Lesson video

Hi, my name's Mr. Pate, and welcome to this lesson on instrument-specific techniques from the unit Introduction to performance.

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to identify and apply technical and expressive skills needed for your instrument.

We'll be using the following keywords.

Posture, which is the way that you hold your body while performing.

Coordination, which is the physical skill of using your body fluently and accurately when playing.

Tone means the quality or character of a sound.

And expression means adding feeling and emotion to music.

We'll start by analyzing instrument-specific techniques.

Then, you'll apply those techniques to your own performance.

Let's start by analyzing instrument-specific techniques.

Strong performances rely on secure instrumental or vocal technique.

Controlling your instrument, whatever that is, means developing the technical skills across a range of areas, from how you hold your instrument to how you shape the music.

And developing these techniques help performers to play more accurately, more fluently, and more expressively, and these are the key areas that your performance will be marked on at GCSE Music.

Secure technique on your instrument means considering the following things.

Firstly, posture and position, which is how you hold your body and how your instrument is set up and held.

Coordination and control means the physical skill of using your body fluently and accurately when you're playing, and that's gonna be different depending on your instrument.

It might mean your hands, your fingers, your feet, or your breath control.

And tone and expression.

This is how you create a clear, controlled sound and deliver an expressive musical performance.

Let's start by looking at posture and position.

Good posture means setting up your body and instrument in a way that is balanced, relaxed, and free from tension.

On the contrary, poor posture restricts movement and limits control.

So, having good posture and positioning gives you the best possible foundation for your playing.

Whatever your instrument is, aim for a tall, but relaxed, posture.

You should be balanced, with relaxed shoulders, and room to breathe freely.

Look at the following photo.

What advice would you give this performer on improving their posture and position when playing the guitar?

Pause video now and consider your answer.

So, what advice would you give this performer?

Sofia says, "This performer is sitting cross-legged on a sofa, which means they don't have a stable foundation.

They should sit on a chair with both feet flat on the floor.

" Izzy says, "The performer's back is hunched forward, which will create tension.

They should sit tall and relaxed, and aim to avoid looking down at the fretboard.

" Lucas says, "The guitar is being held quite flat and low across the lap.

It should be angled upwards, with the body of the guitar resting on the thigh.

This means the strumming hand won't have to reach around as far.

" This is some great advice in how to improve posture when playing the guitar.

How could this apply to your instrument?

Let's have a look at what good posture and position might look like on a range of different instruments.

For string players, your instrument should be held securely and at the correct angle with the shoulder rest or endpin adjusted comfortably.

For woodwind players, your instrument should be held at the correct angle, with the head upright and the supporting hand secure.

Brass players should have their mouthpiece placed comfortably without excessive pressure and the instrument's weight supported without tension.

Keyboard players should adjust their stool or keyboard stand position to make sure their arms are level with the keys and the wrists are relaxed.

Percussion players should be set up arranged so that all of the instruments they're playing, whether that's a full drum kit or a range of percussion instruments, can be reached comfortably, and the sticks are held using a relaxed grip.

Singers should make sure that they're standing tall with balanced weight, relaxed jaw, and open chest for effective breathing.

This is just a few examples on what good posture might look like.

Be sure to research your own instrument to get some more information on what good posture and positioning of your instrument should look like.

Now, let's look at control and coordination.

This is the mechanical skill of using hands, fingers, and your body fluently when you're playing, and this will look different from instrument to instrument.

It underpins your ability to play accurately and move efficiently between notes.

Like any skill, coordination and control develops through slow, focused practice, breaking passages down and building speed gradually until the movements become automatic.

Whether that's moving between guitar chord shapes or practicing different drum fills, slowing those movements down and practicing them at a controlled speed is the best way to build up fluent movements.

Here's what good coordination and control might look like on your instrument.

For string players, accurate finger placement is important, smooth positioning changes, and coordination between bowing and fingering.

For woodwind players, the keys should be covered cleanly, using accurate tonguing, and coordination between your breath and your fingering.

Brass players should ensure that they are using accurate valve combinations or slide positions, coordinated with their tonguing and breath control.

Keyboard players should practice appropriate fingering to move smoothly across the keys and work on the independence between their two hands.

Percussion players should practice controlled and accurate stick or mallet technique with coordination and independence between the limbs that they're using to play their instruments.

Singers should work on controlling their breathing, accurate diction and pitch, and smooth movement between different vocal registers.

So, these are just a few examples of what good coordination and control might look like on your instrument.

Again, be sure to research your instrument in more detail to find out what good coordination looks like and how to improve.

Coordination and control is developed through slow, deliberate practice.

This could involve repeating small sections of music slowly, using scales and exercises, practicing hands separately, and more.

Have a think about your own instrument.

What activities could you build into your own practice routine to improve your coordination and control?

Pause the video now and consider your answer.

So, what did you think?

What activities could you build into your own practice routine to improve your coordination and control on your instrument?

Sofia says, "To improve my coordination, I could practice challenging piano passages hands separately first, then slowly together with a metronome, gradually increasing the tempo as control and fluency improve.

I could also practice scales in the key of the piece.

" Laura says, "As a drummer, I could practice drum rolls or other rudiments slowly around the kit and gradually increase the tempo until the pattern feels fluent and automatic.

I could slow down tricky passages and try them with just the bass and snare first.

" These are some great examples of how to break down the coordination needed to play your instrument and how to develop those skills slowly, bringing up the speed as confidence improves.

Now, let's think about tone and expression.

Tone refers to the quality and clarity of the sound that you produce, while expression describes how you shape and control the sound to deliver a musical performance.

Developing control over how you play contrasting dynamics, how you use articulation and different tone colors on your instrument will allow you to play not just accurately, but give an expressive and engaging performance.

Developing your tone and expression involves really listening critically while you're playing and singing, making adjustments to the sound in real time.

You're not just thinking, "Am I playing the right notes?

" You're thinking, "What's the sound quality of these notes?

Does it sound clear, does it sound expressive, and does it sound appropriate to the style?

" Recording yourself and listening back can also be a really good way to think about how you're using tone and expression.

You can evaluate your clarity and your intonation, which means whether your notes are tuned correctly.

You can evaluate your use of dynamics and phrasing.

Think about whether your performance suits the style of the piece.

Here's some examples of what good use of tone and expression might look like on your instrument.

For string players, controlling your tone means a controlled bow speed, pressure, and contact to produce a clear tone.

Think about your use of vibrato, dynamics, and articulation to shape phrases.

For woodwind and brass players, good tone and expression means secure breath support and embouchure to create a focused tone, with tonguing, slurring, and dynamics used expressively.

For keyboard players, good tone and expression means controlled finger weight and touch to shape the tone, with legato, staccato, pedaling, and dynamics used to add expression.

Percussion players need a controlled stick or mallet technique to produce an even tone, with accents, ghost notes, and rolls used to shape dynamics and phrasing.

Singers should aim for controlled breathing and posture to support a clear tone, with diction, dynamics, and tone color used expressively.

This is just a few examples of what good tone and expression might look like on a range of instruments, but do research your own instruments for more detail.

Let's now listen to an example of a vocal performance.

When you hear it, I'd like you to think, what feedback would you give to the performer to help them improve their vocal technique?

Think about the following areas.

Posture.

How might the way that the performer is standing affect their sound?

Coordination and control.

Is the performer controlling their breathing effectively and is their diction clear?

Tone and expression.

Is the tone clear and focused and is the performer shaping the music with phrasing and dynamics?

Watch this performance.

Then, pause the video and consider your answer.

♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪ ♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪ ♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪ ♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪ ♪ I looked over Jordan and what did I see ♪ ♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪ ♪ A band of angels coming to me ♪ ♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪ ♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪ ♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪ ♪ Swing low, sweet chariot ♪ ♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪ So, now you've listened to the vocal performance.

What feedback would you give to this performer?

Sofia says, "The performer's posture is quite slouched, with the head pushed forward.

This will restrict breathing and affect the tone.

They're not singing with much dynamic contrast.

Adding some dynamic variation will make the performance sound less flat.

" Lucas says, "It sounds like the performer might be singing with some tension in their jaw or neck.

If they can get a relaxed posture, it will improve their tone.

They should also think carefully about where they're breathing.

Sometimes they're breathing loudly in places, which sounds awkward and affects the flow of the music.

" This is some great feedback for how the performer can improve their technique.

I'm sure they'll be very grateful.

Next, let's look at applying techniques to your own performance.

A successful GCSE performance is fluent, accurate, and expressive.

When practicing, focus not just on learning the correct notes, but on developing the technique needed for a confident and musical performance.

This includes developing your posture and position, coordination and control, and tone and expression, which will vary depending on your own instrument.

Which of the following do you think best describes good posture for a performer?

A, tense and upright, with shoulders raised?

B, balanced and relaxed, free from tension?

Or C, slouched and relaxed, with a dropped chest?

The answer is B.

Whatever your instrument, you should aim for a balanced and relaxed posture and aim to be free from tension.

What is coordination in the context of instrumental technique?

Is it A, the way you hold your instrument?

B, the physical skill of using your body fluently and accurately when playing?

Or C, the quality and clarity of the sound that you produce?

The answer is B.

Coordination means the physical skill of using your body fluently and accurately when you're playing your instrument.

Now, it's over to you to apply these techniques to your own performance.

Consider your own instrumental or vocal technique and identify one strength and one area for improvement in each of the following categories.

Posture and position, coordination and control, tone and expression.

It may be useful to record yourself playing and listen back to your performance, or ask for teacher and peer feedback to help you with this.

When you've done this, then, based on the areas for improvement that you identify, set yourself at least two specific targets for your practice today.

Make sure they're specific to your own instrument and relevant to the piece that you're learning.

Jacob's got a couple of ideas for targets for himself today.

He says, "I will practice the opening passage slowly and the hands separately with a metronome.

" He says, "I'll work on my finger positioning in bar 20 to make sure I'm playing with a clear tone.

" These are some good examples of targets to set for yourself.

Finally, spend the remaining time rehearsing your performance piece with these targets in mind.

At the end, be ready to reflect on what you worked on and whether you felt it made a difference.

Pause the video now and consider your strengths and weaknesses, set some targets for yourself, and then rehearse your performance piece with these targets in mind.

So, now you've spent some time identifying strengths and weaknesses of your technique, setting targets, and then spending the remaining time practicing your piece with these targets in mind.

Let's reflect on how your technique is improving and what you need to do in future.

Izzy says, "I noticed I was tensing my shoulders when playing difficult passages, so I stopped and checked my posture several times.

By the end, I felt more relaxed and in control.

" Sofia says, "I noticed that my coordination breaks down in a fast section of my piece, so I practiced it hands separately, slowly with a metronome, gradually increasing the speed, and it's starting to feel more fluent.

" Lucas says, "I recorded myself playing my piece, and I noticed that my dynamics were quite flat.

I tried exaggerating them and it made my playing sound more expressive, but I still have work to do on this.

" This is just a starting point.

Now, you've identified areas of your technique to improve.

You can set yourself more targets for future sessions and go back and reflect on these again.

Musicians continually reflect on their technique and set targets in order to keep improving.

In today's lesson, we've learned that good technique ensures comfort, control, and a better tone.

Posture and position affect sound quality and stamina.

Coordination and control can be developed through slow, focused practice.

And listening critically to your own playing helps you evaluate and improve your tone and expression.

Well done for your hard work improving your instrument technique in today's lesson.

Good luck on continuing to rehearse your performance piece, and I'll see you again in a future unit.