Instrumental Music
About
Carroll County Public Schools offer all students in grades 4-12 access to elective programs in instrumental music. In the elementary and middle school grades, students involved in the instrumental program receive small group lessons on their instrument as well as full ensemble rehearsal for the authentic study of musical literature. The small group lessons are scheduled as a rotating pull out from the school day schedule.
Instrumental music is one of the first opportunities a child's education for the child to formally reach beyond the required course of study into an elective. Children who study instrumental music develop a work ethic that emphasizes attention to detail and delayed gratification. These are two traits that are found in the most successful academic students. Since lessons are a pull out program, children will have the opportunity to develop habits of personal responsibility, such as making sure that they get any make up work completed that occurred while they were out of the room. Therefore, this is a discussion that parents should have with your child before joining the instrumental music program.
Many parents wonder if their child is ready for this responsibility, but research tells us that students who participate in instrumental music pull out lesson programs, academically out perform their peers who do not participate in the pull out programs. These benefits don't come easily but are well worth the effort required by the student and the effort of support given by the parent and the teachers.
The high school instrumental programs offer opportunities to explore sophisticated literature and active involvement in curricular as well as extracurricular music program experiences. Enrollment in these classes fulfills the fine arts graduation requirement mandated by the State of Maryland. The high school music programs offer course work that can provide students with the ability to begin their journey to have music as a profession or to gain a richer insight to a life long avocation.
Although many people in the community know the instrumental ensembles for their performances at the various school and community events, the focus of our program is on comprehensive musicianship – specifically, the development of musical perception, aesthetic sensitivity, and technical mastery. Certainly there are other social enrichment by-products and the development of priceless life skills learned by all of our instrumental music students, but these are in addition to the foundation of our instrumental program's number-one priority – music education of our students.
All County Information
ALL COUNTY BAND & ORCHESTRA
The purpose of the Carroll County Public Schools All County performing ensembles is to provide outstanding students with the opportunity to rehearse and perform appropriately challenging literature with a master music educator/conductor of statewide or national recognition in order to foster advanced aesthetic understandings. Students will interact and perform with other outstanding musicians who share similar interests and abilities. Participating students will also gain skills and understandings that will help them assume leadership roles in their school ensembles.
Eligibility
Application
- Eligible students must submit an application to audition for an All County ensemble.
- Instrumental music teachers should encourage all students with above average musical ability, and students who would benefit from the All County experience, to audition.
- School instrumental music teachers should submit the completed applications by the specified deadline.
Audition Procedure
- Auditions will be held on one evening in the fall, to be determined by the Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts
- Students will be scheduled to audition during thirty (30) minute time blocks and will be assigned a confidential identification number, known only by the Audition Chairperson. Students with scheduling conflicts should notify their director as soon as possible so that the Audition Chairperson can attempt to adjust the audition time. Upon arrival at the audition location, students should register and proceed to the warm-up area. Students should arrive early enough to allow time for an adequate warm-up.
- When possible, students will audition behind a screen to make the auditions as objective as possible.
- Students will perform the complete audition requirements as stated in “Audition Requirements” (see instrumental music teacher for specific details).
- Adjudicators will ask the student for the required scales (two diatonic scales and wind instruments will be asked to play one chromatic scale) or percussion rudiments.
- Adjudicators will ask the student to perform the prepared audition music excerpts.
- Adjudicators will ask the student to perform a short sight-reading excerpt.
- No auditions will be held after the audition date. However, if there is a need for additional personnel, vacancies will be filled at the discretion of the Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts.
Audition Requirements
Middle School Winds
- Scales
- All scales must be played from memory.
- All wind scales are to be played ascending and descending one octave, except for Flute and Soprano Clarinet, who will perform them two octaves.
- All students will perform a chromatic scale one octave up and down in eighth notes at a tempo of at least quarter note = 80.
- Students will perform two major scales to be selected by the adjudicators from the following keys: A, D, G, C, F, Bb, Eb. Major scales must be tongued with a rhythm of a quarter note followed by eighth notes at a tempo of at least quarter note = 80.
- The required, prepared excerpts
- A short sight-reading excerpt, which will be presented to the students by the adjudicators in the audition room.
Middle School Percussion
- Students must bring their own sticks, mallets, and pitch pipe.
- Percussion students will be required to audition on all the following instruments: snare drum, keyboard percussion, and timpani. Students will receive a separate score for each area.
- The required, prepared excerpts for all three instruments
- Scales and Rudiments
- Requirements align with the All State Junior Audition Materials.
- Please see the document All County Percussion Requirements (see instrumental music teacher for specific details).
- County requires scales up to 3 sharp and 3 flats. State requires scales up to 4 sharps and 4 flats.
- A short sight-reading excerpt, which will be presented to the students by the adjudicators in the audition room.
Middle School Strings
- Scales
- All scales must be played from memory.
- All string scales are to be played ascending and descending one octave, except violin will be required to play scales two octaves.
- Students will perform two major scales to be selected by the adjudicators from the following keys: A, D, G, C, F, Bb. Major scales must be played with a slur-two eighth note rhythm followed a one octave arpeggio at a tempo of at least quarter note = 72.
- The required, prepared excerpts
- A short sight-reading excerpt, which will be presented to the students by the adjudicators in the audition room.
High School Winds
- Scales
- All scales must be played from memory.
- All wind scales are to be played ascending and descending one octave, except for Flute and Soprano Clarinet, who will perform them two octaves.
- All students will perform a chromatic scale one octave up and down in eighth notes at a tempo of at least quarter note = 120.
- Students will perform two major scales to be selected by the adjudicators from the following keys: E, A, D, G, C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab. Major scales must be tongued with a rhythm of an eighth note followed by sixteenth notes at a tempo of at least quarter note = 120.
- The required, prepared excerpts
- A short sight-reading excerpt, which will be presented to the students by the adjudicators in the audition room.
High School Percussion
- Students must bring their own sticks, mallets, and pitch pipe.
- Percussion students will be required to audition on all the following instruments: snare drum, keyboard percussion, and timpani. Students will receive a separate score for each area.
- The required, prepared excerpts for all three instruments
- Scales and Rudiments
- Requirements align with the All State Senior Audition Materials.
- Please see the document All County Percussion Requirements (see instrumental music teacher) for specific details.
- A short sight-reading excerpt, which will be presented to the students by the adjudicators in the audition room.
High School Strings
- Scales
- All scales must be played from memory.
- All string major scales are to be played ascending and descending two octaves, except for basses that will play one octave.
- Students will perform two major scales to be selected by the adjudicators from the following keys: E, A, D, G, C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab. Major scales must be played with a slur-two eighth note rhythm followed a one octave arpeggio at a tempo of at least quarter note = 92.
- The required, prepared excerpts
- A short sight-reading excerpt, which will be presented to the students by the adjudicators in the audition room.
Participation
- The Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts will release the official placement results within approximately two weeks of the audition. The audition score sheets will be forwarded to the instrumental music teachers to be used at their discretion.
- Students will be accepted into All County ensembles and assigned parts by the Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts based upon audition scores and instrumentation needs.
- Students must commit to every scheduled rehearsal on the rehearsal schedule. Absences from rehearsals may result in dismissal from All County ensembles.
- Once the student auditions and is selected for an All County performing group, failure to fulfill the commitment to the organization for unexcused reasons could result in the inability to audition for future All County performing groups as determined by the Supervisor of Visual and Performing Arts.