Grade by Grade Guide for Instrumental Skill Building
A guide to improving your instrumental skills to increase scholarship opportunities from recruiters.
1. Score a superior rating at State Festivals, especially as a soloist
2. Place in a statewide or regional competition, especially in an All-State Honor Ensemble
1. Your solo repertoire (show diverse styles, periods, and technical demands)
2. Your rankings or ratings at festivals and competitions
3. Your leadership potential, demonstrated by participation in school and community ensembles.
Attend six concerts outside of your school this academic year. For example, two concerts at the high school you will attend, two concerts on a college or university campus, and two concerts by professional organizations like your city’s symphony, community concert band, or touring ensemble(s).
Following the holiday break, begin private lessons once every two weeks with a more seasoned player. This can simply be playing class required material with a high school player
Participate in a school performance if scheduled by your teacher.
Participate in statewide Solo and Ensemble Festival by performing an accompanied solo and/or performing in a small ensemble of a duet or trio that is appropriate to your technical ability.
Attend Summer Camp (Band or Orchestra) that has age appropriate performance repertoire.
Keep Accoladi updated each semester and summer. Focus on strengthening your video profile before senior year starts.
Attend six concerts outside of your school this academic year. For example, two concerts at the high school you will attend, two concerts on a college or university campus, and two concerts by professional organizations like your city’s symphony, community concert band, or touring ensemble(s).
Begin the year by taking private lessons once a week with a more seasoned player. In 7th grade, a college student majoring in performance in your instrument may be a good choice for a private instructor.
Participate in a school performance ensemble. For example: Middle School Symphonic Band, Middle School Orchestra, and sectional large ensembles.
Participate in statewide Solo and Ensemble Festival by performing an accompanied solo that is appropriate to your technical ability. Participate in one same instrument small ensemble of a duet, trio, or quartet. Audition for the grade-level appropriate All-State ensemble. Pursue and obtain thee National Scholastic Junior Musicians Band/Orchestra Letter.
Reference: NationalScholasticJuniorMusiciansAwards.com
Attend Summer Camp (Band or Orchestra) that has age appropriate performance repertoire.
Keep Accoladi updated each semester and summer. Focus on strengthening your video profile before senior year starts.
Attend eight concerts outside of your school this academic year. For example, two concerts at the high school you will attend, two concerts on a college or university campus, and two concerts by professional organizations like your city’s symphony, community concert band, or touring ensemble(s). In addition, add two concerts/performances outside the discipline of your primary performance ensemble. Example: Broadway musical, opera, or a ballet.
Attend one Master Class on a college campus. Begin the year by taking private lessons once a week with a more seasoned player. In 8th grade, a college student majoring in your instrument’s performance may be a good choice for a private instructor.
Participate in a school performance ensemble. For example, Middle School Symphonic Band, Middle School Orchestra, and sectional large ensembles.
Participate in statewide Solo and Ensemble Festival by performing an accompanied solo that is appropriate to your technical ability. Participate in one same instrument small ensemble. Audition and make the grade-level appropriate All-State ensemble. Pursue and obtain the National Scholastic Junior Musicians Band/Orchestra All-Star Award.
Reference: NationalScholasticJuniorMusiciansAwards.com
Attend Summer Camp (Band or Orchestra) that has age appropriate performance repertoire. This should be on a college campus.
Keep Accoladi updated each semester and summer. Focus on strengthening your video profile before senior year starts.
Attend eight concerts outside of your school this academic year. For example, four concerts on a college or university campus, preferably on the campus you are most interested in attending. Attend two concerts by professional organizations like your city’s symphony, community concert band, or touring ensemble(s). Add two concerts/performances outside the discipline of your primary performance ensemble like a Broadway musical, opera, ballet, community chorus, or folksong festival.
Attend one Master Class on a college campus. Begin the year by taking private lessons once a week with a professional player. This professional player can be a local college professor, a symphonic player, or a local recognized private instructor. Begin music theory instruction. You can study formal courses at your school, college-prep classes, or online instruction.
Participate in at least one school performance ensemble. For example: High School Symphonic Band, High School Orchestra, and sectional large ensembles. If you are a wind instrumentalist, marching band must be coupled with a concert ensemble.
Participate in statewide Solo and Ensemble Festival by performing an accompanied solo appropriate to your technical ability. Participate in one same instrument small ensemble. Audition and make the grade-level appropriate All-State ensemble. If you have not already done so, pursue and obtain the National Scholastic Junior Musicians Band/Orchestra All-Star Award.
Reference: NationalScholasticJuniorMusiciansAwards.com
Attend an extended Summer Camp (Band or Orchestra) that has age appropriate performance repertoire. This should be on a college campus you want to attend. While attending this camp, take at least one private lesson from the professor in whose studio you might spend most of your college experience.
Keep Accoladi updated each semester and summer. Focus on strengthening your video profile before senior year starts.
Attend ten concerts outside of your school this academic year. For example, four concerts of large performance ensembles (e.g. Wind Ensemble, Philharmonic Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, etc.) at the college you are most interested in attending. Attend two concerts of small or large ensembles presented by the professors and conductors that you are developing a relationship with. Attend two concerts by professional organizations like your city’s symphony, community concert band, or touring ensemble(s). In addition, add two performances outside the discipline of your primary performance ensemble like a Broadway musical, opera, ballet, community chorus, or folksong festival.
Attend two Master Classes on a college campus. Begin the year by taking private lessons once a week with a professional player. This professional player can be a local college professor, a symphonic player, or a local recognized private instructor. If the private instructor is not a college professor, you may want to add two lessons from the college professor whose studio you want to be in before your Solo and Ensemble Festival participation or before your All-State audition. Continue music theory instruction coupled with sight-singing development. This can be through formal course offerings at your school, college-prep classes, or online instruction.
Participate in at least two school performance ensembles. For example: High School Symphonic Band and High School Orchestra, or High School Symphonic Band and High School Chorus. If you are a wind instrumentalist, marching band must be coupled with a concert ensemble. Consider district-wide ensembles like county or regional Youth Orchestras.
Participate in statewide Solo and Ensemble Festival by performing an accompanied solo that is appropriate to your technical ability. Participate in one same instrument small ensemble and an ensemble of like or mixed instruments. Audition and make the grade-level appropriate All-State ensemble. Pursue and obtain the National Scholastic Musicians Band/Orchestra Letter.
Reference: NationalScholasticMusiciansAwards.com
Attend an extended Summer Camp (Band or Orchestra) that has age appropriate performance repertoire. This should be on a college campus you want to attend. Take at least one private lesson from the professor in whose studio you want to spend most of your collegiate experience. Consider a nationally recognized summer enrichment program like “The Governor’s School for the Arts” in your state or a camp where America’s most noted conductors and performers act as instructors.
Explore a college and an university setting to discern which environment resonates most with you. Complete a music career aptitude assessment to unveil your innate inclination towards a particular music profession.
Keep Accoladi updated each semester and summer. Focus on strengthening your video profile before senior year starts.
Attend ten concerts outside of your school this academic year. For example, four concerts of large performance ensembles (e.g. Wind Ensemble, Philharmonic Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, etc.) on a college or university campus; preferably on the campus of the college/university that you are most interested in attending. Attend two concerts of small or large ensembles presented by the professors/conductors that you are developing a relationship with. Attend two concerts by professional organizations like your city’s symphony, community concert band, or touring ensemble(s). In addition, add two concerts/performances outside the discipline of your primary performance ensemble. Example: Broadway musical, opera, ballet, community chorus, or folksong festival.
Attend four Master Classes on at least two college campuses. Continue taking private lessons once a week with a professional player. This professional player can be a local college professor, a symphonic player, or a locally recognized private instructor. If the private instructor is not a college professor, then you may want to add two lessons from the college professor whose studio you want to be in before your Solo and Ensemble Festival participation or before your All-State audition. Continue music theory instruction coupled with sight-singing development. Take AP Music Theory if it is offered on your campus. In addition, take a music history course to learn the basic style periods, composers, and works related to each of these style periods. All of the above can be achieved through formal course offerings at your school, college-prep classes, or online instruction.
Participate in at least two school performance ensembles. For example: High School Symphonic Band and High School Orchestra, or High School Symphonic Band and High School Chorus. If wind instrumentalist, note that marching band cannot constitute your second performance ensemble; it must be coupled with a concert ensemble. You may also consider district-wide ensembles such as county or regional Youth Orchestras. Participate in an extracurricular musical performance outside of the daily academic structure. Examples are the pit orchestra for a community theater’s Broadway musical presentation, ann orchestra for a community ballet presentation of the “Nutcracker,” or community band or orchestra holiday presentations.
Participate in statewide Solo and Ensemble Festival by performing an accompanied solo that is appropriate to your technical ability. Participate in one same instrument small ensemble and an ensemble of same or mixed instruments. Audition and make the grade-level appropriate All-State ensemble. Perform a solo recital in the spring of this academic year, consisting of five accompanied compositions and two unaccompanied compositions or etudes. These selections should be Grade 5 or 6. Additional selections can be at a lower grade level. Violinists and violists should consider performing one selection from memory.
Compete in a regional or national concerto competition. For example: Midwest Young Artists Concerto Competition, Marine Band Concerto Competition, Navy Band Concerto Competition, and the National Philharmonic Concerto Competition, to list only a few. Many local symphonies sponsor concerto competitions. Note that the prizes for winners are often college scholarships. Compete in your instrument’s guild regional or national competition. For example: International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition, American Viola Society, or American Flute Guild, etc. Prizes for winners are often college scholarships!
Pursue and obtain both the National Scholastic Musicians Band/Orchestra Acclaimed Musician Award and the Ovation Award.
Reference: NationalScholasticMusiciansAwards.com
Attend extended Summer Camp (Band or Orchestra) that has age appropriate performance repertoire. This should be on a college campus; preferably on the college campus that you want to attend. While attending this camp take at least one private lesson from the professor in whose studio you might spend the majority of your collegiate experience. Or moreover, this can be a nationally recognized summer enrichment program such as “The Governor’s School for the Arts” in your state or one of the nationally noted summer camps that has America’s most famous conductors and performers as instructors.
Explore both a conservatory and an institute of music especially if you are considering becoming a performance major. In addition, explore a life in the military as a military career musician by visiting a base where one of the musical units is housed. In addition, complete a music career aptitude assessment to unveil your innate inclination towards a particular music profession.
Keep Accoladi updated each semester and summer. Focus on strengthening your video profile before senior year starts.
Attend four concerts outside of your school this academic year. Each of these concerts should be at the schools that you are auditioning for acceptance and scholarships.
Attend four Master Classes. Each Master Class should be at the schools that you are auditioning for acceptance and scholarships. Continue taking private lessons once a week with a professional player. If the private instructor is not a college professor, then you may want to add two lessons from the college professor whose studio you want to be in during your college experience Continue music theory instruction coupled with sight-singing development. Take weekly online music theory tests.
Participate in at least two school performance ensembles. For example: High School Symphonic Band and High School Orchestra, or High School Symphonic Band and High School Chorus. Marching band cannot count as your second performance ensemble; it must be coupled with a concert ensemble. You may also consider district-wide ensembles such as county or regional Youth Orchestras.
Participate in statewide Solo and Ensemble Festival by performing an accompanied solo that is appropriate to your technical ability. Audition and make the grade-level appropriate All-State ensemble. Compete in a regional or national concerto competition. For example: Midwest Young Artists Concerto Competition, Marine Band Concerto Competition, Navy Band Concerto Competition, and the National Philharmonic Concerto Competition, to list only a few. Many local symphonies sponsor concerto competitions. Prizes for winners are often college scholarships! Compete in your instrument’s guild regional or national competition. For example: International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition, American Viola Society, or American Flute Guild, etc. Prizes for winners are often college scholarships!
Most importantly, for each college or university you hope to attend, take the first audition time available. Follow your audition with personal hand-written notes of thanks to each person on the audition committee.
Pursue and obtain the National Scholastic Musicians Band/Orchestra National Hall of Fame Award.
Reference: NationalScholasticMusiciansAwards.com
Keep Accoladi updated each semester and summer. Focus on strengthening your video profile before senior year starts.
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