No
Nonsense Responses to Judging Questions
By Joni Bescos, Rich-Tone Chorus, Region 25
Q: Why does it take judges so long?
A: I’m going to assume you mean “to
judge” because I answered a question in a previous article
regarding the length of time between the end of the contest and
the announcement of results. At the Queens’ College in 2004
there was a class on judging, and those in attendance were given
the opportunity to judge. Many regions are bringing in faculty to
teach this same sort of class. The members who go through this exercise
no longer have questions about the length of time it takes. Recent
instances of delay caused by judges are extremely rare. In a chorus
competition, a perceived delay generally results from the time required
to get choruses to the auditorium, through the traffic pattern,
and on and off the stage. Sometimes there are traffic delays. Sometimes
the judges are actually ahead of schedule and the contest is delayed
so that the next chorus will have the full amount of time in the
warmup room. In a quartet contest, there should be an average of
ten minutes from one quartet introduction to the next. This will
vary with the total singing time of each quartet, but it averages
out. At international, there are more large choruses and the traffic
pattern is based on 13 minutes from one introduction to the next.
Q: At the contest in Detroit I saw judges in the
pit talking to each other between contestants. Is that allowed?
Were they comparing scores?
A: I remember looking up and saying to Bobbette,
“I wonder what color that outfit will be when they turn on
the lights?” A couple of times, one of us did ask how the
other had scored when it was a chorus we knew well, but our scores
were already turned in. There’s no rule against talking, particularly
while we’re waiting for choruses to get on and off stage.
I was sitting next to Bobbette Gantz, and I’ve known Bobbette
since she was a teenager. I talked to the judge on my right, Renee
Porzel, as well. I may have even turned around once or twice to
talk to those behind me! Now really, could you sit by your friends
for 6-8 hours and not talk?
Q: Why do some panels seem to score much higher
than others, thereby qualifying several wildcards from one region?
A: In some areas of life it’s okay to say,
“I don’t know the answer to that question.” This
would be one of those situations. I wish I could give you a scientific,
factual answer, but I can’t. We all watch and listen to the
same level tape before we go into the judging pit. I can say, from
experience, that the tape sounds better on some equipment than it
does on others. So the same performance that’s supposed to
represent “B” may sound better on the state-of-the art
system available in one region than it does on the 3-inch speaker
of the 19-inch television furnished in another region. I can also
say that each judge goes into the pit with the goal of scoring each
performance fairly and accurately.
Q: In the last two International chorus competitions
I have seen choruses utilize what I would call props, but they didn’t
keep them in their hands. Doesn’t the rule say “hand-held?”
A: I’m going to assume you’re talking
about performances in the entertainment package rather than the
semifinals session. The rule regarding props does not apply to the
non-competition material included in the entertainment package.
You may not realize that each contestant submits something like
a technical script, and a copy is furnished to each judge. This
script indicates the songs that will be performed, when the emceeing
will occur, what the action will be so the cameraman can be prepared,
and which of the songs are to be judged as the two competition songs.
You’ll see members leaving the stage and returning with props,
or returning in a different costume. In this portion of the package
the contestant can bring anything onto the stage — as long
as they take it off when they leave the stage. We never want to
get to the point that the theatrical aspect of a performance becomes
the point of focus rather than the musical aspect. However, because
of member confusion, the International Board recently approved the
rule clarification recommended by the Judge Specialists and the
Education Direction Committee. The rule now reads:
Elimination Sessions: Staging and lighting are uniform for
all contestants. Properties are permissible. Stage sets including
scenery are not permissible. A penalty may result, if in the opinion
of the official panel, the use of props creates a distraction and
detracts from the musical performance, or significantly delays the
contest. In addition a penalty may be assessed if the props are
left on stage following the contestant’s performance. In all
sessions, the penalty ranges from (10) to fifty (50) points, depending
on severity.
Q: My quartet received a scoresheet comment about
one of our member’s posture. This member has had back surgery,
and the posture results from that surgery. We used to have forms
to turn in to the showmanship judge about members with disabilities.
Why was this discontinued? How can we avoid this in the future?
A: The use of disability forms was discontinued
because they were ineffective. Typical comments: “third person
in on the fourth row, director’s right,” but no identification
of the perceived problem; or “Susan Smith has had eye surgery,”
without letting us know where Susan stands. It was believed that
in most cases the judge was able to identify a physical problem
without the form. Some contestants misunderstood the purpose —
the judge did not ignore the problem; she based her evaluation on
how effectively the problem was handled. With respect to posture,
though, the quartet should design a costume that will camouflage
the problem, perhaps a dressy jacket with shoulder pads, rather
than choosing an outfit that makes the problem obvious.
Q: There seems to be a movement in contest arrangements
to end songs/tags with the basses up on E, F or F#. What’s
going on?
A: As an arranger of many contest tunes, I’m
not aware of any such movement. I have to believe other arrangers
also try to end a song in the range where the singers will sound
best. The basses would generally end on the tonic or key note, whatever
it is. Probably if the tag is supposed to end loud the bass note
will be high. If it’s supposed to end soft, it will be low.
Q: Do I get in trouble with the judges if I take
a song that is well known one way and change it? For example, taking
an uptune and making it into a ballad or taking a backbeat song
and singing it faster and with emphasis on the downbeat (or the
opposite of that)?
A: Generally the answer would be no. However, you
need to take a close look at the arrangement to determine whether
the arranger planned for it to be sung a certain way. For example,
the embellishments used for a ballad arrangement will generally
be in a different style than the rhythmic embellishments used for
an uptune. An arrangement designed to be sung with backbeat emphasis
will generally incorporate syncopation and push beats in both the
song itself and the embellishments, while an arrangement designed
to be delivered with downbeat emphasis will emphasize the first
and third beats.
Q: Why do Sweet Adelines judges insist on non-tempo
ballads?
A: I didn’t know they did, and here I’ve
been a certified judge for more than 40 years! Just for the sake
of comparison, let’s take the first two songs that come to
my mind: Pal Of My Cradle Days and I Had The Craziest
Dream. The arrangements of “Pal” that I know provide
abundant opportunities for the performer to demonstrate skills in
the area of dynamic contrast and artistic phrasing. My quartet used
to sing “Craziest Dream” as a swing ballad. It allowed
us to demonstrate our ability to maintain tempo and energized tones.
Given both songs sung equally well, “Pal” will score
higher because of the greater variety of skills it allows the performer
to demonstrate. However, if the performance of “Craziest Dream”
is stronger than the performance of “Pal,” “Craziest
Dream” will get the higher score.
Q: I want to know what the judges think about
the use of vibrato.
A: They really don’t think about it until
it smacks them in the ears! Seriously, as the Judging Category
Description Book states, “Although vibrato is an identifiable
characteristic of a well-produced tone, it is not a predominant
characteristic of barbershop sound … Generally speaking, the
quality that results from a desirable, natural vibrato should be
outstanding; the vibrato itself should not.”
Q: How can I smile and still sing an oo or oh
vowel?
A: First off, the lift in your countenance and
the light in your eyes is ever so much more effective in conveying
a smile than the posture of your lips. But if you’re attempting
to pinch your lips to produce “oo” or “oh,”
the result is probably tension and an inconsistent sound. You don’t
need to exaggerate lip position in order to produce a correct vowel
sound.
Q: Our scoresheets said we needed to build stamina
and breath support? How do we do this?
A: Your chorus should have a regular vocal improvement
program. Unfortunately, breath support and stamina aren’t
things you can buy. A coach can’t give them to you in a Saturday
coaching session. If you did not attend the class given by Harborlites
Chorus in Detroit, you might think about purchasing the video or
DVD of the class. It went into detail about their attention to the
individual singer and the vocal improvement program. One of the
ways to develop stamina, once everyone knows the music and visual,
is to run your competition sets straight through, several times,
back to back, at every rehearsal. When I stay straight through,
I mean just that. No stopping to fix anything, no stopping to talk
about song one –or anything else– before you sing song
two. Straight through, including walk on and off for a quartet,
or announcement, initial acknowledgement, acknowledgement between
songs, and final acknowledgement. Directors, this means you too.
Many choruses do less than their best for the simple reason that
the director has continued to “pick a little, talk a little,”
at every rehearsal, even in the warmup room, and the chorus has
never once performed the entire package. Several years ago I went
to coach a chorus in the last stages of preparation for International
Competition. I was greeted by several members who said, “will
you please make sure she lets us sing the songs all the way through?”
So when the director said, “what do you want to hear first?”
I responded, “all six songs, straight through.”
Q: Will we ever go to computer judging in the
pit?
A: Good grief I hope so! In saying that, I’m
assuming the question relates to judges sitting there typing comments
on a laptop, which is networked to a master terminal operated by
the panel secretary. She would then print out the scoresheets and
also transmit them to International Headquarters. Actually I don’t
know enough about networking to know if this is possible, but it
sounds good! If your question meant that the computer itself would
do the judging, my answer would have to be no. While a computer
could evaluate tuning, balance, and synchronization, I doubt its
ability to evaluate artistry.
Q: What is the role of the panel chair? Does she
have any authority over how the other panel members adjudicate the
contest, what they say on a scoresheet, and/or the scores that they
give?"
A: The panel chair has many responsibilities. She
is the judge who gets up early for the auditorium inspection where
she determines that the lighting and sound meet Sweet Adelines’
competition standards. She is the person who makes certain that
all other contest officials are familiar with the responsibilities
of their individual jobs. In an emergency, she makes a decision
that is in the best interests of all concerned. She is responsible
for attempting to keep the contest running on schedule and, if any
judge consistently takes too much time she tells that judge to work
faster. She does not tell the other judges what to write on their
scoresheets. She announces the results of the competition or, as
I do, may share that privilege with the other members of the panel.
To submit a question to “No Nonsense Reponses to Judging
Questions,” e-mail music@sweetadelineintl.org.
