✕

Audition Information

Home Join Audition Information

If you are interested in auditioning for the 2022 season, please email Tyler Campbell (tcamp392@gmail.com) prior to the audition date. Audition and summer camp dates can be found below. Attendance at these is important and considered part of the audition process.

If you cannot make any of the summer camp dates please contact us to let us know. All camps are held at the Music Building, 1295 Storrs Rd.

2022 Summer Camp Dates

       
Camp 1 (Auditions) Saturday May 28th 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Camp 2 Saturday June 18th 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Camp 3 Saturday July 16th 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Camp 4 Sunday August 14th 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Preseason N/A Dates TBD  

What To Bring

  • Sticks/Mallets
  • Practice Pad (with a stand if you have one)
  • Metronome, for individual practice
  • 3 Ring Binder with Plastic Sheet Protectors
  • Athletic Shoes (no sandals)
  • Sunscreen
  • Baseball Hat or Head Protection
  • Ear Protection
  • Great Attitude
 

The Audition

Auditions for the 2022 season will be held in-person on Saturday, May 28th. If you are unable to attend this date, auditions can be submitted by video online by May 27th. For the video, please stand with a good front-facing camera angle in which sticks, pad or drum surface, arms/upper torso can be seen. There should also be an audible metronome in the background playing at the designated tempos.

Videos can be submitted to tcamp392@gmail.com in any standard file format. We find that uploading to a cloud solution such as Google Drive or Dropbox and providing the link in an email works best.

Audition Materials

Audition materials can be downloaded via Google Drive.

Audition Materials

Audition Requirements

BE PREPARED. Make sure that you are able to play the assigned rudiments and exercises at a tempo in which you can play correctly. Once you can perform the exercise correctly and consistently at a given tempo, bump the tempo slightly. Continue until you reach a maximum tempo in which you can correctly play the rudiment or exercise. For the audition camp be prepared to play the following:

Snare & Tenor

Exercises and Music (Tenors can play the part on “one drum” if you do not have access to a tenor pad or drum.)

  • 8-8-16 Legatos @ 126 bpm  (no mark time)
  • “Dubs” Exercise @ 152bpm (no mark time)
  • “S-S-L” @ 144bpm Letter A Only (while marking time)
  • “The Trip Home” @ 152bpm (no mark time)
  • 16th Note Accent Grid @ 116bpm (while marking time)
  • UConn Cadence @ 116 bpm (while marking time)

Rudiments (be prepared to demonstrate any of the following):

  • Paradiddles (any variation)
  • Flam Accent
  • Flam Taps and Inverted Flam Taps
  • Swiss Army Triplet
  • Flam Drag
  • Flam Stutters/Cheese

Bass

**NOTE** please prepare the 3rd bass part (or “concert C”) for anything that is split. 

Exercises and Music

  • 8-8-16 Legatos @ 126bpm
  • 16th Note Accent Grid @ 116bpm (while marking time)
  • “Dubs” Exercise @ 152bpm (no mark time)
  • “The Trip Home” exercise @ 152bpm (no mark time)
  • UConn Cadence  (while marking time)

Rudiments (be prepared to demonstrate any of the following):

  • Paradiddles
  • Paradiddle-diddles
  • Flam
  • Flam Accent

Cymbals

**NOTE** Cymbal auditions should be done on a drum pad with drum sticks

Exercises and Music

  • 16th Note Accent Grid @ 116bpm  (while marking time)
  • Duple Check Patterns A through G @ 116bpm (while marking time)
  • “Space Grid” @ 126bpm (while marking time)

Front Ensemble

  • Major and Minor Scales
  • All Exercises from UCMB Technique and Audition Packet (linked above)
  • Any prepared solo piece or etude
  • Sight Reading

Audition Tips

  1. Start slow until you can play it well and gradually speed up to the required tempo. Concentrate on sound quality as a result of good technique. (The UConn snare line practices traditional grip, all other sections may audition with matched grip.)
  2. Please practice with a metronome at the given tempos. If you do not own one please purchase one or use any of the sites online that provide free metronomes. The following site offers a metronome: www.metronomeonline.com. Free metronome apps are also available for download through your phone app store.
  3. At the first summer camp, everyone will receive printed copies of exercises as part of our warmup sequence. The exercises in the sequence are our “bread and butter” so spend most of your time on them. Apply the techniques developed through the exercises to the rest of the music included within the packet.
  4. Please have a three ring binder with clear plastic sheets to organize and protect all music.
  5. ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING! Come to each rehearsal ready to have fun, work hard, and act as a team. Individuals do NOT form the drumline. Everyone is an essential part of the line and is expected to put in equal time and effort in order to achieve success.
  6. DON’T GIVE UP! Being a member of the drumline can be challenging. If you are having difficulty with something, SLOW DOWN and listen to your sound.

Good luck and practice smart!

UConn Marching Band Percussion Staff

Ricardo Brown
Associate Director
ricardo.t.brown@uconn.edu
Tyler Campbell
Battery Coordinator/Arranger
tcamp392@gmail.com
Bryson Teel
Battery Instructor
Kat Godfrey
Battery Instructor
Matt Bronson
Front Ensemble
Ethan Hiscock
Battery Instructor
YouTube
Flickr
Instagram