Prospective students auditioning for Ball State School of Music admission and scholarships must follow the guidelines below. Please remember that this audition is for admission only to the School of Music. You also must apply to and be accepted by Ball State University.

General Guidelines

Prepare one or two works that best represent your musical and technical abilities. Repertoire suitable for audition is available from ISSMA. Although most prospective music majors audition on one instrument (or voice) only, you may audition on two different instruments (such as piano and voice, or violin and clarinet), provided you feel equally strong in both instruments. Performance time is generally limited to 10-15 minutes per instrument. Faculty members of the area in which you audition will serve as the jury for your performance. For example, if you perform a trumpet audition, members from the brass faculty will hear you play. As a general rule, the most important thing is for you to play or sing two contrasting selections that you do well. Memorized performance is required for voice auditions, and encouraged for piano auditions. You should also be ready to demonstrate ability to perform scales, and you may be asked to sight-read a short selection.

Area Guidelines

Each performance area also has specific audition guidelines:

• Strings
• Woodwinds
• Brass and Percussion
• Piano and Organ
• Harp and Guitar
• Voice

Accompanists

You may wish to bring your own accompanist for your audition, or you may perform unaccompanied. Ball State piano staff and top graduate piano students may be available as accompanists (see instrument-specific area guidelines above for further clarification) for a $35 fee, payable directly to the accompanist at the time of your audition. If you wish to engage a Ball State accompanist, your original piano accompaniment scores must be sent to the School of Music at least three weeks before the audition date.