Lesson video

Hi, my name's Mr. Pate and welcome to this lesson on taking your performance from good to excellent from the unit, "Introduction to Performance".

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to recognize and apply the subtle qualities that turn a good performance into an excellent one.

We'll be using the following keywords in today's lesson.

Expression means adding feeling and emotion to music.

Phrasing is shaping musical ideas.

Interpretation is the performer's personal musical choices and style means the musical features linked to a genre or period.

We'll start by looking at how to improve a good performance and then spend some time developing your own performance piece.

Sophia is working on a performance piece on the piano.

Her practice has focused on accuracy and fluency, and she can now play the piece accurately without stopping.

Although she can now play the whole piece, her teacher has advised her that her playing could be even better if it was more expressive.

She's decided to focus her practice on developing her use of dynamics, phrasing, articulation, tempo and style to make it more expressive.

Let's listen to two short extracts from Sophia's performance piece.

The second clip was recorded after a few weeks of practice focused on expressive playing.

As you listen, think how has her performance improved?

Here's clip one.

Now let's listen to clip two.

This will be the same piece of music, but recorded after Sophia spent a couple of weeks practicing, focusing on her use of expression.

Have a listen and then pause the video to consider how her performance has improved.

So what do you think?

Now you've listened to both clips, how has Sophia's performance improved?

Jacob says, "In the first clip, Sophia's playing sounded accurate, but quite flat or mechanical.

In the second clip, it sounded much more emotional and expressive.

" Sam says, "In the second clip, Sophia played with more dynamic contrast.

The difference between the louder and quieter sections gave the peace shape.

" Aisha says, "Sophia considered the phrasing, shaping the piece into clear musical sentences.

She also used some rubato, which is use of a flexible tempo, which is stylistically appropriate for this kind of romantic piano music.

" So with some focused practice, Sophia has taken her accurate and fluent performance and made it a much more expressive and musical one.

Expression in a performance can come from written markings in the score, stylistic conventions of the genre or the performer's own interpretation of the music.

You may well find information on dynamics, tempo, articulation and phrasing in the score to help you shape the music.

That's information that the composer will have written in to give you an idea of how the piece is supposed to sound.

Here's an example.

In this piece of violin music, you can see a tempo marking.

Moderato, which means at a moderate tempo, typically between 108 to 120 bpm.

The marking cantabile means play in a lyrical, song-like style.

There are slur markings, which means that notes are phrased smoothly.

For the violin, this could mean played with one bow stroke or for another instrument, it might mean played with one breath.

We can see some dynamic markings here, MF and a crescendo and decrescendo.

These show when to get louder and quieter.

The ritardando marking means gradually get slower and a tempo means go back to the original tempo.

Finally, instrument-specific instructions like this down bow marking show instrument-specific articulation, helping to shape the sound of the piece.

So all of these markings will give you lots of clues to how to shape and make your piece more expressive.

Expressive markings in a score can help shape a performance, but performers should also consider the stylistic conventions of the genre and their own interpretation of the music.

Some scores contain very little expressive information.

For example, baroque composers would often leave these decisions to the performer and some genres may not even have a score at all, so you don't have any instructions that are written down to follow.

In these cases, understanding the conventions of the genre and listening to other performances can help inform expressive decisions and let you shape a convincing performance.

Jun is learning a baroque minuet by J.

S.

Bach on the flute.

There is little information written on the score, so Jun has researched baroque performance conventions and listened to other recordings of his piece.

Jun says, "I have learned that baroque music often uses terraced dynamics with clear changes between loud and quiet, rather than gradual changes in volume.

It also uses a light articulation and sometimes added ornaments.

As my piece is based on a dance, I should keep a steady tempo.

" These are great things that Jun has learned from his research and his wider listening that will really help him to shape his piece expressively, even though there isn't many instructions written in the score.

Andeep is learning to sing a pop song.

He's learning from a reference recording and not using a score.

He listened to the original song, as well as live performances to consider how to add expression to his performance.

Andeep says, "I listened carefully to the emotion and character of the song, and I thought about the meaning of the lyrics.

The verses are quieter with more detached notes, while the chorus is louder, smoother and more intense.

In live performances, the singer sometimes uses rubato or a flexible tempo, or sometimes changes the melody slightly through improvisation, which is common to this style.

" So this research has given Andeep some ideas on how the singer expresses themselves in the original recording and how he'll be influenced by this, his own research and his own interpretation of the song to shape his own performance.

When practicing for an expressive performance, you should A, only use expressive instructions written in the score, B, copy expressive details from existing performance recordings exactly or C, consider written instructions and stylistic conventions to develop your own interpretation of the piece.

The answer is C.

Using instructions written in the score and ideas that you've learned through listening to existing recordings or your own research will help you form your own interpretation of this piece, which won't be exactly the same as anyone else's.

While stylistic conventions and score markings provide great guidance, performers can still shape the same piece in different ways through choices in phrasing, dynamics, articulation and tempo.

These decisions help communicate expression and individuality, making the performance more convincing and more musical.

Your own interpretation is an important part of a successful performance.

Let's listen to a vocal performance of a folk song called, "Wayfaring Stranger".

It's an American folk song about hardship.

As you listen, I'd like you to think, how has the singer shaped the music expressively?

And when you're thinking this, comment on how have they used dynamics, articulation, phrasing, and tempo and how do you think the singer has interpreted the song, considering the stylistic conventions of folk music and their own musical choices?

Finally, suggest some improvements for how to develop this performance further.

Listen now to "Wayfaring Stranger", then pause the video and consider your answers.

♪ I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger ♪ ♪ Traveling through this world of woe ♪ ♪ But there's no sickness, toil, nor danger ♪ ♪ In that fair land to which I go ♪ ♪ I'm going there to see my father ♪ ♪ I'm going there no more to roam ♪ ♪ I'm just a going over Jordan ♪ ♪ I'm just a going over home ♪ <v ->So now you've listened to this performance</v> and consider your answers.

How has the singer shaped the music expressively and how could they improve?

Sam says, "The singer used dynamics expressively.

The chorus was louder than the verse and there was a crescendo on the word woe, which emphasized the sad feel of the song.

There was some use of rubato or flexible tempo, which is appropriate to the style of an unaccompanied folk song.

" Lucas says, "The phrases are grouped together naturally, like telling a story.

The singer's voice had a mournful, sad tone, appropriate to the style with use of vibrato in the voice.

Sometimes the articulation wasn't quite clear.

In this style, it's important to hear the words clearly to understand the story.

" So that's an element that the singer could continue to work on.

Now, let's look at developing your own performance piece.

When you're working on your own piece, you should aim to deliver a performance which is expressive, engaging and individual to you.

Expression can be shaped through dynamics, phrasing, articulation, tempo and stylistic interpretation.

These expressive decisions can be guided by things like score markings, stylistic conventions that you've learned through research or through wider listening and your own musical choices.

What should you focus on when researching the style of your piece?

A, only the correct notes and rhythms, B, how the music is usually performed, e.

g dynamics, tempo, articulation, C, ignoring the recordings to make sure that your own performance is unique or D, researching the history of your instrument and how it's made?

The answer is B.

When you're researching the style of your piece, think about how the music is usually performed.

Laura has heard two different recordings of the piece that she's learning and each of those recordings has a different tempo.

How would you advise her to choose an appropriate tempo for her own performance?

Alex says, "Laura could try listening to more recordings to compare.

She could research the style and context of the piece.

Ultimately though, she should choose what she feels is stylistically appropriate for her own interpretation of the piece.

" Now it's over to you.

Consider how you will add expression to your own performance piece.

If you've got a score, highlight expressive detail that you need to consider when shaping your piece.

Research stylistic conventions of your chosen genre and listen to recordings of your piece.

Mark your score or make notes on how you will shape your performance based on this research.

Finally, practice adding this expressive detail to your playing of the piece.

It can be useful to try recording your performance and listening back to reflect on how effective it's been.

Pause the video now and spend some time highlighting your score, researching and then practicing your performance.

So how did you do?

Izzy says, "I have highlighted the expressive detail on my score and followed along while listening to a recording.

There were several dynamic markings that I hadn't spotted before.

" So listening to an existing recording of a piece can be a really useful way to see if you've missed anything.

Sophia says, "I learned a lot more about jazz performance, which has helped me shape how I will use articulation and tempo in my piece.

" Lucas says, "I thought about the meaning and the purpose of my piece, which has helped me to consider the tone and phrasing that I'll use in my performance.

" In today's lesson, we've learned that expression adds personality and meaning to music.

Phrasing and controlled use of tempo shape how the music flows and feels.

Subtle contrast in dynamics and articulation can help to elevate a performance and create musical interest and understanding the style and character of the piece informs how you interpret and shape your own performance.

Well done for your performance work in today's lesson.

I'll see you again in the next one.