Audition

Audition Criteria - Instrumental

Auditions for Coppin State University band scholarships are divided into three areas: tone quality, rudiments and/or scales, and arpeggios and musical expressions. Please follow the instructions for each area.

Tone Quality:

To demonstrate your tone quality, you will be asked to:

• Choose any major scale
• Place your metronome on 69 beats per minute or estimate a similar tempo.
• Play the scale two (2) octaves (up and down) in half notes.

Scales and Arpeggios:

To demonstrate your range, dexterity, and ability to articulate and slur, you will be asked to:

• Place your metronome on 80 beats per minute or faster or estimate a similar tempo.
• Play the concert C, G, A, E, F, Bb and Ab major scales and their arpeggios two (2) octaves (if possible) up and down in eigth notes. Please slur the scale up and tongue the scale down without breaking the tempo.
• Play the chromatic scale from your lowest note to two or three octaves above it, if possible, at your own tempo.

Musical Expression:

To demonstrate your ability to interpret music, you will be asked to:

• Choose a solo or any piece of music that is level two (2) or above. The piece can be any style.
• Play at least one minute of the piece, omitting any extended rests.

Melodic Percussion:

To demonstrate your ability to create melodic percussion, you will be asked to play the same scale as above and, from The Modern School for Xylophone by Goldenburg to:

• Play page 28, Exercise III in 2/4. Quarter note=72 beats per minute
• Play page 94, "Bach's Violin Concerto in A Minor" down to letter (B). Quarter note= between 112 & 120 beats per minute
• See musical expression above

Snare Drum Requirements: Open and close the following Rudiments listed below:

To demonstrate your ability to meet snare drum requirements, you will be asked to open and close the rudiments listed below.

• The single and double stroke roll
• 5,7,9,11, -stroke rolls
• The paradiddle, flam paradiddle,
• The flamacue,
• The flam tap
• The flam accent
• The single ratamacue
• The drag

If you are submitting a taped audition, please follow the VIDEO TAPED AUDITION PROCEDURE SHEET. It is recommended that you audition either by tape or in person prior to your arrival in August, since band scholarships are awarded in June of the calendar year. This will increase your chance of winning an audition-based award.