{"id":498,"date":"2026-06-15T15:32:36","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T19:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nhvweb.net\/vhs\/music\/jreynolds\/?page_id=498"},"modified":"2026-06-15T16:12:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T20:12:49","slug":"jazz-ensemble-auditions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.nhvweb.net\/vhs\/music\/jreynolds\/jazz-ensemble-auditions\/","title":{"rendered":"JAZZ ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

JAZZ ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

audition information:<\/strong>
<\/strong><\/span>\u2013 Audition materials will be made available through this website in mid-June.
\u2013 To be selected for the jazz band, students must score a minimum of 80% on the jazz band audition and rank among the top auditionees.\u00a0
\u2013 Typically, the VHS jazz band\u00a0will consist of 5-6 saxophones, 4-5 trumpets, 4-5\u00a0trombones, 1-2 drummers, 1-2 guitarists, 1-2 bassists,\u00a0and 1-2 pianists.
\u2013 Students interested in auditioning should meet with Mr. Reynolds during Directed Study time on one of the first four days of school (August 27th<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0through September 1st<\/sup>) to sign up for an audition date and time.\u00a0
\u2013 Auditions will be held\u00a0from September 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0through September 4th<\/sup>.
\u2013 The first official rehearsal for the selected jazz band members will be held on Wednesday, September 9th<\/sup>\u00a0from 2:30-3:10<\/p>\n

AUDITION SIGN-UPS for 2026:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

***links for audition spots will be posted in August after we meet<\/p>\n

Audition materials for fall 2026:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

PART 1: RHYTHMS<\/strong><\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a><\/span>the rhythm sheet, read the directions, and prepare all rhythms.<\/p>\n

***Please note that preparation of the rhythms is the second most important part of your jazz ensemble audition<\/em><\/p>\n

PART 2: BLUES SCALES<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0* WINDS, GUITAR, BASS, & PIANO:\u00a0DOWNLOAD the blues scale sheet<\/strong><\/a><\/span>\u00a0and choose two scales to perform from memory. Both scales should be swung and performed two octaves. Try to pick one scale to demonstrate your range.
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0** DRUMMERS: Rather than preparing scales, you should be prepared to demonstrate a SWING, LATIN, and ROCK beat. Each beat should last for 16 measures with a short fill on every fourth measure. The final fill (measure 16) should conclude to end the beat.<\/p>\n

PART 3: JAZZ EXCERPTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

DOWNLOAD the excerpts<\/span><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0print and practice the pages for your instrument.\u00a0
Each instrument has two or three excerpts. SAXOPHONE, GUITAR, PIANO, and DRUMMERS: Please note that there are\u00a0two pages.
* Please note that your preparation of the Jazz Excerpts is the MOST IMPORTANT part of your jazz band audition.<\/em><\/p>\n

PART 4:\u00a0 SONG OF YOUR CHOICE<\/strong>
Play a piece of music (or an excerpt) that you are very confident about. Your choice should be 1-2 minutes in length.
Choose something that you enjoy playing, but also shows off your abilities on your instrument.
* This is a great place to show off your tone, musicality, and range.<\/em><\/p>\n

PART 5: \u00a0SIGHT READING (only as needed)\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0
This material will be provided as a tie-breaker only.\u00a0
If needed, you may be asked to come back and sight-read an excerpt from a moderately easy high school\u00a0jazz<\/span>\u00a0piece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JAZZ ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS audition information:\u2013 Audition materials will be made available through this website in mid-June.\u2013 To be selected for the jazz band, students must score a minimum of 80% on the jazz band audition and rank among the top auditionees.\u00a0\u2013 Typically, the VHS jazz band\u00a0will consist of 5-6 saxophones, 4-5 trumpets, 4-5\u00a0trombones, 1-2 drummers, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-498","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry","6":"override"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhvweb.net\/vhs\/music\/jreynolds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhvweb.net\/vhs\/music\/jreynolds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhvweb.net\/vhs\/music\/jreynolds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhvweb.net\/vhs\/music\/jreynolds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhvweb.net\/vhs\/music\/jreynolds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhvweb.net\/vhs\/music\/jreynolds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":548,"href":"https:\/\/www.nhvweb.net\/vhs\/music\/jreynolds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/498\/revisions\/548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nhvweb.net\/vhs\/music\/jreynolds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}