House Band Auditions

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Luke S.

Jan 30, 2016
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#1
Hey, I'm a teenager and I'm auditioning for bass for the House Band (kind of like the band that gigs all around Seattle and shows off the school), it's in about 2 weeks, and I wanted to know if I could ask somebody about what music theory question they'd ask. I know music theory decently well so I would just like to know if anybody has an idea. I was also thinking Sir Duke for the unaccompanied piece just because it's very solid but also shows movement around the fretboard. Here's the original email.

Thank you all for signing up for House Band tryouts! I wanted to send some information along to all of you who signed up. Take a minute and read through this e-mail - there's a lot to go over...

I'm not sure everyone grabbed one of the info sheets when they signed up for auditions, so here are some of the most important points:

* House Band is a serious time commitment, especially in the summer!
* House Band members are required to attend a weekly 3 hour rehearsal on Mondays 6pm - 9pm
* Be able to learn material on a very short notice and be able to play a lot of shows (sometimes more than 1 a week)

The assigned songs per instrument are as followed:

Drums - "Out on the Tiles" - Led Zeppelin
Bass - "Spirits in the Material World" - The Police
Guitar - "Bold As Love" - Jimi Hendrix
Keys - "Smokin'" - Boston
Vocals - Any classic rock song that suits your range (please keep the song under 5 minutes or so)

In addition to the assigned song, you must perform a one minute solo piece that showcases you best. This can be anything you choose, but it must be unaccompanied (no backing track). You may accompany yourself, however. For example, a vocalist can play keys while singing.

You will be asked to answer a music theory question.
You will be asked to improvise or demonstrate a specific technique.

Zeke and I will judge auditions according to the following criteria:

Command of your primary instrument
Accuracy
Tone
Stage Presence
Feel
Knowledge of theory
We also take past performances, attitude, and behavior into consideration when deciding on House Band members. Reliability is crucial!

Zeke and I aim to run the auditions very similarly to AllStar auditions. So, we are asking all of you auditioning for House Band to remain in the rehearsal room for the duration of auditions (of course, you may be excused for bathroom breaks and to get food/water in the lounge). Auditions will go until at least 9:10pm. Please plan on being in attendance between 5:30pm and 9:15pm on Monday, April 25th.

Decisions will be announced April 29th
Casting will be announced May 9th
First Summer House Band rehearsal will be June 6th
(Current House Band members attending Summerfest will continue rehearsals through June)

Gigs are already booked throughout the summer, with the first being The Greenwood Car Show on June 25th. Summer House Band has its last gig at Zombie Prom close to Halloween.

As I mentioned, this is a lot of info! Please refer back to it if you have any questions and feel free to contact me or Zeke if you need anything.

Thank you!
And Good Luck!!
 
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#2
If you think Sir Duke is what your most comfortable with then go for it. Play something you know really well. As for theory, I would imagine they'll ask questions like naming the notes of a chord or scale.

Also this is the wrong section to post this in.
 
#3
This isn't really the correct forum for this topic (this is the bass guitar section, the band management section would probably be more appropriate). But to answer your questions...

I think Sir Duke is a very good choice for the unaccompanied part you need to play. If you play thru a verse, prechorus, chorus, and then that sweet post chorus lick, you'd probably be at about a minute. And that bass line shows great movement around the board, and good technique. If I was judging this audition and a teenager busted that out and nailed it, I would be impressed.

As far as the theory question, who knows really? If I was running it, I'd probably give you some chords and ask you to name the notes... Or perhaps give you a 3 or 4 chord progression and ask you what key they are in. Good luck, let us know how it goes.
 
#6
Sir Duke is a great choice! Every time I listen to that song, I say: "I gotta learn that bass line!" but I never get around to learning it. Now I feel inspired to get cracking on it.

As far as the theory question; my guess is as good as anyone's but if it were me, I think I would ask a bassist to demonstrate their knowledge of harmony.
 
#10
Lo-Hz said:
Sir Duke is a great choice! Every time I listen to that song, I say: "I gotta learn that bass line!" but I never get around to learning it. Now I feel inspired to get cracking on it.
Click to expand...

Here ya go. Do this and ya got the gig! They won't even care if you know what notes are in the chords. And if you REALLY want to be impressive (impress yourself as well!), since you must do it unaccompanied, SING it while accompanying yourself with that bassline on the bass. :D



But it's better to do something less impressive very well than to overreach and mess up.
 
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