Jazz Trumpet Audition Requirements
Undergraduate requirements (BM, BME)
• Selected scales in any key (major, minor, chromatic, 2 octaves when possible).
• One prepared piece of your choice (solo transcription, jazz etude, classical solo piece or etude).
• Choose one of the following blues compositions (or similar tune), perform the melody twice, and improvise a solo with a backing track: Tenor Madness (*Bb), Sandu (*Eb), Au Privave (*F), or Billie’s Bounce (*F) (*denotes concert key).
• Improvise over a standard tune, jazz classic, or a tune of your choice with a backing track.
On-campus audition dates can be found here. It is highly recommended that all undergraduate candidates attend an on-campus audition. If you are unable to audition on-campus, please select the “recorded” audition format preference on your supplemental music form. Undergraduate applicants who would like to submit a recorded audition should follow the steps outlined here.
Graduate requirements (MM, DMA)
• Selected major, Dorian, and Mixolydian scales in any key (2 octaves when possible).
• 2-octave chromatic C scale (Bb concert), slurred, to be performed cleanly at a fast tempo.
• One prepared piece of your choice (solo transcription, jazz etude, classical solo piece or etude).
• Perform a blues or blues-based composition, perform the melody twice, and improvise a minimum of 4 choruses with a backing track: Tenor Madness (*Bb), Sandu (*Eb), Au Privave (*F), or Billie’ Bounce (*F) (*denotes concert key).
• One standard tune from either from the Great American Songbook, or a jazz classic (standard written by a jazz musician) with a backing track.
• One additional tune of your choice (please provide your own play-along track if desired). Play the melody and improvise.
It is highly recommended that all graduate candidates attend an on-campus audition. If an applicant is unable to travel to campus for a live audition, the faculty will accept a recorded audition, and a virtual interview may occur. Graduate applicants who would like to submit a recorded audition should upload the audition directly to their Graduate College application.