1. NO INSTRUMENTS YET HAVE NOTE-TAKING MATERIALS AND BAND BINDER AT YOUR SEAT Warmup

2. HONORS BANDS

3. WHAT ARE HONORS BANDS?  Honors Bands showcase the most talented band students in the different counties, districts, and the whole state of North Carolina.  Students must go through an audition process to be placed into these prestigious ensembles  Clinics are held for these honors bands to learn challenging music and perform within just a few days of rehearsal.

4. Three Levels: 1.Iredell-Statesville Schools All-County Band 2.Northwest All- District Band 3.North Carolina All State Band

5. Preparing for Auditions  When are auditions?  County: Dec. 14 th, 2013  District: Jan. 11 th, 2014  State: March 8 th, 2014  What you will need to practice:  Major & Chromatic Scales, “In Time” and Memorized  Your instrument’s specific solo  Be prepared to Sightread  Ms. Schroeder will provide the scales and the solo and tips on how to practice sightreading

6. MAJOR & CHROMATIC SCALES -Learn all of your notes by applying the key signature -Major Scales are all tongued, in time, plus arpeggio -Chromatic Scale is all slurred, in time

7. SOLO Every instrument has a specific solo. It is not to be memorized. For County and District auditions, only part of the solo is required. For State auditions, the entire solo is required. Check and apply your key signature. All rhythms, tempos, dynamics, and phrasing must be correct.

8. SIGHTREADING Reading music for the first time. Shows how much you actually know right on the spot. It will be around 8 measures long. You will have 30-60 seconds to look over the sightreading. Make sure to check your key & time signature, tempo, and count out your rhythms during your 30-60 seconds. Most important – play through your mistakes! You CAN practice Sight-reading!  SmartMusic has a section devoted to sightreading practice  If you do not have SmartMusic, just open your old method books to a random page, choose a song, and play.  Try to catch as many details as possible – dynamics, phrasing, accidentals, tough rhythms, etc.

9. THE DAY OF AUDITIONS County: at East Iredell MS District: at Central Davidson MS State: at Brown MS Once registered, head to the warmup area and wait for your audition number/letter to be called.  Line up a ride to and from the auditions.  Bring: Instrument Music Extra reeds/valve oil/sticks/tuner Money for snacks  Remember to breathe & relax!  Once you are done, you can leave with your parents.  Results will be posted in the band room within a few days.

10. I MADE THE BAND! NOW WHAT?  If you make any of the honors bands, you are obligated to attend the Honor Band Clinics. These take up only one weekend per event: County Clinic: Jan. 31-Feb 1, 2014 District Clinic: Feb. 21-22, 2014 State Clinic: May 2-3, 2014  At an honor band clinic, you rehearse challenging and prestigious band music along side the other students talented enough to make the band  The director of the honor band is often a famous band director and/or conductor and changes every year  On the last day you will perform the music you have been rehearsing

11. WHY SHOULD I AUDITION? -Auditions are a huge part of being a musician – it’s how we get “gigs”! -If you audition for the county band, you can do Recruiting Band! -You get to play challenging music, meet new musicians, learn new techniques, have the title of top musicians in the county, district, and state levels, and you get to play music ALL DAY for a few days in a row… and miss days of school! -You get to travel and perform in different venues around North Carolina -It looks GREAT on a college resume

12. FAQs about Honors Bands -Can I audition even if I cannot make the clinic? -Are the judges mean? Who are the judges? -Is it scary to audition? -Is it expensive? -When can I sign up to audition?

13. To complete this unit…. Everyone will experience the audition!! You can choose to either: a.Actually audition for the All-County Honor Band on Dec 14 th. You only have to make a positive effort to get a 100! b.Put on a “mock audition” for the class – the other students will be your audition judges.