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

The freest of the three instrumental folklore classes, where a player may take folk material well beyond its original form, scored out of 10 across seven age divisions.

Styled is the open end of the three folklore classes. In the instrumental section a player uses a folk tune, rhythm or idea as a starting point and takes it somewhere new: a different genre, a reworked harmony, a changed metre or a modern sound, with the folk source acting as inspiration rather than a melody that must stay intact.

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. With the most freedom comes the most to justify: the panel listens for a clear musical idea, for a link back to the folk material that can still be heard or explained, and for playing that is secure enough to carry the experiment. A piece that is merely a familiar tune played loosely, or an unrelated piece with a folk name attached, tends to lose out.

Organisers add a styled class so that players who improvise, arrange and cross genres have a place of their own, separate from those preserving the tradition in the authentic class or the lightly arranged processed class.

Where Instrumental – Styled 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. Free-interpretation categories exist in many folk and world-music contests, but where the line between processed and styled falls varies by organiser, 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 open class of three: after Instrumental – Authentic and Instrumental – Processed

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

What judges look at in Instrumental – Styled

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

• Originality of the musical idea: a clear concept rather than a loose reworking
• Connection to the folk source: the inspiration should be audible or easy to explain
• Technical command: pitch, rhythm and tempo must hold up under a more adventurous piece
• Coherence: a beginning, development and ending that make the experiment feel intended
• Tone, expression and stage presence suited to the instrument and the chosen style
• 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 – Styled under Scoring Setup, or start from our judging and score tabulation guide.

How to prepare for Instrumental – Styled

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

• Read the organiser’s notice for what styled allows, such as a second instrument, a looped or recorded backing, or a time limit
• Name your concept in one sentence, for example the folk tune, the new style and what ties them together
• Keep one recognisable thread, a motif or rhythm, so the panel can follow where the piece began
• Choose an arrangement you can play cleanly; a bold idea with unsteady playing scores below a modest one played well
• Time the piece aloud and shape it so the strongest idea lands before the end
• Pick the correct age division, since each is ranked separately
• After a loss, ask whether the idea was unclear or the execution fell short, and work on that one thing
• Ideas, not rules: a dance tune re-voiced in a jazz feel, a lullaby melody over a steady modern groove, or a rhythm borrowed from a folk dance and developed on a different instrument

Frequently asked questions

Is Instrumental – Styled 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 – Styled and Instrumental – Authentic?

Authentic keeps to traditional playing. Styled allows the player the most freedom to reinterpret. The template does not print exact definitions, so the organiser’s notice decides.

Does the tune have to stay recognisable in Instrumental – Styled?

The template does not say. Because the class sits beyond processed, a looser link to the folk source is expected, but the organiser’s notice sets the rule.

Can I use a backing track in Instrumental – Styled?

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

Is Instrumental – Styled 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.

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