Beyond the Score: What Marching Band Adjudication Is Really About

Marching band competitions naturally come with numbers.

Scores are announced. Placements are awarded. Captions are recognized. Students, directors, parents, and fans wait to hear where their band finished.

But from the judge’s perspective, some of the most important work happens before a score is ever entered.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to serve as the Music Performance – Individual adjudicator at the Plainfield South Marching Band Invitational. Throughout the day, I listened to student musicians from programs of different sizes, experience levels, and stages of development.

My responsibility was to evaluate what I heard, but more importantly, to provide feedback that could help those students and their directors continue moving forward.

That is one of the things I value most about adjudication.

A Score Captures a Moment

A marching band performance is one moment in a season that lasts for months.

Students begin learning music, movement, and fundamentals long before the first competition. As the season progresses, the show changes. Performers become more confident. Musical ideas become clearer. Ensembles develop greater consistency.

The performance a judge hears in September may look and sound very different several weeks later.

That is why I believe a score should never be the only takeaway from a competition.

A number represents an evaluation of that particular performance, under that particular system, on that particular day. The commentary can provide something that lasts much longer.

What Am I Listening For?

When evaluating individual music performance, I am listening to the performers themselves.

Are students producing characteristic sounds? Are attacks and releases consistent? Are individual sections demonstrating control of timing, articulation, dynamics, balance, and other musical responsibilities?

I am also considering the demand placed on the performers.

Playing while standing still is one thing. Producing a controlled musical phrase while moving through challenging drill, changing direction, managing breath support, maintaining posture, and responding to everything happening around you adds another layer of responsibility.

The goal is to recognize both what students are being asked to do and how successfully they are accomplishing it.

Commentary Should Be Educational

One of my goals whenever I adjudicate is to make my commentary useful.

Simply identifying a problem isn’t enough.

If I hear an issue with timing, tone quality, articulation, balance, or another aspect of the performance, I want to communicate what I am hearing clearly enough that a director can return to rehearsal and use that information.

I also want to recognize what students are doing well.

Good adjudication should reinforce successful training while identifying opportunities for continued growth.

Ideally, a director should be able to listen to the commentary after the competition and come away with information that can help guide the next rehearsal.

There Is a Person Behind Every Performance

This is something I never want to forget while judging.

Behind every sound I evaluate is a student who has spent hours rehearsing.

There are directors who have spent months planning and teaching. There are staff members, parents, volunteers, and communities supporting those students.

Judges have a responsibility to evaluate honestly, but we can do that while respecting the work that brought the performers to the field.

Constructive criticism and encouragement are not opposites. Some of the most valuable feedback can be both direct and educational.

From the Press Box Back to the Lesson Studio

One of the things I enjoy about my work in music is how connected these different roles really are.

One day I may be evaluating a marching band at a competition. Another day I may be teaching a beginning student how to produce their first notes, working with an advanced musician on technique, repairing an instrument, writing for a marching program, or leading worship.

The setting changes, but much of the purpose remains the same:

Listen. Teach. Encourage. Help musicians grow.

After a weekend in the press box, I return to my private students with new observations about teaching, performance, communication, and musicianship.

And after spending the week teaching individual musicians, I bring that educator’s perspective with me when I step into the judge’s role.

More Than a Placement

Competition can be an exciting part of the marching-band experience, and there is nothing wrong with celebrating a great score, placement, or caption award.

But those results are only part of the experience.

The greater value is what students learn through the process: discipline, musicianship, teamwork, resilience, attention to detail, and the ability to take feedback and turn it into improvement.

At the end of a competition, trophies eventually go into display cases and scores become part of the season’s history.

The growth can last much longer.

That is why, when I put on the headset and begin another performance, I try to remember that my responsibility isn’t simply to assign a number.

It is to help provide one more educational voice in a student’s musical journey.

— Chris Keniley
Chris K Music | CK Marching Services
Music Educator • Adjudicator • Clinician • Private Instructor