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

A traditional-only instrumental class for folk tunes played in their original form, scored out of 10 across seven age divisions.

Authentic is the strictest of the three classes in the folklore split, and in the instrumental section it asks a player to keep a folk tune as close to its traditional form as possible. The melody, the way it is ornamented and the character of the instrument should all sound like music handed down rather than newly arranged.

On the template it is an individual item offered in seven divisions: Mini Kids (4 to 6), Kids (7 to 9), Children (10 to 13), Junior (14 to 17), Adults, Senior (50 and over) and a Mixed Age division. Each player receives one score out of 10 as Marks, Polish is the language setting, and results are ranked inside each division.

A round runs one player at a time. The panel listens for fidelity to the tradition as much as for technique: is the tune the one the community would recognise, and is it played in the manner of the instrument it belongs to? Modern harmonisation, borrowed styles or an added backing arrangement belong in the processed or styled classes instead.

Organisers offer an authentic class to keep traditional playing visible and to give players who have learned a tune by ear or from an elder a place where that learning is valued.

Where Instrumental – Authentic is run

On eTalenter this item is used in one template, an international folklore dance and music festival template based in Krakow, Poland, where each discipline is offered in authentic, processed and styled forms. Folk music competitions elsewhere also separate traditional playing from arranged or contemporary work, but the dividing lines differ, so the organiser’s own notice decides what counts as authentic.

• Poland (the festival the template is built from)

Key facts

• Individual item on the template: one player is scored at a time
• Seven divisions from Mini Kids (4-6) to Senior (50+), plus a Mixed Age division
• Open to both genders, scored out of 10 as Marks
• Language setting on the template is Polish
• No time limit is set on the template, so the organiser’s notice decides how long a piece may run
• The strictest of the three instrumental classes, beside Instrumental – Processed and Instrumental – Styled

On eTalenter, Instrumental – Authentic is filed under On Stage 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, Instrumental – Authentic is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 10.

What judges look at in Instrumental – Authentic

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

• Fidelity to the tradition: a tune and a manner of playing that match the folk source
• Technical command of the instrument: pitch, rhythm and steady tempo
• Ornamentation and phrasing in the idiom of the tune, not borrowed from another style
• Tone and character appropriate to the instrument being played
• Confidence and continuity, so the piece is played through without stops or restarts
• With one score out of 10 and no printed sub-criteria, the panel’s overall impression decides the result

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Instrumental – Authentic under Scoring Setup, or start from our judging and score tabulation guide.

How to prepare for Instrumental – Authentic

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

• Read the organiser’s notice to see what counts as authentic, and whether accompaniment or a recorded track is allowed
• Pick a tune you can trace to a region or a tradition, and be ready to say where you learned it
• Listen to older or field-style recordings of the same tune and copy the phrasing, not just the notes
• Practise slowly with a metronome first, then play at the natural tempo of the tune
• Tune the instrument before you enter and plan the opening note so the start is clean
• Choose the correct age division, since each is ranked separately, and keep the piece within what you can play without stops
• After a loss, ask whether tune choice, technique or faithfulness to the tradition held the entry back and work on that one thing
• Ideas, not rules: a dance tune played solo on a fiddle, a slow song melody on a flute or whistle, or a simple drone-and-tune piece on a traditional string instrument

Frequently asked questions

Is Instrumental – Authentic 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.

What is the difference between Instrumental – Authentic and Instrumental – Processed?

Authentic keeps the tune and playing style traditional. Processed arranges the tune for the stage while keeping it recognisable. The template does not print exact definitions, so the organiser’s notice decides.

Can I play a modern instrument in the authentic class?

The template does not restrict instruments. Whether a modern instrument fits the authentic class is for the organiser’s notice to say.

Is Instrumental – Authentic judged individually or as a team?

On the template it is an individual item, scored one player at a time. Orchestras have their own items.

How is Instrumental – Authentic scored?

Out of 10 as Marks, with no printed sub-criteria. The source describes award tiers from Diamond Grand Prix down to a Debut Diploma.

Want the full judging picture? Read our judging and score tabulation guide, or browse every on stage competition item.