A specialty of mine
NYSSMA Solo Preparation for Drummers and Percussionists
Every spring students walk into a NYSSMA room and play for one adjudicator with a clipboard. What happens in that room is almost entirely decided in the weeks before it. I prepare drummers and percussionists in Rochester for that day: solo repertoire, rudiments and sight-reading, through All-County, Area All-State, All-State and conservatory auditions. The first consultation is free.
What NYSSMA prep covers
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Choosing the right solo
The NYSSMA manual lists solos by level, one through six, and the choice matters more than most families realise. A level four piece played cleanly scores better than a level five piece played at the edge of control, and the difference in what a student learns is real. I pick with the student, not for them, and I say plainly when a piece is too far ahead.
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Rudiments, properly
Adjudicators ask for rudiments at every level and they hear the ones that are memorised rather than controlled. We work on open to closed rolls, flams, paradiddles and drags at tempos you own, with a metronome, until they hold up when you are nervous.
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Sight reading
This is where scores quietly get lost. Sight reading is a skill you can train, and it responds fast to a routine: scan the time signature and key details, find the hardest bar first, count before you play, and never stop to fix a mistake. We rehearse the whole procedure, not just the reading.
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Playing under pressure
In the last few weeks I run mock adjudications. The student plays the solo start to finish, out loud, for someone watching, with a scoresheet. The first one is usually rough. That is the point.
What adjudicators are listening for
I went through every step of that ladder myself as a high school percussionist, so I know exactly what the judges are listening for. Tone and stick control before speed. Steady, musical time rather than metronomic time. Dynamics that are actually different from one another. Clean rolls with an even sound at both ends. Accurate rhythm reading, including the rests. Posture, setup and how you carry yourself in the room, which counts more than students expect.
Levels and what comes after
Levels one through three suit students in their first few years, and they reward clean, confident playing more than difficulty. Levels four through six raise the technical bar and open the doors that matter: All-County, then Area All-State, then All-State. Students of mine have been selected for All-County and coached to perfect NYSSMA scores. A strong score at level five or six is what recommendations are built on, so if that is the goal we plan for it a year out rather than a month out.
What I teach, and what I do not
I teach snare drum, drum set and non-mallet percussion. Keyboard percussion solos on marimba, xylophone, vibraphone and bells are outside what I teach, so if your solo is on a mallet instrument I am not the right teacher for it.
I earned my Bachelor of Music in 2022 and my Master of Music in 2024 from the Eastman School of Music, where I also taught jazz drum set, and I have taught privately since 2017.
Keep reading
Common questions
When should we start preparing?
Three to four months before the festival for levels one through three, and closer to six months for levels four through six. Starting earlier does not mean practising more each week. It means having enough runway to change the solo if the first choice turns out to be wrong.
Do you help pick the solo from the NYSSMA manual?
Yes, and it is one of the more useful things I do. We look at the list for the level you are aiming at, play through a few, and choose one that fits your strengths and gives you something to learn. If your school director has already assigned a piece, we work with that.
My child plays in the school band but has never had private lessons. Is that a problem?
No. A lot of my NYSSMA students come to me exactly that way. Band rehearsal is built around the ensemble, so individual technique often has gaps that nobody has had time to look at. Those gaps are usually quick to close once someone is watching one player.
What if the solo is on marimba or bells?
Then I am not your teacher for it. I teach snare drum, drum set and non-mallet percussion, and I would rather tell you that now than take the lesson. If part of your requirement is on snare and part is on a mallet instrument, I am happy to prepare the snare portion.
Start early
The students who score well are not the ones who practised hardest in the last two weeks. They are the ones who chose a solo they could actually own and then played it for other people until it stopped being frightening. Book the free consultation and we will look at the manual together.