Troisnyx 2014-11-05 03:22:59

Horrible work ethics? At least in my mind you did what you could -- early on, preparing for college would've been a struggle. Go easy on yourself, for unlike us participants, you especially deserve it. I mean, having been involved for this long. ^_-

Phonometrologist 2014-11-05 12:50:46

Not picking on you, but you’re telling me that you found a mathematical/scientific way for analyzing music without the use of any personal preference, opinion, feelings, or intuition on how a listener perceives judges a creative work? Granted that the process is based on a formulaic approach to how you calculate each category consisting of production, originality, interest, and etc., but what you’re really doing is taking a mathematical approach in calculating each category of your own subjectivity within each category. Just saying that your statement isn’t entirely true as the root of it still boils down to how you interpret a piece rather than it being entirely outside of yourself. There can be some practical ways of judging production and the arrangement, but when it comes to interest, it cannot be said to have been judged without the above mentions of opinion/feeling.

However, I still love the approach that you took in judging this contest, and if the contest continues next year, I would like someone else to take up the mantle of your same formulaic approach. This is a good way of going about it for the sake of balancing the overall score of the other judges.
I will also say that your take on it has been fun and informational to read. :) Thank you for your hard work and effort.

Phonometrologist 2014-11-05 15:13:24

And I have always appreciated those that despite the potential backlash, they still choose to speak the truth about their personal convictions when it comes to music even if I wouldn’t necessarily agree. It isn’t easy to give low scores as you have mentioned, but it is a very respectable and courageous thing to do as opposed to pretend in order to please. That shows for integrity of the judging process.
All those questions are great to think about! Does a trope help define a genre, or is it a side-effect of working within a genre? I would think that the trope existed before the genre and it merely became one because of the admirers learning to practice by mimicking. As a judge for a contest though, does it bring a positive or negative to the score? Perhaps when it is done well enough as to strike interest, but it certainly doesn’t help in the creativity aspect of it. I guess it depends on the objective in the first place. Personally I think the most important aspect of how well a piece is created is by how well it moves or communicates to the listener, and how often you can return to it afresh, but, that approach to why I listen to music differs from why others listen, I’m sure. But every choice to why one thinks a piece is done well has to be defended rationally and given a clear explanation. Hence why I think your approach works well. Just wanted to state it for what it is. Perhaps that will encourage others. People can’t expect that their music will be liked by everyone. Perhaps for some, their music will only be an esoteric kind of sound. Is that really a bad thing?