A music category in a national performing arts festival in Jamaica where one player performs a piece of their own choice on an instrument of their choice before a panel in four minutes, scored out of 100 and open to all seven classes from age 3 to adult.
Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo is the eighth entry in the Music discipline of the Jamaican national performing arts festival list this template is rebuilt from, and it follows the recorder class. It is the open door of the instrumental section: one player, one instrument and one piece, all chosen by the entrant. A violinist, a keyboard player, a guitarist, a trumpeter, a flautist or a young pianist can all enter the same list, which is why organisers keep it as a catch-all alongside the group classes for wind, string, band and steel pan.
The extract used to build the template gives the category, the classes and the limits only. It prints no list of permitted instruments, no rule on whether the piece must be played from memory, no rule on whether an accompanist or a backing track may be used, no rule on the style of the piece and no per-criterion marking table. This page therefore describes how own-choice solo classes are commonly run and does not claim to know the festival requirements. An organiser using this template is wise to publish a short notice before entries open that says which instruments are accepted, whether an accompanist is allowed, whether music may be read from a stand, and how the four minutes are counted.
A round usually runs like this. The player is called, walks to the stage with the instrument ready, and tells the panel the title of the piece and the composer or style. Any accompanist takes position, the player tunes or checks the instrument, and the performance begins. The panel listens for secure notes and steady time first, then for tone, phrasing and the way the player handles the hard passages. A short piece, one movement or an excerpt that finishes inside the limit is usual. Four minutes is long enough to show contrast between a slow, singing section and a faster one, but too short for a full sonata or concerto movement without cuts.
On the template the item is offered in all seven classes, from Class 1 (ages 3-6) through the age bands up to adults aged 20 and over, and a combined class for any mix of ages. Every class has the same limits: four minutes with a warning bell at three, a score out of 100, both genders in one list and English as the language. It is recorded as an individual entry, unlike the neighbouring recorder, band and steel pan items which are recorded as team entries, so each entry has one name on it.
Because the list is open, the range of instruments in a single class can be wide, from a five-year-old on a small violin to an adult jazz saxophonist. Organisers keep the category because it welcomes players whose instrument has no class of its own, and because choosing a piece that fits the player is itself a skill the panel can reward. It is also the natural place to send a solo player who has outgrown a group class.
Where Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo comes from
The idea of an own-choice class comes from the solo recital and the competitive music festival movement that grew in Britain and its former colonies in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, where entrants played a prepared piece before an adjudicator who gave written comments. The class has no single founding date, and nothing in the source for this template says where Jamaica took the format from.
Where Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo is run
On eTalenter this item is used in one template, the Jamaican national performing arts festival template, where it is assigned to all seven classes (six age bands from 3-6 up to adults aged 20 and over, plus a combined class) inside the Music discipline, between the recorder class and the first of the vocal classes. Own-choice solo classes of this kind are a familiar part of school music festivals and eisteddfodau in many countries, usually split by instrument family or by grade, whereas this template keeps one open list divided only by age class. An organiser with very mixed entries may choose to split it further by family, such as strings, keyboard and wind, on the day.
- Jamaica (the national performing arts festival the template is built from)
Key facts
- A solo performance by one player on an instrument and a piece of their own choice in front of a panel, recorded as an individual entry on the template, with both genders in one list and the language set to English
- The template does not give a list of accepted instruments, a memory rule or an accompaniment rule, so the organiser sets those
- Offered in all seven classes, from Class 1 (ages 3-6) to Class 6 (adults, 20 and over) and the combined class
- Four-minute limit with the warning bell at three minutes, enough for a short piece, one movement or an excerpt
- Scored out of 100 on the template; the festival awards medals against published mark bands rather than first, second and third
- Eighth in the Music discipline, after Recorder and ahead of Vocal Sacred; the group instrumental classes listed earlier (Wind Instruments, String Instruments, Concert Band, Stage Band, Steel Pan Music) are separate items
- Ideas, not rules, for an organiser: a notice listing accepted instruments, a line saying whether an accompanist may play, a rule that the player names the piece and composer to the panel, and a stage note saying who supplies large instruments such as a drum kit or a keyboard
On eTalenter, Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo 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, Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 4 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo
What a Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- The source does not print this category marking table, so what follows is organiser guidance for agreeing yardsticks with the panel, not rules from the source
- Accuracy: the right notes and rhythms, with a steady pulse that does not rush through easy passages or stall on hard ones; this is the first thing a panel reads in an unaccompanied solo
- Tone and technique: a sound that suits the instrument, produced with a secure hold, breath or bow, and clean control of the hard passages rather than a rough scramble through them
- Musicality: phrasing that follows the shape of the tune, dynamics that move rather than stay flat, and an ending that feels finished
- Choice of piece: a piece that shows the player at their best at their own level; an honest, well-played easier piece should outscore an ambitious one that falls apart
- Interpretation and style: the piece played in the character it asks for, whether a hymn, a march, a folk tune, a jazz standard or a classical movement
- Accompaniment and balance: if a piano or backing is allowed, the player and accompanist start together and stay together, and the soloist is always the one heard
- Presentation: announcing the title clearly, quick tuning, composure after a slip, and a finish inside four minutes
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo under Scoring Setup, or start from the full instrumental music judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo
How entrants and their teachers usually get Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo right on the day:
- Ask the organiser in writing which instruments are accepted, whether the piece must be played from memory, whether an accompanist or backing track is allowed, and whether tuning and set-up fall inside the four minutes, and keep the reply with your entry paperwork
- Choose a piece one step below your hardest; a piece you can play cleanly on a bad day will score better than one that works only when everything goes right, and for the youngest classes a short tune played steadily is plenty
- Cut to fit: time the piece with its repeats against the four-minute limit, and mark a tidy cut in the score rather than being stopped mid-phrase at the end
- Practise slowly with a metronome, then bring the speed up in small steps; record yourself and listen for rushed passages and uneven rhythm, which are more obvious to a panel than to the player
- Run the piece start to finish at least five times without stopping, including the walk on, the announcement and the first note, so that a mistake in the middle does not break your nerve on the day
- Practise recovering: when you slip, keep the beat and rejoin; a calm recovery shows more control than a restart, unless the organiser allows one
- If you use an accompanist, rehearse with them early and agree speeds, repeats and the opening cue, and carry a clean copy of their part
- Pack a kit: spare strings, reeds or sticks, a tuner, a stand if allowed, a cloth, water and a printed copy of the piece for the panel if the organiser accepts one
- If the result is below what you hoped, ask for the adjudicator comments and work first on pulse, tone and the one passage that was shakiest; steady gains there usually move a score more than a harder piece
Ready-made event templates that include Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| JCDC National Performing Arts Festival (Jamaica) | On Stage | Marks | 7 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Music – Instrumental Own Choice Solo 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 can I play in an own-choice solo?
The extract used for this template does not list the accepted instruments, so ask the organiser. The name suggests an open list, but an organiser may rule out very large instruments or ones that need a power supply, and may treat a voice as a different item, since the vocal classes follow this one in the Music list.
Is this the same as the Wind Instruments or String Instruments class?
No. Those are separate items, and the template records them as team entries, while this one is an individual entry. A solo player on any instrument can enter this list; check the organiser notice for where a particular instrument belongs.
Do I have to play from memory?
The extract does not say. Some festivals require memory for piano and allow music on a stand for other instruments, but the organiser may set a different rule, so ask before you enter and get the answer in writing.
Can I use an accompanist or a backing track?
The template does not say. Many own-choice classes allow a live accompanist and some ban recorded tracks, so ask the organiser. If a pianist is allowed, rehearse with them well before the day.
How long can the performance be?
The template sets four minutes with a warning bell at three minutes. Whether tuning and set-up count inside the slot is not stated, so ask. Choose a piece, or a cut of one, that finishes comfortably inside the limit.
How is it marked?
The template scores out of 100, and the festival awards medals against mark bands rather than first, second and third. The extract used for the template prints no per-criterion weights for this category, so an organiser using it should agree and publish their own.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full instrumental music judging criteria guide, or browse every on stage competition item.
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