mbui Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 No Lopez, No Sharyland??? Shocker of the year, in my opinion. So far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n3rdu5 Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 Don't they switch judges from prelims to finals? I believe that's what I heard today. Or am I being crazy? 'cause if they do, then of course that could be a big factor...hm. Interesting results indeed, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenon Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 Don't they switch judges from prelims to finals? I believe that's what I heard today. Or am I being crazy? 'cause if they do, then of course that could be a big factor...hm. Interesting results indeed, though. At the Area level, two of the Music judges switch out with the two Marching judges. This leaves one judge that will do Music for both Prelims and Finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr520c Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 I saw Hanna perform both in prelims and finals. I wasn't too suprised to hear them ranked 1st after watching all of the finalist bands. Hanna seemed like a completely different band during finals. Their show was very clean and well played. They performed the crap out of it, actually. Awesome. Anyways, I believe that these bands (advancing) should do fairly well at state. Good luck to Hanna! They should rank well at state, more than likely above the rest of the area G bands advancing (yes, even Harlingen). Anything can happen though. In 2002 Harlingen got 2nd at area and went on to beat all of the area G bands at state. Good luck to all of the bands! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman1288 Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 First and foremost, congrats every area G band that advanced last night. Good luck to you all at state! And now for a few ravaging thoughts.... I'm not usually one to complain, but GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ.....that had to be some of the most horrid judging I have EVER come across. Our prelim scores were 2,12,13,1,3 and while I am not sure of our finals, I know the spread was from 1 to 10. I dont know about you, but when three judges put our scores in the top three and the other two put us 10 points below that, doesn't that make you wonder? When 3 schools jump/drop 5+ spots (along with 4 others that jumped between 2 and 4) from prelims to finals, does that not make your blood boil? I am not one at all to boast about success and I am more than willing to accept the fact that we didn't make it because we didn't earn it, but when directors from other schools tell us we WILL be advancing before results are announced, when we were one of the (I think it was three, but I don't remember who) few bands in finals to receive a standing ovation from the whole audience (not just our rabid/psychotically fanatic, yet loveable, band parents), and when you have other people that you don't even know saying that the judging seemed very off, it makes me question if we really did or didn't deserve it. And I know Lopez must feel horrid too because they are in the same boat. Quite frankly, while they were not one of the cleanest bands as far as marching forms goes, they certainly deserved to beat out a majority of the finalists because their playing was top notch. You can't convince me either that a 4A state finalist can't hold some group with a bunch of 5A schools that can't break the top 15 at state. Flat out, I just feel that the judging was extremely inconsistent. From what I see in the results, the only scores in finals that seem consistent with prelims was Harlingen, Donna, and PSJA North. Granted, two of them moved a spot, but it seems quite more reasonable for this to happen rather than moving a whopping 8 spots. OK, I am done with my rant. I guess in short, I am trying to say that I feel slapped in the face despite all that we had going for us. While it may appear to be a very biased view, and it may be, I am not alone in this viewpoint, and I am not talking about my band when I say that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenon Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 Our prelim scores were 2,12,13,1,3 . . . I dont know about you, but when three judges put our scores in the top three and the other two put us 10 points below that, doesn't that make you wonder? Actually, there are two different captions (Music and Marching) for the 5 judges. Are you sure that you have the right order of those scores? If that is the order on the recap sheet, then you got Music: 2, 12, 13 and Marching 1, 3 and the only score that would be inconsistent would be the 2nd place Music score. If that is not the correct order of those votes, then it is possible that it actually turned out Music: 2, 1, 3 and Marching 12, 13 in which there are no inconsistencies. Please note: I haven't seen your show and I'm not making any judgements on it. I'm just working the numbers. When 3 schools jump/drop 5+ spots (along with 4 others that jumped between 2 and 4) from prelims to finals, does that not make your blood boil? I just didn't believe it when I saw it. Most bands are consistent enough in their performances that there normally shouldn't be huge sweeping changes in placements from Prelims to Finals. You can't convince me either that a 4A state finalist can't hold some group with a bunch of 5A schools that can't break the top 15 at state. I was thinking the same thing, but I'm glad you said it and not me. If I said that on another board I would be accused of Area Bashing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman1288 Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 Are you sure that you have the right order of those scores? If that is the order on the recap sheet, then you got Music: 2, 12, 13 and Marching 1, 3 and the only score that would be inconsistent would be the 2nd place Music score. If that is not the correct order of those votes, then it is possible that it actually turned out Music: 2, 1, 3 and Marching 12, 13 in which there are no inconsistencies. Please note: I haven't seen your show and I'm not making any judgements on it. I'm just working the numbers. I know as far as numbers are concerned, the 2 in the music seems inconsistent, but I would like to take into account the "politics" involved for this contest. The 13 that we got came from someone that doesn't like our director at all, and if I remember correctly, he is the same guy that gave us a 10 in finals. Deep down, I want to say that the judge gave us what we deserved, but to me, it's just too much of a coincidence to say that. *edit: Before someone says it doesn't matter, I am going to beat you to it...IT DOESN'T MATTER ABOUT POLITICS! I win...OK, anyways, the only reason I say this is because if we had been as great, then we would have still advanced using the "get a 3 or better from two music and one marching judge" rule. I was thinking the same thing, but I'm glad you said it and not me. If I said that on another board I would be accused of Area Bashing. And why would someone accuse you of area bashing? I live down here, and it is stone-cold fact that no Area G band has made finals, and in the past few state years, none of them have broken the top 15. People are just so sensitive these days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isuckatdrums Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 HARLINGEN! HA!.....not a suprise!!! and they are marching alot more freshman than ever before!! my freshman year.. about 4 freshman marched... this year i believe 12 are marching... not that it matters but ..yeah. can't wait to see that show at BOA we march way more freshman than that. oh how i wish there was only 12 of them. i dont know the exact count but im positive we have way more than 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trumpet Master Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 I have no idea what to say. Those results were crazy. If anybody predicted that finals line-up, I should buy them a drink. Seriously, i caught Sharyland's performance in the morning, it was really clean, i thought it was executed really well. I also saw Harl. South and they did really good, not sure how PSJA N. beat them. That was the biggest shocker of the night in my opinion, but good for them. I really didn't expect Edinburg to not make finals, but i hear it wasn't their best performance. I cannot judge Hanna, Harlingen, or Taft because i didn't catch their performances. Lopez and Sharyland should have been ranked higher. I didn't get to see our [Donna's] show, but the crowd was just awesome, best feeling I have had on the field in a while. I only got to meet a few TXB people, but I already knew them so yeah! State is going to be really difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr520c Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 OK. So, here are my thoughts: I saw the entire morning block and finals, and I was shocked to not see edinburg make finals!!! WTF? When I saw SA Marshall, I was just trying to figure out how they beat edinburg. Was it because they played 8:45? I don't know. Such a long day . Anyways, about finals: I was kind of shocked with the results from 3rd place down. I knew Hanna and Harlingen (they went 1st and 2nd during finals, btw) were definitely the top 2. I expected Sharyland to take it all, but their finals performance wasn't like prelims. Many of the woodwind runs were dirty, and mannnny sections of the drill was dirty as well. BUT, besides those issues, this band played awesome! How did they not get 3rd? Oh well. Sharyland: I'm sorry for what happened yesterday, but just know that you all performed very well and I stood up to applaud after your performance, great job guys. So about those rankings. I think a lot of the WTF? from prelims to finals dealt a bit with the first 9 bands performing so early. I know many people will say that is not a factor, but I will tell you that IT IS! And it was shown yesterday. Sharyland had a darn good run in the morning, and even if Harlingen played their show to perfection, it shouldn't have beaten Sharyland. Harlingen's 3 minutes of dancing (exaggeration) didn't impress me as much as Sharyland's 3 minutes of amazing woodwind/brass runs. Anyways, that's about it from me. I have a lot more to say about yesterday, but I'd rather not get anyone angry One more note though: Congrats to Hanna and Harlingen for having the only clean drill last night! I loved both performances. Good luck at state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman1288 Posted October 29, 2006 Report Share Posted October 29, 2006 I have no idea what to say. Those results were crazy. If anybody predicted that finals line-up, I should buy them a drink. Man forger the drink, I would volunteer to be that person's slave for eternity if anyone predicted that! I think I will just give a run down (brief review ) of what I saw yesterday. Please keep in mind these are MY PERSONAL OPINIONS about what I saw and I am attempting to give an unbiased run down of the shows. Since it is for review purposes, not every comment will be positive, but I will mention each band's strengths and weaknesses. So...here we go... Brownsville Hanna: Didn't get to see this show at all, but I heard a lot of good things about it. Their show was entitled "Through the Eyes of a Child" if I remember correctly. They played a lot of...um...well, "child-ish" songs, such as lullabies and that famous "na-na na-na boo-boo" taunt that kids always do. From what I heard, it was a cute show, but I won't say anymore because I can't say anything other than what I've heard (there are some others that actually saw them that are in question of their ranking, but people will always have their own opinions) and yeah... Harlingen: Sorry guys, but I have traditionally high standards for Harlingen and I felt very let down. Despite this, It was a great show. I like the GE effect of the show and I think it was executed very well, but I felt there was not enough playing. I felt as if the show was trying to take the playing focus off the band itself and onto the section features, solos, and dances. I am not saying that they performed their show bad, because they performed it quite well actually, but I felt their show belonged in a BOA setting more so than in UIL one. Personally, I feel they did not deserve high music scores because the hornline hardly played, but the marching scores were well earned. The drill was fairly clean and the waltz feature was pretty neat. Great show over all, just a little lacking in music. Sharyland: Not going to judge us...I'll leave that open to others SA Taft: Didn't get to see these guys either, but I heard they had some balance issues. Some feel that their music at times was a bit over done, but overall, I heard a good response about them. I also heard that they impressed a lot of people because they seemed to have stepped up their game from the past few years. Brownsville Lopez: The mighty Lopez lobos...visually, they were a little bit dirty on some of their line rotations, but nothing that should have dropped them from 2nd to 9th, especially since they were cleaner in finals. Musically, a well executed show. They had some balance issues in a few spots of their opener; some of the trumpets sounded extremely fatigued. Their middle song had a neat little dance feature in the beginning of it, and their jazz chart (at least I would call it jazz) was played very well...it had soul to it . The closer was a little sloppy visually right at the end of the assymetrical follow the leader circle...thing....but it was strong musically. Great show for Lopez, yet it is quite a shame they didn't advance, especially after finishing 2nd in prelims and being a 4A state finalist last year, but it is something the band can build on. They will come back stronger in two years. SA Sandra Day O'Connor: The band I so lovingly called both the "purple brigade" and the "purple colossus"...they easily had about 350 people on the field...or so it looked like. Let me tell you one thing about this band...they can certainly drop the hammer at any given moment. Their sound was HUGE! For having so many people on the field, the playing was fairly clean; however, the marching took so much away of their momentum. Spacing issues, box/line rotations, and other drill problems could be seen all over the field...quite literally because they were so huge. "Walk Like an Egyptian" was played fairly well...it had some people dancing in the stands. If their drill execution had caught up to their music execution, they may have finished higher. Harlingen South: These guys were awesome. The music execution from beginning to end was clean, strong, and never overblown. Marching was strong, they had hardly any flaws within the drill. The show had energy and flow to it from top to bottom. Nice little dance too...it was one of the few that fit the mood of the show. I really cannot complain at all about this band...except about their final ranking. I expected them to finish 1st and yet they finished 6th. That was a big shock for me. I feel they may be one of the higher placing bands out of this area at the dome. Donna: One of the shows I had been longing to see. These guys had a fairly solid performance. The ensemble sound for a large majority of the show was great, but there were a few spots where some low brass players gave their sound a little bit of an edge. Nice trumpet solo...one of the few trumpet soloists of the night that didn't mess up. My biggest beef with this band was that there was not energy in the performance 100% of the time. Some of the impact moments in the show just kind of layed there, but nothing that can't be fixed. Marching was pretty clean, but having white uniforms kind of just leaves you out there on an island if you mess up. There were a few spots in which this happened, but again, it's nothing that can't be fixed. SA Marshall: To be honest, I do not remember their performance for some reason, so I will be pretty brief on this one. Musically, balance wasn't too bad, but there was no direction in the show. Everything was just too quiet for my liking and it rarely, if ever, had impact. Marching was not too bad, but there were a few spots in drill that stood out with errors. Sorry about this one, but I really don't remember anything else. PSJA North: In my opinion, they were one of the biggest underdogs in the competition, and I guess they proved me wrong. Last year, they left Pigskin (region marching contest) with a 2nd division. They came back this year with a 1st division and a 5th place finish at area. They were solid both musically and visually, but to me, their performance seemed very...robotic. No, it's not because they did the robot in their show (yes, I am dead serious about them doing the robot in their show), it just seems like their music was just...well, notes. To me, it didn't seem musical. The balance was great, but the performance was too safe...I feel as if they should've gone all out with it and been agressive. So there you are, my review of what I got to see of area finals. Once again, big congrats to all bands that advanced. State is going to be really difficult. Don't sweat it man. I actually expect you all to be one of the better bands to represent this area. Unlike everyone else, you didn't use dances to earn your spot, you all did it with marching and music, the way it should be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UknowOC667 Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 SA Sandra Day O'Connor: The band I so lovingly called both the "purple brigade" and the "purple colossus" we're blue lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman1288 Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Ha ha...sorry, my bad. I guess I really need glasses now. You all will always be the "purple colossus" in my heart though. "Blue coloussus" just doesn't ring...you know? But ok...I'll rename you all to...um...the Big Blue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGarza145 Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 First of all, I wanted to wish good luck to all the bands from Area G who will be advancing to State. I am from the Sharyland Band and lets just say my spirit is crushed. What in the world happened?! What went wrong? The thought of inconsistancy in the judging has been getting to me all day. Going from 3rd to 8th is pretty shocking. Maybe that isn't the case.. maybe we deserved the place we got. I doubt it. If that is the case (inconsistancy in judging), then something obviously needs to be done. Can something be done? or is UIL going to allow those bands advance to State? There has been a lot of discussion on this particular topic already. So what were diffrences between the bands advancing to State and us? Someone please explain. No need of an explination of their dancing either, I am well awair of that. So can someone just give me a good explination? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron.aa3 Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 To be honest, I was shocked when you guys (Sharyland) didnt make it. im from Hanna and when they announced Harlingen as second I was soo sure you guys got it...not because I had seen you, but because I heard so many great things about you guys from our boosters and BISD's Fine Arts Department. I can't speak for the judges, but what really makes the judging inconsistent is the switching in what each one judges, how the two marching judges in Prelims judge music in Finals. Of course, they arent going to think the exact same way the other judges did and of course you wont perform the exact same way you did in Prelims. And from the breakdown in what each judge ranked a particular school, you can see that they seldom agreed...i think our Prelims rankings were something like "7,6,10,27,5". I know it seems disconcerting that we jumped from 9th to 1st, but i promise that it was only because our first performance wasnt very good, and our second one was the best one that we ever did. Heaven knows that politics run ragged in the high school band circles, but the way this competition is judged is what skews the scores. And for what its worth, we dont have a dance in our show. I know it cant be completely taken in because I'm going to state, but something my theatre teacher always tells us is that "you dont need anyone to tell you that you were good to know you are good. Some people will see it in you, and some wont, but that cant even begin to dictate what is actually there." (i know thats what they all say, but i think its true.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UknowOC667 Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 i'm still kinda depressed we didnt make it (O'Connor). I dont know about our prelim scores but i know during finals the music judges ranked us 1, 2, and 10th. the marching judges were mid-range which i think were deserving since I dont think we're as clean as the other finalists. But anyways, goodluck to all the bands that made it to state. i know you guys will represent Area G well :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Dynasty* Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 To all Sharyland Band Members: I'm sorry for what happened on Saturday night. You definitely did not deserve the placement you received. You should have qualified for state. I'm am not taking anything away from anyone else who qualified, but it is my opinion. I did walk up to 2 of your directors after the whole thing was over, and apologized to both of them. I told them they literally got screwed. I don't have an answer as to what happened that night, but I can tell you this. In ANY contest, if you have to expect to lose just as much as you expect to win. It sounds horrible, I know. But, you can't control the outcome at the end of the competition (even if you were the best one there in everyone's eyes.) Walk with your heads up high, because everyone knows that you deserved to be at state. It's on the forums all over the place. Look for it, you'll see what I mean. Not just this forum, but various texas band forums. I guarantee you this: Monday will be hard to get through. Tuesday will be much better. Wednesday will provide you comfort because you probably will have accepted the facts of what happened. Life will go on.....and you and your band are still tops in your eyes and everyone (minus 5 judges) eyes. I guarantee that next marching season, you will be on fire. Be proud of what you have done this year, obviously what you have done has affected many band fans and directors in the state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Dynasty* Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Well that's pretty rotten. Here I am trying to console someone, and you come in here with you higher than thou attitude. Great attitude!!( sarcasm ) I hope the rest of your band doesn't carry your attitude. It's not all about winning. It's about the experience. Nobody will remember how many trophies you won while in high school 10 years from now. No one will care. You'll be worried about bills and family issues. Have fun with these contest. Don't let it be the life of you. If it is, then I feel really bad for you. When another person feels down, I always try to pick them up. And I certainly tried to do that for the Sharyland members. I know this is an open forum, but have some tact please. And I do happen to know Harlingen's band director and although he is ultra competitive, he does have tact and class. I'm sure he didn't teach you to react this way. Especially when someone is down. I always held Harlingen up real high in means of class and demeanor, but now I don't know. It only takes one rotten apple to ruin it for the whole bunch. Don't be the rotten apple. And yes, I know you are from Harlingen. ***Edited by Me...ok now this looks all stupid since the previous post was deleted. Sharyland, you still rock in my opinion. **** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jr520c Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 oh and im sure your going to see alot more dances from the best bands out there.. becauses it's something new and different...so maybe you should think of doing one next year...if not, i guess you can do the same thing you do every year..march and music.. which is good for the judges but not for a regular football game audience... what you do on the field should be a production.. not just a performance... its more fun that way Dances on the field... and that is exactly why LD Bell won State 2 years ago. Oh wait a minute, that's right, they didn't dance! Neither did Cedar Park. They did that crazy thing that you mentioned in your post... MARCH AND PLAY MUSIC! You know, I'm sure that at dance competitions, you won't see any dancers bust out a trumpet and start playing. Why does a band have to start dancing? Dancing is definitely a crowd pleaser, but that's about all it is. I admit, many bands are starting to take this route, but many bands do just fine without it. At the Area G contest, Sharyland and Hanna pretty much got the best audience reaction of the night. NEITHER of them spent 30 seconds dancing. Sure they did visuals (Hanna did a lot actually, but most of them were while they were playing), but at least both bands marched and played a heck of a show. OK, enough of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron.aa3 Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 erm...why is everyone complaining about inconsistent judging?? isnt the point of a Prelims/Finals format to give the bands a second chance? it would be stupid to have this kind of format if all the judging stayed the same as Prelims. i thought that was obvious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trumpetman1288 Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Well, after seeing the scores from finals, I don't think the placements were a result of inconsistency. I think it was a result of inexperienced judges. I may be wrong on this one, but I was told that only one judge from that panel is a current band director. I don't think our (Sharyland's) score was biased nor was it intentially done that way, we just came out on the short end of the stick. EVERY SINGLE BAND on at finals came up with crazy score spreads. And thank you all for your support. This has been a difficult time for us especially since it was our expectation to make state, and our morale was shattered after our finals finish. Everyone from our band appreciates your support and despite our heartbreak, we still wish you all the best of luck at state. Saturday was not our night to shine, but yours instead. Represent our area well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serardian Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 erm...why is everyone complaining about inconsistent judging?? isnt the point of a Prelims/Finals format to give the bands a second chance? it would be stupid to have this kind of format if all the judging stayed the same as Prelims. i thought that was obvious. I think people are referring to the inconsistencies between the judges themselves. For example, one judge giving a 3rd place for marching and the other giving a 21st place for marching. Are they even watching the same performance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xraidercutiex Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 I agree whole-heartedly with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xraidercutiex Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 Well, after seeing the scores from finals, I don't think the placements were a result of inconsistency. I think it was a result of inexperienced judges. I may be wrong on this one, but I was told that only one judge from that panel is a current band director. I don't think our (Sharyland's) score was biased nor was it intentially done that way, we just came out on the short end of the stick. EVERY SINGLE BAND on at finals came up with crazy score spreads. And thank you all for your support. This has been a difficult time for us especially since it was our expectation to make state, and our morale was shattered after our finals finish. Everyone from our band appreciates your support and despite our heartbreak, we still wish you all the best of luck at state. Saturday was not our night to shine, but yours instead. Represent our area well! The thing about crazy spreads is totally true. I saw you guys sitting behind us at results. i know how bad it sucks to not make it + i`m sorry...seriously, two years ago, we didn't make it + i was heartbroken too. There were bands that i felt should have placed after you guys but i still can't believe all the results. How did some bands get ranked 10th by some judges and 1st by others?!?! Our band director told us in May that Sharyland would make it to state without a doubt. Oh, and Harlingen. i'm seriously shocked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xraidercutiex Posted October 30, 2006 Report Share Posted October 30, 2006 we're blue lol lol, i know...someone in band said something about the purple people in the cafeteria in mcallen. i was all, dude, o`connor is like navy blue?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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