Sight Reading Showdown

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So you think your students can sight read? Prove it!

Enter for a chance to win cool prizes and show off your students' skills. This ensemble sight reading competition is open to band, choir, and orchestra students in grades 6-12.

    Prizes:

    We will award six prizes in this contest. These will be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes for ensembles in grades 6-8, and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes for ensembles in grades 9-12. If an ensemble has members from both of these grade-level groups, we will include it in the division for grades 9-12. All entrants will receive a 10% discount code to use for a future purchase (see the details in the 'Rules' section)!

  1. Srf on mobile
    1st Prize
    The winning entry will receive:
    • Custom SRF t-shirts with bragging rights for this year’s contest
    • A pizza party
    • $400 donation to the program’s booster club
    • A feature spot on SRF social media about their ensemble and program!
  2. Srf on mobile
    2nd Prize
    Second place will receive:
    • An ice cream party
    • $200 donation to the program’s booster club!
  3. Srf on mobile
    3rd Prize
    Last but not least! Third place receives:
    • A $100 donation to the program’s booster club!

    Criteria:

    Winning entries will be determined by the scoring of SRF personnel based only on videos submitted according to these rules, and prizes will be awarded based on the SRF judges’ review and decisions regarding the overall ensemble tone, intonation, pitch & rhythmic accuracy and skillful participation of ensemble members, with additional consideration given to the difficulty (level) of the exercise and “Extras” as described below. All determinations by SRF as to winners and prizes will be final.

    Rules:

  1. Who may enter: Must be a band, choir, or orchestra ensemble in grades 6-12 in the United States. We will accept more than one entry per school, but only one per performing ensemble.
  2. Contest time period: To be considered, video recordings must be posted and tagged according to these rules, no earlier than November 1, 2023, and no later than December 15, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.
  3. The Sight Reading Exercise: Entries must use SightReadingFactory.com projected onto a screen or through the Live Practice feature.
    • If you are projecting, the ensemble must use a newly generated exercise in Challenge Mode with a 15-second countdown. The video submitted must show the ensemble starting on the Challenge "Performance Options” screen (using any features except Synth Audio) and pushing the “Start” button to generate a new exercise.
    • If you are using Live Practice, the video submitted must show the ensemble starting on the music page after having started a Live Practice session (we suggest showing the teacher's device in the video). The video should show the teacher clicking 'Next' to generate a new exercise, and then after approximately 15 seconds of study time, the ensemble should begin to perform the exercise.
  4. Duration and Other Details: The sight reading exercise must be 8 measures, and the video length must not exceed 90 seconds. Any key signature, time signature, and any level will be accepted, but bonus points will be given for more difficult parameters. No cuts or edits of the actual video of the performance is permitted.
  5. Extras: Feel free to include and to edit any intro or signoff segment, including any cheering, (tasteful) trash talk, or bragging about why your ensemble/school is gonna win. These extras will help in the event of tie scores between groups or decisions that are otherwise too close to call.
  6. How To Enter:
    • Post your recording to Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with the hashtag #srfshowdown2023.
    • Also tag SRF in your post - Instagram (@sightreadingfactory), Facebook (@SightReadingFactory), or Twitter (@Sight_Reading).
    • No entries submitted through FB/IG Stories will be admitted.
    • SRF will acknowledge each entry by either commenting or liking the video submission.
    • Don’t see a like/comment from SRF & not sure that your entry was seen? Contact us and let us know.
  7. Discount for All Entries: For each posted video that meets these entry criteria, we will send to the instructor a promotional code that is valid for ten percent (10%) off of the next service invoice from us to the relevant teacher, program, school, or district. Apart from multi-year discounted pricing, this 10% Showdown discount cannot be used more than once for any account regardless of the number of entries or ensembles entering, and cannot be used with any other discounts.
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