HOCKINSON HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND AUDITIONS 18-19 March 30 th, 2018 Dear Students and Parents, Beginning today, Hockinson High School Band will be conducting auditions for next year s Jazz Band. All interested students currently enrolled in either Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, or Percussion Ensemble at the high school or 8 th grade students currently participating in Jazz Band at the middle school are invited and encouraged to audition. Auditions will serve the dual purposes of deciding who is accepted into Jazz Band and the order for chair placement. There will be a strict instrumentation of 5 saxes (2 altos, 2 tenors, 1 bari), 4-5 trumpets, 4-5 trombones (including bass trombone), and rhythm section (guitar, piano, bass, drums, all of which can be doubled up if we have enough qualified musicians). All students will be required to record their audition material (contained in the packet on the Jazz Band Listening section of the band website www.hockinsonmusic.com) using their Charms account or by recording onto a CD on their own time. Auditions must be submitted to Mr. McEnry by Friday, June 15 th, 2018. The preferred method of recording this audition is by using Schoology Messenger. If Schoology has difficulty running on your home computer, directions on how to use your home computer to record your auditions can be found in this audition packet. All auditions must be completely submitted by the due date. No exceptions or live auditions will be offered. Please remember that all jazz band students must be enrolled in Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, or Percussion Ensemble during the normal school day and that the school requires an additional $55 fee to be in Jazz Band. Students will also be required to purchase formal wear (same uniform requirements at Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble). In addition, Jazz Band is a graded class at the high school that meets everyday from 8:05-8:55. Good luck to all! If you have any questions please feel free to call, email, or come see me in person! Sincerely, Corey McEnry Director of Bands (360) 448-6450 x5594 corey.mcenry@hocksd.org www.hockinsonmusic.com I give permission to audition for Jazz Band during the 2018-2019 school year. I understand that my student is auditioning for an advanced band at Hockinson High School and will be expected to show the highest level of commitment to the ensemble. Parent Signature: Date:
RECORDING THE AUDITIONS ON A COMPUTER First, if you already have a digital recording system that works for you (such as using a hand-held recording device and uploading the files onto your computer), keep using it. Just make sure that the resulting files are.mp3 files. If you ve never created digital recordings with your computer, you should, at little cost, be able to create digital recordings and burn them onto a CD. Procure a microphone with a 1/8" jack. It may cost $10-$40 at any computer store (e.g. Radio Shack, Best Buy, Circuit City) or a music store that serves computer needs. If your computer has a built-in mic you may be able to use it, but the quality may not be as high. Plug the mic into the mic jack on the computer. It usually has a microphone icon next to it (often colored pink). Open your audio recording program. o Windows: Sound Recorder is on all Windows machines start/all programs/accessories/entertainment may be the path to find it on many machines. Note: Older versions of Sound Recorder may have a recording limit of 60 seconds per track. Students will not be penalized if the recording shuts off after one minute. o Mac: The ilife Suite, included with all newer imacs, includes Garage Band. Older Macs have SoundTrack. Record each exercise. Each exercise of the audition needs to be a separate file. We recommend including the audition- track number as a part of the file name. Save each exercise as a separate track with a title that makes sense to you (John Smith Tuba Track 1, John Smith Tuba, Track 2, etc.). Each student will have 2-5 files created, depending on the category. Listen to each file to make sure it recorded with good sound. Save these files in a logical location on the computer. Remember, the resulting file must be in.mp3 format. itunes is a great tool to convert various audio file formats to.mp3. Download itunes (a free program), import the audio and convert the files to.mp3. Still need recording help? Remember your logical help resources: tech-savvy music teachers or other teachers in your building, building and district tech support, tech-savvy students (an especially good resource!).
AUDITION REQUIREMENTS AND MATERIALS When accompaniment tracks are called for, use the following guidelines: Woodwinds and Brass players o Use the track WITHOUT the solo line being played in the recording Bass players o Remove the recorded bass track by turning down the volume on the LEFT channel Keyboard and Guitar players o Remove the recorded piano part by turning down the volume on the RIGHT channel Be sure you can hear the accompaniment AND your solo line on your finished recording. ALL ACCOMPANIMENTS CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.HOCKINSONMUSIC.COM/LISTENING. When playing an unaccompanied track, use a metronome and make sure the metronome can be heard on your finished recording. Saxophone Track 1 o Play a two-octave chromatic scale, ascending and descending using tongued legato quarter notes (Quarter note = 132). Track 2 o Play the swing etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Saxes Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 200. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 3 o Play the swing ballad etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Saxes Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 72. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 4 (bari sax only) o Play the straight 16 th funk etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Saxes Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 96. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 5 (if you want to be considered for lead alto or lead tenor) o Play the chorus and then improvise two (2) choruses of a concert F blues using the accompaniment track provided on the band website and the sheet music provided in this packet for Billie s Bounce. ***Use the Eb sheet music for Alto and Bari Sax, and Bb sheet music for Tenor*** Trombone Track 1 o Play a two-octave chromatic scale, ascending and descending using tongued legato quarter notes (Quarter note = 132). Track 2 o Play the relaxed swing etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Trombone Section Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 120. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 3 o Play the medium up swing etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Trombone Section Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 186. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 4 (if you want to be considered for bass trombone)
o Play a descending quarter note chromatic scale from Bb in the bass clef staff to your lowest possible note, using tongued legato quarter notes (quarter note = 132). Track 5 (if you want to be considered for lead or 2 nd trombone) o Play the chorus and then improvise two (2) choruses of a concert F blues using the accompaniment track provided on the band website and the sheet music provided in this packet for Billie s Bounce. ***Use the bass clef sheet music*** Trumpet Piano Track 1 o Play a two-octave chromatic scale, ascending and descending using tongued legato quarter notes (Quarter note = 132). Track 2 o Play the medium swing etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Trumpet Section Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 160. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 3 o Play the relaxed swing etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Trumpet Section Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 112. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 4 (if you want to be considered for lead trumpet) o Play an ascending quarter note chromatic scale from C in the treble clef staff to your highest possible note, using tongued legato quarter notes (quarter note = 132). Track 5 (if you want to be considered for lead or 2 nd trumpet) o Play the chorus and then improvise two (2) choruses of a concert F blues using the accompaniment track provided on the band website and the sheet music provided in this packet for Billie s Bounce. ***Use the Bb sheet music*** Track 1 o Play the relaxed swing etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Piano Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 140. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 2 o Play the bossa nova etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Piano Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 160. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 3 o Comp underneath the solo line and then improvise two (2) choruses of a concert F blues using the accompaniment track provided on the band website and the sheet music provided in this packet for Billie s Bounce (use the sheet music for C instruments). Guitar Track 1 o Play the moderate swing etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Guitar Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 176. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 2 o Play the bossa nova etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Guitar Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 160. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 3
o Comp underneath the solo line and then improvise two (2) choruses of a concert F blues using the accompaniment track provided on the band website and the sheet music provided in this packet for Billie s Bounce (use the sheet music for C instruments). Bass ***Use the bass clef sheet music*** Track 1 o Play the moderate swing etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Bass Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 176. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 2 o Play the shuffle funk etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Bass Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 100. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 3 o Comp underneath the solo line and then improvise two (2) choruses of a concert F blues using the accompaniment track provided on the band website and the sheet music provided in this packet for Billie s Bounce (use the sheet music for bass clef instruments). Drums Track 1 o With sticks, play unaccompanied 16 measures of medium swing (Quarter note = 132). Track 2 o With sticks, play unaccompanied 16 measures of up-tempo swing (Quarter note = 200). Track 3 o With sticks, play unaccompanied 16 measures of bossa nova (Quarter note = 120). Track 4 o With brushes, play unaccompanied 16 measures of medium swing (Quarter note = 132). Track 5 o With brushes, play unaccompanied 8 measures of ballad swing, followed by 8 measures of a double-time feel (Quarter note = 66). Track 6 o Play the moderate swing etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Drums Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 160. Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording. Track 7 o Play the energetic samba etude off the Colorado All-State Jazz Etudes: Drums Set C page. Note the tempo marking of 116 (cut time). Make sure you can hear the metronome in the recording.