Motherland Music

Institute of African Music Studies

2010 Student Drumming Contest
Official Rules and Guidelines

Dear Student Contestant:

Thank you for participating in the first official MMIAMS Student Drumming Contest. This online document informs you of basic procedures and what to expect in order to do your best and win (aka be First Prize Overall Winner), place 2^nd (aka be First Runner-Up) or show (aka be Second Runner-Up), or be eliminated from this contest. Please be aware that there is no shame in being eliminated from this contest as some very stiff competition is expected due to the contest being open to all drumming students except employees and faculty of the hosting organization.

Judges and Judging

The judges of this contest are all professional drummers with many years of experience. There will be three judges, each an outstanding example of an expert in African and/or Afro-Cuban drumming. The decisions and opinions of the judges are final, and no judge’s decision or grade for an individual competitor can be overturned by anyone except the Chief Judge, Malik Sow. If you feel that there was some discrepancy and you wish to contest a judge’s grade for your performance in the contest, you can provide your request for reconsideration to Malik Sow in writing at or before 6:00 p.m. on the day of the contest, and if in conference with the judge (upon whose mark or decision you question or appeal) Malik Sow believes there is ample good faith evidence that your appeal has merit, he alone will prescribe a remedy for handing your appeal in a timely manner, however at or before 7:00 p.m. on the day of the contest, all appeals will be exhausted and there is no opportunity for further appeal.

Again, all judge decisions are final, and we ask that you accept their good faith opinions and decisions with fair play in order to ensure the smooth completion of the contest. If you feel that somehow you were unfairly judged, please try again next time we hold a contest and present a stronger performance in order to ensure the outcome you desire. Thank you for trying!

Time for Performances, Your Number, Tempos

As a Student Contestant in this contest, you will be assigned one and only one Contestant Number (aka #) for the duration of the contest. Your Contestant # is yours alone and is not transferable to anyone else at all, no exceptions. In the Preliminary Elimination phase, your solo performance(s) will be limited to 60 seconds and then you will asked to stop in order to allow the next competitor to audition/perform/compete, although in the Final Elimination you may be asked/allowed to solo longer than 60 seconds. If upon request you fail to stop playing within a few seconds, you will automatically be eliminated as a contestant! Judges set ALL TEMPOS, too. For this reason, you are advised to maintain the exact as given to you by the judge who is challenging you, except when you reasonably believe that changing the tempo dramatically improves the musicality and/or the impact of your performance. Frequent, unsuccessful, or irregular tempo changes will probably count against you.

Evaluation and Audition Process

As a competitor in this contest, you will be asked a minimal number of questions to test your general knowledge of African-style and/or Afro-Cuban-style drumming, and you will be asked to perform specific well-known rhythms for brief periods probably under two minutes in order to determine a) how your playing sounds (tone production quality), b) how steady your rhythmic ability is, c) how well you remember and can demonstrate the rhythm as it is generally played worldwide, and d) how well you can perform a solo (create an interesting/impressive impromptu performance in a given style that you choose).

Questions and Uncertainty – Language(s), Opportunity for Memory Clue(s)

If you do not understand what a judge is asking you in order to demonstrate your knowledge and/or skill levels, you can request that the judge repeat their request or very briefly demonstrate the rhythm in question (10 seconds max.). Given the multiple languages spoken by the judges, misunderstandings due to language barriers are not expected to be significant factors in the contest, although there is always a potential of misunderstanding when humans interact. Best efforts will be made by the judges and they will expect the same from you.

Rights and Remedies under a Problem related to the Preceding Paragraph

If you are unclear what is being asked of you, you may at your own discretion ask the judge to repeat the question or request for performance, with a clear understanding going into this process of certain givens:

a) the Contest generally will be held entirely in English unless you confer with the judges at the outset and request another language that all three speak,

b) you may also request one or more judges to question or ask you to perform in any language that both the judge and you speak, and finally,

c) you may ask any judge or competitor who is in immediate proximity (within approx 6-10 feet of your body) to refresh your memory of a given rhythm for no longer than 10 seconds, at which time one or more judges will require this Memory Clue moment to end immediately.

Note that while such Memory Clues are allowed, continued reliance on them may impact your scores and/or cause your elimination sooner than if you do not need any clues because you are intimately familiar with the requested rhythms. There is no allowance for multiple repetitions of questions, requests, for making an appeal, nor for multiple repetitions of clues. Common sense is your best approach and it will most likely form the basis of most of the judges’ decisions with respect to ensuring fair treatment of all competitors, so “don’t press your luck,” and we recommended that you do not appeal with any assertion as to the inadequacy of the verbal or intellectual skills of any judge taking part in this contest, as to do so represents a likely fruitless endeavor. If you do not know a requested rhythm or the answer to a question, you can always say “Pass” and the judges will make their determinations based upon what you actually do attempt to answer and perform. It may be advisable, however to at least make an effort to answer every question and perform every rhythm asked of you, rather than to pass on more than one or a few questions/requests, because as in any competition, showing determination and a strong competitive spirit is generally regarded as superior to not trying one’s best efforts.

Nature of the Rhythms, Names

The well-known rhythms mentioned above fall into one of two categories: African Djembe Rhythms for dances or Afro-Cuban Conga Rhythms.

If you compete on Djembe(s), you will be asked to play two (2) rhythms from the following list:

If you compete on Conga(s), you will be asked to play two (2) rhythms from the following list:

Decision of Primary Instrument is Final
You will be asked to designate a Primary Instrument upon which you choose to compete, meaning either African Djembe or Afro-Cuban Conga. During the course of your time being judged, you will be allowed to perform on one or both of the above types of instruments in order to demonstrate versatility and wide-ranging musical ability if you so desire. Please note that your decision of which type of drum(s) upon which to perform as well as your choice of Primary Instrument will not affect how your playing is judged, as the judges are well-versed in both types of instruments. This is merely a convenience to allow the competition to be more open and interesting to all participants and during the Final Elimination for the audience. You are free to re-designate your primary instrument until such time as the judges ask you to stop for the next competitor, however no request to change Primary Instrument will be heard after you have stopped your audition/performance and cede the audition space to the next competitor.

Preliminary Elimination (Part 1 of 2)

The Preliminary Elimination will consist of the tasks mentioned above and during the contest various aspects of your drumming will be graded, observed, and noted by the judges. This part of the contest will take place inside the regular class/performance space at Motherland Music (that is, inside the building, while a presumably loud, potentially distracting party occurs outside). Please understand that given the nature of the festive atmosphere, there is no guarantee that you will have zero interruptions during your performance. The possibly unruly behavior of children or other partygoers of any age attending the party or entering the business premises for any legal reason will only add to the excitement and challenge, and how you handle distractions, if any, can serve to add or detract from your evaluation by the judges, so please do not become upset if your performance is impinged while in progress, unless you wish to make a case for appeal, which as noted above is unlikely to be a productive endeavor unless you are convinced that you can sway more than one judge’s opinion, and it is expected that Chief Judge Malik Sow (also hosting the party in which this contest is held) will generally support the decisions of other judges, so proceed with caution if you wish to request an appeal.

Final Elimination (Part 2 of 2)

The Final Elimination will consist of a few tasks assigned by the judges in no particular order, and please bear in mind that part of their work will be to challenge and unsettle you as a competitor, so you can expect to be asked to perform random rhythms that are either the same or different from those which formed parts of your preliminary audition/performance. The length of time that you will be asked to perform is subject to be shorter or longer than your competitors and this alone should not be taken as some sort of unfair practice, but rather a means by which the judges feel they have heard enough of your playing (and that the audience has had a fair opportunity to form some opinions of your abilities in the context of the contest). Your performance as a competitor during this Final Elimination phase is likely to be substantially  longer than in your Preliminary Elimination performance. The rules for this contest were drafted fairly close to the competition itself and at the time of writing, no specific time frame was determined. You could perform anywhere from around two or three minutes, to as long as ten or more minutes, hence the contest sponsor Motherland Music suggests you strike a winning balance between volume (playing force), speed, dexterity, creativity, and stamina.

How to Know if You are Eliminated

This is the simplest part of these Official Rules and Guidelines. If any judge shows you a Red Card, you have (at that moment) already been eliminated. Sadly, your Contestant Number has been marked for removal from the competition for this contest. Better luck next time!

A number of contestants are expected to be eliminated during the Preliminary Elimination phase, and all remaining contestants except those judged as the Top Three will be eliminated in the Final Elimination phase.

Note that there is no cost to enter the contest and hence no need to request a refund if you believe that your drumming was unfairly judged.

We urge all contestants to do their best, and HAVE SOME FUN WITH THIS. It is intended to serve as a social lubricant, not a method of one-upsmanship or to complete a quest for the one and only best of the best (as if such was in fact possible), although bragging rights being what they are, we also support the right to brag if you win, place or show in this competition.

How Winners are Notified, Prizes

All Winners will be notified in person at the contest, with almost no exceptions. If a contestant is not present at the time of notification due to an emergency (such as having exited to play a gig), reasonable accommodation/attempts will be made to notify and present the Winner with their prize(s) and certificate (see below). Any questions or concerns regarding this should be raised with Malik Sow if possible before the brief Prize Award ceremony held around 8:00 p.m. at the party.

The First, Second and Third Place Winners will each receive a Certificate of Victory and Appreciation from the Motherland Music Institute of African Music Studies (MMIAMS).

The 1^st Place/Grand Prize Winner (aka First Prize Overall Winner) will additionally be awarded a $100 Gift Certificate good at Motherland Music African Drums, etc. in Culver City, CA, and the winner’s first initial and surname (family name) will be engraved on the Brass Plate adorning the Motherland Award, an impressive drum-theme trophy that is permanently held for safekeeping in the MMIAMS premises, next to the year in four digits (the first year being 2010). Only one winner’s name will be engraved for each contest, unless a tie is declared, which is unlikely. Winners are encouraged to attempt to repeat and receive multiple engravings!

The 2^nd Place/First Runner-Up Prize Winner will additionally be awarded a $25 Gift Certificate good at Motherland Music African Drums, etc. in Culver City, CA.

Thank you again for competing in the Motherland Music Institute of African Music Studies (MMIAMS) 2010 Student Drumming Contest!

Good Luck and Drum your Best!!