Academic Policies
Music Major Auditions & Placement Exams
All incoming freshman and transfer music students are required to audition for admission to the Department of Music. Those students who successfully complete the audition will be assigned to either class or applied instruction in their primary and secondary performance areas. Students may seek a one-semester provisional admission to the Department in order to better prepare for their official audition. In such cases, the end-of-semester jury will serve as the student's audition. After acceptance into the Department of Music, students wishing to major in Vocal Performance or Piano Performance will audition for these programs at the end of the first year of study as a music major. Application and audition procedures for these programs are outlined in detail in the music student handbook.
Applied Lessons
Each single credit hour of applied music lessons equates to one twenty-five minute lesson. Music majors typically register for two credit hours of lessons, which equates to one fifty minute lesson. Each music major program indicates how many total credit hours are required for completion of the degree and how many credit hours of lessons are necessary each semester of study.
Applied lessons are designated as "elective credit" or "for a music degree." This distinction is critical, and students should be very careful to ensure that they are enrolled in the proper course number. All applied lessons that are necessary to complete the student's course of study require students to meet specific repertoire standards, jury assessments, studio class participation, and other requirements as indicated in the course syllabi. Elective lessons are provided for students to continue study in their performance areas after degree requirements are met and to allow students to develop performance skills in other performance areas not required on their specific major or degree. The instructor of the elective lessons will set the performance and assessment standards for each student as appropriate for that student. Jury requirements, studio class participation, GSR performance requirements, and repertoire requirements will be determined by the instructor.
Primary and Secondary Performance Instruments
All music degrees, regardless of major, require students to have a primary and a secondary performance instrument. In order to be officially accepted to the School of Fine Arts and the Music Department, each student must pass an audition on their primary performance instrument - voice, piano, organ, wind or percussion instrument. Students should review the performance requirements for their specific major as the amount of study and the performance requirements will vary for each major.
Students must also pursue a secondary performance area. Each music major on the BA and BM degree requires three credit hours (1 credit hour for three semesters) of study in the secondary area. All students whose primary performance instrument is not piano, must declare piano as their secondary performance area. Pianists may select another performance area to fulfill this requirement, and they should discuss these choices with their advisor.
Sophomore Assessment
The Sophomore Assessment is taken by all music majors at the end of four semesters of full-time music study. Students in the appropriate rotation of music courses will have completed MUSI 3303 Form and Analysis, 2117 Advanced Ear Training II, 2181 Class Piano III, and four semesters of applied study (not counting elective credit lessons). Students who are not in the suggested sequence will be notified by the Fine Arts Office during the semester they are to undergo this assessment procedure. The Sophomore Assessment is intended to ensure that all ETBU music students demonstrate sufficient understanding and ability in the competencies addressed in the basic musicianship courses. The faculty will assess aspects of all the student's work in music including music theory, aural skills, performance study, technology, keyboard skills, and improvisation skills. Students will be asked to submit evidence of their academic work. Further, they will write and submit a 500-word essay which addresses their career goals and academic progress to date, and provide a self-assessment of their academic and musical strengths and weaknesses. The essay is to be submitted to the Fine Arts Office on or before the Monday two weeks prior to the start of final exams. Finally, each student will present an end-of-semester jury during which the faculty will require the student to perform literature, etudes, and other materials representing the student's current semester of applied study. After the jury, the faculty in the applied area will conduct an interview with the student regarding the information in the essay. The music faculty will then meet to discuss all aspects of the student's academic work and performance progress.
The faculty will then reach one of the following conclusions:
Pass: The student continues to upper level study. In some cases, the music faculty may require a student to address weaknesses. The faculty will address specific concerns in any area or areas of the student's performance or academic work, and the student will be expected to comply with any recommendations of the faculty, which may include retaking sophomore level applied study, delaying an upper-level course in a specific area, or any similar recommendation.
Fail: The student is not allowed to continue to upper-level study in music. The faculty will either identify and require a specific course of study to address the student's weaknesses or require the student to change majors.
Department Exam
Each student must take the Music Department Capstone Exam during the final semester of study or in the semester prior to student teaching. This exam is designed to evaluate each student's skills in all aspects of the music discipline. In the performance domain, the student's ability and progress is evaluated by the recordings on the electronic portfolio. Other domains include theory and analysis, aural skills, music history and literature and other areas appropriate to the major (Sacred Music, Music Education).The practice TExES exam functions as the department exam for music education majors. Music education majors must pass all domains of the practice TExES exam before they will be allowed to register for the actual exam. Domains include listening, music history, theory, classroom performance, and music education (visit the TExES page on the ETBU Music Education website for more information). According to the ETBU Teacher Education Program, all education majors (including music education) are required to attempt the teacher-certification exam before they will be cleared to graduate. Music Education majors who do not take and pass all domains of the practice exam will not be allowed to attempt the TExES exam for teacher certification.