Requirements for the proficiency test

Audition of up to three different pieces from the applicant's usual
musical background (rock or pop guitarist
play rock or pop, jazz guitarist play jazz etc.). Different tempos / characters should be chosen
. A wide range of styles is
welcome. Original compositions are welcome. Multi-instrumentalists are
welcome.

Audition of up to three pieces of jazz or pop music, one of which can be composed by
yourself. Different tempos / characters or styles
should be chosen (for example: Ballad, Up-Time, but also R&B, Funk, Rock, Latin,
Straight Jazz, Jazz Waltz etc, preferably with vocal improvisation or ad libs; 1st piece
free choice, 2/3. Piece of the jury's choice: sing a short piece a capella 1 transcription
(vocal or instrumental from the jazz, pop or rock genre from
a piece, an arrangement, a solo or ad libs), present it as a transcription
and sing along with the original or band if necessary (please also bring and present sheet music). At the request of the jury, the aptitude test may include improvisation on unknown chord sequences and/or sight-singing.

Electric bass jazz/pop, double bass -jazz/pop, piano -jazz/pop, trombone -jazz/pop,
trumpet -jazz/pop, violin -jazz/pop:

Audition of up to three pieces of jazz or pop music with improvisation, one of
which may be composed by the student. Different
tempos/characters or styles should be chosen (e.g. ballad, up-time, but also up-tempo): Ballad, Up-Time, but
also R&B, Funk, Straight Jazz, Jazz Waltz, Rock, Latin etc.).
At the jury's request, the aptitude test may include improvisation on unknown
chord sequences, performance of a prepared solo transcription and/or sight-reading from
, and for piano/guitar also the accompaniment of a blues
or a simple jazz/pop standard. Please also bring and present sheet music.

Saxophone -Jazz/Pop, clarinet -Jazz/Pop, flute -Jazz/Pop:

Audition of up to three pieces. These can be standards and originals, but also
own compositions. They should cover different styles, tempi or
feels. In addition, a solo transcription should be prepared and performed
without accompaniment (please also bring and submit sheet music). The committee may also conduct a short
sight-reading test.

• Audition of up to three pieces of Latin or pop music in as many different styles as possible. These can be pieces from the Afro-Cuban or Brazilian area or from Latin jazz, fusion, soul or funk. Different percussion instruments should be played if possible. A solo or a four/four chorus should be played in a piece. The jury expects knowledge of basic sounds and basic rhythms and may test samples of the following percussion instruments. Congas: basic tumbao & variations, bongos: basic martillo & variations, timbales: cáscara 3/2 & 2/3 clave, abanico, basic cowbell grooves.
• The proficiency test may include accompanying a simple Latin/Pop standard, re-singing of melodies, improvisation and/or sight-reading if requested by the jury.

Audition of up to three pieces of jazz or pop music in as
different tempos and/or styles as possible. Ternary and binary
grooves must be played and a piece in swing/jazz feel should be included. In a
piece, "Four-Four" and/or a solo on the form should be played.
Audition of a prepared etude (e.g. Wilcoxon, Pratt or similar)- The aptitude test can, at the jury's request, include the accompaniment of a blues or a
simple jazz/pop standard, improvisation, audition of a prepared solo
transcription and/or sight-reading.

Audition with a focus on jazz:

• Solar (Miles Davis) Swing
• Re: Person I knew (Bill Evans) even Eights
• Nica's Dream (Horace Silver) Medium up Latin/Swing Agua De Beber (Antonio-Carlos Jobim)
• Bossa Airegin (Sonny Rollins) Swing
• Footprints (Wayne Shorter) Jazz/Waltz
• Take the Coltrane (Billy Strayhorn) up-swing Blues UMMG (Billy Strayhorn) swing
• Off Minor (Thelonious Monk) Swing
• Alone Together (Arthur Schwartz) Swing
• It could happen to you (Cole Porter) med up Swing My funny Valentine (Richard Rodgers) Ballad
• Song for my Father (Horace Silver) even Eights
• Red Clay (Freddie Hubbard) even Eights
• West Coast Blues (Wes Montgomery) Jazz Waltz
• I hear a Rhapsody (Fragos/Baker/Gasparre) Swing

Prelude with focus on pop:

• "What's going on" Marvin Gaye
• "Ain't no sunshine" Bill Withers
• "Come together" The Beatles
• "Money" Pink Floyd
• "No Woman no cry" Bob Marley
• "River Deep-Mountain High" Ike and Tina Turner
• "Layla" Derek & The Dominions (Eric Clapton)
• "Manic Depression" The Jimi Hendrix Experience
• "Car Wash" Rose Royce
• "Tutti Frutti" Little Richard
• "Brick House" The Commodores
• "Real Mother for Ya" Johnny Guitar Watson
• "Superstition" Stevie Wonder
• "Oje como va" Santana
• "I'm Walkin ́" Fats Domino
• "Demasiado Corazon" Mini DeVille

Snare drum etude with foot accompaniment
Recommended literature for orientation:

• "The All-American Drummer" (Charley Wilcoxon)
• "Modern Rudimental Swing Solos" (Charley Wilcoxon)
• "The New Pratt Book" (John S. Pratt)
• "Rudimental Solos for Accomplished Drummers (John S. Pratt)
• "Rudimental Ritual" from "The Drummer's Complete Vocabulary" (John Ramsey)
• The foot accompaniment (an ostinato with or without variations) is freely selectable.

Teaching team

Prof. Jonas Burgwinkel:
Head of department | Jonas.Burgwinkel@HfMT-Koeln.de

Alex Vesper
Focus on pop drumming | Alex.Vesper@hfmt-koeln.de

Roland Höppner | Roland.Hoeppner@hfmt-koeln.de

Prof. Michael Küttner | Michael.Kuettner@hfmt-koeln.de

• Performance of up to three songs, including one foreign composition. One song should be performed solo with own guitar or piano accompaniment, the remaining songs with the band provided by the university. One of the songs should be performed in English. In addition, a lyric writing assignment must be completed.
• The aptitude test may include, at the jury's request, singing a melody, accompanying and/or sight-reading a simple pop/soul/blues standard.

All majors (except piano-jazz/pop and guitar-jazz/pop):
(not for piano or guitar majors, where the minor can be chosen freely).

1. A notated piece in the difficulty level of, for example, Children`s Song (Chick Corea), Jazz for the Young Pianist (Oscar Peterson), Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, Two-part Inventions (Bach), For Children, Mikrokosmos I or II (Bela Bartok), Kinderszenen op. 15 (Robert Schumann).
   Alternatively, a piece based on a notated rock/pop standard, for example The Easy Groove Piano Book (Philipp Moehrke) or Piano Studies in Pop (Mike Schönmehl), a transcribed jazz/pop solo or a notated original composition.
   
2. A simple jazz/pop standard or blues, arranged independently for the piano.
   
3. Performance of a simple cadenza (approximately II-V-I-IV). The examination committee reserves the right to select the pieces to be played. It is in no case obliged to listen to all pieces offered or to listen to them completely. If the duration of the examination is exceeded, the examination board may stop the performance.

Major subject Piano-Jazz/Pop or Guitar-Jazz/Pop:
The minor subject can be chosen freely without examination. However, it must be named in the application. If an applicant has already passed the EP in the minor subject for the Bachelor of Music Jazz or Pop in a previous comparable course of study, credit will be given and participation in these parts of the examination/test is not required.

In the area of ear training, the written test (dictation) covers the following topics:

• Scales, melodies typical of the style, intervals, triads and inversion, and tetrachords typical of the style.

In the area of harmony, the written test covers the following topics

• Analysis of a chord progression, creation of a simple five-part piano movement based on a harmonic model and harmonization of a given melody.

The exam lasts a total of two hours for both tests. Further information can be found in the sample exams under Documents & Downloads.