Music Lessons for Achievers: The Conservatory Music Development Program, Bethlehem, PA

The YOU Becomes Founding School Candidate and Local Assessment Center!

Youniversity of Music and Arts and its New Jersey branch campus, Hunterdon Academy of the Arts, serve as Assessment Center for The Royal Conservatory Music Development Program, offering assessments both in Bethlehem, PA and Flemington, NJ.  As of January 2012, Youniversity also became a Founding School Candidate for The Music Development Program.

 

• Are you looking for a music lesson program that delivers measurable results?

• Do you wonder how your child's musical talents and accomplishments compare to those of other music students around the country?

• Has your child been taking music lessons for some time already but is making little progress, or progress has been unclear to you?

• Is your child ambitious and wants to excel in music?

• Would your child benefit from a more structured music lesson curriculum?

• If so, we recommend that you pursue The Royal Conservatory Music Development Program at Bethlehem's Youniversity of Music and Arts.  Music lesson students at The YOU have the option to follow this program in their 30-minute music lessons or, enhanced by additional studies in music theoretical areas, as part of the Youniversity Minor and Youniversity Major.

What Is The Music Development Program?

Created by Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music, The Music Development Program represents a comprehensive program of music study that is progressively sequenced from beginner to professional levels. 

Students pursuing The Music Development Program follow a structured curriculum in the areas of performance (repertory), music theory, ear training, analysis, and music history.  Yearly student assessments by professional adjudicators ensure that students meet nationally recognized standards of excellence.  By using widely accepted measurements of musical achievement, the program offers students, parents, and teachers across the U.S. a clear, consistent, and meaningful structure to identify and reward excellence in music studies.  All students, regardless of age, school grade, or location, are evaluated according to the same criteria.

The Music Development Program is strongly motivational, mapping out a path of study with clearly identified learning goals along the way.  As they advance, students experience consistent progress and develop a sense of accomplishment, which is reinforced through graded assessments.  For most students, The Music Development Program becomes a catalyst for musical as well as personal growth.

The Program offers a wide range of other important benefits.  Download a summary by entering your information in the form on the right-hand side of this page.

Recognizing Achievement Through Assessment

The Assessment Experience

The  Music Development Program includes two different types of assessment: practical and theoretical. Both create an opportunity to recognize achievement and receive meaningful feedback.

Practical Assessments

• A practical assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of a student's current abilities on their chosen instrument, including voice

• The assessment is designed to be a warm and welcoming experience, one-on-one with a professional, program-certified adjudicator

• The adjudicator's comments and marking breakdown are available online within four to six weeks of the assessment

• Practical assessments are held twice a year, with all scheduling and location arrangements made by The Achievement Program

What Can a Student Expect in a Practical Assessment?

Practical assessments evaluate the following areas of a student’s musical development:

• Performance of three to five pieces of repertoire depending on level

• Performance of one or two études that focus on an aspect of performance skill appropriate for the level

• Performance of technical skills such as scales, chords, and arpeggios, which progress in difficulty from level to level in a manner consistent with the technical demands of the repertoire. An assessment includes a representative sampling from the published list of requirements.

• An evaluation of musicianship skills, appropriate for the level, through aural identification of intervals, chord qualities, cadences, and ear-to-hand playbacks of rhythms and melodies. A demonstration of rhythmic reading and sight playing ability further supports music literacy.

Theory Assessments

• Students complete a written assessment of their theoretical and/or historical knowledge in a classroom setting.

• Theory assessments are held twice a year, with all scheduling and location arrangements made by The Achievement Program.

Certificates of Achievement

The Comprehensive Achievement Certificate is awarded to students who have completed both the practical and theory assessments for a specific level, beginning in Level 5. No application is necessary for the Comprehensive Achievement Certificate.

Certificates of Excellence

These certificates are awarded to students in each assessment center and in each state who earn the highest marks for their practical assessment level. No application is necessary.