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Adjudication - was: Registration - to be or not to be

To: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Adjudication - was: Registration - to be or not to be
From: "David Lancaster" <d.lancaster@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 15:15:06 GMT
In-reply-to: <924177262.105933.0@monsoon.dial.pipex.net>
Organization: UCRYSJ
Priority: normal
Priority: low
Reply-to: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Samantha Harrison" wrote:

> Hi there
> 
> The trouble with the areas etc, is that you are competing against the best
> bands in your area for a place at London, and you are all playing the same
> piece. 
> 
> However, the areas use different judges and they all have different ideas
> about what they are looking for. It comes down to personal taste.

I think that Sam is absolutlely right and raises several interesting
points here:

At present, different adjudicators are used at each area contest so
that a different set of criteria is applied from one region to the
next.  We can easily understand why one person might not be able to
adjudicate at all of them, but forming a small team who sit down
together with the scores beforehand to discuss standardisation and
then adjudicate in, say the Third section in four regions, shouldn't
be too much to ask.   Frank Renton suggested this a while ago but 
seems to have been overlooked.

...snip...

> Thats the trouble with contesting, not every interpretation is favourable.

As Sam implies, too often adjudicators' decisions seem to hinge 
almost entirely on subjective qualities - the winner is whichever
interpretation he happens to like on the day.  But surely that isn't
the adjudicator's job.  His main task should be to identify the best
band, based upon their performance in that contest.

Its a very brave man indeed (read 'foolish') who says 'my 
interpretation is RIGHT and your is WRONG' since really there can't 
be only one valid interpretation of any piece; music is much too 
complex for that, and in any case, there are usually plenty of 
objective criteria on which to base decisions.   So when you're 
beaten by bands who reveal significant technical weaknesses in a 
contest because the man in the box doesn't like the way you play 
accents (in music marked 'con fuoco'), for example, you might 
reasonably begin to doubt his fitness for the job.   Bitter?  Me?  
Yes, please.

In the Areas, when promotion and relegation are at stake it seems
especially important that the best - and worst - bands are identified.

>  Which is why its great to play music like Blitz in concerts just for the
> enjoyment of playing it.

And hearing it.

David

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References:
- Re: Registration - to be or not to be
  - From: Samantha Harrison

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