Contest/Festival Selections: What's your Motivation?

 

Motivation is defined as "the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way". In other words, the way we do something reveals our motivation for doing it. With that in mind, I think we can agree that when selecting music to prepare for contest/festival events, our "motivation" is going to influence the music we pick. Is your primary motivation to receive a high rating, or is it to provide your students with an educationally and musically rewarding experience?

As an Ed Rep, I have had numerous conversations with directors about WHAT TO PLAY FOR CONTEST! I'm sure we have all agonized over that question! The purpose of this article is not to help you decide whether you should pick a march or a slow piece, or if you should play two or three selections. In some states, those decisions may be predetermined for you by time limitations or other guidelines. The motivation behind why you pick a particular march, ballad, overture, etc. is what we are considering.

In regard to motivation, there are a couple of statements that I have frequently heard that concern me: "I think I'm going to play this piece, because it's new and the judges won't know it" OR "I don't think I am going to play this piece, because the judges probably know it too well." We've probably all caught ourselves at least having these thoughts, but here's what I find troubling about them:

Selecting a piece because it is new and/or obscure enough to possibly be unknown to the judges, first, assumes that by performing an unfamiliar selection you can disguise any musical or technical problems your band has without correcting them, and that the judges won't know. Secondly, in all likelihood, it does not consider the educational and musical value of the selection. This doesn't mean that you might not find a new piece that would be a great contest selection, but what is your motivation for selecting it? Are you first considering the educational and musical experience you, your students, and your listeners will gain from the preparation and performance of the piece, or are you solely focused on getting that rating?

Not selecting a piece because it is may be too familiar to the judges, first, assumes that just because it is familiar to the judges it will be difficult or impossible to get a high rating. Secondly, it may deprive your students of a wonderful educational and musical experience. With these thoughts in mind, I would also say that just because a piece has been performed numerous times for contest or festivals does not necessarily mean it is a quality musical selection. Obviously, you must first consider the difficulty level of the music and whether it is attainable by your ensemble, but there is a lot of quality standard literature for bands at all levels that is not performed very often! Be discerning and if you are unsure about the value of a selection, consult trusted, experienced colleagues. (NOTE: Just because it's on your state list doesn't mean it is a great piece of music).

If we become too focused on the rating instead of the educational and musical experience, our students may miss out on playing some of the excellent standard literature for band. Focus on selecting music that will allow you to teach musical style, intonation, characteristic tone quality, proper balance and blend, and all the other basic fundamentals. That should be the motivation behind our contest/festival music selections and preparation. Pick appropriate grade level, good literature and teach your students to play it well. Your concert/ festival experience will be much more rewarding for you and your students (and the results/ratings will be too).

NOTE: If you want to start building a music library of quality, standard literature for bands at any level, Teaching Music Through Performance In Band is an excellent resource and well worth the investment.