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Programs · MTAC

Certificate of Merit (CM) Preparation

The Certificate of Merit is California's most respected private-studio music assessment. Burns Piano Studio prepares students under a teacher who has served as a state CM Adjudicator, Evaluator Recruiter & Trainer, and Council Member.

Direct answer: Certificate of Merit (CM) is the Music Teachers' Association of California's statewide assessment of private music students — eleven progressive levels testing repertoire, technique, sight-reading, ear training, and written theory. Nicole A. Burns is a former MTAC CM Adjudicator, CM Evaluator Recruiter & Trainer, and State CM Council Member, and prepares Burns Piano Studio students for the program every year.

What a CM evaluation includes

  • Two memorized performance pieces at the student's level
  • Scales and technique appropriate to the level
  • Sight-reading a short passage
  • Ear training (intervals, rhythm, melodic dictation, increasing with level)
  • Written theory examination

Why CM matters

CM provides an external, standardized measure of progress that no teacher's own assessment can. Students develop performance stamina, learn to be evaluated by a stranger, and accumulate a documented record recognized by music programs at the college and conservatory level.

How the studio prepares students

  • Repertoire locked in by fall — six months of preparation, not six weeks
  • Theory and ear training every week, not crammed in spring
  • Two full mock evaluations in the final six weeks
  • Realistic, calm-day-of routines that remove most performance anxiety

Nicole's history with CM

Nicole's past state-level CM roles include CM Adjudicator, CM Evaluator Recruiter & Trainer, CM Council Member, and State Convention Festival Recitals Chair. At the branch level she has served as CM Chair for the Pleasant Valley–Ventura County MTAC. That depth means students are prepared by someone who has shaped what the evaluation expects.

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