You always want to mirror the mood of the piece you are performing. The mirror will allow you to check your posture, facial expression and body language. This advice is geared mostly towards voice students. You can also practice in front of a mirror. This will help keep your nerves down on the day of to eliminate the possibility of nerve related mistakes. This is a fun way to prepare, while also learning something new in the process! You may also want to practice in front of people. The more you do it, the better you’ll get! You can pick up any piece and read through it slowly as you play. Allow yourself plenty of time to practice sight reading. Stay on track with your piece and work closely with your teacher to develop your piece in a fluent manner. NYSSMA is not for everybody, but it is for most! It is a good idea to have your scales perfected and memorized early. The first thing you can do to prepare is START EARLY! Too many students start too late, not allowing enough time to prepare accordingly. Furthermore, level 6 All-State students may be selected for All-Eastern or even a National ensemble. Level 6 soloists may be able to participate in All-State, which is state-wide. The techniques learned and experience gained from this is invaluable. This is where they select the best students from each adjudication and combine them into an ensemble. It’s best to consult your teacher for a specific guideline of your instrument and level.įor levels 1 through 5, if you do very well, you may be nominated to participate in All-County. While you are singing, are you conveying the meaning of the piece correctly?), sight reading, scale playing, and many other things. The adjudicator (who is usually a retired or current music educator) will award or take away points for criteria such as tone quality, dynamics, expression, articulation, note accuracy, rhythm, the performance itself (i.e. Each level has its own difficulties as they increase, so make sure to discuss with your teacher exactly what you’ll need to know. In addition, there is sight reading and, depending on the instrument, scales to perform. Levels 1-4 are graded out of 28, and levels 5 and 6 are graded out of 100Įach student is required to select a solo piece to perform, located in the NYSSMA manual. NYSSMA levels are a way of telling where you are as an instrumentalist or vocalist. If you are playing an instrument outside of school, you may need to approach a music teacher and let them know that you want to participate. Typically, NYSSMA documents are given out from your public school. Almost all instruments are included in the NYSSMA festival. NYSSMA is both for soloists and ensembles.
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For those students who are preparing for NYSSMA right now, here are some of the important details you will need to know in order have smooth sailing during the preparation and performance process. Learning about new repertoire, stretching students’ skills and advancing their technique for future success is what NYSSMA should be about. At iSchool, our teachers strive to create an entire experience during NYSSMA preparation. NYSSMA can be a thorough learning experience driving students to work hard to improve their skills. For me to be taken seriously within the realm of music, the thing I loved the most, was a dream brought to life.Īll of this said, it is important to foster positive, enriching feelings in students during this time that can stir up stress and fear in them. Man, this can be a source of stress for young students of music! As a NYSSMA participant and SCMEA (Suffolk County Music Educator Association) All-County choir member for several years in public school, some of my scariest and fondest musical memories were when I was in front of some of the smartest musical minds I knew. In a given day, they’ll see many students give their all for just a few minutes in front of them and administer grades based on performance and skill. I learned much about myself as a voice student by standing in front of the seemingly “all-knowing” NYSSMA judges, AKA adjudicators. It’s NYSSMA time!Īs a long-term voice student and performer, I have experience with the NYSSMA grading system as well as All-County and All-State admission. As the face-of-the-desk in Syosset, I know what all the buzz is about as we “Spring” board into this next season.
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Written by Allana Cobham, iSchool of Music + Art Syosset ManagerĪllow me to introduce myself! For those who don’t know me, my name is Allana Cobham and I am the manager of Syosset’s iSchool of Music + Art.