Questions for Band Talk - 4th March

What type of contest do you prefer? 

We all have preferences in music. Do you find it easier to adjudicate a piece you like or a piece you dislike?

Is as much care taken to order the bands in the lower part of the reuslts table as in the top 6?

Adjudicators often list what they were looking for just before the results are announced. We've played at contests where the deciding factor has been how one movement was played or how influenced by a particular recording the band had been. What scope is there to get this info to the bands before the contest so they have an idea what success looks like? 

Does the criteria change depending on the style of the test piece, ie older test piece more on tuning,  modern more on technical skills 

Also, how much does percussion come into the equation 

How does it work when 2 or more adjudicators,  surely there are times when they can't agree on a winner 

What is ABBA’s view on standardised, quantitative marking systems for contests, such as those proposed by Steven Mead and others, where points are allocated based on set criteria like tuning, dynamics, accuracy, soloists etc.?  Is there any plan to develop this or trial something of this nature in a future contest?

Our band like many others enjoys entering entertainment and own choice test piece contests as it allows the band to select pieces of music that players enjoy and that suit the band’s strengths. They also seem to becoming more popular at major contests like Butlins.  This must be a challenge for adjudicators as its not a level playing field.  How should adjudicators approach this?  Do you reward the band that pushes themselves with a very hard piece but it doesn’t quite work or the band that plays it safe with ‘easier' music and makes no mistakes?