Wyoming All-State 2025

 

It's that time of year again, Wyoming flute friends! The embedded video, above, includes all three of the 2025 flute and piccolo All-State etudes. 

Some general audition tips--applicable to all etudes:

• Practice 100% of the time with the metronome, and make sure you truly know how all of your rhythms fit with the beat. I like to draw simple slash marks above the downbeats so that I have a graphic showing me when I should hear the beat while I'm playing. 
• Don't know a fingering? Having trouble getting a note to speak and curious about alternate fingerings? Look it up! I love this very thorough, accurate fingering chart that is free to use online. 
• Practice daily with a tuner so that you know your pitch tendencies, and check on notes in these etudes by playing in time, then stopping on longer notes and checking to see where you land on the tuner. When something is out of tune, work until you know how to play it in tune. Then keep practicing every day until those notes are in tune every time you land on them, without having to adjust. Here is a blogpost to help you.
• Also using a metronome, ensure that every single note, and the movements between every single note, are clean. If you have a technical passage that is awkward for your fingers, check out this blog post for some ideas on how to practice efficiently. 
• Everything is a tone exercise. Do your best to make every note sound beautiful by angling your air into the headjoint for the clearest, most in-tune sound (at the correct volume). Here is a blogpost to help you.

Fast Etude 

Map out all of your articulations (staccato, legato, and accents) so that they truly sound different. Make sure you are beginning and ending slurs exactly where they should be. The great variety in articulations is what makes this etude so interesting! Here's how I like to think of  each:

• slur: lean into slurred passages with your air, gluing the notes together.
• staccato: you needn't stop the end of the note for a staccato, just say "tu" with the tip of the tongue striking just behind your top teeth, where the teeth meet the gums, and let the tongue drop down to the bottom of your mouth immediately afterwards.
• legato: same as above, but the tongue moves more slowly down after the note.
• accent: same as staccato, but use a bit more surface area of the tongue striking your hit spot, a bit more than just the tip. 

*Your tongue should always strike in the same place, regardless of register or volume!

Slow Etude

Choose one goal note per phrase and make every note that precedes it grow into that goal note. You are always moving either toward or away from that goal note. See if you can hear mine in the video! 

The metronome marking at the top of this etude is great! It's slow enough to contrast with the first etude, but not so slow it should be agonizing to play. Practice with a metronome to ensure you're right on the money. If you have trouble making the phrases, consider how much air you are taking in on a breath. We love Breathing Gym here at UW; try it yourself!

Piccolo

I've got a whole blog post about improving your piccolo playing here. If you are playing on a "concert" piccolo (made of wood or plastic, with no lip plate), you will need to place the piccolo slightly higher on your bottom lip in order to get everything to speak evenly. Experiment until your ear tells you it's in the right place--it will feel strange at first, but you'll get used to it! 

CONGRATULATIONS on choosing to take this audition! Whether or not you get in this year, you will absolutely become a better flute player from practicing diligently and intelligently and doing your best. Good luck and have fun!