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Audition for All-Access

Registration is open for the 2026-27 All-Access Rock Bands!

What is All-Access?

All-Access is Stages Music Arts’ highest level of achievement for musicians ages 12-18. Play alongside the best of the best, get access to high-level opportunities to learn, perform and record and make friends for life. We leverage our relationships with the area’s best musicians, concert venues and promoters to provide All-Access members with exclusive opportunities to learn and grow.

All-Access bands have performed alongside such prominent local musicians as Cris Jacobs and Carl Filipiak and at venues like the Hard Rock Cafe, WTMD, UNION Collective, Camden Yards, The Recher, Baltimore Museum of Industry, Belvedere Square and Power Plant Live!

2026-27 All-Access Audition Information

Registration is now open to audition for the 2026-27 school year.

TO AUDITION:

  1. Select your date and time from the Google calendar below
  2. Review the requirements for your instrument
  3. Practice, practice, practice
  4. Come to your audition prepared and do your best!
All-Access Logo

All-Access Eligibility & Expectations

Age & Instrument Eligibility

  • Minimum Age: 12 years
  • Maximum Age: 18 years

Students can participate up to and including the summer following their senior year of high school. Consideration will still be given for those students whose age is >18 during their senior year of high school.

Each student must audition for a slot on their primary instrument. Secondary instruments will also be taken into consideration. It is best to display the ability to sing and/or play percussion as a secondary instrument than to only choose a primary instrument.

Students can audition for All-Access on the following instruments:

  • Guitar
  • Bass
  • Drums
  • Keyboards
  • Voice

Length of Tenure

Commitment through the end of Summer 2026. Students are required to re-audition every year. No student is guaranteed a spot year after year.

Ideal Candidates

Students who wish to audition should:

  • Be a positive influence and contributor to school and local community
  • Act as an advocate of Stages Music Arts
  • Have technical ability and theoretical knowledge of their primary instrument
  • Exhibit strong leadership skills
  • Be self-motivated to sing back ups and play percussion
  • Know how to mix themselves to create a great stage sound
  • Be open-minded and able to play all styles of music
  • Be able to take direction and check their ego at the door
  • Be a team player
  • Be comfortable representing All-Access and Stages Music Arts in public and on social media
  • Promote opportunities as if they were for their own band

Expectations & Guidelines

  • All-Access members should demonstrate powerful stage presence, understand tone emulation on their instrument, play with dynamics, and be able to play/solo in all keys
  • Guitarists should be familiar with the use of effects pedals and understand how to operate amplifiers, etc.
  • Drummers should be able to set-up and tear down a drum kit, be able to play in odd time signatures, and have an understanding of various styles
  • Keyboardists should have a firm grasp of finding sounds on various keyboards, sequencing, and sampling
  • Bassists should be able to walk a bass line in all keys and understand how to operate amplifiers
  • Vocalists should be able to confidently replicate vocal harmonies and display a high level of microphone technique

Commitment

All-Access rehearsals are held weekly for 90 minutes on Wednesdays. Tuition is $150/month if you are enrolled in lessons at Stages and $175/month if you are not enrolled as a Stages student. 

Audition for All-Access

Select your preferred day and time from the calendar below.

Audition Requirements

Auditions will be held in person at Stages Music Arts on May 3rd, June 7th, and July 12th, 2026 and will last approximately 15-25 minutes. Bring your own instrument (except drummers and keyboardists). Pedalboards will be provided for guitarists/bassists, or you may bring your own (IF it can be set up quickly).

Auditions will consist of 4 parts:

1. Interview
State your name, primary instrument and any secondary instruments.
Discuss your musical background and experience.
How long have you been playing?
Do you have live performance experience?
What music are you passionate about performing?
Explain why you’d like to be a member of All-Access.
What are some things you hope to gain by being part of All-Access?

2. Play ALL the pre-selected tunes for your primary instrument.
Replicate the excerpts to the best of your ability including notes, rhythm, tempo, articulation, phrasing and dynamics. Vocalists will have access to live piano accompaniment available during the audition (if desired). All other instruments will perform unaccompanied with no pre-recorded tracks – judges may request a student play an excerpt with the original recording, but this occurs on a case by case basis, and the recording will be provided by the judges. Contact Evan Cooper if you need any alterations made to the pre-selected songs regarding key.
See below for song selection by instrument.

3. Play a song of your choice.
Choose a song that demonstrates your personal musical style and showcases your unique strengths on your primary instrument. Play 1 – 2 minutes from your selected song. Give a short explanation of why you selected this particular song. Songs may be performed with a backing track/original recording, or be performed unaccompanied. Students must provide their own backing track if they plan to use one. If you’d like to submit one ahead of time, please send to Evan Cooper. Vocalists can perform unaccompanied, with a karaoke track, or can request piano accompaniment. Reach out to Evan Cooper with your song choice and key (if different from original) to arrange accompaniment. 

4. Technique/Theory.
Includes major scales, minor scales, rudiments, etc.
See below for requirements for your instrument. 

Instrument Specific Audition Requirements

Guitar

Technique/Theory

  1. Play a 2 octave major pentatonic scale ascending and descending.
  2. Play a 2 octave minor pentatonic scale ascending and descending.
  3. Play a 2 octave major scale(from root to root) ascending and descending.
  4. Play a 2 octave harmonic minor scale(from root to root) ascending and descending.
  5. Play all 7 diatonic triads in the key of D major in position/shape of students choice.

Song Excerpts

Sheet music will not be provided. Students may use any necessary resources to learn the excerpts, but may not use lyrics, sheet music or tablature at the time of audition.

  • “Middle Of The Road” – The Pretenders (1:40-2:30) (SOLO)
  • “My Sharona” The Knack (1:18-1:43) (SOLO)
  • “Wish You Were Here” – Pink Floyd (0-0:41) (Picked 12-string intro)

Bass

Technique/Theory

  1. Play a major pentatonic scale ascending and descending from root to root.
  2. Play a minor pentatonic scale ascending and descending from root to root.
  3. Play a major scale ascending and descending from root to root.
  4. Play a harmonic minor scale ascending and descending from root to root.
  5. Outline all 7 diatonic triads in the key of G major – played as (1-3-5-3-1)

Song Excerpts

Sheet music will not be provided. Students may use any necessary resources to learn the excerpts, but may not use lyrics, sheet music or tablature at the time of audition.

  • “My Generation” – The Who (1:04-1:34)
  • “Roundabout” – Yes (0:44-1:18)
  • “Living On A Prayer” – Bon Jovi (1:18-1:50)

 

Keyboard

Technique/Theory

  1. Play a major scale. 2 octaves, hands together, ascending and descending (Keys of Bb and D major).
  2. Play a harmonic minor scale. 2 octaves, hands together, ascending and descending (Keys of B minor and F minor).
  3. Play the 7 diatonic triads through any major key upon judges request.
  4. Students may be asked to improvise a solo in the key of A minor along with a backing track.

Song Excerpts

Sheet music will not be provided. Students may use any necessary resources to learn the excerpts, but may not use lyrics, sheet music or tablature at the time of audition. Keyboardists may play all excerpts on a piano sound, but there will be a synth, organ and piano programmed at the time of audition.

  • “Subdivisions” – Rush (0-0:50) (synth)
  • “Roundabout” – Yes (2:56-3:25) (organ)
  • “Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen (0-0:38) (piano)

Drums

Technique/Theory

  1. Play quarter notes on the bass drum at 80bpm (as close as you can without referencing a metronome), then add the snare, alternating hands playing 2 measure each of: quarter notes, eighth notes, eighth note triplets and sixteenth notes. 
  2. Demonstrate a single stroke roll, double stroke roll and paradiddle on the snare drum.
  3. You may be asked to replicate a few pre-selected drum fills from recordings. 
  4. You will be asked to perform examples of grooves in 4/4 and 6/8 time.

Song Excerpts

Sheet music will not be provided. Students may use any necessary resources to learn the excerpts, but may not use lyrics, sheet music or tablature at the time of audition.

  • “Funky Drummer” – James Brown (5:22-5:41)
  • “Tomorrow Never Knows” – The Beatles (0-0:42)
  • “Middle Of The Road” – The Pretenders (0-1:00)

Voice

Technique/Theory

  1. Sing a major scale one octave ascending and descending using solfege. 
  2. Sing major scale in thirds using solfege one octave (Do-Mi-Re-Fa-Mi-Sol etc.) 
  3. Sing a major arpeggio and a minor arpeggio (Do-Mi-Sol-Do-Sol-Mi-Do, Do-Me-Sol-Do-Sol-Me-Do) 
  4. Singers will be asked to do a brief warm-up exercise with the judges at time of the audition.

Song Excerpts

Sheet music will not be provided. Students may use any necessary resources to learn the excerpts, but may not use lyrics, sheet music or tablature at the time of audition.

*Low Voice*

  • “Hotel California” – The Eagles (0:52-2:10)
  • “Alive” – Pearl Jam (0:32-1:27)
  • “In My Life” – The Beatles (0:08-0:45)

*High Voice*

  • “Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen (0-1:30)
  • “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” – Belinda Carlisle (0-1:30)
  • “Dazed and Confused” – Led Zeppelin (0-1:15)

Secondary Instrument

If you play a second instrument, you may demonstrate by playing 1 – 2 minutes from a song of your choice. This is used to further demonstrate your musicianship skills, and does not imply that there will be equal opportunities to perform on your secondary instrument in the group. If selected, secondary vocalist will be featured for harmony and leads as needed.

Schedule Your Audition

Auditions will be held in person at Stages Music Arts on May 3rd, June 7th, and July 12th. Find your date in the calendar below to choose a time, or click “Jump to the next bookable date.”



Stages Music Arts

10 Stenersen Lane
Cockeysville, MD 21030
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Phone: (443) 353-5300

Email: info@stagesmusicarts.com

Business Hours

Monday - Friday10am - 9pm
Saturday9am - 4pm
SundayBy Appointment Only