Symphonic Band

SYMPHONIC and CONCERT BAND PAGES

Life AFTER Marching Band...... really!
District and State Band are incredible experiences to participate for all players. Sure, auditions can be scary, especially if you've never done it before - but the preparation for district and state auditions will help you to be even more successful here in your own high school band!

Fun fact: Clarinets - I dug out my Rose Etudes book for Evan this year - and inside the front cover I had written the lists of audition materials for each year that I auditioned in high school - and the 1979 list is the same list you'll be working on for this year! ~your webmaster

NOW AVAILABLE! MP3 Recordings of the Audition Materials!
MP3s of the audition materials as recorded by professors at the University of Missouri (Columbia) School of Music! If you're a visitor to our site from another school or program and find these pages helpful - please drop us a note in our Guestbook!

The list of Scales is the same for all instruments. All scales are to be MEMORIZED.

Prepare them all slurred and all tongued in sixteenth notes at quarter note = 88, a minimum of one octave, two when possible. Scales should be performed ascending and descending. Scales given are the starting tone. Do not transpose.

Chromatic:	Full range of instrument
Major Scales:	C	G	D	A	E	F	Bb	Eb	Ab
Melodic Minor Scales:	a	e	b	f#	c#	d	g	c	f

Here's a very simplified explanation of melodic minor scales - excerpted from SaxLessons.com.

"There are three forms of minor that you should be familiar with. Melodic minor, ascending and descending, and harmonic minor. The melodic minor descending scale is also known as the "natural" minor scale. The way that I think about these scales is that the ascending is just like a major scale, only it has a flatted third. The descending melodic minor scale has the same key signature as the relative major key, Eb major, in this case. Here is an example of a C melodic minor scale."

Melodic Minor scale in C

Here's a good page of melodic minor scales for bass clef instruments from trombone.org

PRACTICE those scales consistently! Download a free metronome OR - use a free online one!

06-07 District and State Band Auditions Materials
If you don't have the sheet music yet here is a great source:

NOTE: this is Year III in the Materials Rotation.

State Audition Procedures
Preparation Hints & Tips

NEW!
Listen to the
audition materials here!

During the second semester the symphonic band is broken into two performing ensembles - the Concert Band and Symphonic Band. The Concert Band plays band literature at the grade 3 and 4 level, while the Symphonic Band plays literature at the 4 and 5 level. The Symphonic Band has earned “Superior”, “1” ratings for the past eight years. The Concert Band debuted at State Music Festival in the 2005-2006 school year and began with “Superior” “1” ratings as well. Both ensembles work to reinforce the individual performer as well as the overall ensemble.

The Symphonic Band has performed at the Missouri Music Educators Convention in 2003 , National Adjudicators Invitational in St. Louis and Atlanta, and the Smoky Mountain Music Festival in Gatlinburg, TN. The Symphonic and Concert Bands continues to increase their musicianship by encouraging all students to take private lessons, audition for district band, and take solos or ensembles to festival.

View 2004-2005 archived band pages here

December 12, 2005 Holiday Concert
Click Here to download/listen/view the recorded video! (12 MB file)

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