Re: [Harp-L] Does SPAH need harmonica competition - in brief

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

Phil:
It is an interesting idea, but it will need serious thought and
development.  Another place to check for working rules and ideas might
be the bluegrass instrument contests in Winfield, KS., at the Walnut
Valley Festival (www.wvfest.com).  Here are some of the challenges
that might need to be met:

1) Have style categories? Or is it possible to judge across
categories? Or should you do both: judge within categories, then allow
the winners to continue to compete across the categories?

2) Does melody need to be a part of the contestant's offering or is
blues improv acceptable?

3) Should a contestant be only judged on his prepared material or
should he be given an on-the-spot test (sort of like sight-reading in
a UIL concert competition) -- possibly for a grand championship?

4) Solo or with accompanist or either?

5) Should professionals be allowed to participate or should their be
two levels of competition: professional and amateur?

6) Should the competition be a real competition, or should it be more
of a "gentleman's competition" where everyone wins and the audience
will always know it will get a good show?  (Sort of like the showcases
in the evenings at the convention, but overtly open to the public.)

7) Should it be expected that a contestant should pay his way into the
contest, and for how much?  (In some contests, the prize money comes
from a portion of the money collected from the contestants and part of
the contestant's money is also applied to pay off the trophies.)

8) Should it be expected that contestants must pay for (and hopefully
attend) a specified number of days at the convention?  (Some contests
require that contestants pay for more than just their one day at the
festival where the contest is held -- usually two or three days --
with the hopes that they will actually stay that entire time.)

9) Should contestants be pre-chosen to participate in the contest,
applying with some form of recorded submission first to make it
possible to place the best contestants within the limited time period
available for the contest?  (Another common practice for contests
where a lot of submissions are expected which may be of limited
quality.)  Being chosen to compete, therefore, becomes the
contestant's first victory.

10) Are there any tunes that should not be allowed in the contest? 
(Fiddle contests frequently outlaw "Orange Blossom Special" or other
trick tunes.)

11) How should the judges be chosen?  What makes a good judge?  

12) Should the judges watch the contestant, or be sequestered so that
they only hear the performance?

13) What should the judges be looking for in a contestant?  

14) How will the judges observations be documented so that their
rulings can be revisited should there be a controversy over the
outcome?

That submission should get the brain thinking a little.  There are
other questions that may also pop up until the idea is refined a bit
more.  But the idea of something that might catch the general public's
eye wherever the convention is held is a good one.  It might prove to
be a nice thing to do.  Those who don't wish to participate in the
contest should not feel compelled to deal with it, but should be able
to enjoy the show produced by it.  After all, the convention is not
the contest; the contest would just become another activity at the
convention, like the auction and banquet.  We all known that contests
are not for everyone, but they can be fun.  It is all in how it is
organized and executed.

Cara Cooke