MASTER OF MUSIC - Piano Pedagogy
ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER OF MUSIC IN PIANO PEDAGOGY
The Master of Music degree in Piano Pedagogy is designed primarily to prepare students as private or college level piano teachers. Throughout their classes in pedagogy, the student receives experience in teaching beginning through advanced-level students at a broad variety of age levels both in one-to-one contact and small group/class-groups.
All applicants to the Master of Music degree in Piano Pedagogy at California State University, Northridge are required to fulfill the following Entrance Requirements:
- Potential graduate students should have an undergraduate music degree or equivalent.
- Play an audition consisting of the following repertoire (repertoire forms and dates are on the website):
A. One Baroque work, comparable to a Bach Toccata, Suite or Partita.
B. One complete classical sonata.
C. One major Romantic/ Post-Romantic or Twentieth Century work.
- Contact the area advisor regarding appropriate repertoire.
- Provide recital programs and repertoire lists for the audition personnel.
- Undergo an interview to be conducted at the time of the audition regarding career objectives.
- Submit academic transcripts sent to CSUN Admissions and Records (transcripts are not submitted to the Music Department)
- Send to the Keyboard Area chair a brief statement discussing background and goals, and 3 letters of recommendation.
- Those students unable to attend the Incoming Graduate Auditions may submit a video tape or DVD of their performance.
Incoming Graduate Auditions are (held three times a year: once in the Fall Semester and twice in the Spring Semester). After the admission into the program, further placement tests are required in the areas of music theory/analysis and music history.
Following the evaluation of all these documents and tests, the area coordinator in consultation with the graduate advisor may recommend remedial coursework in areas such as musicianship, music history, or analysis. Credit toward the degree is not permitted, as these remedial courses carry a lower level catalog number. In some cases, it will be possible to count 400 level courses as electives, if needed. Occasionally, incoming graduate students in piano pedagogy will be required to schedule a senior recital, if such a recital was not mandatory during the undergraduate studies. A senior recital would occur if the undergraduate degree is in another field.
All graduate students at California State University, Northridge are required to pass a Writing Proficiency Examination. This test is required of graduate students entering CSUN to attain classified status (unless they have passed it previously as undergraduates at CSUN or another CSU campus). Graduate students are expected to satisfy the Writing Proficiency requirement during the first semester of classes or before the first 12 units are completed.
All piano pedagogy students are required to submit to a performance jury at the end of each semester of MUS 650B (applied lessons). Graduate students in piano pedagogy are required to present a Master's Thesis and a 60-minute recital of classical piano music as a final performance requirement. Before scheduling this recital, the student is required to pass a jury in front of their graduate committee.
Major papers (30 to 40 pages) are required as the terminal projects in each of the two classes of MUS 478 (Piano Pedagogy) required by all piano pedagogy graduates.
Advisor Contact
- Dr. Dmitry Rachmanov
818-677-2197
Cypress Hall 280
dmitry.rachmanov@csun.edu