Is it ok to break down in a solo competition?
This is a question that I have been asked from time to time. If, while playing a solo competition, you make a mistake or have an instrument malfunction, is it ok to just stop playing? There are, obviously, two answers: YES and NO. I’ll explore each one.
YES. The obvious downside of breaking down is that you know for certain that you won’t place in the contest. By quitting in the middle, you earn yourself a disqualification and, in the EUSPBA at least, hand your point to those who do finish.
Then again, it is a competition, and if you make a mistake that eliminates you from the prize list, why bother continuing? Well that depends on why you compete.
NO. This is my general response when I’m asked this question, especially by pipers who are new to competition. As a new competitor, the goal should be to gain experience rather than win a prize. Fighting past rough spots and getting back on the tune is only going to help you, and it also gives you the benefit of the judge’s comments on the rest of the tune.
You can probably guess that my preferred response is NO, especially for newer competitors. There’s always something to be gained by fighting through your errors, even if it isn’t a prize.
Wow – you hand yourself a point to the other players ? That’s like Scrabble rules for piping. I didn’t know that – interesting.
My opinion is NO too, for the same reasons. You never know what is going to happen. Get as much experience as you can making mistakes and carrying on. If you stop playing each time you fluff on a tune, you may end up doing the same thing when performing outside of a competition. It all builds confidence too. Be confident finishing a tune. I did this in my very first Piobaireachd competition – I mucked up the very first line in the ground, yet thought to myself ‘Ok, fair enough – I’ve ruined my chances of a prize but let me see how well I can play the rest’. I found the pressure was off for sure and the rest of the playing went ok. I then got a scoresheet full of constructive crit and gained from the experience.
All good advice dude! Happy Piping!
November 29, 2011 at 10:24 am
Our season end points are calculated based on placing in each solo contest. The top six places in each event earn a point for each person they beat plus one, so in a contest with 10 players the winner gets 10 points, second place gets 9, etc. There are some who talk about winning points, and there are some who talk about being points for other players.
November 29, 2011 at 9:12 pm
I come down with an emphatic NO. Two things: 1) it’s important to have the skill to immediately regain your compusure after a mistake. In other words, you need to learn mentally that it is not a big deal. 2) The time in front of the judge is *your* time to perfom, no one else’s. Use it for all it’s worth. I mean, how often do we actually get the chance to play in front of people?
November 30, 2011 at 9:09 am