All That Jazz (Piano) Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

One pianist plays a jazz-style piece, from swing and blues to a jazz standard or a contemporary jazz arrangement, in a short individual class marked out of 100 by an adjudicator.

All That Jazz (Piano) is a class for a pianist who wants to play in a jazz idiom rather than a classical one. Where a standard piano solo class usually leans on the classical repertoire and the exam syllabus, this class invites swing, blues, boogie-woogie, ragtime-flavoured pieces, jazz standards and modern jazz arrangements, so the player is judged on a different set of skills: feel, rhythm and style.

On the eTalenter template it is an individual item, open to boys and girls together, with no language attached and a plain mark out of 100. The template carries six age bands, from 7 and under up to 18 and under, with a five-minute limit for the four younger bands and a seven-minute limit for the 15 and under and 18 and under bands. The source festival lists the class with age ceilings of 13 and under and 18 and under, so an organiser copying the template should check which bands they actually want to open.

A round is simple to run. Entrants are called in order, the pianist plays one jazz piece or a short set within the time limit, and the adjudicator writes comments and a mark. Because jazz depends on rhythm that is felt rather than counted, the panel listens first to the pulse, the swing of the quavers and the way the left hand and right hand fit together, and only then to the notes themselves.

Organisers add a jazz class because it brings in pianists who would never enter a classical class, gives young players a first taste of playing from a lead sheet or a simplified arrangement, and makes a music day more varied for the audience. It needs only a tuned piano, a stool and a timekeeper.

Where All That Jazz (Piano) is run

On the eTalenter templates All That Jazz (Piano) appears in one event: a British children and young people eisteddfod that runs music, speech and drama, where it sits among the instrumental classes with age ceilings. Jazz piano classes are a regular feature of music festivals in the English-speaking world, but this page records only that template.

• United Kingdom

Key facts

• Individual entry, open to boys and girls together; no language is set
• Marked out of 100 across all six age bands on the template
• Time limit is 5 minutes for the 7, 9, 11 and 13 and under bands and 7 minutes for the 15 and under and 18 and under bands on the template
• The source festival offers the class at age ceilings of 13 and under and 18 and under, so check which bands you want before installing
• Judged on jazz style as well as accuracy: swing feel, rhythm and idiom matter alongside correct notes
• Different from Piano Solo, which judges one prepared piece in a wider range of styles, and from Piano Recital, which is a longer programme of several pieces

On eTalenter, All That Jazz (Piano) is filed under Music and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, All That Jazz (Piano) is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 5–7 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in All That Jazz (Piano)

What a All That Jazz (Piano) panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Rhythmic feel: a steady pulse with a convincing swing or groove, rather than notes played evenly as if the music were classical
• Style and idiom: swung quavers, blues inflections, jazz articulation and a left hand that supports the right in the way the chosen style expects
• Accuracy and security: correct notes and chords, with no hesitations that break the pulse
• Tone, touch and dynamics: varied attack and a sound that suits the piece, from soft and relaxed to punchy
• Interpretation and character: a performance that sounds as if the player enjoys the music and has made it their own, not a note-by-note read-through
• Time discipline and presentation: finishing within the class limit and a calm, confident entrance and exit

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for All That Jazz (Piano) under Scoring Setup, or start from the full instrumental music competition judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for All That Jazz (Piano)

How entrants and their teachers usually get All That Jazz (Piano) right on the day:

• Pick a piece that suits the player’s level and is clearly jazz in style; a simple piece played with real swing scores better than a hard one played stiffly
• Listen to recordings of the style before learning the notes, and copy how professional players phrase the rhythm
• Practise with a metronome set to the off-beats at first, then without, so the pulse is steady but the feel is relaxed
• Learn the left-hand patterns, such as walking bass, stride or blues chords, until they are automatic, then add the right hand
• Time a full run against the class limit and cut a repeat or a chorus if it runs over
• Play the piece to family or friends at least twice before the day, and once on an unfamiliar piano to get used to a different touch
• Take the music in a neat copy, since many festivals allow it on the stand, and agree with the organiser beforehand if you want to improvise a chorus
• After a result that disappoints, read the adjudicator comments and work first on the feel of the rhythm, which is the most common area to lose marks

Frequently asked questions

Is All That Jazz (Piano) judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

Is All That Jazz the same as Piano Solo?

No. Piano Solo is open to a wide range of styles and often follows graded classical repertoire, while All That Jazz asks for a piece in a jazz style and is judged on swing, rhythm and idiom as well as accuracy.

How long can the performance be?

On the template the limit is five minutes for the four younger age bands and seven minutes for the 15 and under and 18 and under bands. Check your own event rules, since the limit normally includes sitting down.

Do I have to improvise?

Not necessarily. That is the organiser’s rule, not the item’s. Many young entrants play a written jazz arrangement, so read the rules for your class before choosing a piece.

Is it judged individually or as a team?

It is an individual item: one pianist per entry, open to boys and girls together, and marked out of 100.

Want the full judging picture? Read the full instrumental music competition judging criteria guide, or browse every music competition item.