What makes a good performance?
A performance is playing or singing music for listeners. Examiners and audiences listen for four things.
- Accuracy: right notes (pitch) and right timing (rhythm).
- Tempo and pulse: a steady beat at a suitable speed, measured in beats per minute (bpm).
- Expression: dynamics (loud and soft), phrasing (shaping a tune like a sentence), articulation (smooth legato or short staccato) and tone quality.
- Style and communication: playing in the right style (a lullaby is gentle, a march is firm) and connecting with the audience.
In a solo, you carry the whole piece. Mistakes are easy to hear, so keep going after a slip: never stop and restart in a performance.
Playing in an ensemble
An ensemble is any group: a duet, a band, a choir, an orchestra. Each player has a part. Ensemble skills are:
- Listening to the others all the time.
- Balance: the main tune (melody) is heard; accompaniment (harmony, bass, drums) supports it.
- Ensemble timing: start, stop and change speed together. Watch the leader or conductor for cues.
- Tuning: tune to the same note before starting.
- Blend: voices or instruments sound like one group, not separate people.
Preparing for a performance
Good preparation follows a plan.
- Choose a piece that suits your level. A simple piece played well scores better than a hard piece full of mistakes.
- Practise slowly and correctly. Speed comes later.
- Break the piece into small chunks; spend most time on the hard bars.
- Use a metronome and raise the tempo a few bpm at a time.
- Record yourself and listen like a judge.
- Perform for family or friends to practise being watched.
Performance nerves are normal. Slow breathing, a planned first note and a short warm-up help.
Recitals and music production
Older students may give a recital: a short programme of several pieces in contrasting styles. Plan the order (a confident opener, variety in the middle, a strong ending), write short programme notes, and time it. Some courses allow a music production instead: recording and mixing a track. The same ideas apply: accuracy, timing, balance (now set with volume faders) and expression.
Key formulas and definitions
- Tempo (bpm) = beats ÷ minutes
- Time for one beat (s) = 60 ÷ bpm
- Dynamics: pp < p < mp < mf < f < ff
- Crescendo = getting louder; diminuendo = getting softer
- Legato = smooth and joined; staccato = short and detached
Worked examples
1. A metronome is set to 120 bpm. How long is one beat?
One beat = 60 ÷ 120 = 0.5 s.
2. You tap 22 beats in 15 seconds. What is your tempo?
Beats per minute = 22 × 4 = 88 bpm (because 15 s × 4 = 60 s).
3. A piece is marked 100 bpm but you can only play the hard bars at 70 bpm. Plan a practice route.
Start the hard bars at 70 bpm until they are correct 3 times in a row. Raise to 75, 80, 85 and so on, 5 bpm at a time, only moving up after clean playing. Then join the hard bars to the bars before and after them.
4. In a band, the singer cannot be heard. Give two fixes.
The accompanists (guitar, drums) play softer, and the singer projects more or uses a microphone. The drummer can also use lighter sticks or play on fewer drums.
Common mistakes
- Practising only at full speed: mistakes get learnt too. Slow practice first.
- Stopping and restarting after a slip in a performance. Keep going and recover.
- Playing everything at one loudness. Use the dynamics written in the music.
- In an ensemble, listening only to yourself. Balance and timing need you to listen to the others.