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personasaurus rex wrote:

piisamazing wrote:At reigonals I had a steel drum, but I wasn't able to get the full required range on it, so I added a set of 3 chimes for the notes I needed. The event supervisor didn't know what he was doing, and we managed to get 1st place. Will this be allowed at state level?

probably not. those are considered two separate instruments.

I agree that it probably wouldn't be allowed, but let's back up a second. You built a steel drum?! /applaud

Chalker, I realize that you guys at Nationals are probably buried under clarifications, but a fellow competitor and I sent in Sounds of Music clarifications about a month ago and neither of us have received answers. Both our questions were along the lines of "what exactly counts as alteration or disassembly of the instrument?", for example a two-part marimba where the two pieces are separately wheeled through the door but lined up next to each other to play, or one where folding legs are bent up a bit to fit it through a doorway.

chalker wrote:Part of the reason we added the rule about no alterations or dis-assembly is that this event is often conducted in specialized music practice rooms, which often aren't very big.

Interestingly enough, I have never seen Sounds held in practice rooms - it's always been a series of classrooms.

I have two questions
1. Are a pan flute and a regular (sideways) flute considered as "two different instruments"?
2. Is there a rule saying that we can't reuse instruments from last year?
Thanks!!

1. I suppose they could be, but you would be losing a lot of points in the creativity section of the rubric (part I). (Also keep in mind they'd have to be different ranges)

2. Not specifically within the SoM rules, but that would probably be breaking one of the general sportsmanship rules. Will that stop teams from doing it? Probably not.

zyzzyva98 wrote:1. I suppose they could be, but you would be losing a lot of points in the creativity section of the rubric (part I). (Also keep in mind they'd have to be different ranges)

2. Not specifically within the SoM rules, but that would probably be breaking one of the general sportsmanship rules. Will that stop teams from doing it? Probably not.

Actually, General Rule 7 states that one or more of the 15 current team members must have constructed all devices. It does not prohibit using a device from previous years as long as it was built by a current team member.

That rule could easily be interpreted as "it must be built in the current year". Either way, it kinda violates the code of ethics: "Student participants are expected to compete in tournament events with honest effort to follow the rules and the spirit of the competition." Reusing an instrument from a previous year isn't exactly in the spirit of the competition.

Of course, you're going to be seeing lots of instruments you probably saw last year because there's no real way to enforce any sort of rule about this matter anyway. This doesn't mean you can't put together a new instrument, follow the spirit of the rules, and win easily. And that's much more satisfying.

AlphaTauri wrote:Chalker, I realize that you guys at Nationals are probably buried under clarifications, but a fellow competitor and I sent in Sounds of Music clarifications about a month ago and neither of us have received answers. Both our questions were along the lines of "what exactly counts as alteration or disassembly of the instrument?", for example a two-part marimba where the two pieces are separately wheeled through the door but lined up next to each other to play, or one where folding legs are bent up a bit to fit it through a doorway.

I've seen those questions and provided my suggested answers. I suspect the delay is due to the fact that other members of the committee might have provided conflicting answers. Absent an official response, I'd suggest you err on the side of assuming the instrument needs to be the same configuration as it was prior to coming through the door.

chalker wrote:

AlphaTauri wrote:Chalker, I realize that you guys at Nationals are probably buried under clarifications, but a fellow competitor and I sent in Sounds of Music clarifications about a month ago and neither of us have received answers. Both our questions were along the lines of "what exactly counts as alteration or disassembly of the instrument?", for example a two-part marimba where the two pieces are separately wheeled through the door but lined up next to each other to play, or one where folding legs are bent up a bit to fit it through a doorway.

I've seen those questions and provided my suggested answers. I suspect the delay is due to the fact that other members of the committee might have provided conflicting answers. Absent an official response, I'd suggest you err on the side of assuming the instrument needs to be the same configuration as it was prior to coming through the door.

Thank you for the quick response, Chalker. Just wanted to make sure that our questions hadn't fallen into some micro-black hole caused by too many clarifications flooding Nationals at once. That being said...I'm now debating whether to email my Regional tournament directly or wait for the national clarification.

Does anyone know where to find a disc (9" diameter) of any (reasonably) malleable metal such as copper/aluminum etc. for a trombone? I have experimented with an aluminum cone, but that didn't work so well...

computergeek3 wrote:Does anyone know where to find a disc (9" diameter) of any (reasonably) malleable metal such as copper/aluminum etc. for a trombone? I have experimented with an aluminum cone, but that didn't work so well...

You can typically buy square sheets of aluminum of varying thicknesses at Home Depot or Lowes. You could get one of those and cut it into a circle with tin snips.