Solo/Band Performance Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A youth stage category for an act that combines singing with instrument playing, performed by a solo musician or a band of up to nine participants in up to six minutes.

Solo/Band Performance is the one category of a youth talent showcase that asks for both halves of a musical act at once: someone must play an instrument and someone must sing. The rules put it plainly. An act that combines vocal and instrumental talent belongs here, and an act that is vocal only or instrumental only must not be entered. A singer who accompanies themselves on guitar, a duo with one voice and one keyboard, and a five-piece band in which some members sing and others play all fit. A choir with no instrument, or a pianist playing alone, does not.

It is the seventh and last of the showcase’s seven stage categories, and at the district contest this page is written from it sits in the second of the two entry groups beside the 4-H Skit and Poetry/Prose. A member may enter one category from each group, so a solo or band act can be paired with a choreographed routine, a variety act, an instrumental piece or a vocal entry from the first group but not with a skit or a spoken-word piece. Every member entered must play an instrument, sing, or do both, and a solo performer has to do both. Singing must be part of the act.

The category is deliberately a performance and not only a recital. Members may move around the stage and use choreography to improve showmanship, which is the main difference from a seated instrumental item. Skits, poetry and prose are not allowed inside the act. An act may have from one to nine participants, so a single singer-guitarist is as valid as a full band, although a larger group has more to coordinate in the four minutes allowed for set-up and break-down.

The time rules are shared with every other category: up to six minutes of presentation plus four minutes for set-up and break-down, ten minutes in all. Music may be performed live or recorded by the contestant, but no accompanist is permitted in any category. A piano is not available at one of the two districts, where a contestant brings their own keyboard, so the instrument list is part of the planning, not an afterthought.

Organisers run the category because it is the closest the showcase gets to a real stage act. Young people have to choose a song that suits both the voice and the instrument, balance the two so neither hides the other, move with it, and finish inside the clock. The strongest entries sound rehearsed as a unit and look as if the performers enjoy it.

Where Solo/Band Performance is run

In eTalenter’s data the title Solo/Band Performance is carried by one competition, a youth talent showcase run through county, district and state contests in the United States, where it is the seventh of seven stage categories and the one reserved for acts that mix singing with instruments. This page describes the category only as that showcase runs it and does not claim it is run anywhere else under this name. Many other competitions have a separate vocal solo, an instrumental solo or a band section, and those are judged on their own score cards and do not require the combination described here.

• United States

Key facts

• Combined music category: the act must include both singing and instrument playing. Vocal-only and instrumental-only acts are entered in the separate Vocal and Instrumental Music categories instead.
• Individual or team: one district accepts 1 to 9 participants in an act; another accepts an individual entry and a team of 2 to 9 members drawn from one age division. Every member must play an instrument, sing, or both, and a solo performer must do both.
• Staging: members may move around the stage and use choreography to improve showmanship. Skits, poetry and prose are not allowed in the act, and no accompanist is permitted.
• Age divisions are Junior, Intermediate and Senior. The rules name the divisions but do not print the ages, so the organiser sets them.
• Time: up to 6 minutes of presentation plus 4 minutes for set-up and break-down, 10 minutes in all. A penalty of 5 points for each minute, or part of a minute, over the limit is taken from the total score.
• Judging areas as printed: talent, showmanship, musical presentation, vocal presentation when applicable, and material chosen. Marks for each area are not printed, so none are asserted here; the item is marked out of 100.
• Ideas, not rules: a singer-guitarist performing a well-known folk song with a short instrumental break; a keyboard and voice duo with a slow ballad that builds to an up-tempo last verse; a ukulele group singing in parts; a small band with two singers, a bass and a drum pattern played on a cajon; a fiddle tune that moves into a sung chorus.

On eTalenter, Solo/Band Performance 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, Solo/Band Performance is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 6 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Solo/Band Performance

What a Solo/Band Performance panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Talent: the control of the voice and of the instrument at the same moment. Judges listen for a steady pulse while singing, clean changes between chords or notes, and a voice that stays in tune when the hands are busy. Rushing the tempo or dropping out of time whenever the singing starts shows the two skills are not yet joined.
• Showmanship: the use of the stage, eye contact and energy. The rules allow movement and choreography, so an act that stands rooted behind a microphone stand when it could move gives away marks, but movement that makes the playing sloppy costs more than it earns. Show confidence in the first ten seconds and keep it to the last bar.
• Musical presentation: the arrangement, balance and ending. The instrument should support the voice, not drown it, and any solo section should have a clear start and a clear return. Judges notice a band that has agreed who plays when and who has simply played together from the first note to the last.
• Vocal presentation, when applicable: tone, pitch, diction and breath. A lyric that cannot be understood, or a voice that disappears behind an amplified instrument, loses marks here. In a band, check that every singer can be heard and that harmonies, if used, are secure and not guessed.
• Material chosen: the song and the arrangement must suit the age and skills of the performers and be suitable for a family audience. A piece that is simple and played well beats an ambitious piece with wrong notes. Going over six minutes costs 5 points a minute or part of a minute. These points are general advice on what a music panel weighs; the organiser’s own score card sets the exact weights.

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

How to prepare for Solo/Band Performance

How entrants and their teachers usually get Solo/Band Performance right on the day:

• Choose the song for the combination, not for either half alone. Try three songs with the real instrument and the real voice together, and keep the one where neither part has to be simplified to make the other possible.
• Plan a week-by-week path: week one for choosing and arranging; week two for the instrument part alone until it is automatic; week three for adding the voice slowly; week four for full-speed run-throughs; week five for movement, stage position and the ending; week six for two timed performances in front of an audience.
• Make the instrument part automatic before adding the singing. If the hands still need the eyes, the voice will suffer, so repeat the part on its own until it can be played while talking, then add the words.
• For a band, decide who sings what, who plays what and who gives the count-in, and write the order of the song on a card. Practise the first four bars and the last four bars more than the middle, because the start and the finish are what the panel remembers.
• Time the whole act, including the four-minute set-up. Rehearse carrying in the instruments, tuning, checking the microphone and clearing the stage with a stopwatch, and cut the song if the timed run goes over six minutes. Bring your own stands and stools, since the venue does not provide them.
• Check the equipment rules early. A piano is not available at one of the districts, so a keyboard player brings their own, and a recording must be submitted by the deadline if the venue speaker is to be used. No accompanist may play for you, so every sound must come from the members entered or from music recorded by the contestant.
• Add movement last and keep it simple. A step to the side at the chorus, a turn towards the other singer or a walk to the front for the last verse adds showmanship without risking the playing. Film a rehearsal and check that the movement never changes the tempo.
• After a county or district critique, keep the same song through the contest levels if the rules ask for the same material, and work only on the weak spots the judges named, usually balance between voice and instrument, tuning or the ending.

Frequently asked questions

Is Solo/Band Performance judged individually or as a team?

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

What is the Solo/Band Performance category?

A music category in a youth talent showcase for acts that combine singing and instrument playing. A solo performer must do both; a band may have some members who sing and others who play. It is the seventh and last of the showcase’s seven stage categories.

Can I enter if I only sing, or only play an instrument?

Not in this category. The rules state that vocal-only and instrumental-only acts must not be entered here. They belong in the Vocal and Instrumental Music categories, which are in the first entry group.

Does a solo performer have to sing and play?

Yes. A solo performer must play an instrument and sing, and singing must be part of the act. In a band, every member must play an instrument, sing, or both.

Can I move around the stage or add choreography?

Yes. Members may move around the stage and use choreography to improve showmanship. Skits, poetry and prose are not allowed in the act.

Can someone accompany me on piano or guitar?

No accompanist is permitted in any category. Music must be performed by the members entered or recorded by the contestant. A piano is not available at one of the districts, so a keyboard player brings their own.

How long can the act be and what is the penalty for going over?

Up to six minutes of presentation, plus four minutes for set-up and break-down, ten minutes in total. Going over the limit loses 5 points for each minute, or part of a minute, from the total score.

What are the marking criteria?

The rules name the judging areas, namely talent, showmanship, musical presentation, vocal presentation when applicable, and material chosen, but do not print marks for them. No marks are listed here, and the advice on this page is general guidance on what a music panel weighs.

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