At Hartt, we continue to move forward with the evolving music industry and offer the commercial music concentration to composition, music management, or music production & technology majors. Our commercial music concentration offers you the chance to continue your pursuit of musical excellence while enhancing your skills to create a career-ready path into the industry.
Students interested these Bachelor of Music programs are required to successfully pass an interview and audition.
Commercial Music Audition Requirements
Please reveiw the below audition requirements for admission for Fall 2025.
Audition Notes:
The following equipment will be provided at the live auditions : microphones, piano, amplifiers for bass and guitar, 4-piece drum kit with crash, ride, and hi-hat cymbals. audio play-back equipment for phone or Bluetooth speaker for prerecorded tracks.
Prepare the bass lines for the tunes:
- “Cissy Strut” by The Meters (track provided)
- “Good Times” by Chic (track provided)
- A tune of your choice from any popular music genre including, rock, folk, country, reggae, R@B, ect. (You supply accompaniment)
In addition to the prepared selections, the audition may also include:
- sight reading
- Improvisation
- basic scales and major and minor triads
- demonstration of various grooves (blues, shuffle, funk, etc.)
Prepare the drum beats for the following tunes:
- “Cissy Strut” by The Meters. (track provided)
- “Good Times” by Chic (track provided)
- A tune of your choice from any popular music genre including, rock, folk, country, Reggae, R&B, ect (You supply accompaniment)
In addition to the prepared selections, the audition may include:
- Rudiments
- sight reading
- demonstration of grooves in various styles (rock, blues shuffle, latin, funk, disco, pop ballad, etc.).
Please provide your own sticks. You are welcome to bring your own pedal, snare, etc., but keep in mind that any additional setup will cut into your audition time.
Prepare the guitar parts from the tunes:
- “Cissy Strut” by The Meters (track provided)
- “Listen to the music” by The Doobie Brothers (track provided)
- A tune of your choice from any popular music genre including, rock, folk, country, reggae, R@B, ect. (You supply accompaniment)
In addition to the prepared selections, the audition may also include:
- sight reading
- Improvisation
- basic scales and major and minor triads
- seventh chord voicings
- demonstration of various chord progressions in a variety of styles (twelve-bar blues, funk, etc.)
Please bring your own instrument cable and tune your instrument prior to entering the room. You are welcome to bring your own pedals, but keep in mind that any additional setup will cut into your audition time.
- “Cissy Strut” by The Meters (track provided)
- “You are the Sunshine of my Life” by Stevie Wonder (track provided)
- A tune of your choice from any popular music genre including, rock, folk, country, reggae, R@B, ect. (You supply accompaniment)
In addition to the prepared selections, the audition may also include: (at the discretion of the faculty and time permitting)
- sight reading
- Improvisation
- basic scales and major and minor triads
- seventh chord voicings
- demonstration of various chord progressions in a variety of styles (twelve-bar blues, funk, etc.)
All vocalists must be prepared to perform the male or female part, as appropriate to your voice, from the tune:
- “Where is the Love” as performed by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. Please note that a track provided in original Eb key, up a whole step, down a whole step, or down two whole steps.
- Prepare TWO contrasting pieces* from any Popular music genre (e.g., pop, rock, country, R&B, funk, ect.) (You supply the track or self-accompaniment)
In addition to the prepared selections, the audition may also include:
- Improvisation
- sight reading
- basic scales, melodic patterns, and major and minor triads
Vocalists (unless accompanying yourself) will need to provide their own accompaniment, whether with Phone, Bluetooth, or accompanist.
*Due to time restraints applicants will likely get to perform only one of these during their audition.