UIL 6A State Marching Contest 2025 (Nov 3-4)

[Ultimatedcifan]

28 minutes ago, imnewhere said:

Can any percussion specialists give insight? Congrats to all bands! Y'all are all awesome!

Vista got WAY too low of a perc placement. Maybe they had a bad run but I have watched them a few times this season and even a bad run doesn't deserve 9th for their insanely clean snares and front ensemble. Reagan was too high in perc in finals. Their front ensemble doesn't play nearly enough to be 4th but it looks like the judge cared more about the percussions effect on the band rather than clarity and difficulty of the book. Cedar ridge also got robbed in prelims with their perc placement. They are playing some really hard stuff and it's not even that dirty either. I think the rest was pretty accurate in finals though. Also no hate to any band, they are all soooo good and it's crazy to be at that level in high school so please don't take anything I said the wrong way.

[natertater21000]

25 minutes ago, APersonFromABand said:

Two years in a row percussion has placed poorly due to poor judging

Far more likely that the accomplished and experienced perc judge is calling a spade a spade. 

[TheSV-001Gamer]

Two years in a row is an understatement even in 2021 they got 6th in percussion. We all know it’s a weakness in Hebron.

Of course Hebron’s percussion is still far superior than most in the state but not on a state champion level that they should strive to work towards.

[BlaStoFf22]

What are some of your biggest moments or surprises from the 6A SMC?  A few of mine:

• Prosper and Dripping Springs with their first 6A Finals appearances.
• Vandy getting hit with an actual train and still medaling!
• MG Johnson finishing a historic season with their first SMC appearance.
• Keller missing finals for the first time since 2012, and tying their lowest ever prelims rank.
• Hebron drums 😳 vs. Hebron everything else 🤯
• Woodlands guard 😍
  
   

[TheSV-001Gamer]

8 minutes ago, BlaStoFf22 said:

What are some of your biggest moments or surprises from the 6A SMC?  A few of mine:

• Prosper and Dripping Springs with their first 6A Finals appearances.
• Vandy getting hit with an actual train and still medaling!
• MG Johnson finishing a historic season with their first SMC appearance.
• Keller missing finals for the first time since 2012, and tying their lowest ever prelims rank.
• Hebron drums 😳 vs. Hebron everything else 🤯
• Woodlands guard 😍
  
   

It was also Rockwall Heath’s first state appearance very great for them.

Dripping and Prosper had awesome performances 

Every student was able to create memories and further their music education today and in the end that’s all that matters 

[packwick]

coincidentally in the boa SA thread i pondered if dividing up the various parts of the band for judging purposes ever leads to divisions w/in a band if one part pulls down the score a lot. hopefully everyone can be mature about it!!

also, they're surveying state participants after this contest about adding a guard judge too. those ordinals will be... also interesting for everyone.... let's just say that lol. but if you're gonna single out every other part of the band, guard should be too.

[ACT]

Vista percussion 9th?????

[natertater21000]

3 minutes ago, packwick said:

coincidentally in the boa SA thread i pondered if dividing up the various parts of the band for judging purposes ever leads to divisions w/in a band if one part pulls down the score a lot. hopefully everyone can be mature about it!!

also, they're surveying state participants after this contest about adding a guard judge too. those ordinals will be... also interesting for everyone.... let's just say that lol. but if you're gonna single out every other part of the band, guard should be too.

I believe guard is mentioned in both the content and design and ensemble visual sheets currently.  A dedicated 8th judge for guard only would obviously hold far more weight. Still much better than the old 5 judge system where you might as well not have a guard. 

[ACT]

I think Flomo is almost a lock for BOA SA crown. Have to admit I'm surprised to see them win state. Saw them all in person, really thought Hebron was the best by "UIL standard".  Percussion just wasn't there sadly, I think they got the perc score they deserved honestly. 😔

Thought Vista and Vandy in particular were lights out! Congrats to DS and Prosper for a first time in Finals!

The bands In Texas these days sound like DCI sometimes it's unbelievable! CONGRATS EVERYONE!

[packwick]

i thought everyone in finals here was fabulous. def do not envy the music judges at a major Texas competition, sooo many outstanding music programs, just craziness. the prelims ones had to keep track of over 40 really awesome sounding programs. cut em at least a lil slack. boa SA is similar. several music judges have outright told me it's the hardest event to judge.

obligatory shout-out to twhs. ya did great. 5th again. pretty much the same as always. tbh finals perf seemed a lil sluggish, but still really impressive. just gotta somehow get that brass and that last part clean and in control in less than two weeks. got my fingers crossed!!!

also shout-out to percussion, don't think they've ever placed top 3 here before.

[packwick]

14 minutes ago, natertater21000 said:

I believe guard is mentioned in both the content and design and ensemble visual sheets currently.  A dedicated 8th judge for guard only would obviously hold far more weight. Still much better than the old 5 judge system where you might as well not have a guard. 

yah they're rolled into the visual stuff along w/ the rest of the band rn. i don't recall many points of consideration dealing w/ guard specifically, prob a mention of "control of equipment" or something. haven't looked at the uil sheets in forever.

[dullbanddad]

1 hour ago, bassboneman said:

Vista at 9 in percussion is crazy. They took the percussion caption in every competition they were in this year until today 

[Samuel Culper]

1 hour ago, natertater21000 said:

Far more likely that the accomplished and experienced perc judge is calling a spade a spade. 

This percussion judge was in serious disagreement with every other percussion judge that has seen Vista Ridge at contests this year, so color me skeptical.

[wtxbd02]

I think we are missing the part where the 14th place percussion sections are still insanely good.  Top 12 scores are all box 5.  It's the smallest things separating multiple placements, one ticked phrase is all it can take.  This is also the first time all 14 of these groups are together under one roof so with how competitive it is you never know. Not saying that some disagreement/questioning isn't warranted.  But we are talking a collection of some of the best percussion programs in the entire country.  

[dullbanddad]

10 minutes ago, wtxbd02 said:

I think we are missing the part where the 14th place percussion sections are still insanely good.  Top 12 scores are all box 5.  It's the smallest things separating multiple placements, one ticked phrase is all it can take.  This is also the first time all 14 of these groups are together under one roof so with how competitive it is you never know. Not saying that some disagreement/questioning isn't warranted.  But we are talking a collection of some of the best percussion programs in the entire country.  

Vandy and Regan didn't even sniff the percussion caption at TMC, but somehow are 4 or 5 spots better tonight? Color me skeptical 

[Rubisco]

Thank goodness for YouTube! I didn't get to watch anything at this contest. 😞

[Tbcord140]

Hebron 11th in perc is a bit mindboggling...

[lost]

5 minutes ago, dullbanddad said:

Vandy and Regan didn't even sniff the percussion caption at TMC, but somehow are 4 or 5 spots better tonight? Color me skeptical 

That was at the beginning of the season……do you think bands stay exactly the same and don’t improve?

[BandMom75]

Thank you all for the commentaries on each finalist! It’s so nice to hear your thoughts on the shows. 

[ACT]

Completely agree, a lot of the percussion scores we're comparing these to were almost a month ago... on top of that Vista didn't have the cleanest run in percussion land. 

Still didn't deserve 9th however.

[wtxbd02]

13 minutes ago, dullbanddad said:

Vandy and Regan didn't even sniff the percussion caption at TMC, but somehow are 4 or 5 spots better tonight? Color me skeptical 

Results are not concrete throughout the whole season.  Groups improve, stall out, etc.  What happened almost a month ago can change! 

[natertater21000]

Another thing to keep in mind with all of these individual caption scores is that a lot of people like to talk about these groups like it’s DCI. The consistency from run to run is FAR more variable with these groups because at the end of the day, they are high schoolers. Some of the performers on the field today were 14 and 15. A run through having a blemish here and there that didn’t happen the time before is far more likely here than in a professional setting. 

[dullbanddad]

9 minutes ago, lost said:

That was at the beginning of the season……do you think bands stay exactly the same and don’t improve?

TMC wasn't the beginning of the season it's more mid season. Vandy also fell way short at areas last week.  Either way, 9th was way off IMO and cost Vista a top 5

[ACT]

I was very impressed by Pearland, I thought they had some amazing moments both musically and visually. 

[Tubalord11]

Alright everyone, just got done watching everyone but Hebron, unfortunately couldnt find one but I had a feeling they’d be second lol. My notes for Coppell also didn’t save but they were great. Congratulations to Flower Mound, don’t think anyone’s surprised. Here’s my comments from all but the two I mentioned. Sorry for the long posts lol