What makes a good performance?

Originally posted by calimarikid

Good performances have many features to them.

Practising is crucial for a good performance and being confident with the talent to back it up is the perfect recipe for a good performance. The process of practising enables artists to polish and perfect their skills. Preparing for every performance will allow you to discover more about yourself as an artist as you will know the best way that you work.  A suitable environment to practice it is important. Goals are important and writing these down will improve your musicianship. Knowing what you have and what you lack will improve your performance. Writing your goals and seeing what you need to improve on will enable you to practise more efficiently and thoroughly, this will make your performance better. Recording songs and listening to them will help you hear what you still need to improve on. Practising also ties in with dedication as having that perseverance will push you to be the best you can be.  Preparing for every performance you have will make the future performances more professional as you will know what to do which will save time as you already know what and how to rehearse. Preparing and knowing what to do in case something goes wrong will also benefit you as a performer as you will be prepared to deal with any complications that might happen on stage which includes your own performance or any negative situation. Preparing and rehearsing will then enable you to have confidence which will make you relaxed as you have the knowledge that you have prepared and you won’t have that guilt if you haven’t prepared. Every song that has written has a different emotion and mood, knowing how to shift a mood and evoke emotion with your audience will make your performance have a human connection with your audience( Making Music, 2017). Control over your emotions and your skill will make your performance good ( Making Music, 2017). Every musician in a band has a responsibility which affects the overall band. Everyone in the band needs to look at their part and be responsible. Controlling your alcohol intake will help you not to get drunk on stage as that isn’t professional. Mistakes do happen from time to time, knowing what you did and how you will fix that mistake in the next performance will help you to perfect your future performances.  Different music genres have different characteristics which include artists to have different approaches on how they perform on stage. Punk bands will have a frantic and energetic stage presence were as an indie act may have a more reserved demeanour. Knowing the characteristics of your music will guide you to the directions of your stage presence. Inspiration and influences are important for musicians and good performances. Studying the stage presences of your favourite artists and incorporating these with your own will add a unique touch to a performance. A musician who knows who they are as an artist will also benefit a performance. Creating an identity for yourself as a musician will give life to your music and performance (Hall, Gay, pp. 108-109. ). A good performance should be an experience and not a regular performance. A good performance should be memorable. Good performance requires balance. Confidence without the skill has a potential to ruin a performance. Being overconfident and arrogant could ruin your reputation. The knowledge of how much and when to be confident is important for a good performance. Overperforming while performing a song is possible, using dynamics and working with professionals will allow you to have a good performance ( Making Muisc, 2017). There are many aspects in a good performance. A good band works together as a unit. Communication within a band is very important for a good performance. Interaction and sharing ideas with other band members will benefit the band and push them forward. Being able to share and receive criticism is important within a band, talking and discussing what went well and what didn’t go well will improve the relationship of the band and the overall performance of the band. Being able to get along with a band is important but if that isn’t possible staying professional and not involving personal problems in the band will help.

Good performances have many aspects ranging from confidence to preparation. Using these pieces of information will enable you to be a good performer and musician.

References :

Hall, S. Gay D, P (1996) Questions of Cultural Identity. SAGE Publications, pp. 108-109.

Making Music (2016) Top 10 Tips For a Better Performance[Online] <https://makingmusicmag.com/my-top-10-tips-for-a-better-performance/>

[Accessed 24th December 2018]