First of all, when listening to a tape, DON'T worry about the score. You want to get an idea of what needs to improve, and how to go about making it better. The score has nothing to do with that. We've had lots of times when a judge really gave us a hard time, with a whole laundry list of things to fix...yet still had us well ahead of every other group in the class. Judges are human beings; each has his or her own way of speaking to a group.
It's a really good idea to listen to MULTIPLE judges...if one judge says one thing, and another something else, it's a lot different issue than if four judges all have a similar comment about that particular bit of the show. We're really looking for spots where multiple judges agree...those are our top priorities. Remember that judging a band show is SUBJECTIVE...each judge has his or her own slightly different perspective about what really matters.
Remember, also, that judges are all people who have experienced a great deal of success in the marching arts. They do get paid for their work, but no one makes a living doing it; they all have other jobs...this is a way for them to give back to the activity and help educate the next generation of performers. Most judges have a great deal of experience TEACHING in our activity, and this is a way for them to reach even more students.
Listen for the BIG PICTURE items...what are the fundamental concepts that the judge brings up. A lot of times, the judge will review what they feel are the biggest things at the end of the tape, so listen all the way to the end. DON'T get hung up on a single comment about a particular spot in the show, listen for an overall theme to what the judge feels we need to spend our rehearsal time on. Over the course of a long show, even the best judges will occasionally mis-speak; it's not about any one comment, it's about the general tenor of ALL their comments.
There is no one standardized format for judging band shows. Part of the reason the FMBC (Florida Marching Band Coalition) was formed was to create a circuit of shows that would all use the same format, so there would be some consistency to band contests in the state of Florida. The judging format when we go to FBA is different from FMBC, and bands that go to Music for All (formerly BOA) regionals and nationals are judged on a slightly different format as well.
At an FMBC show, there are 6 required judges and 3 optional judges. The band's score is determined by the 6 required judges:
1. Individual Music (10 points, judged from the field, evaluates the content of the musical program and how well the performers execute it individually)
2. Ensemble Music (20 points, judged from the press box, evaluates the content of the musical program and how well the performers execute it as a group)
3. Individual Visual (10 points, judged from the field, evaluates the content of the visual program and how well the performers execute it individually)
4. Ensemble Visual (20 points, judged from the press box, evaluates the content of the visual program and how well the performers execute it as a group)
5. General Effect Music (20 points, judged from the press box, evaluates the overall effectiveness of the musical presentation and how well the visual program reflects it)
6. General Effect Coordination (20 points, judged from the press box, evaluates how effectively the band combines all the musical and visual elements to create a strong presentation)
Optional Judges - it is not required to judge these areas, and the scores are not part of the overall band score. These judges only judge a specific subset of the performers on the field; the point is to give highly specific and specialized information to those students about the very particular things they must deal with while performing. The scores are only used to compare these sections from band to band:
1. Drum Major (100 points, rarely judged, gives very specific and specialized feedback to the drum major)
2. Auxiliary (100 points, almost always judged, gives very specific commentary to whatever auxiliary performers the band has - in our case, the color guard. Auxiliary simply means performers who contribute to the show visually but not musically.) Guard should also listen to the Visual and General Effect judges to understand their overall impact in the show...don't listen ONLY to the Auxiliary judges, or you'll miss a lot!
3. Percussion (100 points, almost always judged, gives very specific commentary to the percussion section, with a strong focus on actual percussion technique). The music and effect judges are going to comment on the musical qualities of the percussion, but are not in a position to realistically give detailed feedback on technique--wind technique is easier to diagnose from a distance, but you need to be closer to the percussion to see what they're really doing. It's really important for percussion to listen to the other 6 judges as well to understand their overall impact in the show...don't listen ONLY to the percussion judge, or you'll miss a lot!
General Effect Coordination Judge
General Effect Coordination Judge