Chamber Orchestra

Chamber Orchestra members are highly encouraged to audition for All-County Orchestra, and are encouraged to audition for All-State.

Information for All-County/All-State audition requirements for each instrument are in the appropriate pages, which can be found in the navigation to the left.

Practicing with Drones


  1. Start listening to the A drone, then match your A string to that pitch. (apples-to-apples tuning) Repeat for D, G, C (cellos) and E (violins and basses)

  2. Start listening to the A drone, then tune your D string. (apple-to-oranges tuning) Repeat for D/G, G/C (cellos), A/E (violins and basses)

  3. Start listening to the D drone, then sing a D major scale. Listen closely to each interval as you go up, and feel the relationship between the drone and each degree of the scale: D & E (a major second interval), then D & F# (a major third interval), then D & G (a perfect fourth interval), and so on. Each interval will have its own particular harmonic quality. Next, slowly play the scale on your instrument. Keep adjusting your fingertip to improve pitch accuracy, and don't move on until the chord sounds just right. Repeat but play a D minor scale. Remember, there are three minor scales: natural, harmonic, or melodic. Try both major and minor scales with as many octaves as you can. Use the other drones to explore different scales.

  4. Start listening to the D drone, then play a D major arpeggio. Listen carefully to the D & F# pitch, the D & A pitch, and finally, the octave D & D. Play as many octaves as you can. Use the other drones to explore different scale arpeggios.

  5. Improvise! Start one of the drones, then start playing notes within that key. For example, if you turn on the A drone, begin improvising with the notes A, B, C#, D, E, F#, and G#. First use step wise notes, then start adding in skips. Notice the way C# and E (the third and the fifth intervals) sounds against the drone, compared to the other notes. Next, add different rhythms and bow styles. Download the DrumBeats app to have some interesting back-up beats going.