audition information:
Audition materials will be made available through this website in mid June. Anyone interested in jazz band should sign up with their guidance counselor.
In order to participate in jazz band, students must successfully complete the jazz band audition and rank high enough in the audition group to be selected. Typically, the VHS jazz band will consist of 5-6 saxophones, 4-5 trumpets, 4-5 trombones, 1-2 drummers, 1-2 guitarists, 1-2 bassists, and 1-2 pianists.
Students may sign up for an audition at a brief meeting held on Monday August 28th at 2:30 pm. Auditions will be held from August 30th through September 8th. The first official rehearsal for the selected jazz band members will be held on September 11th.
audition materials for fall 2024:
PART I: RHYTHMS
DOWNLOAD the rhythm sheet, read the directions, and prepare all rhythms.
PART II: BLUES SCALES
* WINDS, GUITAR, BASS, & PIANO: DOWNLOAD the blues scale sheet and 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.
* 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 come to a conclusion to end the beat.
PART III: JAZZ EXCERPTS
DOWNLOAD the excerpts and print and practice the pages for your instrument.
Each instrument has two or three excerpts. SAXOPHONE, GUITAR, PIANO, and DRUMMERS: Please note that there are two pages.
PART IV: SONG OF YOUR CHOICE
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.
PART V: SIGHT READING (only as needed)
This material will be used as a tie-breaker only.
If needed, you will be asked to sight read and excerpt from a moderately easy high school jazz piece.
