Upon successful completion of the Evaluation, students receive an official MTAC CM Certificate for their level.

Students are given a 10 day-window to complete their virtual Evaluation but may record their repertoire pieces any time before their deadline.

Students complete a written theory exam which includes an ear training component.

Students participate in an annual Evaluation between mid-February and March and receive a virtual musical assessment.

To look for an MTAC Teacher for yourself or your child, you can use our Find a Teacher tool. To learn more about our membership benefits, click here. The Certificate of Merit® program is exclusively open to MTAC Teachers. The Certificate of Merit® program is available for piano, violin, cello, viola, flute, French horn, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, euphonium, trombone, trumpet, voice, harp and guitar.Ĭonsult with your child’s MTAC teacher for more information regarding enrollment and preparation. Through a standardized curriculum, Certificate of Merit® provides a uniform pathway for music student growth at each level. The pitch would be the same.Īll variations of notes and fingerings in higher positions are not labeled and shown (the entire length of the fingerboard can be used to finger and play notes).The Music Teachers’ Association of California® (MTAC) sponsors the music study and evaluation program Certificate of Merit® (CM). Initiated in 1933, Certificate of Merit® provides a standardized music curriculum for musical excellence in performance, technique, ear training, sight reading/singing and music theory. This note could be fingered using either a high 3rd finger, or a low 4th finger.

For example, in first position on the A string, D# and Eb have the same sound (and are enharmonic notes). This indicates those two notes are enharmonic, meaning, even though they are named or 'spelled' differently, they sound the same pitch. The fingerboard chart shows many instances of two musical letters being placed on the same space.

For an explanation of shifting, visit Shifting & Positions. These notes require the violinist to 'shift' the position of their hand to a higher position on the keyboard in order to play these notes. Most violin music for beginners uses 1st position.įingering for notes played in 3rd position are to the left of the fingerboard. Violin Fingering for notes played in the 1st position are to the right of the fingerboard.

All violin positions chart pdf