Then how exactly do they judge on how well the tenor player played his part, if they don't know what his part is? Not trying to seem like a jerk, honest question. If you can't tell, Show bands don't really do competitions.

Judges can typically tell what notes and rudiments are being played......and they judge a lot on cleanliness and execution.....the music being played can be simple......but if it's clean and nice then it's a high score

Not entirely. Demand is also taken into consideration. If Drumline A plays cheese chuchuttas for 11 minutes a little bit dirtier than Drumline B plays their double stroke rolls for 11 minutes, the judge may favor the higher demand over technical execution.

Judges don't have scores. They listen to what the ensemble plays in samples, or chunks. If the sample they're selecting is playing something with demand the EXACT same way all across the drumline, then it's a high score.

A guy who goes by "multi-Thomm" wants a tenor voice in his ensemble? Surely you jest.



The same way you do -- with his eyes and ears. You don't need a score to know if a line's playing well. You can see technique and hear things like cleanliness, blend, and balance without having the sheet music in front of you. Besides, if a field judge had his head buried in the score, he'd get trampled in the drill.

i think i'd rather have a balanced line with all voices then 4 snares 5 basses. if i had to have a smaller line i'd do 3 snares 2 tenors and 4 basses.

That's how our line is set this year.