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VOICE GUIDELINES

VOICE AREA GUIDELINES

A-State Voice Majors, Secondary Students, and Elective Enrollment

The following is an explanation of the expectations and procedures for voice majors at Arkansas State University. The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that graduates are qualified and prepared at the highest possible level for professional endeavors appropriate to the degree program. These criteria pertain to students whose applied area of concentration is voice.

 

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

Admission—Prospective students must meet the admission requirements of the university as noted in the bulletins.

Auditions—Prospective voice students must audition for the voice and choral faculty prior to initial admission to the degree. At the discretion of the applied faculty member, a three to five member committee will be convened to hear the audition. Students will be notified individually regarding audition results.  

Graduate Student IPA Exam—At the time of the audition, all candidates for the Master of Music in Voice Performance will take an exam (written and oral) to determine proficiency with English, German, Italian and French pronunciation for singing. The written exam will include transcription of these languages using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). If a passing score (70%) is not attained, enrollment in Diction I (MUS 3211) and Diction II (MUS 3221) will cover the deficiency.

 

LEVELS OF STUDY

Lower Level (MUSP 1111) is appropriate for the following:

  • Students taking Applied Voice as an elective who have not passed the Upper Level Proficiency Exam.

Lower Level (MUSP 1112) is appropriate for the following:

  • All beginning freshmen or transfer students
  • Students who have changed their major and have not yet completed 4 credit hours of vocal study, including those changing applied majors within the area of performance (i.e. trumpet to voice, piano to voice, etc.)
  • Students who have not yet passed the Proficiency Exam

Upper Level (MUSP 3112) is appropriate for the following:

  • Bachelor of Music Education students who have passed the Proficiency Exam after at least 6 credit hours of vocal study.
  • Bachelor of Music – Music Industry students who have passed the Proficiency Exam after at least 6 credit hours of vocal study. 

Upper Level (MUSP 3113) is appropriate for the following:

  • Bachelor of Music – Performance students who have passed the Proficiency Exam after at least 4 credit hours of vocal study. 

Graduate Level (MUSP 6111 or 6112) is appropriate for the following:

  • Graduate students taking Applied Voice as an elective.

Graduate Level (MUSP 6112) is appropriate for the following:

  • Master of Music – Performance (Voice) students

 

REPERTOIRE REQUIREMENTS

Bachelor of Music - Performance & Bachelor of Music Education

Lower Level: standard English and Italian repertoire

Upper Level: standard English, Italian, French and German repertoire

Graduate Level: expectation beyond the standard literature

Bachelor of Music – Music Industry & Bachelor of Arts in Theatre

Lower Level: Contemporary, pop, country, musical theatre, classical, etc. that supports the student’s vocal growth and goals in collaboration with the instructor’s discretion and expertise. 

Upper Level: Contemporary, pop, country, musical theatre, classical, etc. that supports the student’s vocal growth and goals in collaboration with the instructor’s discretion and expertise.

Lower Level (1 credit hour) at least 4 memorized pieces per semester

Lower Level (2 credit hours) at least 6 memorized pieces per semester

Upper Level (2 credit hours) at least 6 memorized pieces per semester

Upper Level (3 credit hours) at least 8 memorized pieces per semester

Graduate Level (2 to 3 credits) 8 to 11 memorized pieces per semester

The above repertoire requirements are the minimum to be accomplished each semester from memory. The student and teacher will select literature in various languages, genres and contrasting styles. As each student progresses, the difficulty of the repertoire assigned will increase. Failure to learn and/or perform the selected repertoire at the appropriate level will affect the final applied lesson grade. 

 

COLLABORATIVE PIANIST REQUIREMENTS

All voice students will be assigned a collaborative pianist by the appropriate coordinator for lessons, studio classes, juries, recitals and other performances. Collaborative Pianist Guidelines are available in the Music Student Handbook. 

 

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

All formal performances (Tuesday Morning Recitals and degree recitals) are evaluated by means of a rubric specifically designed for voice majors. See the Voice Area Performance Assessment at the end of this document. Students may receive an assessment of performances from applied teacher(s) once the results are available toward the end of the semester. 

Students will be evaluated based on the components outlined below (also see Rubric at end of this document):

  • Musical Elements: rhythm, pitch, tempo, dynamics, accurate memorization
  • Mastery of Instrument: tone quality, intonation, breath management, efficient phonation, resonance, diction (vowels), diction (consonants)
  • Presentation: clear interpretation, body alignment, performance etiquette, collaborative communication

Studio Classes will occur on a weekly basis. Each is typically conducted as a master class in which members of the voice faculty will critique the performers; pedagogical aspects of the instrument will also be covered.  

Student Recitals (Tuesday Morning Recitals) involve all applied areas and occur regularly in the Recital Hall on Tuesdays at 11:00am. The format is a traditional recital for which the appropriate attire is required. Normally, singers perform two pieces of contrasting styles on one recital. All performances require consent of the major applied teacher by filling out the Student Recital Information Form. 

All students must perform in at least 3 Studio Classes and 1 Student Recital per semester. First Semester Freshmen may be excused from the student recital performance. 

 

JURIES

At the end of each semester of vocal study, students will perform a Jury (final exam) before a majority of the voice faculty or Jury Committee. The number of works offered correlates directly with the minimum repertoire requirements for the semester. The Jury Committee (excepting the student’s teacher) will select the appropriate number of pieces from the repertoire list to be performed. For the typical Jury, a grade will be given by each faculty member, the average of which will be the jury grade. An Applied Lesson Record will be presented to the Jury Committee by each teacher. A final grade will be determined by the major applied teacher based on the jury grade, input from the Jury Committee, and the student’s progress throughout the semester. Exceptions to the jury requirement include students giving a degree recital in the  same semester.

 

In specified semesters, the Jury may include a more extensive exam: a Proficiency Exam or an Exit Proficiency Exam. The Proficiency Exam permits study at the upper level. The Proficiency Exam will be 15 minutes in length and may be repeated in subsequent semesters until admission is granted. The Exit Proficiency is similar to a half recital and will be 30 minutes in length; however, it is performed before a Jury instead of the public. Failed attempts will result in extra semesters of enrollment. For the Proficiency Exam the student will present the Jury Committee with a semester-by-semester list of repertoire studied and performed to that point (3 semesters for BME and BM Industry; 2 semesters for BM-Performance). For the Exit Proficiency Exam (BM Industry), a complete list of all repertoire studied and performed during the student’s course of vocal study will be presented to the Voice Faculty.

 

* BM Performance students who are unable to pass the Proficiency after four semesters in the program will be recommended to change their major to a non-performance degree.

* Transfer students who have completed 6 or more credit hours of private vocal study at another institution (those with less than 6 credits may attempt the exam at the discretion of the advisor) and are seeking to begin at the Upper Level at Arkansas State University.

 

DEGREE RECITALS

Students of the following degree programs will include the performance of a half or full recital with teacher permission, even if not required. No matter what time of year the recital will occur, Recital Hall should be reserved during the first part of the fall semester for degree recitals. Stipulations for voice majors are as follows:

 

Bachelor of Music Performance Half Recital: 25 min. required

Full Recital: 45 min. required

Bachelor of Music Education Exit Recital: 25 min. required

Bachelor of Music Industry Half Recital: 25 min. required

Master of Music Graduate Recital: 50 min. required

 

Recital Hearings 

All students must perform a pre-recital hearing for the voice faculty to determine the readiness to perform the recital repertoire. For undergraduates, the hearing is four weeks prior to the Half, Exit, or Full Recitals; for graduate students, the hearing is six weeks prior to the Graduate or Exit Recital. The student should be prepared to sing any selections on the recital from memory with the collaborative pianist and all other musicians programmed for the performance. For a typical hearing, a portion of each set will be heard, including different stylistic periods and languages. A typed draft of the recital program will be presented at this time as well as notes and translations. In addition, a complete list of all repertoire studied and performed during the student’s course of vocal study will be presented to the Voice Faculty. The hearing MUST be passed by a majority of the voice faculty in order present in order to perform the Degree Recital.

 

Recital Literature 

Recitals for BM Performance, BME Vocal, and MM Voice will consist of a cohesive arrangement of German, French, Italian, and English art song and at least one aria from opera or oratorio. The Half and Exit Recitals will consist of a cohesive arrangement of German and French art song, at least one aria either from an opera or an oratorio, and various selections in English, Italian or any other language. Variations of these provisions may be made at the discretion of the teacher. The Full and Graduate Recitals will follow the same guidelines, plus at least one aria from an opera and an oratorio must be performed. The Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary eras will be covered for all Degrees Recitals. All pieces programmed for any recital must have teacher approval. Some literature may be from previous semesters of study; however, the repertoire requirements for the applied lessons must be met and presented within the recital. NOTE: It is customary for music to be held for selections from oratorios.

 

Recital Evaluations 

The Recital Committee, composed of full-time Voice/Choral faculty, will convene within two days of the performance. After discussion, each committee member will decide pass/fail and make comments. The recital must be approved by approval 

of a majority the committee. If the result is “fail” the committee may ask the student to give the recital again in in. that semester or the following with possible changes in repertoire. In such a case, a grade of “I” (“incomplete”) will be assigned. If the recital is not completed in due time, the grade will be recorded as “F.”

 

Recital Recordings 

Recordings are available upon request at least two weeks prior. See teacher for details.  

 

 

Absent/RareElement/skill is absent or rarely executed correctly.

1

Sometimes

Element/skill is sometimes executed correctly.

2

Usually

Element/skill is usually present or executed correctly.

3

Always

Element/skill is consistently present or executed.

4

Musical Elements

 

 

 

 

Rhythm

 

 

 

 

Pitch

 

 

 

 

Tempo

 

 

 

 

Dynamics

 

 

 

 

Accurate Memorization

 

 

 

 

Mastery of Instrument

 

 

 

 

Tone Quality

 

 

 

 

Intonation

 

 

 

 

Breath Management

 

 

 

 

Efficient Phonation

 

 

 

 

Resonance

 

 

 

 

Diction – Vowels

 

 

 

 

Diction – Consonants

 

 

 

 

Presentation

 

 

 

 

Clear Interpretation

 

 

 

 

Body Alignment

 

 

 

 

Performance Etiquette

 

 

 

 

Collaborative Communication

 

 

 

 

A-State Voice Area Performance Assessment

__ / 64

Minimally acceptable score for students in Lower Level (MUSP 1111, 1112) = 40

Minimally acceptable score for Upper Level (MUSP 3111, 3112, 3113) = 56

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