Have You Thought of Competing?

There are loads of fiddle contests out there — are they for you? There are many reasons to try a competition: to perform, to try out new tunes, to perfect old and familiar tunes, to get feedback from a judge, to win money, to gain attention for your playing. Let’s take a look and see if any of these reasons suit you. There are also reasons not to compete, and we’ll consider those too!

Performance: Yes, a competition is a chance to perform, and this is a great opportunity for many players who don’t normally have that chance. It gives you a deadline and a strong reason to prepare some music for performance. You can learn a lot from trying a number of competitions, because you start to get an idea of how and why you are performing. Is it for the judge? For the audience? For yourself? Is it fun to try to impress people with something challenging or fancy, or is that stressful? Is being impressive even necessary for doing well? Maybe your goal is to play solidly, or to play something captivating.

The answers to these and other questions depend on you, your intentions, the competition, the judge. There’s no doubt competing gives you some intensive performing experience. You have to try to do well regardless of distractions, of nerves, of wind if you’re playing outside, of defective sound systems. You learn to focus, and this is not likely to happen just by competing once.

Maybe your mind will play games with you. It might let you focus on someone in the audience who is an inspiration to you, and could make you feel good about playing, or maybe your mind will perversely make you stare at someone in the audience who doesn’t like you or wish you well, and make you feel extra nervous. Maybe you’ll suddenly worry about a mistake you’re afraid to make, or one that you think you just made, or a sound in the audience that you imagine to be a positive or negative reaction. Part of the benefit of competing is learning to handle these mental pressures and keep your head in the game — playing the music.

Why did you choose the tunes you’re playing? Do you have something to share with the audience? It’s easy to focus too much on being judged by the judge and the audience and yourself; the hope of all listeners is that you will look beyond yourself and do justice to the music, or even go beyond that to play something absolutely compelling. This is hard to do if you worry about yourself or about making a mistake. It’s never the mistake that matters, but the recovery and continuity of the music.

Having said all that, keep in mind that all of the above ideas are part of the performing experience in general, and competition is not necessary for grappling with these things. However, some people don’t have performance opportunities, while everyone can try playing in a competition.

Let’s say you’re planning to compete. What will you play? Of course, you’ll follow the rules of the contest, but beyond that, there are different paths to take. One is to use the competition to test yourself and see how well you can play a new set of tunes under pressure. Or you might want to inspire both yourself and the listeners (both judge and audience) by finding a fantastic new tune to share. These are great things to try. If you want to actually win, however, the best path is to pull together tunes you know well, and perfect them. I remember competing for all of these reasons, at different times.

Are you looking for feedback from a judge? How you place in a competition is one form of feedback, but judges are human, and judging a competition is not totally objective. When I judge, I try to focus purely on how the person played in the moment. I also like to write helpful comments, and sometimes talk to competitors afterwards. But I have seen judges swayed by other factors, unfortunately, such as how a competitor did the previous year, or a judge’s personal preferences in tunes and styles — these are not predictable, so as a competitor, you have to go in expecting to take the results with a grain of salt. In terms of feedback, there is usually not much time for judges to write comments, and there may not be a chance for them to speak with a player. Overall, getting feedback is probably not the best motivation to compete. The most useful feedback will come from taking lessons, or speaking with audience members after a performance.

Money is certainly a motivation for many competitors. If there’s a big prize for the top places, and you think you have a chance, go for it! Competing can have many benefits for improving your repertoire and performing skills, and if you come away with cash or a prize or a trophy, it can be pretty exciting and validating. Even just taking one of the top places in a competition goes down in the record and can be nice to look back to.

You may also gain attention for just getting up there and competing. Maybe you’ll play something amazing, even though some silly mistake might have kept you from actually winning. Some people will take notice, especially if you compete more than once. Just avoid gaining the wrong kind of attention! I know a young man who went over to Scotland to compete, boasting of his prowess, but when he lost, he badmouthed the judges. The word gets around, and those judges, who are top players themselves, were not impressed by the bad sportsmanship!

There are also reasons not to compete. Fiddling has a long history of competition, but 99% of fiddling is not competitive — it has to do with playing together with others in sessions, bands, for dancers, listeners, or to honor someone or something — in other words, it’s a community activity. Competition can be a part of community if done with a good attitude. Unfortunately, there are a few players who are intent on burnishing their laurels by winning competitions but are strangely uninterested in sessions or ceilidhs or dances. Perhaps they’re afraid for people to see that they don’t know that many tunes or can’t rise to the occasion, but the truth is, nobody shares the same repertoire, and there are always tunes played in a session or event that somebody won’t know, no matter how good they are. Avoiding chances to play with others also means not learning how. Playing in community with others is for everybody!

There is much to be gained from competing, as long as you learn to use it for its benefits, which might be different for each competition you try. Keep up a good attitude and be friendly and appreciative of other players. Cut the judge some slack, as judges are only human. Take the results with a grain of salt, but if you win, enjoy the prizes and the glory all you can! Above all, have fun.

©2021 Ed Pearlman

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