Auditions are open to all students entering grades 9 - 12, for the 2025 - 2026 school year at Heights High School. No experience needed!

YES!!!

Most piano players become percussionists here at Heights if they don't also play a wind instrument. You can audition for piano, any other mallet percussion instrument, or even a battery instrument if you are up for it! We will integrate you into the percussionist lifestyle as the year progresses. 

Feel free to ask Mr. Whorton questions about your audition if you have them!

ABSOLUTLEY. Though it is ideal for all of our members to participate in the audition process, we understand this may not be possible for everyone for a number of reasons.

The audition process develops your fundamental skills and gets you ahead of the curve for the summer and the fall so you're not learning basics late in the game. You don't have to attend all of the workshops and the audition, but attending is the best way to give yourself the best chance to be on the instrument you desire.

In the situation that you are not able to under go the audition or participate in the audition workshops you have the option of schedule an "informal audition" with Mr. Whorton. This will be a miniature private lesson for Mr. Whorton to assess your skills and understanding of music and percussion. You will learn some basic exercises that we cover every day at Heights and some basic fundamentals. This formal audition can be scheduled either at your middle school or at Heights, depending on the schedules of both parties.

Regardless of when you start with us, you will be given a role in the ensemble that best suites your skill set with what positions we have available.

If you have anything that prevents you from auditioning or would like to schedule an informal audition, please don't hesitate to reach out to Mr. Whorton ASAP.

There are plenty of answers to this!!!

If you auditioned or had an "informal audition" and didn't receive the position you wanted DO NOT QUITE! Whatever position you are placed in is another opportunity for you to grow and you have a full year to prepare yourself for the next Drumline audition. That position will give you the skills and knowledge to build toward the next audition if approach the opportunity as a chance to grow! During that year make sure you are as successful as you can be on the position that you are place in the fall and successful in all the other musical responsibilities, academics, and your are well behaved! In addition to making sure you are successful in these areas, start preparing for the next audition. One audition and placement is not a make or break your chances, it's the opportunity to learn and grow.

If you feel like you're not ready, TRY ANYWAY to see what skill level you'll need to claim the position you desire. Take the knowledge of where your current skill level is and practice accordingly to reach the skill level you need to achieve. Be present to how much you need to grow but NEVER COUNT YOURSELF OUT! We will work with you and let you know where and how to improve!

*** Everyone will be placed in an available position that they can be seen to be successful at. ***

First make sure you attend the Audition Workshops to learn the audition material, learn our playing technique, get live critiques and tips from Mr. Whorton, and prepare for the audition.

PRACTICE everyday for at least 30 minutes to an hour. This will help you maintain and progress throughout the audition process. The more you effectively practice the material the better you will get. Less practice = less potential progress. More practice = more potential progress.

If you have anything that prevents you from auditioning and would like to schedule an informal audition, or have questions about your skill level please don't hesitate to reach out to Mr. Whorton ASAP.

Students will audition individually on the instrument that they desire most.

Mr. Whorton and a possible panel of judges will adjudicate your audition. Students will be scored on your Technique, Rhythms, Tempo control, Sticking, and Dynamics.

Each student will perform a selection of warm-ups and an audition piece that will be distributed on the day of our HPD Information Night. Mr. Whorton will callout a warm-up and ask for what tempo the student would like to take it at. Same for the audition piece. Students will perform all audition requirements along to a metronome. Students will have 3 attempts to perform each warm-up and the audition the piece.

Each student should know specific tempo for each warm-up selection and audition that will make them successful at playing it. Students should learn tempo is comfortable for them by practicing consistently with a metronome and writing it down.

Battery auditionees will mark time during all warm-ups. Students will learn this during the Audition Workshops.

1. Fill out the "Heights Bulldog Band Interest Form" (new Heights band members)

2. Fill out the "Audition Information Form"

3. Perform a short list of warm-ups of your top instrument of choice

4. Perform the audition piece of your top instrument of choice

Your audition materials will be a short list of warm-ups that come from one of our exercise packets. You will also be given an audition piece that may be a solo or a general music exerpt. These materials will be made available March 19th, 2025.

Auditioning students can receive these materials 2 ways: 

1. By attending our HPD Information Night on March 19th @6:30pm (Highly recommended, so you and your parents will receive all the info you need)

2. Complete and Submit the "Heights Bulldog Band Interest Form" (we will then email you the information)

Mr. Whorton will be hosting eight "Audition Workshops" that directly prepare each student for their audition. During these workshops, Mr. Whorton will teach all basic techniques, warm-up exercises, and audition pieces that are a part of the audition. These workshops are a great chance to get live feedback, tools, and ask questions to help yourself prepare for your audition. There will be four workshops for each instrument.

The most important thing for you to do is show up with a growth mindset and practice a lot between workshops.

• Snare

  • • April 1st @4:30pm – 7pm

    • April 7th @4:30pm – 7pm

    • April 14th @4:30pm – 7pm (Same workshop as Quads)

    • April 21st @4:30pm – 7pm (Same workshop as Quads)

• Quads

  • • April 2nd @4:30pm – 7pm

    • April 8th @4:30pm – 7pm

    • April 14th @4:30pm – 7pm (Same workshop as Snare)

    • April 21st @4:30pm – 7pm (Same workshop as Snare)

• Bass Drum

  • • April 3rd @4:30pm – 7pm

    • April 9th @4:30pm – 7pm

    • April 15th @4:30pm – 7pm

    • April 22nd @4:30pm – 7pm

• Front Ensemble

  • • April 4th @4:30pm – 7pm

    • April 10th @4:30pm – 7pm

    • April 16th @4:30pm – 7pm

    • April 23rd @4:30pm – 7pm

All auditionees are welcome to practice in the Heights High School band hall, choir room, or practice room on the actual instruments whenever the space is not in use. If you aren't sure if a space is available, please ask a director and they should be able to let you know.

We encourage all auditionees to spend a good amount of their practice time (probably half the time) on the actual instrument so they're use to how the instrument feels and sounds.

• Audition Exercise packet of your instrument of choice

• Pencils

• Highlighters (as many colors that you want, but at least one)

• Practice drum pads

• Sticks / mallets (preferably marching sticks)

• A positive, hardworking attitude.

• PRACTICE. Most performance issues are fixed with effective, goal-based practice.

  • • • • Practice is independently / On your own. Rehearsal is with a director in front of you. In order to maintain or get better you must Practice outside of rehearsal time.

        • To maintain and progress you should consistently practice at least 4-5 times a week for 30 minutes to an hour on the instrument or instrument alternative. The more you practice the better you play.

        • Pick 1 – 3 things to work and improve

        • You are going to have to Eat, Sleep, and Live the drum to make significate progress.. Take your practice session seriously!

        • If you want to be good at anything, you’re going to have to consistently work hard for it. Anything worth having is worth working for.

• Practice what needs improvement more than what is performed well already. If you can't run an exercise with "Left-Hand Lead," practice more with "Left-Hand Lead." If you can't keep your triplet diddles or 16th note scales in time, Practice more of your Triplet Diddles or 16th note scales.

  • • • • Practicing cadences that you can play blindfolded after waking up at 3:46am will not do you any justice and doesn't help you grow! 

        • Practice more of what you can't, and less of what you can! Once you have everything practice a bit of everything as much as possible.

• Practice how you want to perform. Make sure you practice how you want to perform. Timid practice will lead to a timid performance. Play with a big, clear, full, energetic technique and sound on every note. Explore both high and low volumes and stick heights.

• Practice SLOW. Start working on a requirement 20 – 40 bpm under tempo and slowly build yourself up to the required tempo in increments of 4 – 6 bpm. This will give your mind and body a chance to fully understand the technique, focus on creating a good sound, and build consistency to build up to a quality performance.

• Practice in a mirror and also record and watch yourself practice. Watching yourself perform is good tool to be reflexive of your performance. This allows yourself to self-critique form the audience/judges point of view. Seeing yourself play from this point of view allows you to catch both major and minor details that you normally wouldn't notice in real-time while playing. Take notes and make improvements

• Practice on the actual instrument. Your practice drum-pad and practice keyboards feel and respond completely different from the actual drum and keyboard. Though practice equipment is super cool for learning basic notes, rhythms, and dynamics, playing on the instrument puts you in the exact setting of playing at the audition. Spend at least half of your practice time on the instrument

• Practice with a metronome. Practicing with a metronome 100% of the time is a healthy way to build your ability to stay in time. Switch to 80% with and 20% without after you have become more than comfortable with the material to start training yourself to train yourself to internalize the tempo.

  • • • • Every musician is responsible for staying in time, and to do that you need to use a metronome. You can buy a physical metronome from your local music store or download a metronome app. We at Heights HS recommend the "Tonal Energy" app that has every rehearsal tool a musician needs for $1.99 for Android or $3.99 for iOS.

• Focus on your technique. The biggest factor of the audition is who has the technical ability to play their instrument of choice. Technique is the first thing we look at as judges.

  • • • • Make sure your technique is of quality at all tempos while maintaining solid timing at any given tempo. Good technique and timing are more important than playing at faster tempos.

        • Technique includes marking time and good posture!

• Attend our audition workshops. Take advantage of the resources and time you have to be well prepared. We will cover everything you need to know to better prepare yourself for your audition. If you have the time and means to attend, please attend any and all workshops available.

• Ask questions if you don’t understand. If you are unsure about anything about your technique, rhythms, how you look when you play, any aspect about your performance/audition seek the knowledge out to provide some insight and clarity. We are all here to help you be successful on your audition.

First make sure you have filled out a "Heights Band Interest Form" if you are a new member. All current members and those who've filled out an Interest form will be able to schedule an audition for May 12th or 13th. Audition time slots will be scheduled online via "Signup Genius." Links to schedule your audition will be made available April 14th. Please stay attentive to your student/district emails and remind messages for all audition communications.

Results will be posted on the Heights Percussion Department Remind and outside of Mr. Whorton's office window the Friday after auditions take place.