<< back to: Undergraduate Prospective Students: Applying

Undergraduate Audition Materials and Requirements: Percussion (non-transfer)

For entrance into the Herberger Institute School of Music, you must demonstrate technical strength and reading ability on keyboard and two of the three percussion areas of snare drum, timpani and drum set. The examples listed below give you an idea of the expected minimum level of ability for incoming students. Although this list serves only as a suggestion, please choose literature that is similar in style, depth and breadth. Performance majors should anticipate a higher entrance standard than a percussionist applying for other undergraduate music degree programs.

Keyboard

• All major scales, two octaves at a moderate tempo.
• Two-mallet sight reading.
• Performance of a 2 and/or 4 mallet composition such as:
• Morris Goldenberg: one of the 39 etudes from Modern School for Xylophone, Marimba and Vibraphone
• Any 2 mallet movement from J.S. Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin or Suites for solo cello–no repeats
• One movement from Paul Creston’s Concertino for Marimba
• Any George Hamilton Green xylophone rag
• One movement from Gordon Stout’s Two Mexican Dances
• Paul Smadbeck’s  Etude No. 1, 2 or 3
• Rich O’Meara’s  Restless

Snare Drum

• Rudimental roll open-closed-open.
• Closed orchestral roll at ppp through fff.
• Sight read compound, simple and changing meter exercises.
• Selected rudiments from the 40 Percussive Arts Society International Drum Rudiments played in “open to closed to open” style.
• Performance of a concert style solo comparable to the following:
• Fred Albright’s Contemporary Studies
• Anthony Cirone’s Portraits in Rhythm
• Vic Firth’s Solo Snare Drummer
• Performance of a rudimental style solo by any of the following (optional):
  • Charles Wilcoxin
  • John Pratt
  • Marty Hurley
  • John Wooton
  • Eddie Frytag

Timpani

• Relaxed roll at pp and ff dynamic levels.
• Ability to match intervals on the drums.
• One solo or etude comparable to:
  • Garwood Whaley’s Fundamental Studies or Musical Studies for the Intermediate Timpanist
  • Mitchell Peters’ etude from Fundamental Method for Timpani
  • An exercise from section two or three of Saul Goodman's Modern Method for Tympani
  • Raynor Carroll’s Exercises, Etudes, and Solos for the Timpani
  • Vic Firth’s The Solo Timpanist

Drum Set

• Ability to keep steady time and play fills several basic beat styles: swing, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, funk, rock and jazz waltz alternating 4 measures of time with 4 measures of solo.

Undergraduate Audition Materials and Requirements: Perussion (transfer students)

For entrance into the School of Music as a transfer student in percussion, a student must demonstrate technical strength and reading ability on keyboard and two of the remaining three percussion areas. The examples listed below give an idea of the expected minimum level of ability for first- and second-year students. Performance at the audition will determine how many lesson credits will transfer into the ASU program of study.

Keyboard

• All major and minor scales, two octaves at a moderate tempo.
• Two-mallet sight reading.
• Four-mallet solo comparable to the following:
• Eric Sammu’s  Four Rotations
• Paul Smadbeck’s  Rhythm Song
• Keiko Abe’s  Michi or Wind in the Bamboo Grove
• Movement from a J. S. Bach Violin Sonata or Partita
• An orchestral excerpt such as:
• Dukas’ The Sorcer's Apprentice
• Gerschwin’s Porgy and Bess, overture
• Kabalevsky’s Colas Breugnon
• Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Act 1 Finale
• Respighi’s Pines of Rome
• Schostakovich’s The Golden Age, Polka

Timpani

• Relaxed roll at pp and ff dynamic levels.
• Ability to tune drums by relative pitch, i.e. by using a tuning fork.
• One solo or etude for two or more drums that involves tuning changes comparable to:
• John Beck’s  Sonata for Timpani
• An etude from Alexander Lepak's 32 Solos for Timpani
• A solo from Fred Hinger's Solos for the Virtuoso Tympanist
• Orchestral excerpt such as:
• Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 7 or Symphony No. 9
• Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis
• Mahler’s Symphonie 5
• Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring
• Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4

Snare Drum

• Rudimental roll and closed orchestra roll at ppp through fff.
• Sight read compound, simple and changing meter exercises.
• Prepared solo using rolls, drags, flams and a wide dynamic range comparable to the following:
• Jacques Delecluse’s etude from Douze Etudes
• Anthony Cirone’s etude from Portraits in Rhythm
• Mitchell Peters’ etude from Hard Times

Drum Set

• Ability to keep steady time and play fills several basic beat styles: swing, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, funk, rock and jazz waltz alternating 4 measures of time with 4 measures of solo.

Multiple Percussion

• Work from multiple instruments such as:
• William Kraft’s French Suite or English Suite
• Ricky Tagawa’s Inspirations Diabloque

[top]