Lyric Diction

Guidelines: Undergraduate Students

All undergraduate voice performance majors and music education majors with their concentration in voice are required to take four semesters of foreign language diction. Vocal performance majors are also required to take a total of three semesters foreign language study. 

All incoming freshman are expected to take English Diction and Italian Diction in their first year of study. Vocal Performance majors and Music Education majors with a concentration in voice will take the remaining two semesters of diction in the sophomore year so that all dictions have been completed when they attempt the upper divisional exam at the end of the sophomore year.

Guidelines:  Graduate Students 

All graduate Voice Performance Majors entering the University of North Texas College of Music are required to take a three-part placement exam that covers French, German, and Italian Lyric Diction. This exam will be administered during Graduate Orientation week in August and January, prior to the first semester of study. This exam is the first step in assuring competency in foreign language diction.  

The placement exam is an ONLINE exam taken during Orientation Week.  Students must be logged into their CANVAS account in order to take the exam.  No extra materials are allowed.  Each language (French, German, Italian) is tested separately.  Students receive 20 minutes with which to complete each language portion.  Once completed, students will be notified by their studio teacher of the results, generally within 48 hours of the exam.  

Each part of the exam is graded separately;  it is therefore possible to pass the exam in two languages, but not pass the third language. 

MM students 

MM students are required to take graduate level diction, MUAG 5215, as part of their degree plan. This course is offered in the spring semester only.  Students must, however, be proficient to study diction at the graduate level before enrolling for this course. This proficiency will be determined by the entrance exam.

MM students must achieve a minimum score of 70% (17.5 points) correct on each part of the exam to demonstrate acceptable proficiency that allows them to enroll in MUAG 5215.

MM students scoring below 70% (17.5 points) on any of the language exams will be given a second opportunity to re-take that part of the exam. MM students scoring below 70% on their second attempt are required to complete remedial course work with a grade of C or better by enrolling in MUAG 5909 (Italian Lyric Diction), and/or MUAG 5907 (German Lyric Diction), and/or MUAG 5906 (French Lyric Diction). Upon successful completion of all required remedial courses, MM students are deemed eligible to take MUAG 5215 (Advanced Graduate Diction). 

DMA students

DMA students must show diction proficiency in French, German, and Italian before scheduling their written qualifying exam.  

DMA students scoring below 80% (20 points) on any of the diction placement exams will be given one additional opportunity to re-take that part of the exam, either the following January or August. 

After the first attempt:
DMA students scoring below 70% in any of the three languages may opt to immediately take the applicable 5900-level diction course or wait to take the Placement exam a second time. (Completion of those 5900-level diction course(s) with a grade of B or better will satisfy proficiency in that language.)
 
DMA students scoring between 70-79% on any of the languages (but not lower than 70% in any of the three languages) may choose to immediately enroll in MUAG 5215 (Advanced Graduate Diction) as an elective and will be considered proficient upon completing the course with a grade of B or better, or wait to take the Placement exam a second time. 

After the second attempt:
DMA students scoring below 70% in any of the three languages must take the 5900-level diction course for each specific language.  Completion of those 5900-level diction course(s) with a grade of B or better will satisfy proficiency
 
Any student still scoring between 70-79% after two attempts will be required to enroll in either MUAG 5215 (Advanced Graduate Diction) as an elective and will be considered proficient upon completing the course with a grade of B or better, OR the individual 5900-level language diction course(s) with a grade of B or better. 

DMA students who demonstrate satisfactory proficiency may also take MUAG 5215 as an elective.