2024 BOA Bedford (Oct. 5)

[tennertrumbow]

proud alum of lone star. their highest placement here ever, and beating both Keller and LD Bell by 2+ points is no joke at all. look forward to seeing them in person at prosper next week, and see them wreck some stuff in uil!

[lost]

This is certainly top three most competitive regular season regionals in the country! Every band here showed up!

[SaxSoldier]

anyone have the prelims scoresheet?

[Bushpresident]

  On 10/6/2024 at 3:08 PM, SaxSoldier said:

anyone have the prelims scoresheet?

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https://marching.musicforall.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/10/2024_Dallas_MC_Prelims.pdf

[CosmicLimbo]

Keller 12th in prelims and Forney and Azle first two out???? Very spicy 

[LostChoirGuy]

Keller was .1 away from missing finals at a contest for the first time in a decade.

[Tubalord11]

  On 10/6/2024 at 4:21 PM, CosmicLimbo said:

Keller 12th in prelims and Forney and Azle first two out???? Very spicy 

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And then we have a crazy about of shifting from prelims to finals. Keller 12th to 8th, Southlake from 7th to 11th, pretty sure Flomo and Hebron were the only bands who didn’t move up or down lol 

[DrumLine]

A night's sleep to reflect -- 

The season-long battle between Hebron and FloMo is appointment viewing. Hebron is so incredibly ... perfect, while FloMo is so incredibly, well, "FloMo" and so breathtaking/fun to watch. I wish Marcus had been there last night to join the mix.

Another season-long UIL 5A battle to watch: Wakeland vs. Lone Star. These two schools are located just 3 MILES from each other, yet they both embody excellence. IN MY OPINION: Lone Star's music and GE is better this year; while Wakeland's execution, per usual, is flawless and their marching might be second to none. This is a subjective competition, and Lone Star has long been living in Wakeland's shadow, so they've got to overcome that. 

This was the sixth year that I've attended the BOA Bedford competition, and the quality of the shows keep getting better and better. All finalists should be INCREDIBLY proud. 

[DrumLine]

  On 10/6/2024 at 4:55 PM, Tubalord11 said:

And then we have a crazy about of shifting from prelims to finals. Keller 12th to 8th, Southlake from 7th to 11th, pretty sure Flomo and Hebron were the only bands who didn’t move up or down lol 

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This. This! The difference in placements between prelims and finals show just how close all these bands really are. Really intrigued to see how BOA Prosper shakes out next week with all the out-of-state bands joining the fun.

[moosicmamma]

  On 10/6/2024 at 5:08 PM, DrumLine said:

A night's sleep to reflect -- 

The season-long battle between Hebron and FloMo is appointment viewing. Hebron is so incredibly ... perfect, while FloMo is so incredibly, well, "FloMo" and so breathtaking/fun to watch. I wish Marcus had been there last night to join the mix.

Another season-long UIL 5A battle to watch: Wakeland vs. Lone Star. These two schools are located just 3 MILES from each other, yet they both embody excellence. IN MY OPINION: Lone Star's music and GE is better this year; while Wakeland's execution, per usual, is flawless and their marching might be second to none. This is a subjective competition, and Lone Star has long been living in Wakeland's shadow, so they've got to overcome that. 

This was the sixth year that I've attended the BOA Bedford competition, and the quality of the shows keep getting better and better. All finalists should be INCREDIBLY proud. 

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Lone Star and Wakeland also share MS Band feeders.  The students are very close, not only in competition but in friendship within the programs!  Proud to be a part of TeamFriscoBands. 

[Gerys_Goulash]

General thoughts I have from last night

Hebron. Wow. What a show. I cannot wait to see what they do this season because they completely took me away. Same with Flower Mound. Their show was so colorful and full of emotion. Lewisville ISD will be super fun to watch this year (as always)

Wakeland's show was super feel-good and brought a smile to my face. I enjoyed it. I think they will take 5A by storm. Same with Aledo. I cannot wait to see Asphalt Cocktail on the field!!

Timber Creek made school history as well! This was their first time scoring in the top half of finals at this competition. Their show was fantastic and their score was deserved.

Keller and Bell. I was shocked I saw them placed so low. It feels weird hearing their name announced that early. I am sure they will bounce back from this competition.

Lonestar. What. A. Show. Amazing use of colors and the trombone solo in the ballad was really beautiful. I love the theme and the music brought me chills from how well it was played. 

Overall amazing job to all of the ensembles that performed today. It was truly a magical night.

[Beanbag52]

Does anybody else think it’s weird how General Effect counts for 60% of the scoring for BOA? That seems very excessive, especially considering not a lot of people can even define what it means. Can anyone here explain for me?

[SaxSoldier]

  On 10/6/2024 at 8:24 PM, Beanbag52 said:

Does anybody else think it’s weird how General Effect counts for 60% of the scoring for BOA? That seems very excessive, especially considering not a lot of people can even define what it means. Can anyone here explain for me?

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I’ve thought the same thing. General effect includes stuff like props and uniforms, basically the feeling you get after seeing a good movie, but in this case after a marching show. And that’s stuff the kids don’t control. That counts towards 60% of their scoring!! You would think a contest would be more focused on the work the kids produce, and not the things money produces. 

And not that kids don’t control GE, just a HUGE portion of it is produced by money that not all schools can afford to fund.

[Tubalord11]

  On 10/6/2024 at 8:42 PM, SaxSoldier said:

I’ve thought the same thing. General effect includes stuff like props and uniforms, basically the feeling you get after seeing a good movie, but in this case after a marching show. And that’s stuff the kids don’t control. That counts towards 60% of their scoring!! You would think a contest would be more focused on the work the kids produce, and not the things money produces. 

And not that kids don’t control GE, just a HUGE portion of it is produced by money that not all schools can afford to fund.

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I like to think of GE of how well the students connect with the judges and the audience through the music and the drill. While, as you have stated, some of it depends on props and uniforms, I'd say most of its kids from the kids and the design of the show. I always recall to Reagan 2019, who had almost no props, yet their GE score was insanely high. Why, because they were able to bring out the ideas and concepts of the show to live through how well the executed the show. Does this make it easier for larger bands, yes. Do I think you need a lot of props and custom uniforms to have a lot of GE, not at all! 

[Beanbag52]

  On 10/6/2024 at 8:59 PM, Tubalord11 said:

I like to think of GE of how well the students connect with the judges and the audience through the music and the drill. While, as you have stated, some of it depends on props and uniforms, I'd say most of its kids from the kids and the design of the show. I always recall to Reagan 2019, who had almost no props, yet their GE score was insanely high. Why, because they were able to bring out the ideas and concepts of the show to live through how well the executed the show. Does this make it easier for larger bands, yes. Do I think you need a lot of props and custom uniforms to have a lot of GE, not at all! 

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How do you think the rankings would have been different if at all if it were judged by UIL scoring?

[Tubalord11]

  On 10/6/2024 at 9:03 PM, Beanbag52 said:

How do you think the scoring would have been different if at all if it were judged by UIL scoring?

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I feel like UIL focuses mainly on how clean everything is. Of course there's specifics they are looking for, that list is very long, but I'd say it's pretty close to what the 4 music and visual judges look for, but it's hard to tell for these bands specifically since most of their first UIL scored comp is normally area. I don't think too much would change placement wise, maybe some small things, but you could just add up the music and visual overall scores and make the bands total score out of 40 to see how rankings would be. 

[clarinetistkai05]

  On 10/6/2024 at 4:21 PM, CosmicLimbo said:

Keller 12th in prelims and Forney and Azle first two out???? Very spicy 

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ironically forney got the same placement as last year. sucks in general, but they still got a few more weeks to push thru the season, so im rooting for them! im planning on attending their community performance next weekend, so ill be with them another week (if everything works out).

[LostChoirGuy]

While GE is definitely impacted by design, I don't think its as much about the props and colors and pizazz that so many seem to suggest.  It is more about the wow moments where the music locks into place due to excellent intonation and expression or when the marching and formations lead to awesome moments.  I'm both cases, an amazing design will fail without excellent execution.  You can watch videos of some of the top bands in the country throughout a season and see that as they clean, their GE score is greatly increased as well because their shows become more effective.

[clarinetistkai05]

  On 10/6/2024 at 9:12 PM, Tubalord11 said:

I feel like UIL focuses mainly on how clean everything is. Of course there's specifics they are looking for, that list is very long, but I'd say it's pretty close to what the 4 music and visual judges look for, but it's hard to tell for these bands specifically since most of their first UIL scored comp is normally area. I don't think too much would change placement wise, maybe some small things, but you could just add up the music and visual overall scores and make the bands total score out of 40 to see how rankings would be. 

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is that also why some schools tend to perform better at UIL compared to BOA? i dont have examples on the top of my head, but it’s something I’ve noticed with a few schools.

[Tubalord11]

  On 10/6/2024 at 9:21 PM, clarinetistkai05 said:

is that also why some schools tend to perform better at UIL compared to BOA? i dont have examples on the top of my head, but it’s something I’ve noticed with a few schools.

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Well first off, UIL is later in the season compared to most of the Tx regionals, meaning more rehearsals and time to polish and clean, which is obviously a major factor in a good performance. I personally feel like we see the bands who are successful at one be at the other, with the consistent regional/SR finalist, especially for 6A, being those we see make finals at state. Of course, you'll have some that make finals at one not at the other due to some bands not being at both, but I think the biggest variation being that some bands simply have better runs that those consistent regional finalists at area. Performance quality is the biggest part in making finals at any type of comp, but it's something that UIL focuses more heavily on with not having any GE judging until state, if you really count that 

[lost]

  On 10/6/2024 at 8:42 PM, SaxSoldier said:

I’ve thought the same thing. General effect includes stuff like props and uniforms, basically the feeling you get after seeing a good movie, but in this case after a marching show. And that’s stuff the kids don’t control. That counts towards 60% of their scoring!! You would think a contest would be more focused on the work the kids produce, and not the things money produces. 

And not that kids don’t control GE, just a HUGE portion of it is produced by money that not all schools can afford to fund.

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This is an untrue description, and a harmful one at that. Ronald Reagan put up what was the highest score in BOA regional history at the time with zero props and a traditional uniform. 

General effect is instead focused more on the cohesion of a show. The reason the high-placing bands in music and visual usually also have high GE scores is because a well-performed show is much more effective in delivering it's intended message than a poorly-performed one. Yes, GE is tied with money in being able to hire better visual designers and writers but it is not as much tied to props and uniforms like you present. 

You still need great execution even with an objectively amazing design though, it's why every band with a recycled Cartwright show doesn't have flawless GE scores, but why Broken Arrow broke a 98 with one of his shows.

[berinskygaming]

herbon , well deserve Win

[josephbandfan]

Keep in mind that visual GE is only 1/3 of the entire GE score. While props and costuming can contribute to GE, it isn’t even necessary as propless shows succeed on a yearly basis. 

Southlake Carroll’s show was filled with backdrops, props, bubble machines, theme specific uniforms, some guard members had glittery lobster hands, and was 7th in Vis GE. But was 12th in Music GE and 11th in GE overall.

[josephbandfan]

  On 10/6/2024 at 1:29 AM, Liam Allen said:

Keller - incredible opening statement by Keller!  The organ has made an appearance!  Interesting use of silence throughout.  Great performance!

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Some of that was actually due to all the electronic failures they were experiencing 😅

[josephbandfan]

Flower Mound’s show and design was by far the most interesting here. Can’t wait to see it again in San Antonio