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Festival Music List Event Numbering System

Throughout the past 75 years, the Wisconsin School Music Association has proven to be a leader in music education opportunities for students, teachers, and schools, with music festivals at its core. Each year we strive to improve our festival procedures and communications. With the development of the computerized registration program and Festival Scheduling Program, Wisconsin led the nation in utilizing new technological resources to better the festival experience.  As we look to the future and listen to the requests our members have put forth, we are taking another step forward that will allow us to better serve our festival participants.

New Numbering System

Beginning with the 2009-2010 festival season, WSMA will be implementing a new numbering system for the WSMA Festival Music List. This new system involves reorganizing the order of the event lists, as well as utilizing a four-digit numbering system. We are sharing this information with you a year in advance in an effort to make the transition smoother; allowing you time to familiarize yourself with the new numbers, and to give you time to begin working on any changes in your library that you wish to make.

Why is WSMA making this change?

Consistency in Format - The original numbering system made sense at the time, but the huge growth in types of events that has been seen over the last decades has not fit within the original parameters. Some of the newest event numbers were not able to follow any pattern, and therefore appear random. The new system will provide the opportunity to create a new flow that follows score order much more closely, and also reflects the patterns Festival Managers use in scheduling festival events.

Room for Expansion - This new pattern that is being introduced takes into consideration that more events may be added in the future. It is designed to allow for these additions in a way that will still let the music list be organized in a logical pattern while permitting growth.

Technology - The current number system creates several issues in our technology driven applications. The use of decimal points and the pattern inconsistencies within each instrument/voice family are problematic when creating searches, formulas, and printing of selections.  Numerous programs will benefit from this change, making it easier to create accurate searches and process data more quickly.

• Teacher On-Line
• Festival Manager Scheduling Program
• On-line Festival Music List
• State Festival Scheduling Program
• “In Office” databases

File Organization for Teachers and Music Stores - In listening to our members, music stores and publishers it is clear that libraries tend to be organized by musical families, not by solos, then ensembles, etc. and that they would like to see our list organized similarly. This reorganization better reflects the typical order for file organization.

The Four-Digit System

The system is designed to be as logical and predictable as possible. As often as possible items were placed in score order; events are grouped together by specific families and instruments, whether solos or ensembles; and even if you don’t know the event numbers by heart you should at least be able to accurately predict that a scheduled event is a “woodwind trio” or “brass duet”.

• First Number: Family Group
  • List is broken down into the main families of voice/instruments
    • Vocal, String, Woodwind, Brass, Percussion, Jazz, Piano, Handbell/Guitar, Misc.
• Second Number: Primary Groups
  • List is then broken down further into primary groups within each family
    • Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass, etc.
    • The last two numbers are always for Mixed Instruments, then Misc.
    • Because of the large number of solo instruments, the woodwinds require both primary groups and sub-groups. The primary groups are, Winds, Double Reed, Clarinet, Saxophone, etc.
• Third Number: Sub-Group 1
  • For the families that need it, the list is then broken down again
    • Woodwinds sub-group:  Piccolo, Flute, Recorder, Oboe, etc.
  • For families that did not need sub-group, this number will always be “1”
• Fourth Number: Indicates Number of Performers
  • 1 = Solo, 2 = Duet, 7 = Septet
  • 8 = indicates an “ensemble” (i.e. Woodwind Ensemble comprised of a mixture of woodwind instruments)
  • 9 = indicates a choir (i.e. a Clarinet Choir, Saxophone Choir)

Examples:

3422 is an E-flat Alto Saxophone Duet
3 = Woodwinds (Family)
4 = Saxophone (Primary Group)
2 = Specifically E-flat Alto Saxophone (Sub-Group)
2 = Duet (Number of Performers)

3423 is an E-flat Alto Saxophone Trio
3 = Woodwinds (Family)
4 = Saxophone (Primary Group)
2 = Specifically E-flat Alto Saxophone (Sub-Group)
3 = Trio (Number of Performers)

It is suggested you think of the first three numbers as the event, and the last number as the type of solo/ensemble. “Three forty-two three”

Transitioning

We realize that this will be one of the biggest changes you have seen to the WSMA Festivals during your career. It will take some time for all of us to get used to these new numbers. In the download folder you will find several charts to assist you during this transition, as well as spreadsheet that can be used to merge into labels. We also encourage you to use this year to begin renumbering your music as a means of learning the new numbers as well as reorganizing your libraries.