Music: Prospective Students

We want you to do well in your course work, in your private lessons, and in ensembles. In order to get a good start at La Sierra University, you need to begin preparing now. First, you should practice several hours every day (the actual amount of time will vary with your performance area). This will help you be better prepared to perform your best on the audition for music scholarship and admission. This first audition is held during your senior year in high school. You will also have a second audition in September when you arrive to begin your studies.

There are two reasons for the September auditions:

• Because music faculty hear students audition for scholarships the previous February, they may not remember exactly how you play or sing by the end of the summer. Furthermore, your musical skills have probably improved since your first audition on campus. Applied music faculty (your performance area) will hear freshmen and transfer students at the beginning of the Fall Quarter so that they will be able to judge your subsequent progress throughout the year and place you appropriately.
• Ensemble directors will audition all students, including freshmen, for ensemble placement. For wind, percussion, and string students, the audition will also determine chair placement within the section.

If you have limited performance skills on the piano, then we strongly urge you to find a piano teacher and begin keyboard study immediately. Piano study will contribute to your general musical knowledge in many ways, especially your functional knowledge of scales, chords, and clefs. You will rely on functional keyboard skills to play simple accompaniments, harmonize melodies, and improvise music in different styles in your studies at La Sierra University.

All students, unless they have studied piano privately for a number of years, are required to enroll in piano proficiency classes to develop their keyboard skills. Even after completing the keyboard requirements for amusic degree, some students feel the need for more study in order to use the piano as a teaching tool or for personal enjoyment. So, get started now at the piano for a head start on success as a music student at La Sierra University.

The functional use of your singing voice is important to your success as a music student at La Sierra, and later as a music teacher in private lessons, ensemble rehearsal, or the classroom. Although those students who anticipate being a voice major usually spend several years singing in a choir during their adolescent years, many instrumentalists⁠—including pianists⁠—fail to develop their vocal skills.

During the freshman and sophomore years, all music majors must enroll in courses designed to develop the skills of aural perception and sight singing. Prior singing experience will help you succeed in those courses. If you have not recently had experience singing, then you are urged to find a place in a school or community choir or another musical venue
where you can develop skill in singing with good pitch and rhythm and become comfortable in using your singing voice.