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

An instrumental class for folk tunes arranged for the stage while staying recognisable, scored out of 10 across seven age divisions.

Processed sits in the middle of the three folklore classes. In the instrumental section a player takes a folk tune and shapes it for performance: a fuller arrangement, a developed introduction, added variation or a considered ending, while the original melody can still be heard underneath.

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 within each division.

A round runs one player at a time. The panel listens for two things at once: whether the folk source is still recognisable, and whether the arrangement is a musical choice rather than decoration. A tune that has been changed beyond recognition drifts towards the styled class, while one played note for note as handed down belongs in authentic.

Organisers add a processed class so that players who enjoy arranging can compete fairly, without being set against purists, and so that audiences hear how traditional material can be carried onto a stage.

Where Instrumental – Processed is run

On eTalenter this item is used in one template, an international folklore dance and music festival template based in Krakow, Poland, which offers each discipline in authentic, processed and styled forms. Arranged folk music is a familiar category in folk and world-music contests more widely, but what counts as processed varies between organisers, so the notice for the event decides.

• 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 printed on the template, so the organiser’s notice sets how long a piece may run
• The middle class of three: between Instrumental – Authentic and Instrumental – Styled

On eTalenter, Instrumental – Processed 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 – Processed is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 10.

What judges look at in Instrumental – Processed

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

• Recognisable folk source: the original tune should still be audible under the arrangement
• Quality of the arrangement: variation, structure and ending that serve the tune
• Technical command: pitch, rhythm, steady tempo and clean transitions
• Balance between tradition and invention, without drifting into a different style
• Tone and stage presence suited to the instrument and the piece
• 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 – Processed under Scoring Setup, or start from our judging and score tabulation guide.

How to prepare for Instrumental – Processed

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

• Check the organiser’s notice for what processed allows, such as accompaniment, a recorded backing or a second instrument
• Choose a tune you can name and place, then decide in one sentence what your arrangement changes
• Keep the melody clear in the first and last phrases so the panel hears the source before the variation
• Arrange for what you can play cleanly; a simple arrangement played well beats an ambitious one with stumbles
• Time the piece aloud and trim it to the length the notice allows
• Pick the correct age division, since each is ranked separately
• After a loss, ask whether the arrangement hid the tune or the technique lagged behind it, and fix that one thing
• Ideas, not rules: a dance tune with a slowed opening and a faster return, a song melody with a changed rhythm in the middle section, or a short theme-and-variations for a solo string or wind instrument

Frequently asked questions

Is Instrumental – Processed 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 – Processed and Instrumental – Styled?

Processed keeps the folk tune recognisable inside an arrangement. Styled gives the player the most freedom. The template does not print exact definitions, so the organiser’s notice decides.

Can I use a backing track in Instrumental – Processed?

The template does not say. Whether a backing track or accompanist is allowed is for the organiser’s notice to state.

Is Instrumental – Processed 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 – Processed scored?

Out of 10 as Marks, with no printed sub-criteria, ranked within each age division.

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