UNDERSTANDING THE EXPRESSION CATEGORY An explanation by Expression Category Specialist Vickie Maybury
What is the Expression Category all about? Why is it important? What sets it apart from other categories? Let’s explore the answers to these questions to develop a deeper understanding of the Expression Category.
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Vocal Skills
Forward Motion
| October 2020
g
Artistry
s amic
Dyn Inflection
Unity
ents Embellishm Characterization
Lyrical Flow
Energy
munication Emotional Com Finesse Tempo Word Deliv ery (Dipthongs, Enunciatio n, and Vowels )
he diagram above includes all of the elements of the Expression Category. It helps illustrate that the category is non-hierarchical, each element is important and vital, and the elements work together to achieve musical, lyrical, and emotional communication. The overarching theme of the Expression Category is communication. The Judging Category Description Book says, “the Expression judge evaluates the artistic and synchronized delivery of musical language.” Further, unity is the golden thread that intertwines every element of the Expression Category. Unity is overarching. It’s not just about internal and external synchronization or pitch, it’s about unity in lyrical emphases — breathing as one, energy as one, tempo as one, character as one — as well as unified dynamics
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that allow the message to have a spirit vital to telling the story, a unit approach to vocal production, tempo, characterization, and emotional communication. Barbershop embellishments, chord emphases, and climactic builds help to set the art form apart and strengthen the message if delivered in a way that is unified and from the heart. When they are done as a technique, they become inauthentic affects. The uniqueness of the Expression Category’s role is reflected in its scoring framework, as it is the only category that is adjudicated at 100% combined technical and artistic elements. These elements are interdependent and interwoven — metaphorically similar to yin/yang. In ancient Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin and yang represents dualism. Yin and yang describe how seemingly opposite
