Playing test on Funky Town

Hey Guys and Gals!

Not to long ago our class had a playing test on the tune 'Funky Town': (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CImrIKNmBo).

This was a great challenge because the song is not an easy feet at all. The rhythm and feel of the song are very hard to replicate. The most interesting part of this test was definitely figuring out how to get everybody sounding as one team in the particular time frame that we where given. I really learned how to use your time as efficiently as possible.

As far as judging other people this song was really useful. Knowing the tune has a great groove and sound it was really easy to see if groups where doing it right or wrong. The song itself was a very clear point of reference with clear indications of what makes the song so great :).

While i was grading i did not really find myself watching more closely than usual. I am a musician myself and i am always a critical observant as far as music goes. The feeling of "power" during the grading process was really nice. It made me feel very useful and the challenge of grading was also a lot of fun!

During the grading process the rubric where very handy. Having descriptors of what makes a group good is really useful when judging. The rubric also helps in making the test fair because with a rubric you can focus on particular elements of quality and you do not have to take everything into account.

This test was a lot of fun to participate in and it also made me realize that making music is a team effort that is very rewarding!

Cheers and thanks for reading,

Drew