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Department of Music
The University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi – Department of Music
Keyboard Musicianship Policies & Procedures

Keyboard Musicianship Course Requirements

The following Keyboard Musicianship courses are available:

MUS 113: Fundamental Keyboard Musicianship I (2 credit hours)
MUS 114: Fundamental Keyboard Musicianship II (2 credit hours)
MUS 213: Intermediate Keyboard Musicianship I (2 credit hours)
MUS 214: Intermediate Keyboard Musicianship II (2 credit hours)

  • Instrumental Music Education students are required to take (or exam out of, via the Keyboard Musicianship Diagnostic Exam) MUS 113 and MUS 114.
  • Instrumental Performance, Vocal Performance, and Vocal Music Education students are required to take (or exam out of, via the Keyboard Musicianship Diagnostic Exam) MUS 113, MUS 114, MUS 213 and MUS 214.

Keyboard Diagnostic Exams

The purpose of the diagnostic exams is to evaluate the keyboard proficiency of incoming music majors:

  • Incoming first-year students with advanced keyboard ability can opt to take a keyboard diagnostic exam in order to establish keyboard proficiency, allowing for possible exemption from some or all of the required Keyboard Musicianship classes.
  • Transfer students can find the Department of Music policy regarding the transferring of keyboard musicianship credits on page 10 of the 2019-2020 Student Handbook.

Establishing Keyboard Proficiency From Diagnostic Exams

There are four levels of diagnostic exams that a student can choose to take: First Year MUS 113 and MUS 114 and Second Year MUS 213 and MUS 214. To pass a diagnostic exam, a student must demonstrate fluency in all aspects of the exam. If a student passes, he or she would establish keyboard proficiency for the level of exam taken. A written statement with exam results, certifying exemption from the applicable Keyboard Musicianship courses, would then be placed in the student’s file in the departmental office. The examiner will also send an email with the exam results to the student and the Chair of the Department of Music.

Otherwise, students must take their required Keyboard Musicianship courses in sequential order. To advance to the next course level, students must not only pass each course with a minimum C (2.0) final letter grade, they must also pass the cumulative final exam at the end of each semester, demonstrating keyboard proficiency for that course level.

We recommend that music majors fulfill the Keyboard Musicianship course requirements at the beginning of their degree. To permit implementation of this process, all incoming freshman music majors should enroll in MUS 113 during their initial semester on campus.

Scheduling a Diagnostic Exam

The diagnostic keyboard exams will be given at the beginning of the Fall and Spring semesters and must be completed by 12:00 noon on Friday of the first week of classes. Students are advised to take the exam when they enter the degree. Doing so will allow timely enrollment in the appropriate section of the course sequence.

To schedule an exam, students must contact Ms. Adrienne Park at apark@olemiss.edu. Exam materials will be drawn from Keyboard Musicianship, Book One (10th and 11th edition) or Keyboard Musicianship, Book Two (10th edition) by Lyke, Caramia, Alexander, Haydon and Chioldi, as well as additional supplementary materials.

Solo, vocal and instrumental repertoire must be approved by Ms. Park in advance of the exams. Representative musical examples for each level of the diagnostic exams can be obtained by contacting Ms. Park.

First Year Diagnostic Exam – MUS 113

Technique: Demonstrate correct fingering with steady rhythm. No more than 2 attempts per example.

  1. White-key (starting note) Major and Minor five-finger pentascales, hands together, up and down.
  2. Major scales: C, G, D, A, E, hands together, up & down, one octave, each ending with a cadential chord progression: I – V6 or V6/5 – I.
  3. Minor scales: All 3 forms (natural, harmonic, melodic): a, c, d, e, f, g, hands together, up & down, one octave, each ending with a cadential chord progression: i – V6 or V6/5 – i.

Repertoire: One prepared solo piece (one page or more in length), appropriate for first year level.

Transposition: One simple, short piece in a Major key, transposed up to a second above or below the original key.

Harmonization: One folk song or simple melody in a Major key with blocked chord accompaniment, using I and V chord symbols. Closest position chords (using inversions) must be used.

Sight Reading: Two contrasting solo pieces appropriate for first-year level.

First Year Diagnostic Exam – MUS 114

Technique: Demonstrate correct fingering with a steady rhythm. No more than 2 attempts per example.

  1. Black-key (starting note) Major and Minor five-finger pentascales, hands together, up and down.
  2. Major scales: C, G, D, A, E, B, F, hands together, up & down, two octaves, each ending with a cadential chord progression: I – IV6/4 – I – V6 or V6/5 – I.
  3. Major scales: F#, C#, hands together, up & down, two octaves.
  4. Minor scales: All 3 forms (natural, harmonic, melodic): a, b, c, d, e, f, g, hands together, up & down, one octave, each ending with a cadential chord progression: i – IV6/4 – i – V6 or V6/5 – i.
  5. Major and Minor arpeggios: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, hands together, up & down, two octaves.

Repertoire: One prepared solo piece (one page or more in length), appropriate for first-year level.

Transposition: One simple piece in a Major key, transposed up to a second above or below the original key.

Harmonization: Two folk songs or simple melodies in a Major and a Minor key with blocked chord accompaniment, using I and V chord symbols. Closest position chords (using inversions) must be used.

Sight Reading: Two contrasting solo pieces appropriate for first-year level.

Second Year Diagnostic Exam – Mus 213

Technique: Demonstrate correct fingering with a steady rhythm. No more than 2 attempts per example.

  1. All Major and Minor five-finger pentascales, up and down.
  2. All Major scales (white and black-key scales): hands together, up and down, two octaves, each ending with a cadential chord progression: I – IV6/4 – I – V6 or V6/5 – I.
  3. Minor scales: All 3 forms (natural, harmonic, melodic): a, b, c, d, e, f, g, hands together, up & down, two octaves, each ending with a cadential chord progression: i – IV6/4 – i – V6 or V6/5 – i.
  4. All Black-key (starting note) Minor scales: All 3 forms (natural, harmonic, melodic), hands together, up & down, one octave.
  5. All Major & Minor arpeggios, two octaves, hands together.

Repertoire: Two prepared solo pieces (one page or more in length), appropriate for second year level.

Transposition: One piece, transposed up to second above or below the original key.

Harmonization: Two melodies with left-hand blocked chord accompaniment using chord symbols. Closest position chords (using inversions) must be used.

Score Reading:

  1. One three-part vocal score. Play any TWO voices in paired combinations ie. Soprano-Alto, Alto-Tenor, Soprano-Bass etc. as well as all three parts together simultaneously.
  2. One simple alto clef example OR one simple tenor clef example.

Sight Reading: Two contrasting solo pieces appropriate for second year level.

Second Year Diagnostic Exam – Mus 214

Technique: Demonstrate correct fingering with steady rhythm. No more than 2 attempts per example.

  1. All Major and Minor five-finger pentascales, up and down.
  2. All Major scales (white and black-key scales), hands together, up and down, two octaves, each ending with a cadential chord progression: I – IV6/4 – I – V6 or V6/5 – I.
  3. All Minor scales, 3 forms (natural, harmonic, melodic), hands together, up and down, two octaves, each ending with a cadential chord progression: i – iv6/4 – i – V6 or V6/5 – i.
  4. All Major & Minor arpeggios, four octaves, hands together.

Repertoire:

  1. One prepared solo piece (one page or more in length), appropriate for second year level.
  2. One simple vocal accompaniment.
  3. One simple instrumental accompaniment.

Transposition: One piece, transposed up to a third above or below the original key.

Harmonization:

  1. One melody with left-hand blocked chord accompaniment using chord symbols. Closest position chords (using inversions) must be used.
  2. One melody with left-hand patterned accompaniment ie. Waltz, March, or Alberti Bass. Closest position chords (using inversions) must be used.

Score Reading:

  1. One three-part vocal score. Play any TWO voices in paired combinations ie. Soprano-Alto, Alto-Tenor, Soprano-Bass etc. as well as all three parts together simultaneously.
  2. One four-part vocal score. Play any TWO voices in paired combinations ie. Soprano-Alto, Alto-Tenor, Soprano-Bass etc. as well as all four parts together simultaneously.
  3. One simple alto clef example OR one simple tenor clef example.

Sight Reading: Two contrasting solo pieces appropriate for second year level.