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Hand & Stick Technique
20%
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20 Points
Open tones, slaps, heel-toe and muted strokes are all produced cleanly and efficiently with no wasted motion or tension....
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15 Points
Solid technique across strokes; slaps or muted tones are slightly inconsistent....
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10 Points
Stroke types are not clearly differentiated; tension limits speed and endurance....
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0 Points
Hand and stick technique are not established; strokes cannot be produced reliably....
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Pattern Accuracy & Instrument Idiom
20%
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20 Points
Tumbao, martillo, cascara, mambo and bell patterns are all idiomatically correct and executed flawlessly....
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15 Points
Core patterns are accurate and idiomatic with minor variations in the less familiar ones....
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10 Points
Patterns are approximated or generically applied across instruments that need distinct vocabulary....
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0 Points
Traditional patterns are not known; playing bears no relation to the idiom....
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Clave, Groove & Time
20%
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20 Points
Locked to clave with complete security in both 2-3 and 3-2; groove is deep and time is metronomic yet alive....
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15 Points
Stays in clave with solid time; direction changes require brief adjustment....
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10 Points
Clave orientation is lost in places and time drifts; the groove does not settle....
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0 Points
No clave awareness; time and groove cannot be maintained....
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Tone Colors & Dynamic Control
20%
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20 Points
Wide tonal palette drawn from every part of the head and shell, with precisely graded dynamics....
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15 Points
Good tonal variety and dynamic contrast; the softest playing loses definition slightly....
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10 Points
Limited tone colors and dynamics; the sound stays essentially uniform....
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0 Points
No tonal variety or dynamic control; playing is at one uncontrolled volume....
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Stylistic Authenticity & Improvisation
20%
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20 Points
Deeply authentic feel across son, salsa, songo and bomba styles, with inventive, idiomatic improvisation and strong ensemble instinct....
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15 Points
Authentic feel in the main styles with competent, appropriate improvisation....
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10 Points
Style is imitative and improvisation is repetitive or rhythmically unsound....
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0 Points
No stylistic authenticity and no usable improvisation....
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