The adjudicators are usually band directors and other marching band staff members from around the community. There are some smart rules about not judging groups with which a judge may be affiliated, to avoid conflicts of interest. For bigger events, like the State Festival and State Championship, ABODA will fly in judges from other states. Sometimes we get some relative celebrities. For example, one of the most successful and well-known percussion instructors in the country, Ralph Hardimon, has been the percussion judge at the State Championship in recent years.

ABODA events have 6 judges:

  • Music (2 judges) – They assess the quality of the music performance. Things like tone quality, intonation, phrasing, dynamics, expression, blend and balance, rhythmic interpretation, articulation, ensemble cohesiveness (timing and togetherness), and more.
  • General Effect – This judge looks at the various effects that a performance can elicit from the audience. Emotional, aesthetic, and intellectual elements of the design, production and execution of the show. For example, a combination of smooth movement, beautiful flags, and a well-played ballad might create emotional and aesthetic effects (oooh, aaah). A show that applies music selections in a clever way to reinforce a thematic concept might create an intellectual effect (oh, clever!). The effectiveness of the music score is assessed, including the style, pacing and continuity, and impacts and flow from one featured moment to another.
  • Visual – This judge assesses the visual components of the show, from drill / formations design to body movement elements, to colorguard, to props and design elements (like color palettes), to the way visual elements coordinate with, and reinforce, musical and conceptual elements. For drill and movement, they look at precision and uniformity of individual technique, like pointed toes and smooth steps, and execution of forms, like straight lines, smooth curves, consistent intervals between people in lines, etc.
  • Percussion – This judge looks at many aspects of the percussion performance. Uniformity and precision of individual technique, as well as quality of the ensemble as a whole. Similar to the Music judges, they assess phrasing, dynamics, expression, blend and balance, rhythmic interpretation, articulation, ensemble cohesiveness (timing and togetherness), and more. At some events, this judge may stand on the field, near the Front Ensemble, so they can better hear and see the details of the performance at the sideline, and on the field. This judge’s score counts for only a small percentage of the overall score (I think 2.5%?), but the Music Judges are also supposed to assess percussion music achievements.
  • Auxiliary – This judge assesses the quality of the color guard performance. Everything from body movement and dance, to use of equipment, like flags, rifles, sabres, etc. Individual precision and quality, as well as uniformity and ‘cleanliness,’ or togetherness, of execution within the whole color guard section. This judge’s score also counts for only a small percentage of the overall score (I think 1.25%?), but the Visual and GE Judge are also supposed to assess color guard achievements

Each judge needs to assess all these several different aspects of their caption, and assign scores based on a rubric. Their score, out of a possible 100 points, is computed on a weighted scale, with some captions counting for more than others, to arrive at a total score for the whole band, out of 100 points.