fina synchronised swimming manual for judges, coaches & referees

2009 – 2013 FINA SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING MANUALFOR JUDGES, COACHES & REFEREESSECTION III11. JUDGING MUSIC INTERPRETATION AND USE OF MUSICMusic Interpretation, Use of Music, counts for only 20% of the Artistic Impressionscore for a Solo, but rises to 30% for Duet and Team. Whatever the percentages,music actually has a far greater influence because the music is the basis for all of theother categories: Choreography is dependent upon it; Manner of Presentation relatesto the feeling the swimmer has for it; and all the Technical categories, Execution,Synchronisation and Difficulty are affected by how the music is used. Using musiceffectively should be thought of as the blending of movements and music into anoneness of expression.Synchronised Swimming is built on the element of music; the music is what gives lifeto the sport. This category calls primarily for subjective analysis, where personalexperience and feeling can influence the judgement more than in any other area ofjudging. There is no authority to define what is good use or bad use. Althoughjudgement is based on personal perceptions of what constitutes “good” or “bad”interpretation, judges cannot allow any personal dislike of the music to affect theirscore. Athletes need only bring out it's character, moods and feeling.INTERPRETATION OF MUSICInterpretation of Music in Synchronised Swimming means the translation of sounds,rhythms, dynamics, melodies, moods, accents, and highlights in the music to suitableexpression of movement in water. The quality of the music, from full symphonicorchestration to a single violin concerto, from symphonic choral works to pop ballads,determines the type of action that can be used to express its mood and the emotionalresponses needed for its portrayal.Music may range from strong, forceful, staccato and loud to soft, subdued, delicateand flowing. Strong, dynamic music calls for powerful, grandiose actions andmovements. Soft, flowing music calls for a more lyrical interpretation with rounder,more fluid and delicate actions. Fast, quick, complex movements fit music with a fasttempo while slow graceful movements need to be created for slower passages. Themood of the music may induce tenseness or excitement, joy or tranquility to thelistener. Some music calls for continuous flowing action, other music has stops andstarts demanding intermittent or staccato action. The nature and demands of themusic should be all found in the competitor's portrayal of it.A common problem in mid-to-lower level routines is the apparent lack of relationshipof the choreography to the music, with generic movements performed to what couldbe termed “background” music. These routines give the impressed that they werechoreography and then the music was selected. Or, to a lesser degree, particularelements were included because the athlete thought they were “neat” and/or coulddo them well, whether they “fit” the music or not.2009 – 2013 FINA Synchronised Swimming Manual for Judges, Coaches & Referees 173