Mixture of styles in feedback reduces clarity of message to contestants Doesn t look joined up or coherent Doesn t present a professional image

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Mixture of styles in feedback reduces clarity of message to contestants Doesn t look joined up or coherent Doesn t present a professional image"

Meryl Freeman
5 years ago
Views:

1 Written Evaluations A PROPOSAL FOR ALL CATEGORIES IN LABBS & BABS TO HAVE A COMMON APPROACH FOR WRITING POST-CONTEST EVALUATIONS MIKE TAYLOR & PAULA TAYLOR-WILLIAMS SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

2 Why? We want the contestants to get the clearest feedback on strengths and areas for development Currently a wide variety in styles within and between categories Mixture of styles in feedback reduces clarity of message to contestants Doesn t look joined up or coherent Doesn t present a professional image Advice from different categories must avoid contradictions Easy to see consistency or contradictions Need to ensure the time taken to produce the evaluation is reasonable Target 10 mins per evaluation

3 What has happened so far? Singing category (LABBS and BABS together) have discussed best practice over several seminars and agreed on this approach BABS SNG trialed a consistent approach post convention 2018 LABBS SNG used approach in June 2018 (Prelims) Feedback given and evaluations improve LABBS E&J and BABS Guild Exec has asked us to roll this out to all categories at the Autumn Seminars This presentation delivered to LABBS judges in their Autumn seminar (Sept 2018) Approach used in IABS (Oct 2018) creating written evals according to the specified pattern

4 What is needed from our written evaluations? Clarity Separation of thoughts one concept one sentence/bullet Don t mix positives with a but or however Consistency within and between categories Concision - cut the c**p Appropriate qualifiers/adjectives to the scoring level Don t use pink and fluffy language Short sentences in prose sections Clear use of category language Needs to be written with how the contestant will receive it in mind. Re-read before hitting send as if you were the contestant. Optimum benefit to contestant given a reasonable time investment from the judge

5 Proposal Optional introductory remark of congratulation/positive feedback. Song 1 Strengths written in prose Areas of improvement as 3 bullet points Song 2 Strengths written in prose Areas of improvement as 3 bullet points Optional closing remark about something applying to the whole performance (not new concepts)

6 Examples

7 The old way Contestant: Noisy Neighbours Chorus SONG 2: You Don t know me Average SNG Score 54% You sang the introduction with sensitivity and a good resonant sound. The Leads made some good use of vocal expression that made the song more attractive to listen to. Their vocal expression needs to be mirrored and reenforced by the harmony parts to create more of a unit sound. Your gentle treatment of this ballad was entirely appropriate although you still need to ensure that the sound has every bit as much vocal support and lightness of tone that you would use for a lively up-tune. The sound still needs to sound energised. Attention to the foundation skills of good body alignment and producing a well-supported, freely produced resonant sound will also help to improve the vocal match across sections and improve tuning and lock and ring. You sang the tag sensitively with entirely appropriate dynamics and a lovely vocal tone. This showed off what you really can do! We enjoyed your performance, thank you for singing to us. Strengths: A smooth and well-blended sound with some good vocal expression Areas for improvement: The foundation skills of good body alignment, and a well-supported, freely produced resonant sound. Also a more connected legato sound.

8 The old way SONG 2: Almost Like Being in Love Sng: Average Score 49% You sang this song with enthusiasm. The song moved at a steady and lively pace and we heard a good clear melody line with some useful support from the harmony parts that did create a pleasant and resonant sound in some places. This can be a challenging song that demands a lot of energy from its singers, and you weren t always able to rise to that challenge. The sound didn t always feel secure and again there was often a loss of unity both across the chorus and within parts with some obvious differences in word timing, in onsets and in releases. There was also some loss of vocal unity within the sections, both in vocal production and in tuning. Unfortunately the tag did not end on a well-tuned chord. These distractions from your performance can be improved by giving more attention to the foundation vocal skills of good body alignment, well supported breathing, well supported sound, freedom of sound, and resonance. Every improvement of these skills will pay dividends not only in security and quality of the sound itself, but improving these skills will also make it easier for singers to achieve unity within the sections and easier to improve the synchrony and the tuning. Strengths: A good balance of vocal parts. Good legato sound in many places. Areas for improvement: Foundation of basic vocal skills: alignment, good breathing; good vocal support, freedom of production; and balanced resonance.

9 Same info the new way SONG 2: Almost Like Being in Love Avg. SNG Score 49% Strengths You sang this song with enthusiasm and a nice legato feel in many phrases. We heard a good clear melody line. This was supported by some pleasant and resonant singing from the harmony parts in some places. Areas for improvement Vocal Quality - Spend time developing a consistent resonant quality within sections and between sections. This will have a positive impact on unity and tuning. Unity - Work on ensuring you have agreed on all words sounds think about every bit of every word lining up! Tuning - the tag needs to be tuned more precisely.

10 Another example the new way Chorus: Village Insiders Song 1 Bright was the Night Avg. SNG Score 65%. Strengths You had clearly thought about the different elements of vocal expression and these came across well in your performance. There were some lovely moments e.g heart, love you and moonlight. There was good control when singing quietly and your overall vocal quality has a nice depth of resonance which is pleasing. Areas of Improvement Tuning ensure the tonal centre is maintained e.g. it dropped during the descending notes in the intro Freedom when singing at the top of their range the leads need to maintain and open/free vocal quality especially in the tag. Synchronisation pay attention to onsets and releases e.g several t s were evident at the end of the word hot

11 How Prose vs Bullet points Strengths are there to reinforce success and encourage growth mindset when approaching improvements. Best done with prose. Important that areas to improve are most clear, hence succinct bullet points What is a good bullet point? Fits on one line (2 max) but more than one word. Could be Concept specifics in style eg. Tuning inconsistent, particularly towards the end of the song Vocal quality at times, when higher in the range, the bass had a nasal quality, eg sunshine Avoid fixes in the areas of improvement a brief written eval isn t the medium for coaching. What is clear to you as a fix may not be clear the contestant. Clearly separate strengths from areas of improvement for clarity. Avoid the temptation to add a but after a strengths. Make it entirely positive.

12 The process Each judge writes their category evaluation Before being sent or delivered one judge must review the whole evaluation They can make changes to any evaluation if there are contradiction.

13 Next steps Have a go at writing an evaluation in this style. Some judges may need to move further than others. Category Directors will include training and practice at future seminar. We may not all agree on this approach/it may not be your style but please give it a go!

14 Update: IABS experience In IABS 2018 we used the approach in earnest and attempted to create evals in a set aside time over the weekend. We didn t complete all, but managed at least half the evals we planned. Each eval took about 15 minutes on average using 2 scoresheets from your own category. The technology (Dropbox) presented some challenges The lack of downtime between contests was a challenge, but judges appreciated the opportunity to have a quiet space to do this at the weekend. Good to have the opportunity to converse cross category while writing the evals. Overall judges were ok with the common approach and the evals are much more consistent and clear. We will ask for feedback from the contestants, to see what they thought. NOTE: some of these comments reflect on the approach to complete the evals during the contest weekend. Good or bad, that is not inherently part of this proposal.

Music Selection Prepared by Lorraine Barrows with input from past scripts by Carolyn Butler, Vicki Uhr, Marge Bailey, Joni Bescos.

Molly Huffman Page 1 Music Selection Prepared by Lorraine Barrows with input from past scripts by Carolyn Butler, Vicki Uhr, Marge Bailey, Joni Bescos. Where to find arrangements: - Published music from