(The dreaded) Berklee woodwind proficiencies

During the mid 1980's, while earning my music degree from Berklee College of Music,   woodwind students and I had to pass a number of "proficiencies" or practical exams. Those of us who learned and mastered the material in these proficiencies achieved a great improvement in our technique and fluency on our instruments. Consisting of a mixture of scales and arpeggios, the proficiency levels became progressively challenging, For performance majors such as myself, there were six levels in total, all the levels had to be completed by the end of our eight semester program. They started with basic major and minor scales and progressed to some very exotic varieties of scales and arpeggios that would have made the Spanish inquisition proud!

(Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition)...

Here are two scanned pages of the Berklee woodwind proficiencies as of 1986...

Page 1

page 2

In addition, at the end of each semester we were required to prepare both a classical etude and a Jazz solo to be performed in front of a panel consisting of three faculty members. The classical etude would typically be something by Klose or Marcel Mule and the jazz solo was usually a Charlie Parker solo from the Omnibook. This was a very nerve-wracking experience to say the least!

Today Berklee's woodwind department seems to be using the same material except that it is spread over eight levels for performance majors.

I still occasionally refer to these documents and practice the material. It is essential to use a metronome, (Don't just turn it on and ignore it :)) and always play the entire exercise at a uniform tempo. Having a chromatic tuner in front of you and referring to it often can help keep your scales/arpeggios in tune. Playing these levels using the full range of your horn is important, it helps you to get comfortable with all the areas of your range. 

Why practice scales and arpeggios? At the end of the day we all want to be able to play a melody smoothly and accurately, all melodies are made up of steps and leaps - so it makes sense to spend some time with these!

Happy practicing!