A Good Quality Performance

A Good Quality Performance

Throughout my years as a performer and tutor, I am often asked by music students to help them prepare for concerts and auditions. In this article, I will discuss some basic points that are important for delivering a high-quality performance, given that performances can take place in various environments.

1. Positive body language is essential when performing on stage. This means having good posture, keeping your arms open, and making eye contact with the audience. Remember that there may be people sitting in balconies or other elevated areas, and they also like to be acknowledged. Positive body language shows that you are present and want to be where you are.
2. Find the center of your stage. It is important to have your presence in the middle of the stage, especially if you are a solo artist. If you are in a group, you and your group members will have to evenly distribute yourselves on the stage using the central marker as a guide. This is crucial in most cases because of the lighting and sound control in the performance space. Lighting and sound control often only reach a certain point on the stage, and if you move outside of that area, you won’t be seen or heard.
3. Use your microphone carefully. When using a microphone, do not point it at the monitors. Doing so will cause feedback, which will be very uncomfortable for your audience and for you. I have seen artists have this problem during their performance, and it negatively affects their overall presentation. If you forget this and it happens, do your best to remain calm and remember to keep the microphone away from the monitors.
4. Always have a Plan B. Sometimes things go wrong when you’re performing. You may have technical difficulties or forget the lyrics to a song. If you encounter technical difficulties, stay calm, and explain to your audience what is happening. This will give the sound engineer time to stop the music and fix the problem. You don’t want to be standing on stage with nothing to do. You can apologize to your audience and return to the stage when the problem is fixed, sing acapella while waiting, or remain calm and continue with your performance while the sound engineer corrects the problem. It really depends on your confidence level. However, knowing what you would do in these scenarios always helps you do your best to have a plan if things go wrong. Regarding forgetting the lyrics, sometimes it works well if you laugh. You are the performer, and you are in control. Stay calm, take a deep breath, and you will be able to remember the words and find your way back. Improvisation can also help at times.
5. Crowd participation. The audience loves to participate in your performance in some way. This can be done by encouraging them to clap along with you, sing along with you, and/or asking them to say a few words to warm them up before your performance. I have used all three, and they all work with confidence being the key.
6. Show gratitude. Show your audience that you are grateful for their presence by bowing and saying “Thank you!” and/or blowing kisses. This lets them know that you appreciate their effort to attend. This makes the difference between having an audience member interested in you and your art and having a lifelong fan.
7. Use introductions. Introductions can take many forms. You could ask a host to introduce you and then reintroduce yourself. Or, you could tell a joke or a short story and incorporate this into your performance to let your audience know who you are. This helps make your performance more personal, and your audience has the opportunity to learn more about you.

I hope this article helps you in your journey towards delivering a high-quality performance.

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