2024 BOA Bedford (Oct. 5)

[josephbandfan]

20 hours ago, Liam Allen said:

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

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 

[CosmicLimbo]

1 hour ago, clarinetistkai05 said:

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).

They’ll be fine they have a great show that I think will do really well at Area and state. I genuinely hate BOA regional scoring to tell you the truth but that’s based off my own personal gripes 😅 regardless I’m always in here paying attention to BOA events and scores so jokes on me 

[SaxSoldier]

1 hour ago, LostChoirGuy said:

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.

then what’s the point in GE if it’s mostly based on cleanliness? If it’s about how well they play while hitting their dots we already have categories for that. If the GE category is about execution that’s basically the same as the subtotal, but just built as its own category. And design is still money based but I see the point you’re making.

[Kimjungbassoon]

2 hours ago, SaxSoldier said:

then what’s the point in GE if it’s mostly based on cleanliness? If it’s about how well they play while hitting their dots we already have categories for that. If the GE category is about execution that’s basically the same as the subtotal, but just built as its own category. And design is still money based but I see the point you’re making.

Good GE is about communicating musically and visually to the audience. Execution “dot to dot and note to note” does impact GE because excellence communicates well. Design also comes into play because it can provides the vehicle to communicate with.

[SaxSoldier]

6 minutes ago, Kimjungbassoon said:

Good GE is about communicating musically and visually to the audience. Execution “dot to dot and note to note” does impact GE because excellence communicates well. Design also comes into play because it can provides the vehicle to communicate with.

so basically just music and visual? there’s already judges for those. and for these categories I feel that it is more of a solid judging ground than the GE category. there’s ensemble and individual judges for both so feet in time and completing phrases are things that are already judged and can provide a solid reason for their scores. For GE on the other hand I feel it’s a little bit more opinionated. If you say a band executed better than an other you have to back it up with the music and visual (which we already have a category for) so there’s not really a point in it in my opinion. And if you say I feel like said band executed better because their their show sounded and looked better that’s more opinion based than student production based. GE to me feels like a glorified combined visual and music score but with added things like design which again, the kids can’t control.

[lost]

1 hour ago, SaxSoldier said:

so basically just music and visual? there’s already judges for those. and for these categories I feel that it is more of a solid judging ground than the GE category. there’s ensemble and individual judges for both so feet in time and completing phrases are things that are already judged and can provide a solid reason for their scores. For GE on the other hand I feel it’s a little bit more opinionated. If you say a band executed better than an other you have to back it up with the music and visual (which we already have a category for) so there’s not really a point in it in my opinion. And if you say I feel like said band executed better because their their show sounded and looked better that’s more opinion based than student production based. GE to me feels like a glorified combined visual and music score but with added things like design which again, the kids can’t control.

The visual and music captions are opinionated in themselves. I don't think you're quite understanding the caption and are looking for a scapegoat...and that's ok but just keep it to yourself.

[DumbBandLoser]

2 minutes ago, lost said:

The visual and music captions are opinionated in themselves. I don't think you're quite understanding the caption and are looking for a scapegoat...and that's ok but just keep it to yourself.

If you don't mind me asking, what is the point of telling some to keep their opinions to themselves on a band forum page meant to discuss opinions?

[SaxSoldier]

15 minutes ago, lost said:

The visual and music captions are opinionated in themselves. I don't think you're quite understanding the caption and are looking for a scapegoat...and that's ok but just keep it to yourself.

if I “don’t understand the caption” don’t dismiss it, try to explain to the points i’m making and help me understand better. don’t shut me down on an open forum to discuss topics.

[BoneGuy4]

1 hour ago, SaxSoldier said:

so basically just music and visual? there’s already judges for those. and for these categories I feel that it is more of a solid judging ground than the GE category. there’s ensemble and individual judges for both so feet in time and completing phrases are things that are already judged and can provide a solid reason for their scores. For GE on the other hand I feel it’s a little bit more opinionated. If you say a band executed better than an other you have to back it up with the music and visual (which we already have a category for) so there’s not really a point in it in my opinion. And if you say I feel like said band executed better because their their show sounded and looked better that’s more opinion based than student production based. GE to me feels like a glorified combined visual and music score but with added things like design which again, the kids can’t control.

I feel like GE is completely different from music and visual because a school might have a super easy to play and march show but the show might not make much sense to the over all idea of the show, so it might not be very enjoyable for the audience.

[SaxSoldier]

2 minutes ago, BoneGuy4 said:

I feel like GE is completely different from music and visual because a school might have a super easy to play and march show but the show might not make much sense to the over all idea of the show, so it might not be very enjoyable for the audience.

but that brings the question of where’s the foundation for judging? how do you judge a show on the enjoy ability of it and the effect it has on the audience. and if it doesn’t make sense to the idea of the show is that something that should be judged when we’re talking about performers. if the show it’s super clean but it doesn’t fit the theme do points get taken off simply because the design doesn’t compliment the music? if so, the kids can’t control that and I think we should be judging the kids performance and execution of skills rather than how non-performers designed a show.

[BoneGuy4]

I totally agree, I don’t enjoy the unpredictablbess of the judging, however I don’t like talking bad about it because I have no clue how you would fix that.

4 minutes ago, SaxSoldier said:

but that brings the question of where’s the foundation for judging? how do you judge a show on the enjoy ability of it and the effect it has on the audience. and if it doesn’t make sense to the idea of the show is that something that should be judged when we’re talking about performers. if the show it’s super clean but it doesn’t fit the theme do points get taken off simply because the design doesn’t compliment the music? if so, the kids can’t control that and I think we should be judging the kids performance and execution of skills rather than how non-performers designed a show.

 

[SaxSoldier]

1 minute ago, BoneGuy4 said:

I totally agree, I don’t enjoy the unpredictablbess of the judging, however I don’t like talking bad about it because I have no clue how you would fix that.

 

would you like me to encourage it then?😂

[BoneGuy4]

No no I’m just saying i genuinely don’t know how I would fix it so I’m not going to complain about it to much. I don’t care what other people do 😂

4 minutes ago, SaxSoldier said:

would you like me to encourage it then?😂

 

[josephbandfan]

1 hour ago, SaxSoldier said:

so basically just music and visual? there’s already judges for those. and for these categories I feel that it is more of a solid judging ground than the GE category. there’s ensemble and individual judges for both so feet in time and completing phrases are things that are already judged and can provide a solid reason for their scores. For GE on the other hand I feel it’s a little bit more opinionated. If you say a band executed better than an other you have to back it up with the music and visual (which we already have a category for) so there’s not really a point in it in my opinion. And if you say I feel like said band executed better because their their show sounded and looked better that’s more opinion based than student production based. GE to me feels like a glorified combined visual and music score but with added things like design which again, the kids can’t control.

The music and visual caption judges on difficulty, range of skill, techniques, and their execution. The GE captions judge on whether the content they’re performing is effective in supporting the theme, if it’s interesting or innovative, and its execution. A band successfully executing music that supports the theme will be more effective than a poor performance of music that supports the theme. Basically, vis and music is purely execution of the technical aspects. And GE is execution of design, which execution of the technical aspects plays a part in.

Yes, that does allow a little more room for opinions, but even the music and visual captions also have some degree of opinions as one judge may reward a specific technique more than another. Yes, the design of a show is mostly out of the student’s control.

The GE captions is basically to help promote innovation and encourage unique exploration of ideas. If we wanted to judge solely on the performance of the students without any outside factors such as a non performer’s design, wouldn’t it make more sense to have every competing band perform the exact same show? Having more resources can definitely make being innovate easier. But, many would argue that most innovation in the world was a direct result of limitations.

Some may argue about how much of the score should GE be responsible for which is understandable. But when you really break down what GE is, you understand that execution of a show is still the majority of the score. You don’t have to personally agree with it. You don’t even have to agree that it needs to be an entirely separate caption. But BOA and DCI use it for a reason. And no one is forcing band directors to attend these regionals, but many do. If a director only wants to participate in a circuit where only performance is judged and not design, they have free will to do so.

How much money comes into play in student activities is always a discussion but it’s just the truth of life. Take out the design aspect, money still has a direct effect on music and marching when considering private lessons, well decorated educators, opportunities, etc.

All that being said, a band can be successful in BOA without all the bells and whistles! Wakeland has been one of the top DFW bands for the past few years and their approach to their show themes has been some of the most basic I’ve ever seen that I could write it in my sleep. 2023 show was Sense of Direction and they just had a ton of arrow sets. 2024 show is Where the Heart Is. Stick figure family set here, house set there, heart set there. No props. But their performance ability has been so high in combination with the music and marching they attempt. Some people say the original GE is cleanliness. A well performed difficult show will have an effect on you. You could then say what’s the point of GE then if a band can just perform well and still succeed? How I think of it is that a well performed difficult show with basic theme still trumps a less impressive show with an amazing theme, as they should. But if it’s a well performed difficult show with an amazing theme, then they take the cake. It can suck that there’s an aspect that is out of the performer’s hands, but this is a creative art after all and there needs to be some level of subjectivity.

[MelloMan06]

this got a little intense quickly! GE is complicated, but rest assured all judges go through training to understand how it is scored. regardless, congrats to all bands that competed in this comp, one of the toughest regional comps!

[LoneStarSuperFan]

I'm really excited to see what happens with Lone Star in the upcoming season. In my opinion, they are the best they've ever been and for this early in the season is great to see! In 2023 Lone Star placed 13th at BOA with a score of 77. Now we've seen a 3.25 point difference. (Correct me if I'm wrong) With moving 6 places forward. That is INSANE for the BOA world with only one season in between. Now there are a few things holding them back, individual marching level is not as high as it could be. I feel like another goal for the Lone Star staff is finally reaching the level that Wakelend is at. But if they continue this upward trend I do believe that it will be possible. By BOA Prosper this upcoming weekend? I'm not sure, but it is certainly possible this is all dependent on what they do with the feedback from judges. Not to mention, how they use their time this week.

[tennertrumbow]

25 minutes ago, LoneStarSuperFan said:

I'm really excited to see what happens with Lone Star in the upcoming season. In my opinion, they are the best they've ever been and for this early in the season is great to see! In 2023 Lone Star placed 13th at BOA with a score of 77. Now we've seen a 3.25 point difference. (Correct me if I'm wrong) With moving 6 places forward. That is INSANE for the BOA world with only one season in between. Now there are a few things holding them back, individual marching level is not as high as it could be. I feel like another goal for the Lone Star staff is finally reaching the level that Wakelend is at. But if they continue this upward trend I do believe that it will be possible. By BOA Prosper this upcoming weekend? I'm not sure, but it is certainly possible this is all dependent on what they do with the feedback from judges. Not to mention, how they use their time this week.

14th last yr not 13th

[DrumLine]

8 minutes ago, tennertrumbow said:

14th last yr not 13th

And 9th in 2022. 

[CosmicLimbo]

Yeah I feel like we have the GE debate every year. I’m of the opinion that maybe 10% less of the score for GE of what we have now is a little more reasonable but that’s just me without repeating too much of what some other people have mentioned already. 

[LoneStarSuperFan]

1 hour ago, tennertrumbow said:

14th last yr not 13th

Ah right thank you.

[SaltySynth]

On 10/5/2024 at 9:10 PM, Nny14 said:

After BOA Austin I thought Vandegrift was going to go unchallenged protecting their San Antonio/ State title. I'm...not so sure about that now. Wow Hebron.

It was my first time to see Hebron in person and I was just totally blown away. No idea how they do it.

[cheeto2401]

im getting word that L.D. Bell got a 10 point subtraction because of their drumline, is this possible?

after looking at the score sheet and all of that, theres no deductions at all really, im just confused right now

[Tubalord11]

Just now, cheeto2401 said:

im getting word that L.D. Bell got a 10 point subtraction because of their drumline, is this possible?

after looking at the score sheet and all of that, theres no deductions at all really, im just confused right now

This definitely didn't happen lol, would have been on the recaps for sure 

[cheeto2401]

16 minutes ago, Tubalord11 said:

This definitely didn't happen lol, would have been on the recaps for sure 

that's what i thought, thanks