Academy graduates have gained advanced skills, through study and proven by examinations. The Harmonica Academy study program aims to build advanced harmonica skills across multiple styles. The graduation examination, outlined below, assesses a student’s mastery of these skills. This exam is challenging, and meant for those who have completed the course.
Graduates will be listed on the site, and will receive a graduation pack, including a diploma, T-Shirt and other items.
Most instrument courses have an established set of graded examinations, for example, those at the Royal Schools of Music. These examinations commonly contain set pieces and technical exercises, and they must be played before an examiner. The Harmonica Academy graduation exam works in the same way, comprising technical exercises and tunes from the lessons. The exam is done by recording the pieces, and submitting them online. The examiner will be me, Tony Eyers. Computer recording skills are therefore needed. Harmonica Academy graduates are expected to have these skills.
The Harmonica Academy program aims to develop clean and accurate playing, for blues and traditional tunes. In a similar way to other instrument courses, the teaching comprises many scale and arpeggio exercises, since these are the ‘building blocks’ of tunes. From these, the course aims to build a traditional tune repertoire.
The exam measures achievement of the course aims, as outlined above. This is done by presenting a range of scale and arpeggio exercises, both slow and fast, with a range of backings (including the metronome). You will need to play and record them. The exam also assesses mastery of traditional tunes, in first, second and third position.
In its present form, the exam however does not address tone and improvising skill, both cornerstones of good playing. These aspects, while immediately apparent to a listener, are hard to assess in a formal way, especially in an online assessment like this one.
Like all examinations, the ultimate value comes from the preparation, not the exam itself. But preparing the exercises and set tunes to the standard needed to pass the exam will develop your music in a substantial way. Herein lies the real benefit of the exam. There is no examination fee: it comes to you as part of the Harmonica Academy subscription fee.
There are seven exercises, and three set tunes. You will see that the exercises are related to lessons provided during the course, and are designed to show your mastery of them. Listen to each exercise, read the notes through the links provided, and then play and record the exercise yourself. Each exercise and tune must be recorded with the backing provided. .. Further details on exam submission and marking are provided below.
1) First position scale exercise, from Junior Year Tunes Lesson 2. Here is the exercise
Here is the backing track.
Note: a video recording must be submitted for this first exam component. All other exam components require an audio recording.
2) First position scale exercise, from Senior Year Tunes Lesson 5. Here is the exercise
Here is the backing track.
3) First position I IV V VI arpeggio exercise, from Senior Year Tunes Lesson 5. Here is the exercise
Here is the backing track.
4) Second position blues scale, from Junior Year Blues Lesson 9. Here is the exercise
Here is the backing track.
5) First position blues scale, from Senior Year Blues Lesson 1. Here is the exercise
Here is the backing track.
6) Third position blues scale, from Senior Year Blues Lesson 5. Here is the exercise
Here is the backing track.
7) Pentatonic Scale, from Senior Year Blues Lesson 7. Here is the exercise
Here is the backing track.
8) Big Sciota, played in first position. Here is the tune
Here is the backing track.
9) Red Haired Boy, played in second position. Here is the tune
Here is the backing track.
10) Star of Munster, played in third position. Here is the tune
Here is the backing track.
1)If you wish to submit an exam response, you must have a Harmonica Academy subscription.
2) Each exam component is to be submitted as a separate mp3 file, with the exception of component 1. Component 1 must be a video file, so that I can see you play (a webcam recording will be fine). Each file name must indicate the number of the exam component. (eg yournamecomp2.mp3) All components must be sent at the same time.
3) The combined video and audio files are to be sent using a free Yousendit lite account (http://www.yousendit.com). The yousendit destination address is support@harmonicauniversity.com. A separate email must also be sent to support@harmonicauniversity.com, indicating that you have submitted an exam response. You will receive an acknowledgement of the arrival of the yousendit files.
3) The exam results, with comments, will be returned by email within 14 days of receiving the yousendit audio and video files.
4) All exam components (including the video one) must be recorded with the supplied backing track.
4) All exam components must be submitted at the same time.. To pass the exam, all components must be played accurately, as per the supplied examples, and in particular
5) The results will indicate which exam components which have passed, and any which have not. Exam components which have not passed can be resubmitted for further assessment. However, this resubmission may not be done until 30 days after the exam results have been sent.
6) All decisions made by Harmonica Academy regarding the exam are final.
Good luck. I look forward to hearing you play!