studying music at NUIM?

susie_soho

can anybody tell me whether the music dept is as good as it's cracked up to be and what the entrance test is like(what sort of pieces do you have to perform, what is the aural part like etc)? if anybody had any experience with other universities(more difficult entrance test, more of a classical/modern focus), i'd also be glad to know=)!

Zapp Brannigan

No performance entry test as it's not a performance course. It's primarily theory with one end of year practical. Entry test was really easy, just basic theory and I think there was an answering phrase you had to do, then the interview were just basic questions: relative minors etc. sing different intervals.

funky penguin

http://music.nuim.ie/entrance_paper.shtml

Exactly what zapp said. It's a doddle getting in. While it is theory based, the option is there to focus of performance towards the end of the degree.

Looking at that one, the 2007 entrance one was easier, thoery wise. I think altogether it was three bars you had to harmonise, chord numbers not necessary. Cadences, key signtures and scales etc.

The listening end was more than I had expected. You'll listen to a few pieces, and you have to tell what type of piece it is, eg Aria, Oratrio, Opera, Sonata, concerto, Theme and Variation etc.

Once you pass that (and you will ), the interview is very nice. There are three things you need for this; know your key signatures; your intervals (perfect, major and minor); and be bursting with enthusiasim! As you're not performing, you need to convince them you want to do this course more than anything!