different time periods.
• Vocal and Piano students must memorize their repertoire.
• Vocal Students are required to demonstrate proficiency in three languages (English may be used as one of the three).
• In addition to the performance, students should be prepared to answer questions about their future plans at UMM and what they intend to do with their degree.

Juries should be scheduled at least four weeks in advance and must take place in the regular fall or spring semester, not during finals week.

• Juries are generally scheduled during normal faculty meetings times, which for the academic year 2009–2010 will take place Thursday mornings, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Individual Performance Studies instructors are asked to attend the juries of their students, if at all possible.

Students will be evaluated on aspects of performance including technique, tone quality, intonation, balance, stylistic interpretation, rhythm, articulation, musical expression, and stage presence.

Students will be informed immediately following their jury if they have passed or not.

• If a student does not pass their jury, the faculty may suggest a course of action for the student to take in order to pass their jury upon their next attempt.

Faculty comments will be collected and written up by the faculty member in charge of assessment (2009-2010: Professor Odello). Two copies of the form will be prepared and signed by the Discipline Coordinator; one copy will be kept on file with the Music Discipline, and one will be given to the student for them to include with their portfolio.

Students who pass the jury and advance to the 3200 series of Individual Performance Studies are entitled to an Individual Performance Studies Fee Waiver for their advanced studies.

To request a jury, fill out the Jury Request Form and turn it in to Professor Richards in HFA 73.

The Senior Recital

The third and final assessment of a student’s performance abilities at UMM is the senior recital. Please see Senior/Half Recitals (Recitals.doc) for more information and requirements.

Secondary Performance Area

Students who are pursuing teaching licensure are also required to demonstrate proficiency in a secondary area.

• For instrumental students, this means competency in another family of instruments.
• For Vocal Licensure, this means an instrument of any of the families.
  • Vocal Licensure students whose main performance medium is keyboard or guitar must demonstrate secondary proficiency in voice.

Normally, one or two successive semesters of study in the secondary medium is an adequate effort leading to secondary performance competency. Formal study in the secondary area is optional.

The important criterion is demonstrating proficiency. While criteria for proficiency can be determined in consultation with the studio instructor in that medium, proficiency is generally demonstrated in one of the following ways:

• A full or half recital in the secondary medium.
• At least two solo pieces of contrasting styles in the secondary medium for a faculty panel.

Proficiency will be determined by the studio instructor in the secondary medium and at least one other faculty member present at the performance/s. Students who opt for the faculty hearing rather than a recital should find at least two faculty members to serve on the panel, one of whom should be the studio instructor in the secondary medium.

Students may also petition the music faculty to allow successful performance with a large ensemble for at least four semesters in the secondary medium count for this requirement.