Shenandoah University | Shenandoah Conservatory

Jazz Studies Audition Information

Jazz Studies (BM)

l  Applied majors in the jazz idiom are available in Jazz Studies, Music Education (Jazz Emphasis), Music Production & Recording Technology (Jazz Emphasis) and Music Therapy (Jazz Emphasis).

l  All applicants must provide a recorded accompaniment (such as the “iReal” app, an online backing track, or something similar) for the jazz portion of the audition.

l  Amps are provided for electric guitar and electric bass auditions.

l  Drum set is provided for jazz percussion auditions.

Jazz Bass

l  Jazz bassists should prepare four required tunes, as listed & detailed below:

ü  Bb Blues: four choruses. Walk for the first two choruses, then solo two choruses

ü  Oleo (Bb): three choruses. Play the melody, walk one chorus, solo one chorus.

ü  Latin (e.g. Black Orpheus, Desifinado, etc.): three choruses, play the melody, one chorus of bass line, solo one chorus

ü  Tune of Choice: Three choruses. Play the melody, one chorus of bass line, solo one chorus.

l  Upright bassists should demonstrate use of the bow on at least one of the four required tunes. Sight reading, as well as major and harmonic minor scales are required for all auditionees.

Jazz Drumset

l  Perform, with recordings, one medium or up-tempo swing piece

ü  one ballad with brushes

ü  one contemporary jazz-fusion piece

ü  one medium/upper grade snare solo or orchestral excerpt.

l  Play all major scales one octave on a mallet instrument.

l  Sight-reading on drum set and snare drum are required.

Jazz Guitar

l  Perform two jazz pieces including:

ü  One jazz solo ballad such as “Misty” or “I Can’t Get Started,” where the melody and chords are voiced together

                                                                   and

One jazz medium tempo selection demonstrating melody, improvisation and comping.

l  Major scales and sight-reading of notation and chord symbols is required.

Jazz Piano

l  One memorized classical piece (e.g. Bach, Little Prelude and Fugue, Clementi, Sonatina, Schumann, Album for the Young)

l  Major and harmonic minor scales

l  Jazz solo ballad

l  Jazz medium tempo selection in piano trio format, demonstrating melody, improvisation and comping

                                                                                and

l  Sight-reading of notation and chord symbols are required.

Jazz Saxophone

l  Fast and slow étude (e.g. Voxman, Selected Studies or W. Ferling, 48 Études)

l  Two jazz standards demonstrating melody and improvisation and showing basic knowledge of jazz style through texts comparable to Niehaus, Basic Jazz Conception

l  Mjor scales (in eighth notes, quarter = 80) and sight-reading are required.

Jazz Trombone

l  One prepared classical solo (grade 5-6) or two classical études of equal difficulty

l  Two jazz standards in contrasting styles, demonstrating melody and improvisation

l  Major and minor (natural, harmonic, and melodic) scales and sight-reading are required.

Jazz Trumpet

One of the following:

l  An étude (comparable to Arban characteristic study)

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l  The first or third movement of a major work for trumpet (e.g. Haydn or Hummel concerto, Hindemith, or Kennan sonata),

                                                                    or

A complete trumpet solo (e.g. Carnival of Venice, Bride of the Waves); two jazz standards demonstrating melody and improvisation, scales and sight-reading are required.

                                                                                                                      Updated on 05/06/2019