GMEA All state Band & District Band 
Audition Materials
District Honor Band (First Round) Audition Requirements:
          
          Auditions for GMEA District VII Honor Band are typically held the second Saturday in December. Requirements vary depending on instrument and grade level, but here are the general requirements:
Brass and Woodwind Requirements:
  • Major Scales and Arpeggios (memorized) - 9th & 10th Grade students must play 8 (Concert G-Gb). 11th & 12th Grade students must play all 12 major scales (G-D). All scales must be performed in the prescribed order (circle of 4ths) as notated on the scale sheets.
  • Chromatic Scale - Students will perform a chromatic scale (half steps) over the prescribed range of their instrument (which varies based on grade level). I suggest performing the scale in triplets or eighth notes (depending how many notes your scale has) and advise students to slur the entire scale. Evenness is crucial in a chromatic scale - play it only as fast as you can and still play evenly!
  • Lyrical Etude - Students must perform the lyrical etude for their grade level and instrument. These etudes should be played as musically as possible and should express lots of detail in your approach to dynamics, phrase shaping, articulation, and musicality. 
  • Sight Reading - Students will have 30 seconds to study over a 8-12 bar musical excerpt and then perform the excerpt to the best of their ability. Tempo will be given at the beginning of study time and again at the end of study time (click here for some sight reading tips and practice materials). 
Percussion Requirements:
  • Snare Drum - Rudiments played in an open-closed-open fashion: Long Roll (double stroke), Flam Accent, Single Ratamacue, and one more of your choice (visit this Vic Firth website for help with rudiments and videos to play along with).
  • Keyboards - Chromatic scale the entire range of the instrument. Major scales and arpeggios from memory: 9th & 10th Grade students must play 8 (Concert G-Gb). 11th & 12th Grade students must play all 12 major scales (G-D). All scales must be performed in the prescribed order (circle of 4ths) as notated on the scale sheets.
  • Timpani - Two timpani will be used and must be tuned to the sight reading pitches. You may use a pitch pipe, tuning fork, or the keyboards, but you MAY NOT use an electronic tuning source (like tuner app or pitch pipe app on your phone). Once tuned, you must then play the following: Single Stroke Roll, slow to fast to slow (either drum), Forte-Piano Roll with crescendo (either drum), Sight-read.  

Scale & Etude Links


9th & 10th Grade Scales and Etudes


11th & 12th Grade Scales and Etudes

SmartMusic
GMEA provides SmartMusic files of etudes for students to use during their practice sessions. Our school has purchased a subscription for SmartMusic which allows you as a student to purchase an account for $40 a year. Click Here to learn more and purchase a SmartMusic subscription
All-State Band (Second Round) Audition Requirements
          
          If you score well enough on your first round audition, you will be invited to audition for the Georgia All State Band, usually the first or second Saturday in January. Auditions are held at Houston County High School near Warner Robbins, GA. The requirements are listed below:
Brass and Woodwind Requirements:
  • Lyrical & Technical Etude - Students must perform both the lyrical and technical etudes for their grade level and instrument. These etudes should be played as musically as possible and should express lots of detail in your approach to dynamics, phrase shaping, articulation, and musicality. The technical etude should be very clean, precise, and rhythmically sound.
  • Sight Reading - Students will perform 2 sight reading exercises (one technical, one lyrical). You will have 30 seconds to study over each 8-12 bar musical excerpt and then perform the excerpt to the best of your ability. Tempo will be given at the beginning of study time and again at the end of study time (click here for some sight reading tips and practice materials). 
Percussion Requirements:
  • Percussionists at the State audition level will perform three etudes, on snare, keyboard, and timpani. 
  • Sight Reading - students will perform a sight reading exercise on timpani. The pitches will be the same as the pitches used on the timpani etude.