Tag: all state

Here you can view a specific archive, or you can go to the homepage.

Two Music Practice Styles: Assembly Line vs. Kanban

Most students practice like they are working on a Ford assembly line. But a method developed by Toyota in the late 1940’s can unlock so much more.
2022-23 Kentucky All-State Etudes

Prepare for the 2022-23 KMEA Kentucky All-State French horn audition with these practice tips, recordings, and practice resources!
All-State Progress Stalled? Audit Your Practice Diet

With All-State auditions coming up soon, take stock of your practice diet if you’re feeling like you may not be improving.
Social Media and Practice Efficiency

Social media apps can have a negative effect on lots of things – including practice.
Performance Day Preparation Template

Here in Kentucky, it’s time for All-County and All-District auditions, and coming up next month is All-State. One of the things I hear quite a bit from more advanced students are questions about how to plan out your day (or days) when you have an important performance or audition. While you should (hopefully) be ready…
3 Quick Tips to Reduce Nerves in Performance and Auditions

For musicians, some anxiety just before and during performances is an all-too-familiar problem. Some musicians feel twinges of excitement, while others can suffer almost-crippling sensations. Getting nerves during a performance seems to be especially common for classical musicians, and while nerves can be distracting in any context, they can be especially destructive during auditions. Rob…
Practice Roadblocks? 2 Quick Fixes to Try First!

This time of year, most students (or at least most of my students) are beginning to work more diligently on their All-State music. While July and August are taken up with marching band camps and some intense after-school rehearsals, by the end of September most schools are doing at least some concert band work, and…
3 Famous Tuba Players Talk Audition Preparation

A doctoral dissertation by tubist Golden Lund from the University of Nebraska takes a look at one of the biggest challenges facing any perspective orchestral player – audition preparation. In his document, he examines how different (successful) teachers prepare their students for auditions – looking for similarities and differences that may account for their success…
Reducing Frustration and Rage Quitting During Practice

Like I mentioned in my post a few days ago about optimizing your practice sessions by using ship dates, the All-District auditions for Kentucky are happening over the next couple of weeks, with lots of playing tests and chair auditions occurring around the same time (and usually on the same music). Right after Thanksgiving, those students…
Practice Strategy: Use Ship Dates to Optimize Practice Time

It’s getting pretty close to All-District and All-State auditions here in Kentucky. That means that lots of students are starting to feel the pressure to get their audition music finalized. Of course, these students that are stressing most about the audition are the same students that have been practicing in an unorganized way (or not…