MUSIC: MEANT TO BE SHARED
There are many great reasons for learning how to play music.
It’s never necessary for a musician to perform for other people. It’s easy to agree, however, with the opinion that music is meant to be shared.
To share music, musicians either make recordings or perform live.
In this short guide, we’ll provide an overview of music performance tips so that you can get the most out of your performances and keep your audiences coming back for more.
(Take a look at our guide on overcoming performance anxiety to fully prepare for a great performance.)
1. PREPARE WELL IN ADVANCE
A good music performance requires preparation.
Aside from the music you will be performing, there are many other questions: what time is show time? What equipment will you need? Where will you be located on the stage? Are you bringing sheet music or will someone else bring it?
Taking care of the basic questions of performance day will minimize stress, confusion, and logistical errors that will get in the way of bringing your full attention to the music. This point may be obvious, but it can be easy to forget or neglect, and the negative consequences can be huge.
Make sure you know the logistics of performance day so that you can focus on bigger and better parts of your music performance.
2. VISUALIZE YOUR MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Visualization is “preparation in advance” for the music itself. More specifically, visualization is about seeing yourself perform the music in your mind’s eye, feeling what kind of energy you want to bring to your performance, and channelling that energy before you get on the stage.
What attitude will serve your music performance best, for instance? If the music you’re playing is warm and light-hearted, a serious expression will not match the mood your audience expects. On the other hand, if the music is sacred or religious in nature, you probably won’t want to skip on to the stage.
Visualization includes seeing your fingers on the keys or on the frets of your instrument, but more importantly, visualization allows you to tap into the emotional content of the music so that you feel it in your body. Embodiment is a powerful practice wherein you imagine yourself in the performance: how it feels, physically and emotionally. The more you visualize and embody your performance before you get on stage, the easier it will be for you to feel and convey the content of your music to the listening audience. People want emotion from the music, after all.
3. MIND YOUR BODY LANGUAGE
Music performances are, of course, about the music. The audience is there to listen.
Don’t forget that your audience has eyes, too!
Body language goes a long, long way to making up the total performance your audience will experience. A rock band that plays a set sitting on chairs will provide a much different experience than a band that’s moving and engaging with the audience—even if the music is exactly the same.
Acquaint yourself with the conventions of the kind of music you’re performing. Classical music, for example, usually presents musicians with erect and proper posture, intent on their instrument. This is different from jazz or the blues, where musicians tap their feet in time, dance, and sway with the music.
The topic of body language even includes how you will enter and exit the stage. Will you introduce your music with a short speech, or will you pick up your instrument and just go for it? Is a deep bow at the end necessary? What will you do as you enjoy the applause? All of this is important to consider in advance for you to provide a coherent picture of the music you’re sharing.
Your body on the stage has a voice of its own, and what you do with it will talk to the audience, just as your music does. Wardrobe and clothing choices are also part of body language.
Make sure you dress for the part.
4. GET INTO THE MUSIC
Musicians in performance have a lot to keep in mind. Many hours of work and practice have led to this one moment when they can show their talent to the world.
But it’s such an unfortunate mistake to let the attitude of practice and work follow the musician on the stage.
Audiences don’t want to see someone working music on the stage: they want to see someone playing music on stage. The reason is simple: if the musician is into the music, the audience gets into the music, too. The audience wants to go on a voyage with the musician and travel to a place they’ve never been before, and if asked if their trip is for business or for pleasure, the audience would say pleasure, one-hundred percent of the time.
A music performance is your chance to turn those hours of exercises into music.
It is your chance to enjoy the rewards of the work you’ve put in, just as your audience enjoys it, too.
5. WATCH MUSIC PERFORMANCE VIDEOS & LISTEN TO AUDIO
One of the best ways for you to prepare for upcoming performances is to watch videos and listen to the music of your favourite musicians, especially if it’s their repertoire you’ll be playing live.
Listening to music similar to what you’ll be performing, played by professionals, includes most of the points already mentioned: it helps you visualize and embody an experience you want to provide yourself; it displays appropriate body language and attire; and you see both the audience and the musician getting into and enjoying the music.
A musician becomes professional when he or she can share music, either through recording or live performance. Watching, listening to, and enjoying recordings of live music allows you to learn through emulation about what to do and what not to do.
Emulation—or the art of copying—is to be encouraged in music. The best of the best musicians have been copying each other, and learning from it, since music was invented. Music is truly a “monkey see, monkey do” art form. As for yourself, the more you enjoy the music of musicians you admire, the better time you’ll have in reaching their level of professionalism.
6. ENJOY THE RIDE
If this guide has made music performances sound like a lot of work—we’re sorry about that!
Ultimately, the best point to keep in mind when you are preparing for a performance, and even during a performance, is this:
What can I do to serve the music?
The job of a musician is about bringing a composer’s idea to life. Easier said than done! But when a musician successfully brings an idea to life through sound, the result is a special performance, remembered long afterwards by an audience who is grateful for attending.
Getting more comfortable with performance means, simply, performing more and more often. You can practice performing. After your performance, ask yourself if you served the music to the best of your ability. Watch and listen to a video of your performance. Then ask yourself:
what can I do to serve the music better for next time?
Keep asking this question, and keep answering it, and you will never lack an eager audience.
ONE LAST POINT
Part of the process of serving the music is being easy on yourself. The perfect performance does not mean everything goes perfectly.
As an example: in 2017, Ian Bostridge, the well-known tenor, was performing a selection of songs composed by Franz Schubert. The house was packed. Near the end of the set, Bostridge began a song but within a few seconds he abruptly stopped singing, motioning the pianist to be silent.
Nobody in the audience moved.
Here was a professional! And was it a mistake he made? How was this possible?
Bostridge, however, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. He paused for a moment, and with a calm voice he explained that he wanted to start again. He could do better.
And he did start again. He did do better.
And the audience forgot all about that false start.
Even professionals make mistakes. What separates the professional from the amateur, however is asking the question on how to serve the music to the absolute best of one’s ability. At the end of the day, Bostridge did just that with the music he valued most, and so can you.
