Jazz and improvised music - 1st cycle - 1er Cycle

Knowledge of the jazz idiom in the various phases of its evolution.

Practising the different ways of playing improvisation; working on the repertoire; deepening the techniques of writing, arranging and composing; developing the general knowledge essential to the improvising musician; helping students to develop their personal creative faculties.

^1st,^{2nd and}^{3rd year}workshops - The workshop is the central laboratory of each year's class, where students practise the different modes of expression of jazz and improvised music. Here they can study the main trends and the most influential musicians in the history of jazz; develop their listening and analytical skills; acquire rhythmic and harmonic autonomy; work on phrasing, pulse and tempo; create their own compositions.

Compulsory curriculum subjects:

- Arranging (^1st/2nd year)

- Composition (^3rd year)

- Experimental writing and improvisation (optional year)

- Repertoire and oral tradition (^1st/2nd/3rd year)

- History of jazz (^1st/2nd year)

- Complementary piano (for non-pianists, ^1st/2nd/3rd year)

- Big band - participation in the big orchestra (according to projects and by period)

- Work on rhythm (for non-drummers,^1st year)

- Modality/tonality (optional year)

In the^3rd year of the^1st cycle, students must complete 2 writing projects in the Arrangement and Composition courses.

Instrument classes

- piano class

- drums

- double bass class

- Saxophone class

- trumpet and brass

- guitar class

- singing class

Students playing instruments not represented by the department's teachers must take part in classes on other instruments. Their distribution is established in agreement with the teaching staff.

Rhythm section classes (1st/2nd/3rd year)

Compulsory for accordion, drums, double bass, guitar, piano, vibraphone

Cross-curricular subjects :

Modern languages

Attestation of practical aspects of the profession 1 and 2

Practical work experience

Complementary optional subjects (year of choice) :

Modal improvisation / Music of India

Generative improvisation

Complementary drumming

Ear training

Jazz initiation (for students outside the Jazz and Improvised Music department)

Master-classes and guest performances

With guest artists representing different stylistic and aesthetic worlds, students are confronted with the most diverse points of view and put into professional situations in workshops and/or public concerts.

Concerts / Diffusion / Exchanges

Students take part in a large number of regular concerts at the Conservatoire and elsewhere.

Information
Disciplines
Information on the entrance exam

Information

Name
Jazz and improvised music - 1st cycle
Cycle
1st Cycle
Course's number of years
3 years
ECTS
180
Delivered diploma
Diplôme National Supérieur Professionnel de Musicien (DNSPM) in jazz and improvised music
French language certificate
B1 level required
Number of complementary disciplines to validate
1

Disciplines

Jazz brass (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Masterclasses / Presentations / Jazz rehearsals (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 0 ECTS)
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Additional battery (Discipline optionnelle - 0 ECTS)
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Jazz clarinet (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Ear training (Discipline optionnelle - 0 ECTS)
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Practical aspects of the job 1 (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 0 ECTS)
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Practical aspects of the business 2 (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 0 ECTS)
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Jazz accordion (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Jazz drums (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Jazz vocals (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Jazz double bass (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Jazz flute (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Jazz guitar (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Jazz piano (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Jazz saxophone (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Jazz trombone (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Jazz trumpet (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Vibraphone Jazz (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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Jazz violin (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 22 ECTS)
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1st cycle workshop (Discipline principale - 48 ECTS)
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Jazz arrangement (Discipline principale - 20 ECTS)
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Jazz composition (Discipline principale - 8 ECTS)
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Experimental writing and improvisation (Discipline principale - 12 ECTS)
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Big band (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 6 ECTS)
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History of Jazz (Discipline principale - 8 ECTS)
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Modality/tone (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 2 ECTS)
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Complementary jazz piano (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 6 ECTS)
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Repertoire and oral tradition (Discipline principale - 20 ECTS)
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Rhythm section (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 6 ECTS)
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Working on rhythm (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 8 ECTS)
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Modern language (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 3 ECTS)
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Work experience - 1st cycle (Discipline complémentaire imposée - 4 ECTS)
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Entrance exam

Jazz (1st cycle)

Opening date for registration : 10 October 2024

Closing date for registration : 15 November 2024

Exam dates : Présélection : dépôt des dossiers du 10 octobre au 15 novembre 2024 / Admissibilité : épreuves du 17 au 20 février 2025 au Conservatoire de Paris / Admission : épreuves 21 février 2025 (écrit) du 24 au 26 février 2025 (entretiens) au Conservatoire de Paris.

Description :

Pre-selection : by an internal jury.

The application will include :

A video lasting no more than 20 minutes in which the candidate personally plays 3 pieces, including :

- a standard (from the classical jazz or bebop repertoire),

- an original piece (preferably a personal composition),

- a free improvisation.

A covering letter,
C.V.

Eligibility From 12 to 14 February 2024 at the Paris Conservatoire.

For these tests, the candidate will be accompanied by a rhythm section from the Conservatoire.

Audition (15 minutes maximum) :

- a free piece of the candidate's choice (own composition or not; this piece must allow the candidate to express him/herself in a stylistic aesthetic of his/her choice). The candidate must bring 8 copies of the score (3 for the accompanists and 5 for the jury).

- one piece chosen at random and one piece chosen by the jury from a list of 10 pieces given to the shortlisted candidates beforehand, to be played from memory.

Performance (preparation in the box, 10 minutes without an instrument - 5 minutes maximum performance time) :

- instrumental deciphering of an unpublished theme,

- improvisation on the harmonic grid of the theme.

Admission: from 16 to 22 February 2024 at the Paris Conservatoire.

Written (4 hours) :

- listening test - transcription of a melodic and harmonic fragment,

- theory and history of jazz (multiple-choice test),

- harmony test (harmonisation of a given melody).

Interview with the jury (10 minutes)

N.B.: Candidates who are successful in the competitive entrance examination for the^1st cycle 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.

Maximum age : 25