To help directors and students prepare for CMASC auditions, the composition criteria for audition sight-reading has been provided below.
Both sight-reading excerpts will be...
  • 4 to 5 measures long.
  • in common time.
  • in a major key.
    • The exact key will vary by voice part, but stays constant from year to year. See our practice resources page for specifics.
  • completely diatonic.
  • beginning and ending on the tonic.
  • mostly stepwise.

Additionally, Sight-Reading #1 features...
  • skips within the I chord.
  • all quarter- and half-note rhythms.
  • at least one rest.

Meanwhile, Sight-Reading #2 includes...
  • more skips than Sight-Reading #1, including a possible skip within the V chord.
  • slightly more challenging melodic material.
  • mostly quarter-note rhythms, with possible eighth notes.
  • at least one dotted quarter note and/or a tie across a barline.