Music competitions
Encyclopedia
A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensemble
s and/or soloists
. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are held to find pop starlets. Examples of music competitions include Open Mic UK
, All-Japan Band Association
annual contest, the World Music Contest, Live and Unsigned, the Eurovision Song Contest
, and American Idol
.
s have also long relied on competitions and festivals to promote their musical genres and recognize high levels of achievement. In recent decades large competitions have also developed in the field of popular music to showcase performances by pop vocalists and rock bands (e.g. "Idol series
" and "Battle of the Bands
" events).
s with the largest audience
s are widely televised
events in the genre
of popular music
, such as the Eurovision Song Contest
and American Idol
. The Open Mic UK
and Live and Unsigned contests in the United Kingdom
each garner approximately 10,000 contestants annually, making them the largest contests in the region.
According to 2005 statistics, more than 650,000 visitors attend the World Music Contest (Kerkrade, the Netherlands), which has 19,000 contestants from over 30 countries, making it one of the largest competitions in Europe. The All-Japan Band Association
annual contest appears to be the world's largest music competition in terms of the number of active contestant
s, with approximately 800,000 competing musicians in more than 14,000 bands. A new competition which is just hit the United Kingdom music scene is called SoundWave Music Competition. This competition allows for acts and bands of all genres a chance to play at the O2 Academy as well as win a day in a top United Kingdom recording studio.
One of the most pretigious music competitions organization in the United States became American Protege http://www.americanrpotege.com, with its Piano and Strings Competition, Romantic Music Competition, Concerto Competition, Music Talent Competition and Internet Competition.
as well as Summerfest
, a non-competitive music event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
that typically attracts around 1 million visitors.
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
s and/or soloists
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are held to find pop starlets. Examples of music competitions include Open Mic UK
Open Mic UK
Open Mic UK is a live music competition in the UK for singers, vocalists and solo artists. Acts compete at regional auditions to get the chance to perform live at live music showcases to reach an annual national final, which is held at the IndigO2 in London as part of Live Fest...
, All-Japan Band Association
All-Japan Band Association
The All Japan Band Association is an organization that exists solely for the purpose of facilitating an enormous annual music competition among Japanese wind bands...
annual contest, the World Music Contest, Live and Unsigned, the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
, and American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
.
History
The European Classical art music idiom has long relied on the institution of music competitions to provide a public forum that identifies the strongest young players and contributes to the establishment of their professional careers (see List of classical music competitions). Popular instrumental ensembles such as brass bands and school bandSchool band
A school band is a group of student musicians who rehearse and perform instrumental music together. A concert band is usually under the direction of one or more conductors...
s have also long relied on competitions and festivals to promote their musical genres and recognize high levels of achievement. In recent decades large competitions have also developed in the field of popular music to showcase performances by pop vocalists and rock bands (e.g. "Idol series
Idol series
The British talent search television series Pop Idol has spawned spin-offs in 42 territories, in what is now referred to as the "Idols" format, as described by FremantleMedia...
" and "Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bands
Battle of Bands is a contest in which two or more bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or a combination. The winning band usually receives a prize in addition to bragging rights. Traditionally, battles of...
" events).
Examples
The music competitionCompetition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
s with the largest audience
Audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature , theatre, music or academics in any medium...
s are widely televised
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
events in the genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, such as the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
and American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
. The Open Mic UK
Open Mic UK
Open Mic UK is a live music competition in the UK for singers, vocalists and solo artists. Acts compete at regional auditions to get the chance to perform live at live music showcases to reach an annual national final, which is held at the IndigO2 in London as part of Live Fest...
and Live and Unsigned contests in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
each garner approximately 10,000 contestants annually, making them the largest contests in the region.
According to 2005 statistics, more than 650,000 visitors attend the World Music Contest (Kerkrade, the Netherlands), which has 19,000 contestants from over 30 countries, making it one of the largest competitions in Europe. The All-Japan Band Association
All-Japan Band Association
The All Japan Band Association is an organization that exists solely for the purpose of facilitating an enormous annual music competition among Japanese wind bands...
annual contest appears to be the world's largest music competition in terms of the number of active contestant
Contestant
A contestant is someone who takes part in a competition, usually a professional competition or a game show on television. The participants competing against each other have to go through rounds...
s, with approximately 800,000 competing musicians in more than 14,000 bands. A new competition which is just hit the United Kingdom music scene is called SoundWave Music Competition. This competition allows for acts and bands of all genres a chance to play at the O2 Academy as well as win a day in a top United Kingdom recording studio.
One of the most pretigious music competitions organization in the United States became American Protege http://www.americanrpotege.com, with its Piano and Strings Competition, Romantic Music Competition, Concerto Competition, Music Talent Competition and Internet Competition.
Non-competitive events
The title for world's largest non-competitive music event has been claimed by the WOMAD festival in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
as well as Summerfest
Summerfest
Summerfest is a yearly music festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The festival lasts for 11 days, is made up of 11 stages with performances from over 700 bands, and since the mid-1970s has run from late June through early July, usually...
, a non-competitive music event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
that typically attracts around 1 million visitors.
See also
- American Protege Music Competitions http://www.americanprotege.com
- List of classical music competitions
- ISANGYUN CompetitionIsang Yun CompetitionISANGYUN Competition is the official title of an international-level music competition, which is annually held in Tongyeong, South Korea. As the title indicates, this concourse commemorates Isang Yun , a Korea-born German composer who was born in Tongyeong, the competition's venue town...
http://www.isangyuncompetition.org - Bakitone InternationalBakitone InternationalBakitone International is a non-profit organization based in Athens,Greece that maintains a network of almost 1000 international classical music competitions around a world. Bakitone International represents interests of European Broadcasting Union members at the international level in the field of...
- Battle of the BandsBattle of the BandsBattle of Bands is a contest in which two or more bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or a combination. The winning band usually receives a prize in addition to bragging rights. Traditionally, battles of...
- Idol SeriesIdol seriesThe British talent search television series Pop Idol has spawned spin-offs in 42 territories, in what is now referred to as the "Idols" format, as described by FremantleMedia...