<p>(if you don't know what nyssma is, stop reading)</p>
<p>Ok, i'm not going to be a music major or anything but i know you guys would have the best insight on my grade.
at the nyssma festival in may, Freshman year, I did a level 5 solo on my clarinet and i got a 93 (i sped up A LOT, and i can't sight read:P ). am i an average player, or a really bad one? should i do a level 6 this year???????</p>
<p>There’s a lot of debate as to whether or not NYSSMA scores are a good indicator of musical ability… I know quite a few kids now pursuing music degrees at top conservatories who got scores of 97s and 98s on their All-State solos (and therefore didn’t make Conference All-State), and I also know kids who got 100s that barely practice their instruments and have no intention of majoring in music. How “good” a NYSSMA score is really depends on what you’re looking to get out of it. Obviously, a score in the 90s represents a well-played solo, but if you’re looking to be in contention for All-State next year, you should know that you will most likely need to get a 100 on a Level 6 (and even THEN you can be denied). If you’re just doing NYSSMA for fun and to get performance experience, then a 93 is a fine score, and you’re definitely not a “really bad” clarinet player. Ask your school music teacher (or private teacher, if you have one) about whether or not you should attempt a Level 6 this year.</p>
<p>the problem is that we just got a new band director this year. I’ve gotten a new one every year since 6th grade. 
he barely knows me</p>
<p>So you are a sophomore this year? You could do another level 5 this year, then do a level 6 next year as a Junior if you want to try out for All-Sate. That is hard to have a new band director every year, maybe this one will stick with it and really help you to reach your goal.
To help with the sight reading, pull out whatever music you have laying around, whether it is old lesson books, “modern” books, Christmas carols, etc, and just play! My kids like those books that come with a CD to play along with.</p>
<p>If you do want to be considered for All State down the road, you need to take the sight-reading seriously. Older D (who is a music major) got a score of 99 on All-State because she missed a point for sight reading – she had a perfect vocal score. Luckily, she did make All-State. However, younger D got the same score of 99–also missed a point in sight reading, but did not make All-State despite her perfect score in vocals. :(</p>
<p>thanks for the sight reading ideas! Ill definitely do that. And I think I’ll stick with my Level 6 Mozart piece. I downloaded the two movements onto my ipod, and I think that will help!</p>
<p>First of all only do a level 6 if you truly want to do it. My sophomore year my band teacher told me I was going to do a level 6 and I was fine with it, because I thought it wouldn’t be much harder than a level 5. I am also a clarinetist and when I received my solo I worked hard on it, not every day though and that was the problem because my heart wasn’t truly in it. Long story short, once my teacher gave me my solo I was all on my own. He never made time to help me and we could never schedule a time around both of our busy schedules so I was forced to drop out two weeks before the festival. What I am saying to you is make sure you have the time, dedication and most of all you are doing it for yourself and not someone else, because then you won’t find as fun and more like work. My Freshman year though I did great because I wanted to do it. I got a 92 on a level 5 and my Sophomore year I was chosen to participate in Area All-State.</p>
<p>Heads up EMbio—thread is 3 yrs old</p>