Starting out as a young musician, I thought all that was required was get up play (or sing), the audience will applaud and you sit back down. Unfortunately that is not the case.

I have carefully studied my technique of performance over many years, comparing it to other performances I admired and taking careful consideration as to why I did not like a performance I had seen.

Oh, but I have forgotten to tell you what my instrument is. Well, I am both a trumpet player and a singer but this article I hope to aim at all performers of any musical instrument.

Here, I hope to give advice to those performers who are beginning and perhaps those who feel they are at a full stop in their performance career and do not know how to move forward. I will look at the importance of analyzing your piece and further research into the history of the piece, putting yourself into your performance without completely altering the piece, how to prepare yourself before going on stage for a performance and what to do the next time you perform the same piece.

Analysis and History

What a boring prospect; to analyze a piece of music…or is it? Analysis can mean so many different things but unfortunately it falls under the category of a boring task you do for a teacher, lecturer etc. The first thing to remember is your analysis of the piece is the better the performance not to scrutinize ever bar the composer has written.

First, look at the score; is there anything written, which you do not understand? This is more common in 20th century music with the invention of extended techniques but sometimes in a baroque or even classical piece you can be caught out by subtle markings normally you would pass over. These markings often make or break a performance. If they are left out sometimes you can still give a good convincing performance, however the danger comes if you misread them or do not fully understand the context in which they were written. Take time to research anything on the score you do not fully understand. If it is for an early piece, research why the composer used it. Has it just been included in the edition you are using or has it been present continually? Composer such as Mozart; were very specific about ornamentation and often did not just let the performer add in their own.

My advice for any ornament; check the edition. Many editions of early music are confusing and have mistakes all through it. You want a good reputable edition or at least check your edition you have against a reputable edition.

Research your composer. Many composers have their own style that appears throughout all the music they write. The aim as the performer is to capture the music in the performance and how can this be done if you have no idea who the composer was, or where he came from. Style can also come down to the country the composer lived in and also of course the time he was writing. I am not suggesting that you memorize every detail of a composers’ life; merely understand when and where his music was written. It is surprising how often you find a new knowledge of your piece and a sense of why it was written in performing this task, which before you would have ignored.

It is a good idea to listen to other performances of your piece old and new. Note how performers have evolved the piece and what has been continuous. Obviously the notes, well we hope the notes will be continuous throughout but I am talking about dynamics, ornaments, even accidentals.

Carrying out these simple tasks will aid your performance greatly.

Yourself in a Performance

Now you have analyzed your piece; you understand why, how and where it was written. Next is the almost immense task who trying to put a piece of you in the performance. Well we are all human and we are different. No two performers will ever perform a piece the same way. The worst performances are those, which have not taken the time to perform the previous task but still think they can add in whatever they want into the piece. Nothing can simple just be added in without careful consideration; does this fit into the time period, am I altering what the composer would have wanted, does this make sense to the piece? Leaving a mark on the piece doesn’t always mean add something in, it can simple be altering the tone color of the instrument, giving more to the dynamics, being over the top or holding back and being subtle.

If you feel you do want to change it to your own style, then my advice is that you have so far remove it from its originally context it sounds completely different. This for a young performer can be a daunting task and until you understand your instrument and yourself better please do not try to attempt this. Most reputable music competitions are looking for the original context and will frown on badly altered version. Never try to be somebody else in your performance, be yourself and the performance will always sound originally. That is all there is to it. Simple advice, but it works.

Preparation

It is time to perform this piece, which have been learning for weeks, you have researched and studied, feel you know like the back of your hand and will reveal to the world. It is at this point your whole body cries out “NO!” You have that horrible knot in your belly, hands shaking, breath control gone, you fell you have forgotten something but can’t remember what. Well I’ll tell you what you have forgotten; the fact every performer, the young and the old feel exactly the same way. Nerves are natural and sooner you tell yourself that the quicker they will stop telling you cannot perform and will in fact aid the performance.

For the 10 minutes or however long the piece lasts, everyone has their eyes and concentration on you. So why not revel in the attention for a while. Shaky hands may give warmth to your instrument you will never recreate in the privacy of your own room. That knot in your belly is your performance just waiting to burst out from you and breath control…if you are a percussionist or a pianist you do not have to worry about as much but for a woodwind, brass, vocalist or any instrument, which requires you to breathe in order to start the engine I have one simple thing to say.

Your breath control will go hay-wire and you will do things you never practiced before. Once you tell yourself that fact it will not go as badly as telling yourself to do exactly everything you practiced. You have far too much to think about in a performance for you to put added pressure on yourself.

If you do yoga or any kind of martial perform some of the breathing exercises before you go on stage. If you don’t do anything like this; take a few moments to sit on the floor and breathe deeply in for four and out for four. As you do this mentally go through your music thinking about the notes, dynamics and phrase shapes. Now imaging going on stage and doing a wonderful performance, better than you could have hoped for.

Finally all there is left to do is stand up and go on stage. Look at the audience. Find your loved ones. Don’t walk on and try to ignore everyone standing in front of you. Once you engage with your audience they will be drawn into your performance. Also you will find you do not feel as uncomfortable. Remember, they are humans like you, not monsters who you cannot bear to look at.

Next Time

The performance this time around is over but you plan on performing the same piece elsewhere. This doesn’t mean you put it away and forget about it. Think what you could have improved on. Think about comments from the audience and others that were given and learn from them. If they are bad, do not be put off. Bad criticism can be the most useful because it means you haven’t done as much work as you first thought. Take the piece away and rip it apart again, as if you are just learning it. So, relearn it! This can be difficult but the idea is the same as reading a book; you gain more from the piece by learning it a second time. If you have time to put it away and not look at it for a long while then aim to do this. Then a few weeks before the next performance take it out and relearn it, the idea being you will have forgotten things about it that you must look at again. If you do not have time, then start from the beginning and play it backwards. Sounds silly, but if you know a piece backwards then you know it well! Perhaps even research further into it. You may discover new things about it that you didn’t have time to find before.

Never think that your practice of a piece is finished and perfect because there will always be a flaw somewhere, which you can improve on.

End Thoughts

The advice I have given here is not doctor recommended and over the years young performers will develop their own way of doing things but this advice was given to me by other teachers, performers, critics and some I have worked out for myself and found that it works. Do not just stop performing because you don’t like it. Over the years you may regret this decision. A task you have tried is never a failed task!