Advanced musical training cycle - Cycle Supérieur
Information
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Name
Advanced musical training cycle
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Cycle
Higher cycle
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Course's number of years
1 year
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Maximum duration
2nd year possible if prize not awarded at end of1st year
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Course objectives and content
OBJECTIVES
This course is devoted to the development of technical (reading, rhythm, auditioning, transcriptions, etc.), analytical and cultural skills relating to the speciality of music education.
It is aimed at students at state-ranked conservatoires, Pôles Supérieurs d'Enseignement Musicals and the two CNSMDs, who wish to specialise in music education and go on to teach this discipline. The aim is to prepare students to continue their studies towards a diploma (either the Diplôme d'Etat or the Certificat d'aptitude). It is also aimed at practising teachers wishing to undertake further training.Teaching schedule: 4 hours of lessons a week on Saturdays (11am-1pm and 2.30pm-4.30pm)
Personal work time: 4 to 6 hours per week
CONTENT
The classical areas of musical training (meter, singing/intonation, rhythm, reading, analysis) will be covered through the exploration of a wide and varied repertoire, including Western art music from the Middle Ages to the present day, traditional oral music, jazz and contemporary amplified music, and traditional song. In addition, the teaching-learning process will be structured around four complementary axes:
A. Active participation
A large part of the activities carried out during the lessons will consist of musical role-playing in small groups or as a whole class. These performances, in which the piano will play a predominant role, will in part be prepared individually before the course. Students will also be asked to take charge of certain activities in order to grasp the artistic and musical dimension inherent in any transmission process.
B. Pedagogical differentiation
The repertoires will be worked on in all aspects of a diversified musical experience, whether through listening, voice, instrumental gesture, conducting, movement and space, bodily polyrhythm, invention, etc. The aim is to encourage the appropriation of the repertoires by the students. The aim is to encourage a lasting appropriation of technical elements, while questioning the complementarity of learning paths.
C. Introduction to repertoire research
The search for repertoire is a central skill for musicians in general, and for music education teachers in particular, who wish to offer rich and varied material of all styles and periods, adapted to the characteristics of the pupils and to the learning objectives. In this respect, the CNSMDP's Hector Berlioz media library will be an ideal place to work.D. Collaboration and autonomy
In order to encourage different ways of constructing knowledge and know-how, students will be placed in collaborative situations based on a project approach, encouraging them to take the initiative, to learn from their peers, to share resources, particularly computer and digital resources, and to develop metacognitive skills. These skills will enable students to develop autonomous forms of artistic practice and build fulfilling career paths.
Disciplines
Entrance exam
Advanced musical training cycle
Opening date for registration : 14 February 2025
Closing date for registration : 14 March 2025
Admission requirements
To be authorised to sit the eligibility tests, candidates must be in at least one of the following four situations:
- hold a Diplôme d'Études Musicales (DEM) in musical training
- be following or have followed a Cycle Préparatoire à l'Enseignement Supérieur (CPES) in music training
- be or have been a student in one of the two CNSMDs or in a Pôle supérieur, whatever the discipline
- provide proof of employment as a music training teacher in a state-approved conservatoire.
You may use a tuning fork throughout the written and oral examinations. The tests will be based on recordings of extracts from the repertoire for all instrumental and/or vocal ensembles.
Registration dates
from 29 January 2024 to 29 February 2024
Scholarship notifications must be submitted no later than 28 February 2024 with the application file.
Admissibility: written test on 10 April 2024 from 9.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. - at the CNSMD de Paris
- tonal mapping (phrases, pitches, modulations and cadences) of a work or excerpt from a classical work (3 full listens)
- reading of a theme with figured bass (tonal music, 8 to 16 bars, key signature and meter not given, starting notes given, 6 full listens)
- recording of two non-tonal phrases (repertoire after 1900, different aesthetics and timbres, starting notes given, 4 listenings per phrase)
- analysis of a short score (period between 1750 and 1950, without listening) with associated questionnaire
Admission: 29 and 30 June 2024 - at the CNSMD in Paris
Prepared tests
- Free vocal and/or instrumental programme lasting between 5 minutes minimum and 10 minutes maximum, which must include a piece sung with words and accompanied on the piano (style and language of the candidate's choice, see indicative list in the sample papers).
- Polyrhythm combining a vocal part and one or two body percussion parts (score communicated two weeks before the tests).
The scores for the free programme must be sent to the jury in triplicate at the time of the test.
Deciphered rounds (boxing time equal to three times the passage time for each round)
- Melody on the name of the notes or on a vocalise (with piano accompaniment provided by the
accompanist provided by the CNSMDP)
- Reading of four short excerpts from the vocal, symphonic or chamber repertoire
(different meters and tempi, all keys and all possible transpositions) which the candidate will render according to the different modes of expression proposed (sung, instrumental or spoken rendition).
The deciphered melody will be performed without a piano; a tuning fork is permitted.
The set of tests for the rhythmic readings is individual; candidates may annotate it in the box. Candidates may consult the Conservatoire's website for a sample set of tests indicative of the formats and levels expected.
Interview with the jury (10 minutes maximum)
Candidates admitted to the higher cycle of musical training may, at their own request, be admitted to musical analysis A or B, depending on places available and after passing a placement test.
N.B.: Successful candidates who are not nationals of French-speaking countries must present, before 30 June preceding their first enrolment at the Conservatoire, a certificate issued by a body approved by the French government attesting to a level of French at least equal to B1 on the Council of Europe's scale of common reference levels.