The Most Telling Factor About Which Students Will Make Region Band Will Definitely Not Surprise You

FYI: This post is about middle school students, but will hold weight with older students as well.

When I first moved to Texas, I knew that students were held to a high standard at a young age, but because of that, I was not sure of exactly what the standard was to be accepted into a region or district honor band. Often, the etudes chosen for the students will be above the ability level of the student (purposefully), and it’s rare that a young person will be able to 100% “play the ink” as many say.

For those who do not already know, the Texas requirements for the region band audition include five categories: 2 major scales, the chromatic scale, one lyrical and one technical etude. Depending on the district, each category will be worth a different number of points, with scales holding less weight than the etudes, as scales are shorter to perform. An example of the scoring rubric might be: Scale 1 = 20 points, Scale 2 = 20 points, Chromatic Scale = 20 points, Etude 1 = 100 points, Etude 2 = 100 points.

Students are expected to learn their major scales through 4 flats and 3 sharps, as well as the 2-octave chromatic scale. In some districts, the scales must be memorized. The students will not know which two scales they will be asked to perform until the day of the audition, meaning they must still learn all of the required scales.

Often before an audition, I will hold my own "mock audition" in the lesson, where the student will play through two scales that I choose at random, the chromatic, and parts of the two etudes. I take notes and give them a score and comments, all without talking, in order to most closely simulate the actual audition process. While this gives the students an idea of what to expect on the day of the audition, it's not always the best indicator of who will make the band, since the students are comfortable and friendly with me (and I'm a nice grader/comment giver).

This year, I decided to place more emphasis on scales, (sometimes spending the majority of the lesson on the topic if the student was struggling). As the students got more familiar with the scales, I would begin simply naming a scale and having the student perform it in the lesson. If it was perfect, I would name another scale, repeating the process until the student played a scale that required some extra coaching. This is how I “discovered” the most telling factor: The students who could perform all of their scales, one after the other, without a flaw were the ones who made Region or District bands this year.

I believe that this is the case for a few reasons. #1 – Fundamentals. Scales are essential to reading and understanding music, and the students who knew their scales the best would also be the ones who would be able to read music the best, and therefore perform the etudes accurately. Also, the predicting factor wasn’t only that the kids knew their scales, it was that they knew them perfectly.* This encompasses many horn-specific fundamentals as well, as improper embouchure/articulation/air support will result in missed notes. #2 – The go-getter personality. Students who see scales as important and who take the time to learn them are also going to take the time to learn the etudes with as much precision. #3 – Stability. Knowing that the student is going to nail their scales (the first thing they will be asked to do in the audition) will set them up to be feeling confident about the rest of the audition.

From an adjudicator’s standpoint, I observed similar trends. There is likely some psychology to this as well, as after the scale round, when it came time for the same student to play the etudes, I would be more likely to think, I gave this person a 19/20 on their scales. I bet they’re going to nail their etudes now.

I realize, and truly HOPE that everything I just described should be obvious to the musician, whether teacher or student, reading this. By writing about my first-hand observation of the impact of flawlessly performed scales, I hope to reinforce the idea that scales and fundamentals are integral to the development of the young musician.

*True, nothing is ever perfect, but my personal definition in this case means with great tone, in a consistent tempo, and with no missed notes.