University Curriculum

Freshman - 3rd term

All third term freshmen guitar students must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the following areas during their third jury to pass on to sophomore level. Students failing to meet the following technical standards may continue to study at the 3rd term freshman level until proficiency is demonstrated.

All required material is selected from Complete Jerry Hahn Method For Jazz Guitar
Unless otherwise noted.

Scales and Arpeggios
Dorian Minor – Five positions in the key of G transposed to any key. Pages 29-32. Scales must be performed in eighth notes at m.m. quarter note=184. Corresponding arpeggios must be performed in quarter notes at 184.

Chords
Be able to play any chord form in any key from pages 137, 138, 139, and the first row of page 140. 

Memorize the chord melody and the chord changes to “Stella by Starlight”. Chord forms are selected from pages 137-140.
 

Be able to play Modal Comping on pages 144 and 145

Memorize Study #2 In C, page 151

Memorize “Comping Rhythm Changes” Study #1 pages 126-128
EXERCISES: Be able to play any exercise from the exercise section page 57-71.

Repertoire
Memorize at least one chord melody arrangement per term

Reading
Be able to play the first half of Rhythms Complete by Charles Colin at m.m. quarter note = 80 and  eleven pages of Melodic Rhythms For Guitar by William G. Leavitt at m.m. quarter note = 72 Including comping the chord changes

Sight-Reading
You will be expected to read an appropriate piece on sight during each jury. The Real Book is a sight-reading source.

All major, mixolydian, and dorian minor scales must be performed with eighth notes at m.m. quarter note=184. Corresponding arpeggios must be performed with quarter notes at m.m. quarter notes=184. The 190 level student should be able to solo on a twelve bar blues and tunes which have only a few chord changes such as modal based tunes. The student should have adequate harmonic and chordal knowledge to comp the chord changes to most of tunes which appear on the STANDARDS & JAZZ CLASSICS LIST.

A typical jury performance will include a single line etude and a chord study or a chord melody solo.