VIOLIN MAKERS
ASSOCIATION OF
Rule deletions relative to 2009 are indicated with
strikethrough and additions are in italics
A. Categories:
Members or non-members may enter instruments in the following events. Non-members are not eligible for prizes or trophies.
1. Violins - Gut Stringed:* Tone and Overall Point Trophies.
2. Violins - Stee1 Stringed:* Tone and Overall Point Trophies.
3. Violas - Small:** Tone and Overall Point Trophies.
4. Violas - Large:** Tone and Overall Point Trophies.
5. Cellos: Tone and Overall Point Trophies.
6. Quartet: Tone Trophy.
7. Bows - Violin: Best.
8. Bows - Viola: Best.
* The definition of a gut-stringed violin is one that is equipped with a non-metallic core wound with nickel, silver, chromium, etc., except that the “E” string may be of solid gut or metal. A steel- stringed instrument is one that is equipped with strings composed of a multi-strand twisted steel core or solid steel core, which may be wound with metal, i.e. steel, nickel, silver, chromium, etc.
** A small viola is one that measures 16 inches or less and a large viola is one that measures over 16 inches as measured by caliper. Measurement is from the point where the heel touches the upper bout outline to the bottom of the lower bout.
B. Member:
A member is one who has paid the required dues and has maintained that membership in good standing.
C. Entry Fees (per complete item):
Instruments --$20.00 for members; $25.00 for non-members
Bows-- $ 15.00 for members; $20.00 for non-members
Quartet -- $25.00 for members; $30.00 for non-members
Tone Only -- $ 15.00 for members; $20.00 for non-members
D. Number of Entries:
Each entrant may enter up to two instruments or four bows in any or each of the competitive categories in “A” above.
E. Restrictions:
Only instruments or bows completed since the last convention and competition may be entered for competition, except those entered in a quartet. No time restrictions apply to the construction of instruments entered as a quartet. However, no instruments may be entered more than once as a member of a quartet.
In the event a competition in any category cannot be held because of insufficient entrants (three entrants required), the instruments may be entered in the next year’s competition where there are enough competitors. Completion since the last competition is interpreted to mean that an instrument must not have been played and then opened up and re-graduated, changed and again considered complete, except that an instrument may be assembled “in the white,” tested and again closed up for varnishing. Instruments of any age may be entered for judging tone only, but such entries are not competitive or eligible for trophies or other awards.
An instrument entered by an agent or representative must have signed authority from the maker; an exception provides that instruments completed within the competition year by a member who has died will be accepted for competition.
No instrument will be accepted without a maker's label or mark stating the maker's name and date of completion. In an effort to minimize the chance for bias in judging, the identity of the maker is to be kept from the judges until the completion of the judging. To accomplish this, it is the responsibility of the contestant to make sure that all marks and labels that identify the maker are concealed at the time of the placement of the instrument or bow on the table at the start of the judging process. All instruments entered for trophy competition must be of the types generally accepted, and no strange oddities will be accepted or allowed to compete for prizes. No instruments will be accepted by parcel post or mail. A violin may be entered in steel or gut, however, it may not be entered in both contests.
Only instruments that have been made by only one maker will be accepted in the competition. Instruments entered that have been made by more than one maker shall be entered in the ‘tone only’ category, and will not be eligible for trophies and certificates. Components such as pegs, bridges, and tailpieces that commonly have finished surfaces made by someone other than the instrument maker are acceptable under this rule.
F. Judging:
Instruments:
Instruments will be judged for tone, workmanship and varnish.
1. Tone:
Scoring Rounds: All instruments entered in a specific
competition event will be eligible for evaluation in Round One. Quartets will be judged in a single round by
the process described for Round 1 below.
Violins, violas, and cellos will be judged in three separate rounds,
Rounds 1, 2, and 3.
Three tone judges will be selected and may be members or other qualified persons. It is desirable that these three judges be the best available. During Round One, the playability judge will play the instrument in full view of the audience. The other two judges will be seated with their backs to the player and will judge the instrument on the tone they hear and on its projection ability. The player judge will demonstrate a full octave on each string and will play a selected short piece to bring out the maximum capabilities of each instrument to the point of breakdown if such weakness exists. It is desirable, in the interest of fairness, that the judges not play any of the competing instruments prior to the competition.
Once the scores have been written on the score card, they will be collected by the “shagger.” Only after the shagger has collected these cards will the instrument’s competition number be announced. At this point, the shagger will write that number on the tone scorecards he has collected and turn them in to the official scorekeeper.
Scoring: Computation of the tone judge’s scores will be as follows for R1 and R3. Except for quartets, the score of the player judge will be doubled, and the two listener judge’s scores will be as turned in. The average of the tone judges scores, therefore, will be computed as: 2 P + L1 + L2 divided by 4 = average tone score. For quartets, each player judge’s score and each listener judge’s score will be weighted equally. The quartet tone score, therefore, will be computed as: P +P + P + P + L1 + L2 divided by 6 = average tone score. The first round of all contests will be scored from 71 to 90 Points and the second and third rounds will be scored from 91 to 100 points as follows:
First round: D=71 to 75, C=76 to 80, B=81 to 85, A=86 to 90.
Second and third rounds: C=91 to 94, B=95 to 97, A=98 to 100.
Following Round One, Rounds two and three will be played. Ten violins will be selected from Round One to be played in Round Two for further evaluation. These ten will be the top scoring violins in tone. If there are ties for the tenth violin, the tie will be played off to determine which violin goes on to Round Two. Out of these top ten violins, five will be selected to proceed on to Round Three. These top 5 will be the top 5 scoring violins in Round 2. If there are ties, the Round 2 judges will have to play the ties off, and come up with a final five top playability scoring violins.
For violas and cellos, 10 % of the entered instruments or a minimum of 4 will advance to Round 2. Out of this set of instruments after scoring Round 2, the top 2 will proceed to Round 3. Ties will be handled as above.
Round Two: The three judges for Round One will continue to play and judge in Rounds Two and Three. The qualified instruments will be played by these judges and evaluated on their playability and their response to the bow. Each judge will score each instrument. The scores for each instrument will be averaged and will constitute the Round Two score for that instrument.
Round Three: One of the judges will now play the instruments and the other two judges will be seated at the tone judges’ table in the audience to listen for each instrument’s tone quality and projection ability. The scoring procedures will be the same as that already outlined for Round One. These scores will be averaged and will constitute each instrument’s tone score for Round Three.
The tone scores for Rounds One, Two and Three will be averaged and will comprise the final tone score for the instruments. Two times this final tone score will be added to the workmanship and vanish scores and will comprise the overall score for the entry.
No
Workmanship or varnish scoring will be done for quartets. The final
quartet score is the Round 1 average tone score.
2. Workmanship
Workmanship involves that art of making a perfect instrument as seen by the quality of the craftsmanship shown in the finished instrument. It is quite separate from the art of varnishing and should not be confused with it. In judging workmanship, the judge will look for imperfections in the execution of the work of building the instrument. The model, size or varnish job shall be immaterial to him and is not to be judged by him. It is not the intention to stifle originality.
The workmanship judge will view the instrument as if it were in the “white”, looking for such things as tool marks, sandpaper marks, scratches in the wood, uneven-fitting/poorly-fit neck, ragged corners, uneven overhang, poorly-bent and fitted ribs, poorly-fit bridge feet, poorly-fit saddle, nut, fingerboard, etc. He will mark off as he feels appropriate, but treat each instrument in the exact same manner. Judging workmanship is a matter of judging the ability of the maker to put forth a piece of work which is as flawless as possible.
The judge shall consider the workmanship of instruments that are finished without simulated wear (pristine instrument) and those finished to appear antique without preference when evaluating for score. The pristine instrument shall be judged according to established workmanship and style standards. The antiqued instrument shall be judged considering that the instrument was initially made to established workmanship and style standards, and then reworked to simulate natural wear. Examples of such wear include rounded edges and corners, open f-holes, grafts, crowns, replaced edges, button, etc., and should all appear realistic and consistent when modified.
Workmanship scoring shall be done on a VMAAI Board approved score sheet, one sheet per instrument, which at the end of the contest will be made available to the contestant. Brief comments that would be helpful to the contestant should be added to the score sheet as practicable. The basis for this scoring is 125 points.
3. Varnish
Varnish is a thin film of protection and surface enhancement that preserves the outside surface of the instrument. Its tonal effect, beyond a certain point, is controversial. In judging varnish, the judge will look for imperfections in the film of varnish only - irrespective of the wood craftsmanship that lies underneath it. He is interested only in the thin film of protection and color over the underlying wood. He should look for such imperfections as brush marks, dust specks, murky or mottled appearance, uneven coloring, pin holes or protruding particles, sags, light areas due to excessive sanding or rubbing (exclusive of antiquing effect), poor rub down treatment, lack of luster and other defects in the varnish film. He shall not grade on the color of the varnish.
Varnish scoring shall be done
on a VMAAI Board approved score sheet, one sheet per instrument, which at the
end of the contest will be made available to the contestant. The basis for this
scoring is 60 points.
Bows:
Bows will be judged for beauty and workmanship on the basis of 100 points and on playability at 100 points. Since playability of a bow is very subjective, three judges will be used (whenever possible) to provide a meaningful score in playability. The scores in each area will be averaged to reach a final score for workmanship and for playability. The two scores will be added together to arrive at an overall score based on 200 points.
G. General:
If a member is judging workmanship or varnish in an event that he is entered in, the other judge will score both workmanship and varnish on that instrument. Prior to judging that instrument, the judge will view the top scoring instrument in that category, and judge accordingly, avoiding all possible bias. The workmanship and varnish judges will judge all instruments in the category. The scores and associated standing among the competitors are determined by the judges and shall be final except where subsequent investigation proves that an arithmetical or posting error has been made. If there is a tie in maximum overall points, the instrument with the highest points in tone will be declared the winner. If there is still a tie, the workmanship and varnish will be re-judged to decide the winner. Any serious dispute with the judging will be presented to the president. He will choose two members at large to assist him in reaching an equitable decision. Their decision will be final.
H. Bob Wallace Memorial Trophy Contest:
This
contest is designed to determine the best-toned violin from the winners of the
gut- and steel- stringed categories. It is based upon tone only, and
workmanship and varnish are not factors in the competition except that, in the
case of a tie after the third playoff, appearance shall be the determining
factor in selecting a winner. In qualifying for the Bob Wallace Memorial Trophy
Contest, the violins with the three highest tone scores from each of the gut-
and steel-string categories shall qualify for the competition. The judges for
the Memorial Contest will be the same judges used in the violin contests in
each string category when possible. There will be four field judges and one
playing judge. The score of each judge shall be on the basis of 100 points. One
playing judge will be selected for the Memorial Contest from the playing judges
of the violin categories. The score of the playing judge includes playability
and tone and shall be averaged with the scores of the field judges. There will be two listener/field judges and one
playing judge. The score of each judge shall be in the range of 91 to
100 points. One playing judge will be selected for the Memorial Contest
from the playing judges of the violin categories. The score of the playing
judge includes playability and tone and shall be doubled and then averaged with
the scores of the listener/field judges.
I. Trophies/Medals:
Trophies
or medals will be awarded to members
placing instruments or bows in first and second place in most categories.
Trophies or medals will be awarded
when there are three or more “entrants” in a category. Certificates will be given based on Round 1
tone score, final tone score, and overall score.
J. Safe-Keeping:
Each person entering an instrument or bow is responsible for the safe-keeping of it at all times during the convention and competition. The Violin Makers Association of Arizona, International, assumes no responsibility whatsoever for any loss or damage to instruments, bows or cases.
K. Hours:
The official convention hours are from 9 a.m. until noon and from 1:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. There will be a break at opportune times during the morning and afternoon sessions. In the event of a playoff, or in the event that an instrument is chosen to go on to further evaluation, such as Round 2, Round 3 or the Bob Wallace, that instrument must be on the table 15 minutes prior to the beginning of that competition. If the instrument is not available to the judges at the time of the beginning of that competition, that instrument will forfeit its right to further competition. The next instrument in line shall be selected in its place.
L. Registration of Instruments:
All instruments must be registered at least 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the competition of that category of instruments and be on the table 15 minutes prior to the beginning of that competition.
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