Bachelor of Music (Advanced)(Jazz Performance) New

Master your style

The Bachelor of Music Advanced (Jazz Performance) is a specialist degree for students seeking to expertly command the complexities of jazz music. 

Our staff and guest artists include some of the finest national and international jazz musicians and educators. Our graduates teach, perform, compose, arrange and record throughout Australia, Europe, Asia, the US, and more.

What will you do?

Our advanced degree offers exclusive courses specifically designed for high-achieving students. You’ll find yourself shoulder to shoulder with students as eager and passionate as you. Everything you learn will culminate in a special major project, which can be further developed for postgraduate study. 

Your options for specialisation include:

  • bass
  • drums
  • guitar
  • keyboard
  • trumpet
  • trombone
  • saxophone
  • voice.

You’ll also:

enjoy regular performances featuring Big Bands, Jazz Choirs, and Latin and Small Jazz Ensembles
take classes in theory, improvisation, arrangement and history
learn about looping and sampling
explore career paths, music business and world music
benefit from weekly performance opportunities with feedback from both staff and students.
 

Note: You must maintain a GPA of 5.0 or you’ll be required to transfer to the Bachelor of Music (Jazz Performance).

 

Where could it take you?

You might follow your music to fame and stardom. You could develop a unique style that others yearn to master. Perhaps you’ll open a jazz club in New Orleans, with lines out the door as long as your solos on stage.

Entry Requirements

Choose your applicant type to view the relevant admissions information for this program.
I am a:

Before applying make sure you understand the eligibility and entry requirements for your chosen degree.

Look out for any prerequisites or assumed knowledge subjects. Some degrees also have additional entry requirements like interviews and auditions.

Domestic applicants

Admissions information

SATAC Code 354621
Deferment No
Intake

February and July

Prerequisites

Applicants to the Bachelor of Music (Advanced)(Jazz Performance) must have:

  • Audition/interview with a minimum score of 90 or above
  • South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) or equivalent
  • Musicianship test.
Assumed Knowledge

Year 12 Solo Performance or CPM Advancing Step 4, plus Year 12 Music Studies or AMEB Grade 5 Theory

Additional Entry Requirements

All prospective students applying to the Elder Conservatorium of Music are required to attend an audition/interview for each area of specialisation, regardless of the number or type of music programs they are applying for.

The audition/interview will assess each applicant's current skill level and potential for future studies and offers will be made on the basis of the audition/interview score, academic achievement and the musicianship test.

The Musicianship test aims to assess the applicant's general level of musicianship, which involves the ability to identify and recognise musical concepts within aural, written and theoretical contexts. The test comprises: aural questions covering rhythm, tonality, melody and harmony; score interpretation questions about a given short piano extract; theoretical questions such as keys, major and minor scales, intervals and chords.

For details regarding the audition rounds and the application process, please visit the Elder Conservatorium of Music (https://able.adelaide.edu.au/music/study/auditions).

Selection Criteria
Recent Secondary Education

Applicants with recent secondary education are those whose admission is primarily based on the completion of Year 12 within the last two years, however if you completed your secondary education more than two years ago, you may still be able to be considered on the basis of your secondary schooling. You must not have completed more than 2 years full time equivalent university study (48 units).

You must also undertake an audition/interview including an aural/theory test. You compete for a place based on your audition score. 

Indigenous applicants may be eligible for entry through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access Pathway. See Wirltu Yarlu for further information.

Higher Education Study

You must have completed at least six months full time equivalent higher education study (the number of courses and units will vary depending on your prior institution however at the University of Adelaide, this equates to 4 courses / 12 units). 

A Grade Point Average (GPA) is calculated for each separate program you have undertaken (apart from some double degree programs where the GPA is combined).

You must also undertake an audition/interview including an aural/theory test. You compete for a place based on your audition score. Your best GPA is used in the case of a tie-breaker. 

Indigenous applicants may be eligible for entry through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access Pathway. See Wirltu Yarlu for further information.

Work and life experience

To be eligible to sit the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) as as pathway for entry, you must be 18 years or over before 1 February 2024. If you have studied at higher education level in the last two years (for 2024 entry this means you were enrolled in either 2023 or 2022), you must not have accumulated more than a TOTAL of 2 years full-time (or part-time equivalent) higher education study (ie. including any study prior to 2022). Your STAT result is not weighted between verbal and quantitative components. 

You must also undertake an audition/interview including an aural/theory test. You compete for a place based on your audition score. Your STAT result is used in the case of a tie-breaker.

Indigenous applicants may be eligible for entry through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Access Pathway. See Wirltu Yarlu for further information.

Other Entry Pathways

2023 Admissions Data for school leavers
ATAR
(raw ATAR, excluding any applicable adjustment factors)
Lowest ATAR to receive an offer N/A
Median ATAR to receive an offer N/A
Highest ATAR to receive an offer N/A
Selection Rank
(ATAR plus any adjustment factors)
Lowest Selection Rank to receive an offer N/A
Median Selection Rank to receive an offer N/A
Highest Selection Rank to receive an offer N/A
Minimum eligibility score See Entry Req.
Additional criteria considered Audition required

Fees and Scholarships

Choose your applicant type to view the relevant fees and scholarships information for this program.
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Domestic applicants

Indicative annual tuition fees
Commonwealth-supported place: $9,275

Where the standard duration of the program is less than one year the full cost of the program is displayed.

More information on Student Contribution Amounts.

Scholarships

These scholarships, as well as many others funded by industry and non-profit organisations, are available to potential and currently enrolled students.

Find a Scholarship.

Careers

Potential careers

Graduates of this program have gone on to roles such as:

Music Coordinator;  Music Educator;  Music Festival Director;  Music Journalist / Music Critic;  Music Producer;  Music Researcher;  Musician;  Musician / Singer;  Entertainer;  Jazz Musician

Degree Structure

The Bachelor of Music (Advanced) is intended to provide an enhanced learning experience for high achieving students. Students will benefit from more intensive individual tuition, access to advanced classes in their major and special opportunities for higher level study through masterclasses and professional placements. It is anticipated that such an offering will attract higher-level students seeking a more challenging and rewarding learning experience.

The program provides students with the option to undertake specialised study in either Classical Performance, Jazz Performance, Music Education or Creative Practice (a broad area of study that includes courses in Music Composition, Popular Music and Sonic Arts).

The Bachelor of Music (Advanced) is an AQF Level 7 qualification with a standard full-time duration of 3 years.

Academic Program Rules

The Calendar is a comprehensive handbook of the University's academic program rules.

To qualify for the degree of Bachelor of Music (Advanced)(Jazz Performance), the student must complete satisfactorily a program of study consisting of the following requirements with a combined total of not less than 72 units.

  1. Level I courses not exceeding 30 units including MUSGEN 1301 Life in Music
  2. Level III courses to the value of at least 24 units
  3. Sufficient courses at Level II to make the total of 72 units
  4. Chosen major - Jazz Performance
  5. A minimum of 12 units at Level I before undertaking courses at Level II
  6. A minimum of 6 units at Level II before undertaking courses at Level III.

Areas of Specialisation

Jazz Performance major

Example Study Plan

Core Courses:
MUSGEN 1301   Life in Music    3 units

Major:
To satisfy the requirements for Jazz Performance Major students must complete courses to the value of 66 units.

Level I
All of the following courses must be completed: 

MUSGEN 1201 Music Professional Development 1A 3 units
MUSGEN 1202 Music Professional Development 1B 3 units
MUSJAZZ 1010 Jazz History 3 units
MUSJAZZ 1070 Jazz Performance Advanced 1A 3 units
MUSJAZZ 1071 Jazz Performance Advanced 1B 3 units
MUSJAZZ 1101 Jazz Musicianship 1A 3 units
MUSJAZZ 1102 Jazz Musicianship 1B 3 units

Level II

All of the following courses must be completed:

MUSGEN 2201 Music Professional Development 2A 3 units
MUSGEN 2202 Music Professional Development 2B 3 units
MUSJAZZ 2070 Jazz Performance Advanced 2A 3 units
MUSJAZZ 2071 Jazz Performance Advanced 2B 3 units
MUSJAZZ 2101 Jazz Musicianship 2A 3 units
MUSJAZZ 2102 Jazz Musicianship 2B 3 units
MUSSUPST 2000 Music Advanced Minor Project 3 units

 Level III

All of the following courses must be completed: 

MUSGEN 3201 Music Professional Development 3A 3 units
MUSJAZZ 3070 Jazz Performance Advanced 3A 3 units
MUSJAZZ 3101 Jazz Musicianship 3 3 units
MUSGEN 3007 Jazz Arranging 3 units

and

All of the following courses must be completed:
CAPSTONE

MUSGEN 3202     Music Professional Development 3B       3 units
MUSJAZZ 3071    Jazz Performance Advanced 3B             3 units
MUSSUPST 3000  Music Advanced Major Project               6 units

Electives:
To satisfy the requirements for Electives, students must complete up to 12 units of open and/or closed electives depending on the major studied as follows:

Jazz Performance (3 units)
Level II - 3 units



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Last updated: Monday, 15 Jan 2024