MTSBOA All Mid-State Audition Information Packet
MIDDLE SCHOOL WINDS AND PERCUSSION - Mid-State Instructions
Auditions for 7th & 8th grade including jazz band are at Bellevue Middle School, 655 Colice Jeanne Rd, Nashville,
TN – Dec. 6
You will be given an audition number and you will play in that order. Do not lose your audition ticket - you will not
be allowed to play without it. Locate your audition room and check periodically to see what number they are on.
You may warm up in the designated warm up area, but should be in the area of your audition room when the room is
within 3 to 5 positions of your number.
There will be designated warm-up areas. No playing in the halls. There will be an area for parents to wait until
you have completed your audition. Parents are asked to NOT accompany students to the audition rooms.
When you have finished all parts of your audition, you are free to go. No results will be posted on the day of
auditions.
Scales and percussion fundamental requirements are posted on MTSBOA.org
Winds (there are three parts of the audition):
Prepared Music
o Judges may dismiss students from the audition for evident lack of preparation. There will be no score given and
students dismissed will not play scales or sight-read.
o If you have more than one prepared excerpt, you may play either selection first. It is suggested that you begin
with your most secure excerpt. This will build your confidence.
Scales
You will play two major scales and a full chromatic, based on requirements posted on MTSBOA.org
o There is no prescribed articulation pattern for scales, but there is a minimum tempo requirement.
o Transposing instruments will be asked Major Scales in this manner: “Please play your ____ Major scale up and
down. That is the Concert _____ Major scale. Your starting note is your written _____”
Sight Reading
You will have the opportunity to sight read three short excerpts.
o You will only progress to later excerpts if the judges feel you exhibit adequate reading skills.
o You will have twenty seconds to look over each excerpt
o Sight reading excerpts are being generated using the website sightreadingfactory.com. You will play excerpts
from levels 2, 3 and 4.
Flutes, clarinets, alto saxophones, trumpets and trombones first play prepared in one room, then move to the scales
and sight-reading room. If you do not play the entire audition in both rooms, your audition will be invalid. All other
sections will play the entire audition in a single room. Make sure you know where your instrument is auditioning.
Percussion You will audition in two separate rooms, on two instruments of the three: snare, mallets, and timpani.
You will play a prepared etude, fundamentals, and sight-reading on your emphasis instrument; on one other you will
play a prepared etude and demonstrate fundamentals.
tuning if timpani is secondary. Room 2: snare fundamentals, snare sight reading, scales if mallets is secondary
- both primary and secondary prepared and timpani tuning if timpani is one
of your choices. Room 2 - primary sight reading and scales if mallets primary or secondary.
Registration lines will be shorter and more manageable if PARENTS do not stand in line with
STUDENTS.
Please inform your parents that there will be designated waiting areas AWAY from the audition
rooms; the area around audition rooms will be "parent-free" zones.
Students must not congregate around the audition room door. Stand well back. If you can hear the
audition in progress, you are too close!

Students are to arrive at Bellevue Middle School between 10:30AM and 10:45AM! Yes, we are aware that registration
will open at 8:50AM. However, due to a number of circumstances, we are asking our Meigs Band students to not arrive
prior to 10:30AM. While we know that students will not be done until late in the afternoon by waiting until late
morning to get registered, the benefits outweigh this one drawback. Students will arrive much better rested, avoid the
stress of standing in miserably long registration lines for 2+ hours, etc.

Upon arrival, students are to proceed IMMEDIATELY to their designated registration table and sign in to receive their
audition ticket.

No matter what happens, DO NOT LOOSE YOUR TICKET! You will pay a $50.00 late registration fee if your ticket
is lost. (There is NOTHING Mr. Norris can do to affect this policy.)

PERCUSSION STUDENTS: It would be easiest to group up in the audition line so that our snare drum, mallets, etc.
can be utilized for all that need it! We will also need to make certain that students have all of their materials packed up
before Friday afternoon!

When students have registered, it is suggested that they then go and find their assigned room (OR MULTIPLE
ROOMS) for audition. Signs will be posted throughout the building. Remember, Prepared Music auditions are usually
in a separate room from Scales/Sight-Reading. Once this is accomplished, report to the Warm-Up Room.

In the Warm-Up Room, GO THROUGH THE PROCESS: Before you play anything else, play through your long tones
and a few lip slur exercises just as you would on any other day! (Percussion: Have a practice pad with you and go over
some warm-ups such as “Accent Tap”, “Double Beat”, etc. Once you have done this, it is time to “warm-up” your
scales/rudiments. Start with a slow tempo and work your way up throughout the day to your best speed just
before you audition!!

During warm-up, be certain to go over audition materials as you have been practicing it. Do not take “tips” from other
students. You are going to hear literally hundreds of other students playing your music. Some will be playing it
differently, and that is just fine. You must not let this affect YOUR performance.

DO NOT PRACTICE UNTIL YOU CANNOT PLAY ANY MORE DURING WARM-UP! You need to be fresh for
your audition. “Over-practicing” will only mean that your BEST performance will be left in warm-ups. Follow this
strategy: Play for 25-30 minutes for every hour you are in warm-up. Make sure you play notes immediately before you
go down to your audition room.

REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING STEPS IN THE AUDITION ROOM:
o
Play a few long tones in the room before you start your audition. Do NOT go overboard, and do not for any
reason play any scales!
o
Brass Players: Get all of the water out of your horn before you begin. Woodwinds: Get a sip of water before
you go into the room to avoid “Dry Reed Syndrome”.
o
Take a good, deep breath and then let it out before you play. It will settle your nerves and get your body
ready for taking deep breaths.
o
During your scales, FOLLOW THE THREE-STEP PROCEES for success: 1.) Take five seconds to finger
the scale pattern at speed with no air. 2.) Take a deep breath and then let it out. 3.) Breath and play your scale
at your best, most accurate speed!
o
During sight-reading, FOLLOW THE SIX-STEP PROCESS for success: 1.) Identify the Key Signature
and then finger a one-octave scale that matches the key signature. 2.) Check the Time Signature for the
example. 3.) Scan the example for sixteenth-note patterns. If you see none, proceed to Step 4. If you DO see
sixteenth notes – 3A.) Air play the measure(s) with sixteenth notes AND the measure after to establish a
steady tempo that you can perform everything accurately. 4.) Air-Play the example from the beginning at the
tempo you are able to perform the sixteenth notes accurately. HOLD YOUR TEMPO STEADY, and LOOK
FOR ACCIDENTALS! 5.) Remember to use every second given to you. Play when asked by the Room
Monitor only. 6.) Take a deep breath, let it go, then breathe and play confidently!
o
You may play your starting pitch for sight-reading, but be certain to inform the room monitor what you are
doing BEFORE you enter for the audition.

Once a student has completed their Prepared Music, Scales, and Sight-Reading, it is time to go home!

HOWEVER, before you head out, you are to communicate the following to Mr. Norris. Following procedure has
saved more than one student from not completing their audition in years, and takes away the need for numerous
weekend phone calls to ensure you were safely delivered home :
o
Send a text message/ iMessage to Mr. Norris (Contact number - (270) 991-1208) to alert him of the following
things: 1.) your audition is complete and you are actually leaving the school. 2.) how you felt that your
prepared and scales went in your audition. 3.) the number of sight-reading examples that you were given to
attempt.

Be sure to drink water throughout the day before AND during the audition day to avoid “Dry Mouth
Syndrome” in the audition room. This is a leading cause of squeaks from the woodwinds and cracked notes in
the brass. Percussion students – Don’t be dehydrated. It will slow down your hands!

Check your instruments now for last-minute repair needs, as well as for TWO WORKING REEDS! If your reed
breaks in the Warm-Up room, and you do not have an already played back-up, you are in serious trouble!!
Furthermore, take an extra ready-to-play reed to the audition room along with you. The likelihood of tracking down Mr.
Norris (while he is performing adjudication duties) amongst 2,000 students and a few hundred directors at the exact
moment of need is slim to say the least. If you need reeds, see Mr. Norris immediately!

Friday night is NOT the night to stay up late and not be well-rested. Students have been working very hard for this
opportunity since at least August, if not before! Parents: PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT EVERY STUDENT
AUDITIONING GETS PLENTY OF REST AND A GOOD BREAKFAST BEFORE ARRIVING FOR
AUDITIONS.

If your case does not have a name tag with your information on it, NOW IS THE TIME TO FIX THAT PROBLEM!
With almost 2,000 students auditioning, it is very easy to get cases mixed up. Please be certain that you have YOUR
belongings whenever you move from one area to another.

Finally….relax, take a full breath, and give your best effort! You have all worked very hard for this opportunity, and
now is the time to demonstrate the full extent of your abilities. Good Luck!