2021 Judging
How the Bands are Judged
The Marching Mustang Music Bowl will utilize the Bands of America System and Judges Sheets. Of the seven judges in the six categories listed below, two judges will evaluate Music General Effect, and one for each of the other five categories. In addition, we will provide comments, scores and caption awards for color guard/auxiliary, percussion, and drum majors. These scores will not be considered in the placement of the bands. Our judging panel’s credentials are listed in the following pages of this program and incorporate a wide variety of backgrounds and expertise from academic and drum corps arenas.
Music Categories
Music Execution Individual – Done by a judge at the field level that is listening for the individual performance level of the band members from a musical standpoint. Qualities including intonation, articulation, rhythmic and pitch accuracy, and dynamic response will be considered. This score is averaged with the Music Execution Ensemble score to comprise 20% of the total score.
Music Execution Ensemble – Done by a judge in the press box that is listening for the total group and section performance levels of the band members from a musical standpoint. Qualities including intonation/blend, articulation, rhythmic alignment, balance, and dynamic response will be considered. This score is averaged with the Music Execution Individual score to comprise 20% of the total score.
Music General Effect of the entire ensemble (brass, woodwind and percussion) is evaluated by two judges at press box level in the categories of repertoire, staging and showmanship. This category takes into account not only how effective the music sounds to the listener, but how it is incorporated into the visual presentation by both the entire ensemble to bring about the highest effect to the audience. The points of each judge are added together to comprise 40% of the total score.
Visual Categories
Visual Execution Individual – Done by a judge at the field level that is watching for the individual performance level of the band and color guard members from a physical and visual standpoint. Qualities including posture, foot technique, tempo maintenance, form and interval awareness and showmanship will be considered. This score is averaged with the Visual Execution Ensemble score to comprise 20% of the total score.
Visual Execution Ensemble – Done by a judge in the press box that is watching for the total group and section performance levels of the band and color guard members from a visual standpoint. Qualities including form, staging and field coverage, transition and showmanship will be considered. This score is averaged with the Music Execution Individual score to comprise 20% of the total score.
Visual General Effect of the entire ensemble including color guard is evaluated by one judge at press box level in the categories of design and coordination. The degree to which the visual design effectively represents the music, and how these are coordinated is the principal concept of this category. These points comprise 20% of the total score.
Other Considerations
The timing judge on the field instills the discipline of marching band competition to keep the entire show moving and executed according to schedule. Bands are required to perform a minimum of seven and a maximum of eleven minutes.
The Marching Mustang Music Bowl will utilize the Bands of America System and Judges Sheets. Of the seven judges in the six categories listed below, two judges will evaluate Music General Effect, and one for each of the other five categories. In addition, we will provide comments, scores and caption awards for color guard/auxiliary, percussion, and drum majors. These scores will not be considered in the placement of the bands. Our judging panel’s credentials are listed in the following pages of this program and incorporate a wide variety of backgrounds and expertise from academic and drum corps arenas.
Music Categories
Music Execution Individual – Done by a judge at the field level that is listening for the individual performance level of the band members from a musical standpoint. Qualities including intonation, articulation, rhythmic and pitch accuracy, and dynamic response will be considered. This score is averaged with the Music Execution Ensemble score to comprise 20% of the total score.
Music Execution Ensemble – Done by a judge in the press box that is listening for the total group and section performance levels of the band members from a musical standpoint. Qualities including intonation/blend, articulation, rhythmic alignment, balance, and dynamic response will be considered. This score is averaged with the Music Execution Individual score to comprise 20% of the total score.
Music General Effect of the entire ensemble (brass, woodwind and percussion) is evaluated by two judges at press box level in the categories of repertoire, staging and showmanship. This category takes into account not only how effective the music sounds to the listener, but how it is incorporated into the visual presentation by both the entire ensemble to bring about the highest effect to the audience. The points of each judge are added together to comprise 40% of the total score.
Visual Categories
Visual Execution Individual – Done by a judge at the field level that is watching for the individual performance level of the band and color guard members from a physical and visual standpoint. Qualities including posture, foot technique, tempo maintenance, form and interval awareness and showmanship will be considered. This score is averaged with the Visual Execution Ensemble score to comprise 20% of the total score.
Visual Execution Ensemble – Done by a judge in the press box that is watching for the total group and section performance levels of the band and color guard members from a visual standpoint. Qualities including form, staging and field coverage, transition and showmanship will be considered. This score is averaged with the Music Execution Individual score to comprise 20% of the total score.
Visual General Effect of the entire ensemble including color guard is evaluated by one judge at press box level in the categories of design and coordination. The degree to which the visual design effectively represents the music, and how these are coordinated is the principal concept of this category. These points comprise 20% of the total score.
Other Considerations
The timing judge on the field instills the discipline of marching band competition to keep the entire show moving and executed according to schedule. Bands are required to perform a minimum of seven and a maximum of eleven minutes.