Guidelines for Brass Juries at the University of Iowa

1. Juries will be held before a committee composed of Brass Area Professors near the end of each semester. Sign-up times will be posted at least a week in advance.

2. All students taking private lessons are required to play a jury.

3. There are two types of juries: regular and proficiency. For both types the student should provide a list of materials covered during the semester.

a. Regular juries are 12 minutes in length. They consist of:
1. Performance of a solo or etude approved by the professor
2. Performance of one selection chosen by the jury (the jury will choose three pieces from your list; you select one of those)
3. Sight reading

b. Proficiency juries are for the purpose of testing into upper level lessons (majors only). The proficiency juries will be taped; the tape will be kept on file by the brass area. These juries are 20 minutes in length and consist of:

1. Performance of a solo or etude of appropriate difficulty for testing into upper level lessons (see individual professor’s list)

2. Performance of one selection chosen by the jury (the jury will choose three pieces from you list; you select one). The selections on your list must be of appropriate difficulty for testing into upper level lessons (see individual professor’s list)

3. Sight reading (proficiency: upper level sight reading)

4. Major and harmonic and melodic minor scales in 16th notes at quarter note = 72, tongued. Chromatic scale at the same tempo, tongued or slurred. It is permissible to play 8th notes on tonic pitches. Horns, trombones with F attachment, bass trombones, euphoniums and tubas play all scales two octaves. Trumpets play all scales except F, E, Eb, D and Db two octaves (the latter scales may be played an octave and a 5th only).

5. Major, minor, fully diminished 7th, and dominant 7th arpeggios, played in 8th notes at quarter note = 100. Horns, trombones with F attachment, bass trombones, euphoniums and tubas play all arpeggios two octaves. Trumpets play all arpeggios except F, E, Eb, D and Db two octaves (the latter arpeggios may be played an octave and a 5th only). Trombones without F attachment play all arpeggios except Eb, D, Db, C and B two octaves (the latter arpeggios may be played one octave only).

6. Excerpts : see professor’s list for required excerpts

7. Special requirements for each instrument:
a. Trumpet: transposition from trumpet in A, Bb, C, D, Eb, E and F on both Bb and C trumpets.
b. Horn: transposition from horn in B basso, C basso, D, Eb, E, G, A, and B alto.
c. Trombone: demonstration of tenor clef sight reading skill at grade 5 level and alto clef at grade 4 level.

4. Grading

Regular juries will be graded, and the semester grade will not normally vary from the jury grade by more than one letter grade. Proficiency juries will be graded on a pass/fail basis only. Proficiency juries may be attempted more than once, but lower level lessons may not be taken for more than 6 semesters.