These are the New School's Instrumental proficiency requirements. This is an invaluable guideline for auditioning for a top program and general musicianship. Be patient; it could take years to develop these skills, so don't kill yourself over this.
Note: These are not audition requirements; these are guidelines for students attending the school.
-Bluenote
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INSTRUMENTAL PROFICIENCY
GUITAR
New School University
Jazz and Contemporary Music Program
55 West 13th Street
New York, NY 10011
(212) 229-5896 Ext. 4577
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INSTRUMENTAL PROFICIENCY
The placement criteria described below are the minimum skills that must be developed by a student as a basic instrumental proficiency in the New School Jazz Program. All entering students are evaluated based on these guidelines; the results will affect assignment of the private lesson instructor. Until these skills are developed, the student will work towards mastering them with an assigned teacher deemed most appropriate to the individual's needs. When these skills have been mastered (which can be demonstrated by performance on the proficiency placement evaluation), the student will be allowed to choose an instructor with whom he/she wants to study (dependant on approval by the student's advisor).
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NEW SCHOOL JAZZ PROGRAM
PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL MELODIC AND CHORDAL INSTRUMENTS
1. All major scales
2. All minor scales (natural, harmonic, ascending melodic)
3. All (2) whole-tone scales
4. Pentatonic scales
5. Blues scales
6. All diminished scales
7. Chromatic scales
8. Bebop scales (ionian add #5; mixolydian add Maj7; melodic minor add #5; mixolydian b2 b6 add Maj7; dorian add Maj7; locrian add Maj7)
All the above scales in 15 keys (7 sharp keys, 7 flat keys, and the key of C)
9. All dominant 7th, minor 7th, major 7th, half-diminished 7th (minor7 b5), diminished 7th. All inversions
10. Dominant 7th arpeggios chromatically
11. II-V progression arpeggiated from the root
12. II-V pattern chromatically
13. II-V pattern moving up in minor thirds
14. Flat 5 substitutions in all keys (tri-tone substitutions)
15. Scale fragments (i.e. 1231/1235/1b761/1b7b5), played in cycle of 5ths, chromatically, minor 3rds, etc.
16. Scale fragments also applied to II-V progression.
17. Scale fragments combined in the cycle of 5ths
It is in the best interest of students and teachers to apply all of these scales and methods to practical applications of performance.
REPERTOIRE
1. Play "basic blues" in all keys (i.e. Bags Groove, Blues in the Closet, Buzzy, Bluebird, Now's The Time, Cool Blues, Straight No Chaser, and other melodies).
2. Play "Rhythm Changes" in at least three keys.
3. Memorize three jazz standards, other than the blues, which are of a complex nature (i.e. Donna Lee, Confirmation, etc.)
4. Be able to play with other musicians, keeping consistent time, keeping track of song form, and interacting.
PRACTICE
1. Student is shown how to practice
2. Student is shown how to organize his/her material
SIGHT READING
Student's sight reading ability must be at least on the level of the second semester sight-reading level 1 class.
TECHNICAL & PHYSICAL ASPECTS
All instruments have specific physical properties of construction and design that musc be understood and assimilated in order to achieve proficiency. In addition, every instument requires specific physical techniques in order to properly produce sound and achieve a basic ability to play the instrument.
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NEW SCHOOL JAZZ PROGRAM
ADDITIONAL GUITAR PROFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS
1. Have familiarity with entire guitar neck.
2. Be able to play Maj7, dom7, min7, and m7b5 chords, in all inversions of closed position (all 3 string sets), drop 2 (all string sets), and drop 3 (both string sets) voicings.
3. Be able to play diminished, augmented, min/maj7, maj7b5, maj7#5, min7#5, chords with added tensions (9, 11, 13), chords with altered tensions (b9, #9, #11, b13). Be able to play slash chords (i.e. B/F), and chords that fit major and minor modes (i.e. G Phrygian)
4. Have familiarity with intervals, and be able to play them in any position on the guitar neck.
5. Know and be able to play different fingering approaches; different "in-position" fingerings, different techniques of moving horizontally on neck.
6. Be able to play all basic scales and arpeggios in position and also in 3-octave forms.
7. Have proficient, relaxed, and accurate fingerstyle, pick, or both techniques. Be familiar with alternate, consecutive, and economy picking approaches.
8. Be able to play melodies in more than one position on neck, and in different ranges.
9. Be proficient at playing octaves, chord solos, and solo guitar renditions of tunes, interspersing chord melodies, chords, and single-note melodies. Be able to create a simple chord solo spontaneously.
10. Be able to play a walking bass line (on the lower two strings) to blues, rhythm changes, and standard tunes.
11. Be capable of playing with a variety of phrasing: legato or staccato; straight or swinging 8th notes; accented down-beats/ghosted off-beats, accented off-beats/ghosted down-beats.
12. Be able to accompany a vocalist or another instrumentalist.
13. Be capable of improvising a solo on a tune, developing melodic and rhythmic ideas, and playing through harmonic changes.
14. Have connection between ear and guitar sufficiently developed to be able to hear a brief recorded solo passage or a section of melody with changes, and to play them on the guitar.
15. Have ability to transpose a standard tune to another key and play it there.
16. Be able to sight-read a melody as though it were written at guitar octave and as though it were written at concert key octave.
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