Getting Ready for Auditions

[MomKirk]

Hello!

My son is currently a Junior in High School and has been playing Trombone for 5 years.  He's recently expressed serious interest in the Navy Band Program.  We're going to talk to a recruiter on Friday.  I've found a ton of information online doing google searches and reading through the band program websites. 

The thing that I can't really find, is anyone discussing their auditions for the band program vs. the elite bands.  My son has never had to audition for anything before and I want to help him prepare as much as possible. I've also noticed that most of the musician bios I've been on the band website state that the people already had degrees in music before enlisting.  I figure we have at least a year to "get ready" for this, so I have some questions.

Will my just out of High School son have any chance at passing the audition?

Did any of your musicians join right out of High School?

What happens at the audition, what is it like?

How did your musicians prepare for the band audition?

What is your advice for me to help give my son the best chance possible at becoming a Navy Musician?

I look forward to reading your responses and hopefully becoming part of your community.

~Kristen

[Kathy C., Danielle's Mom]

Hi Kristin, my daughter went into the Navy right after high school, but it is highly unusual.  Her high school band experience was full of music. She was in the school marching band, concert band, jazz band, our local college pep band, she was in the pit orchestra for 3-4 plays as well as 4 years of being in the Junior Symphony.  Along with that she went to as many college honor bands.  Those are usually in the winter and spring months, were several local bands send one or two students from their band, they have a day with a college music professor or a guest conductor to practice and the next day is a big performance for the family and friends.  She went to several of those. She also has been involved in Solo and Ensembles since 7th grade. She had 3 or 4 different tutors while in high school.   Basically she lived music!   

Check with your school band director and see if there are any college honor bands that your son can be involved in.  Definitely get involved in solo and ensembles and see if there is a junior symphony in your area.  My daughter plays flute, piccolo, alto, tenor and bari sax.  At the time of her audition they required you to be able to play more than one instrument.  Now they only require one.  Her first audition she took her flute, piccolo and tenor sax.  She was self taught on the sax.  We were contacted after the first audition that she was great in flute and piccolo but needed some work on the sax and they suggested she get a private instructor for 3-4 months and come back.  During that that three months we bought her a new tenor sax instead of using the school instrument, and got her lessons with the local jazz band professor.  She worked hard and she also went to her recruiter and said she wanted to join, even knowing she wasn't in the band program yet.  In May, a few days before her graduation she had her second audition which she did pass because they could see how hard she worked during those few months.  She is currently with the 7th Fleet Band and has been there just over 2 years - at the age of 21 she is still the youngest in that band.  I would say over 75% of the band, has a college degree in music.  It definitely helps.    I think her audition piece was a solo she had done for a solo and ensemble and a lot of the audition is sight reading and scales.  Hope this helps! - Kathy

[MomKirk]

Thanks so much Kathy!  You also answered a question that I forgot to ask.  I had wondered if you could audition again if you didn't pass the first time. I'm glad to hear that it's not just one and done.

My son has been playing his Trombone since 7th grade (5 Years now), last year he had two school band classes a year, this year he has three, plus he just got a pit band spot for the spring musical.  He's played with marching, concert, jazz and orchestra bands.  Because of the custody arrangement with his Father he hasn't been able to audition or commit to the Youth Symphony program that our city has.  His music is his life, though perhaps not so intensely as for your daughter.

My son also hasn't had private lessons yet.  It never occurred to me until recently that 2-3 hours of band a day wouldn't be enough. However I found a teacher and he's going to start on Saturday.  My plan with this new teacher is to take a sheet with what the Navy says the audition covers and tell the teacher that this audition is our goal.  I'm hoping if they work towards that specifically it will help.  We're starting that with once a week, but I already know we'll need to do more, I just want to make sure Kirk likes the teacher and thinks he's helping first. 

He watched a bunch of Navy Band YouTube Videos yesterday and got a bit discouraged.  He hasn't yet decided if he want to join the Navy if he can't be a musician, it's all he's ever wanted to do, and this sure seems like the most secure way to make a living in music to me.  I know that we've got a long journey even getting to the audition.  I just want to give him every advantage that I can but I feel like I'm starting too late.

[musicbabe48,Betty]

Hi Kristen,

 

The navy audition is tough and requires excellent preparation. My son Galen has a masters degree in trumpet performance however there are as many high school grads as college grads who pass the audition. I have a friend right here in town who went into the navy band as soon as she graduated from high school.

My son plays trumpet in the Navy Band Northeast in Rhode Island. The usual solo and orchestral repertoire is required along with scales and sight reading. Musicality, expression and style also come into play. I am a former clarinet teacher and professional musician. I have auditioned many students and playing all of the correct notes is important however playing musically is also paramount.

Your son should audition and see what happens. If he is not accepted he will be able to reaudition and  fix any areas that are weak.

I hope this helps you.

 

Betty

 

[MomKirk]

Thanks so much Betty!  I have another question, maybe kind of weird, but your talking about musicality brought it to mind.  My son really shines when it comes to Jazz.  However he's developed an interesting habit, rather than just tapping his foot as most band students do, he bops and moves with the music as he feels it. He keeps time with his body.

Is this something that should be taken into consideration with an audition?  Will he need to learn how to play a little more "still".  LoL... It seems like such an odd question to me, but I can imagine that it could make a difference.