This information was last updated on May 17, 2018.
Fall 2018 Jazz Studies Proficiency Exams for New and Returning Students
Required Meeting for all new undergraduate (note on Aug. 20: and graduate) Jazz Studies majors: Wednesday, Aug. 22, 1-2 p.m. MUS 282 (Kenton Hall)
Information about the proficiency exams will be discussed at this meeting.
Proficiency Exams
MUJS 1470 Introduction to Jazz Recordings and MUJS 4470 Jazz History
Proficiency Exams – Thursday August 23 from 4 PM to 5:30 PM in room 262. See http://jazz.unt.edu/4470-proficiency for information about the exam.
All Undergraduate Students Who Wish To Take Jazz Improvisation must first complete the following prerequisites or pass the proficiency exams for each:
MUJS 1360 (graduate students: MUJS 5360) - Jazz Fundamentals I (Text: The Jazz Language by Dan Haerle)
Proficiency Exam – Friday August 24 from 9 AM - 9:50 AM, Rm. 262
MUJS 1361/5361 - Jazz Aural Fundamentals (Text: The Jazz Language by Dan Haerle)
Proficiency Exam - Friday August 24 from 10 AM to 10:50 AM, Rm. 262
MUJS 1370/5362 - Jazz Fundamentals II (Text: The Jazz Language by Dan Haerle)
Proficiency Exam – Friday August 24 from 11 AM - 11:50 AM in Rm. 262
MUJS 1371/5363 - Jazz Keyboard Fundamentals
Consult the Jazz Keyboard Study Guide: jazz.unt.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/jazz-keyboard-proficiency-study-guide-2017.pdf
Proficiency Exam – Friday, August 24 from 3 - 5 p.m. Sign-up for a 5-10 minute exam at Rm. 272.
MUJS 1131 and 1132 - Jazz Performance Fundamentals (This is a two semester sequence.) Consult the professor in your applied area (instrument) for proficiency information for these classes.
Note: Graduate Students are not required to take the exams 1470 or 1131-1132 but must take or pass the proficiency for 5360, 5361, 5362 and 5363. Graduate students, transfer students, and visiting international students may be allowed to take one improvisation prerequisite concurrently with an improvisation class.
After completing the prerequisites listed above, new master's students must take the Graduate Improvisation Entrance Exam, an improvisation jury evaluated by a faculty panel, on Monday, Aug. 27. The exam will consist of playing "Confirmation" at m.m. = 200 and a second tune selected from the ICE/GIEE list. Graduate students who are assigned to one of these levels of improvisation as a result of this exam must register for the section of MUJS 5370 that corresponds to that level of improvisation. See Christopher Walker in 284 for help with this.
To be admitted into MUJS 2360, Jazz Improvisation I:
Students must demonstrate the ability to play arpeggios and appropriate scales over basic chord progressions, recognize and repeat on an instrument common blues phrases, improvise with a degree of rhythmic accuracy, harmonic accuracy and characteristic vocabulary over basic blues and modal progressions.
To be admitted into MUJS 2370, Jazz Improvisation II:
Students must demonstrate the ability to improvise on Satin Doll and Pent-Up House with rhythmic accuracy, harmonic accuracy and characteristic vocabulary.
To be admitted into MUJS 3360, Jazz Improvisation III:
Students must demonstrate the ability to improvise on Confirmation and Anthropology with rhythmic accuracy, harmonic accuracy and characteristic vocabulary. Note: Students placed in MUJS 3360 before taking the ICE Exam must take and pass the ICE exam (given during deadweek) before taking additional improvisation classes.
To be admitted into MUJS 3370, Jazz Improvisation IV:
Students must demonstrate the ability to improvise on What Is This Thing Called Love and Invitation with rhythmic accuracy, harmonic accuracy and characteristic vocabulary.