Vocal Duet Competition: What It Is, Where It's Run and How It's Judged

Two singers perform one song together, in harmony or in alternating lines, and are marked as a pair on pitch, blend and shared delivery.

A vocal duet class puts two singers on stage together for one song. The arrangement may split the melody and a harmony line, trade verses and join for the chorus, or keep both voices in close thirds. What matters is that the audience hears one performance built by two people, not two solo singers who happen to share a microphone.

A round is short. The pair walks on, the accompanist or backing track starts, and they sing the piece through within the time limit. The adjudicator listens first for whether the two voices agree on pitch, especially where the harmony line sits a third or sixth away from the tune, then for blend of tone, matching vowels and clean joint starts and finishes. Entries after a rest and shared breaths show quickly whether the pair has really rehearsed together.

On paper an entry is one duet song that fits the time limit for the age band. Good choices give both singers an equal share, suit the weaker voice, and sit in a key that is comfortable for each. Many entrants are friends from the same choir or school, siblings, or two pupils of the same teacher, and organisers like the class because it teaches listening in a way a solo class cannot.

On the British music, speech and drama eisteddfod template listed here Vocal Duet is a team entry for boys and girls together, in six age bands from 7 and under to 18 and under. The limit is 4 minutes for 7, 9 and 11 and under, 5 minutes for 13 and under, 6 minutes for 15 and under and 7 minutes for 18 and under, each marked out of 100. The source syllabus lists its duet classes from 11 and under upwards, so confirm the youngest bands against the current syllabus before relying on them. Other templates carry the class too, with different age bands and, in one case, a Gaelic-language section.

Where Vocal Duet is run

Vocal Duet appears on four eTalenter templates: a British music, speech and drama eisteddfod, two Australian cultural and folk festival eisteddfods, and a Scottish music festival. In each it sits in the Music category beside the solo singing classes. Duet singing classes are common at competitive music festivals generally, but this page records only the templates listed here.

• United Kingdom
• Australia
• Scotland

Key facts

• Team entry of two singers, open to boys and girls together
• British template: six age bands from 7 and under to 18 and under, limits of 4, 4, 4, 5, 6 and 7 minutes
• Australian templates: bands such as 12 and under, 16 and under and Open, or Primary, Years 7-9, Years 10-12 and Open, with no time limit printed
• Scottish template: Under 14 and 14 to 17 at 2 minutes, plus 18 and over at 5 minutes, and a separate 3-minute Scottish Gaelic section for 18 and over
• Marked out of 100 on every template; none prints separate criteria

On eTalenter, Vocal Duet is filed under Music and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 4 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Vocal Duet is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to 2–7 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Vocal Duet

What a Vocal Duet panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Pitch agreement between the two voices: unisons, thirds and sixths are sung in tune with each other, not only with the piano
• Blend: matching tone colour, vowel shape and volume so neither voice dominates unless the arrangement asks for it
• Togetherness: joint starts, breaths, entries after rests and the final consonant are shared and exact
• Interpretation: the pair acts out the same story and mood, with clear diction so the words carry
• Balance of parts: the harmony line is secure and the melody is passed fairly between the singers
• Stagecraft: eye contact between partners, tidy walk-on and a confident finish

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Vocal Duet under Scoring Setup, or start from how judge scoring and tabulation works in eTalenter.

How to prepare for Vocal Duet

How entrants and their teachers usually get Vocal Duet right on the day:

• Choose a song that gives both singers real music and sits comfortably in each voice, rather than the most difficult arrangement
• Learn your own line well alone first, then rehearse together slowly so time goes on listening rather than note-learning
• Agree breath points and cut-offs in writing, and mark them in both copies of the music
• Warm up together before the class so both voices are at the same stage of readiness
• Sing without the accompaniment once in rehearsal to check that pitch holds when the piano drops away
• Record a rehearsal and listen for which voice is louder, since singers rarely hear their own balance
• Time the piece against the limit for your age band and cut a verse if it runs over

Frequently asked questions

Is Vocal Duet judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter's templates it's most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

What is a vocal duet class in a music festival?

It is a class where two singers perform one song together and are marked as a pair on pitch, blend and shared delivery as well as on individual vocal quality.

How long is a vocal duet in competition?

It depends on the event. On the British eisteddfod template listed here the limit is 4 minutes for 7, 9 and 11 and under, 5 minutes for 13 and under, 6 minutes for 15 and under and 7 minutes for 18 and under.

Is a vocal duet judged individually or as a team?

It is a team entry. The pair receives one mark, so both singers need to be balanced and together.

Can we sing a pop song or only a classical duet?

Many festivals allow any style for duets, but some run separate pop or musical theatre duet classes, so check your own syllabus before choosing.

Want the full judging picture? Read how judge scoring and tabulation works in eTalenter, or browse every music competition item.

Try Vocal Duet in eTalenter

See every ready-made template that runs Vocal Duet, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.

See where Vocal Duet is used