New York State School Music Association
Encyclopedia
The New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) is the New York
state-level affiliate of MENC: The National Association for Music Education
. NYSSMA is a professional organization that evaluates student musicians in New York state from elementary school to high school. Each spring, thousands of students register through their school music programs to attend NYSSMA Evaluation Festivals where they are adjudicated. These festivals take place at local high schools within the fifteen NYSSMA zones, each of which covers an area in New York State. Usually, county high schools take turns to host the festival every few years.
At each festival, students perform scales
, a solo or ensemble
piece of their choice from the designated NYSSMA repertoire, and a sight reading piece. The judges score and comment on the students' performances according to defined guidelines set by NYSSMA. The grade sheets are then certified and sent to the music departments at the individual schools to be distributed to the students.
Instruments evaluated include voice
, piano, strings
, woodwinds
/brasses
, and percussion
. NYSSMA scores and evaluators' comments are often used by music teachers as diagnostics and progress monitoring. They also determine selection into orchestra, band, or choral groups depending on their instrument. Students who play saxophones, brasses or percussion or sing can choose to be evaluated in NYSSMA Jazz Festival where they have an opportunity to be selected into various jazz ensembles. Performance groups include All-County, Area All-State (part of New York State), and Conference All-State (entire New York State).
Vocalists (Levels I - IV) are judged on seven categories:
Tone (Quality, Consistency, Projection)
Intonation
Technique (Breath Control, Flexibility, Posture, Appropriate Range)
Diction (Vowels, Consonants, Naturalness)
Accuracy (Accuracy of Notes, Accuracy of Rhythms, Steadiness of Rhythms, Pulse)
Interpretation (Dynamics, Style, Tempo, Phrasing, Expression, Artistry, Stage Presence)
Sight reading (Accuracy of Dynamics, Accuracy of Notes, Accuracy of Rhythm, Correct tempo)
Woodwind/brass players are judged similarly, except "articulation" replaces "diction". String players are evaluated on their bowing techniques.
NYSSMA provides sight reading
passages of all six levels from a proprietary manual. Scale requirement depends on level as well. Levels I and II require knowledge of three scales
, III and IV require seven, and V and VI require all major scale
s. In levels I-IV, the student can choose the scales they have prepared on the evaluation sheet. During the audition, the judge would choose three scales at random among the expected set for the student to perform.
Some students wish to forgo the numerical rating entirely in favor of a completely comment-based evaluation. Such students indicate this before the audition by checking the "Festival" box on the evaluation sheet. They need not perform all the required components of the audition if they wish, but the judge does not score the performance regardless.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state-level affiliate of MENC: The National Association for Music Education
MENC: The National Association for Music Education
MENC: The National Association for Music Education is an organization of American music educators dedicated to advancing and preserving music education and as part of the core curriculum of schools in the United States...
. NYSSMA is a professional organization that evaluates student musicians in New York state from elementary school to high school. Each spring, thousands of students register through their school music programs to attend NYSSMA Evaluation Festivals where they are adjudicated. These festivals take place at local high schools within the fifteen NYSSMA zones, each of which covers an area in New York State. Usually, county high schools take turns to host the festival every few years.
At each festival, students perform scales
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
, a solo or ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
piece of their choice from the designated NYSSMA repertoire, and a sight reading piece. The judges score and comment on the students' performances according to defined guidelines set by NYSSMA. The grade sheets are then certified and sent to the music departments at the individual schools to be distributed to the students.
Instruments evaluated include voice
Vocal music
Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
, piano, strings
String section
The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
, woodwinds
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
/brasses
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
, and percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
. NYSSMA scores and evaluators' comments are often used by music teachers as diagnostics and progress monitoring. They also determine selection into orchestra, band, or choral groups depending on their instrument. Students who play saxophones, brasses or percussion or sing can choose to be evaluated in NYSSMA Jazz Festival where they have an opportunity to be selected into various jazz ensembles. Performance groups include All-County, Area All-State (part of New York State), and Conference All-State (entire New York State).
Judgment Criteria
Participants in all categories prepare and perform a solo selected from the NYSSMA Manual, perform scales, and demonstrate sight reading from original music provided by NYSSMA at the audition. Each NYSSMA solo is preassigned a difficulty level from I (easiest) to VI (most difficult). Instrumental soloists also must play scales, the number of which are determined by difficulty level of the solo. Overall each participant is judged on seven categories, tone, intonation, technique, accuracy, interpretation, scales, and sight reading. Level I-IV solos are judged on a 28 point scale and level V-VI solos are judged on a 100 point scale. Participants may also elect to receive a "festival" rating in which written comments are given but no score.Vocalists (Levels I - IV) are judged on seven categories:
Tone (Quality, Consistency, Projection)
Intonation
Technique (Breath Control, Flexibility, Posture, Appropriate Range)
Diction (Vowels, Consonants, Naturalness)
Accuracy (Accuracy of Notes, Accuracy of Rhythms, Steadiness of Rhythms, Pulse)
Interpretation (Dynamics, Style, Tempo, Phrasing, Expression, Artistry, Stage Presence)
Sight reading (Accuracy of Dynamics, Accuracy of Notes, Accuracy of Rhythm, Correct tempo)
Woodwind/brass players are judged similarly, except "articulation" replaces "diction". String players are evaluated on their bowing techniques.
Levels and Grading System
There are a total of six levels, each with its own level of progressively more challenging repertoire. Levels I through IV are scored on a scale of 0 to 28, while levels V and VI are scored from 0 to 100. Each of the judging categories are alloted a set points out of the total. For example, on Level V and VI String Solos, "Tone" is worth 20 points, "Intonation" 10, "Technique" 20, "Accuracy" 15, "Interpretation" 20, "Scales" 5, and "Sight reading" 10.NYSSMA provides sight reading
Sight reading
Sight-reading is the reading and performing of a piece of written music, specifically when the performer has not seen it before. Sight-singing is often used to describe a singer who is sight-reading.-Sight-reading:...
passages of all six levels from a proprietary manual. Scale requirement depends on level as well. Levels I and II require knowledge of three scales
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
, III and IV require seven, and V and VI require all major scale
Major scale
In music theory, the major scale or Ionian scale is one of the diatonic scales. It is made up of seven distinct notes, plus an eighth which duplicates the first an octave higher. In solfege these notes correspond to the syllables "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti/Si, ", the "Do" in the parenthesis at...
s. In levels I-IV, the student can choose the scales they have prepared on the evaluation sheet. During the audition, the judge would choose three scales at random among the expected set for the student to perform.
Some students wish to forgo the numerical rating entirely in favor of a completely comment-based evaluation. Such students indicate this before the audition by checking the "Festival" box on the evaluation sheet. They need not perform all the required components of the audition if they wish, but the judge does not score the performance regardless.