AUDITIONS: REQUIREMENTS

Etudes - Scales - sight reading​

• ETUDES

  • DOWNLOAD:  2025-26 OkMEA First Round / NBDA HS Audition Etudes

  • DOWNLOAD:  2025-26 OkMEA 2nd Round ETUDES

• SCALES

  • Chromatic Scales

    • Performing the chromatic scale is required at the NBDA district-level audition.  

  • Major Scales

    • Major scales are not required at the district-level audition. The scale requirement applies to the OkMEA December/Final Round auditions.

    • Scales do not have to be memorized.

    • Students who audition in a finals-only room will play prepared etudes, scales, and sight-reading during the course of their audition.

    • Students auditioning in a prelim room will play their required etude cuts and scales in the preliminary audition.

    • Scales are titled using INSTRUMENT KEY rather than concert pitch. Auditioning students will perform any one of four possible sets of scale etudes, each containing two major scales and one chromatic scale.

    • Students will enter the audition room, draw at random to determine which of the four scale sets is to be played, and perform that set.

  • Scale Sets

    • Set 1: A major–Db major–chromatic

    • Set 2: D major–Gb major–chromatic

    • Set 3: G major–B major–chromatic

    • Set 4: C major–E major–chromatic

    • DOWNLOAD: 2025-26 Scale Sets Packet
       

• SIGHT-READING

  • Sight-reading is required at both the District/First-Round audition and at the Second-Round audition.

  • OkMEA Second/Final Rounds

    • Students auditioning in a prelim room will play their required etude cuts and scales in the preliminary audition.  Students advancing to finals will perform only the required etude cuts and sight-reading in their finals audition.

    • Students who audition in a finals-only room will play scales, prepared etudes, and sight-reading during the course of their audition.
       

See OkMEA Website for more information