Klarinet Archive - Posting 000922.txt from 2004/10

From: Audrey Travis <vsofan@-----.ca>
Subj: Re: [kl] adjudication at festivals
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2004 11:40:43 -0400

A good way for these students and you not to be caught by surprise is to
record them as they learn pieces and let them hear themselves. With your help
they can also analyse for themselves what needs improvement. Recording them
and playing it back at different intervals in the learning process allows them
to hear/judge/analyse their own progress and gives them ownership of their
fate. It is also the music director's job to prepare the kids ahead of the
performance, in fact throughout the entire learning process, that negative
comments can be expected and are meant to give focus for areas needing more
work. Teach them to listen carefully and to analyse what needs improvement,
and challenge them to fix problems. Then they won't be so upset, in fact
they'll say - boy, our teacher really knows what he's talking about, because
he said the same thing himself, or - we already figured that problem out by
ourselves! When people are in the mode of seeking excellence, they welcome
suggestions for improvement.

One of our local festivals, Kiwanis, gives each band a clinic with one of the
judges after the band's performance. This keeps the band in a learning mode
and lets them know the judge cares about their continuing progress. Though
the festival gives Gold, Siver, Bronze and Participation certificates it is
non competetive (ie many golds could be won if the band reaches a written list
of standards).

Best wishes

Audrey

Adam Michlin wrote:

> Most of all, teach them. If you have truly taught them they should be
> listening to the tapes and hearing exactly what the judges are hearing (if
> you are disputing what the judges are hearing, then they should recognize
> what the judges *aren't* hearing). In either case, the tape may be
> demoralizing (what musician hasn't gone into a deep depression the first
> time they heard themselves on tape?) but the comments should be reinforcing
> what the students already know (in either case).
>
> Yeah, the system sucks. Sorry. I haven't even gone into how little the
> judges are often paid (ever notice how far some of them come from?). You
> just have to decide whether you can make something out of it or not. Like
> much of life, it just isn't going to come to you on a silver platter.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org