Electronic Instrumental Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A solo performance on an electronic instrument such as a keyboard, synthesiser or electronic drum pad, played for up to five minutes and rated out of 10 by the panel.

Electronic Instrumental is the class for players whose instrument makes its sound through electronics rather than a vibrating string, reed or skin. The usual entrants are keyboard and digital piano players, synthesiser and workstation players, electronic drum-pad and sampler performers, and electronic wind controllers. One entrant performs one piece of their own choosing, so the class rewards a controlled, well-registered performance rather than the longest list of sounds.

In eTalenter’s templates the item appears once, in a Sunday-school style talent test from India that runs from Infants to Teachers. It is a single Music entry in the Common group, which covers the eight-to-twenty-two age span, open to boys and girls together with no language attached. Each player has five minutes, a warning is given at four, and the panel marks out of 10. It is the longest of the three instrument entries in that template: String Instrumental and Classical Music run shorter, so a keyboard player should plan a slightly fuller piece than a violinist would.

A round is quick but has more set-up than an acoustic class. The player is called by chest number, powers up and checks the patch, volume and any sustain pedal, then plays once. The warning at four minutes is the signal to bring the piece to its close. Because electronic instruments depend on cables, stands and a sound system, the practical risk is not the music but a wrong preset or a dead lead, so a short check before the call matters as much as the final run-through.

The template does not print a set-piece list, say whether backing rhythms or sequenced accompaniment are allowed, or state whether the organiser supplies keyboards and amplification, so confirm each point before entries close. Organisers keep an electronic class because keyboards are by far the most common instrument in school and community music groups, and giving them a class of their own keeps them from competing against acoustic players on tone alone.

Where Electronic Instrumental is run

In eTalenter’s data Electronic Instrumental appears on one template: a Sunday-school style talent test in India that runs from Infants to Teachers. Beyond that, keyboard and electronic solo classes are a regular part of school festivals and community talent contests, but this page describes only the format that template defines.

• India (Sunday-school style talent test)

Key facts

• Individual entry: one player performs alone, with no duet or band option.
• Boys and girls compete together; language is not applicable.
• Five minutes per player with a warning at four minutes.
• Marked out of 10 by the panel, ranked within the Common age group (8 to 22).
• Sits beside String Instrumental and Classical Music in the Music category, so acoustic string and traditional instruments belong in those classes instead.
• Idea starters, not rules: a well-known hymn or folk tune with a clear melody and simple chords, a piece that moves from a soft pad sound to a brighter lead sound, or a short medley of two contrasting tunes.

On eTalenter, Electronic Instrumental 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, Electronic Instrumental is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 10, commonly time-limited to around 5 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Electronic Instrumental

What a Electronic Instrumental panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Accuracy of notes and timing – the right notes at the right moment, with the left and right hands (or pads) playing together
• Touch and dynamics – variation between soft and loud passages rather than one flat volume, which electronics make easy to forget
• Sound choice and control – a patch that suits the piece, with volume and balance set so the melody is clearly heard
• Rhythm and tempo – a steady pulse held without leaning on an automatic rhythm to cover mistakes
• Musicality and finish – phrasing that gives the piece a mood, and an ending that lands inside the five minutes

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Electronic Instrumental under Scoring Setup, or start from the full instrumental music judging criteria guide.

How to prepare for Electronic Instrumental

How entrants and their teachers usually get Electronic Instrumental right on the day:

• Choose a piece you can play cleanly at tempo; a simple melody played with clear touch and balance outscores a hard piece played with errors.
• Settle your sound in advance: pick one or two patches, note the preset numbers, and practise switching between them without looking for a long time.
• Practise slowly with a metronome, raising the speed a little each day, and record yourself to hear uneven timing and heavy-handed volume.
• Time the full piece with a stopwatch and plan the ending to fall near four and a half minutes, since the warning comes at four.
• Do a cold start: sit down, set the volume and play the first phrase with no warm-up, as you will on the day.
• Pack a checklist: power lead, sustain pedal, headphones, stand and spare cable, and ask early whether the organiser supplies an instrument and amplifier.
• Ask whether backing rhythms or sequenced accompaniment are allowed, and rehearse exactly the set-up you will be given.

Frequently asked questions

Is Electronic Instrumental 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.

Which instruments count as electronic instruments?

Keyboards, digital pianos, synthesisers, electronic drum pads and similar instruments are the usual ones. Confirm with your organiser, because the template does not print a list.

Can I play a violin or guitar here?

No. Those belong in the String Instrumental entry. An electric guitar is a string instrument, so check with the organiser if you are unsure.

How long is the item?

Five minutes per player, with a warning at four minutes, in this template. Other events set their own limits.

Can I use a backing track or auto-accompaniment?

The template does not say. Ask your organiser before the day and prepare to play without it if you can.

Is it judged as a team?

No. It is an individual item and each player is ranked within their age group.

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