A cappella group performing on stage
The A Cappella Blog

Watching the competition

Measure for Measure

We welcome you to weigh in on the topic at hand by posting a comment.

We also welcome readers to offer up their own statements for our writers to consider, Measure for Measure.

This week's topic: In competition, groups should be able to watch all of the other competitors for the evening.

True: Participants in a competition should always have the opportunity to observe those who they are competing against. How else can groups benefit from the experience of seeing and hearing their peers? How else can groups know if they got fair shakes from the judges? This would be like having an Olympic event in which competitors cannot see what each other are doing. A competitor has to take the judge’s word that she was the best, or that he wasn’t worthy of placing? It wouldn’t make any sense in the Olympics, and makes little more sense on the competitive collegiate a cappella stage.

False: Oftentimes, it’s just not possible for all of the competitors to get to see every performance at an a cappella show. First off, seating is limited at a lot of venues, meaning seating for the competing groups could make it impossible for spectators to attend the show. Secondly, unless we want long gaps between each set, and/or to rob groups of the opportunity to prepare on their own before they hit the stage, it’s just not possible for every group to catch every performance live. Beyond these practical elements, it’s also worth noting that some groups benefit from not seeing all of their competition, lest they be distracted, and either intimidated by the formidable opposition, or lulled into a sense of over-confidence from other lackluster groups.

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