You may have heard a bunch of your friends talking about NYSSMA. They may be talking about having to practice for it, or having to choose a solo, or maybe complaining about it (I am personally guilty of this). They are probably in band, orchestra, or chorus, or may even do NYSSMA for private musical lessons such as piano or guitar. But what is NYSSMA?
NYSSMA stands for New York State School Music Association. NYSSMA is an event in which you choose a given solo for your level or grade and perform it for a judge. It normally takes place between the beginning of March through the end of May. NYSSMA can help to add to your college application form and is especially impressive when applying to colleges for music. And, depending on your musical class or teacher, it can help you receive extra credit.
However, if you are not a musical student, you probably don’t understand what NYSSMA is like for a student. I have found that NYSSMA is a different experience for everyone. Many of my friends who are also involved in chorus, band, or orchestra have seemed to love NYSSMA and they find it to be a great learning experience. On the other hand, a lot of my friends have a strong dislike towards NYSSMA, and I’ve found myself to be one of these people. So I guess you could say this article is a little biased.
I have only done NYSSMA for the past two years, however, every year it has caused me nothing but ultimate stress.
Let me break it down for you, each step of NYSSMA is incredibly stressful in its own way. First, you have to pick a solo. This may not seem too hard, but when your teacher hands you a gigantic packet of extremely hard songs with 18th-century English-sounding words as the title and tells you to pick one, that puts you under a ton of pressure. You have to search for videos and recordings of dozens of songs and find one that you think you can learn fast and sing or play.
Next, you have to buy your music. The rules at NYSSMA are extremely strict, and their most enforced policy is to never show up with photocopied music. Photocopied music is illegal and not allowed at NYSSMA, and if you show up with it, you will not be allowed to perform.
Then there’s the rehearsing. Maybe I just have a bad memory, but the songs for NYSSMA are often so hard and complex that if you aren’t constantly rehearsing them, they aren’t easy to pick up on and remember immediately.
Students who have a lot going on in their lives already causing so much stress, whether it’s play rehearsal, football practice, or even just homework, doing NYSSMA just adds to the amount of stress in an average student’s life. Although NYSSMA is a choice, many students feel obligated to do it. Students who have been doing NYSSMA since a young age may feel as if they can’t just “give up” on it because they’ve been doing it for so long.
Some students also are pressured by parents, teachers, and even peers to do the best they can and to do as much as they can. NYSSMA also looks good on college applications, and many students feel they have to have a good college experience and do it for their future.
NYSSMA is also insanely early this year, being in early-mid March, while it’s normally in early May. This gives us much less time to rehearse our solos, especially with everything going on right now at Northport High School, whether it’s Tigerette tryouts, Theater Troupe auditions, or Spring sports tryouts.
How do you feel about NYSSMA? Are you doing it? Let us know in the comments!
