Improving Performance Skills

What makes a truly great musical performance?

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Traits of a great performance from Classical Musical Myths
Tips on making a memorable performance from Mostlywind
Thoughts on truly great performers by Pianist Alfred Brendel
Why Yo Yo Ma is such a great performer
Why Pablo Casals was such a great cellist?
The secrets of becoming a superb musician from Enzine Articles

String Performance

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The fundamentals of String playing from R. Mueller
The violin site: everything you need for performance
Yehudi Menuhin playing Bach’s Chaconne on You Tube-truly amazing!
Violin Master Class blog: from one of the world’s leading Violinists
Excerpts from Violin Mastery: a Masterclass by Kruetzer
Violin Masterclass on You Tube playing Paganini’s Caprice. Fabulous!
Violin Master Class led by Richard Kilmer from [...]

Vocal articles for singers

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Things that singers should avoid: the bible for all vocalists!
Performance advice for singers: selecting correct repertoire and much more..
Voice health by professional singers
Singing tips, audition tips and performing tips from Dream-Quest Singing Academy
Authentic interpretation for vocalists from Historical Singers plus much more-a really useful site
Advice for young classical vocalists from a professional US opera singer. [...]

Authentic performance in music

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Authentic performance of Music: From Bach and Handel to Elvis, Ray Charles, and the Blues Brothers. Great book for all VCE performance students from The International Journakls of the Art in Society.
Baroque Music Performance: Authentic of Traditional? A fabulous discussion for all students performing Baroque music in their repertoire.
Historically informed performance by Wikipedia
Musical Perceptions: perceptions [...]

Simple relaxation techniques

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Simple relaxation procedures from Cambridge University
Another very good list of simple relaxation techniques from UHealthy
10 easy relaxation techniques
Mental practice away from your instrument

Performing from memory

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Superb article describing tips on how to begin performing from memory
Performing music from memory by Wikipedia
Should musicians have to play from memory alone? Susan Tomes of the Guardian offers some very interesting insights
To memorize or not? Simply superb discussion from Strings Magazine

Interpretating Bach for pianists

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Interpretating Bach at the Keyboard: a great book for all pianists
Interpretating Bach at the Keyboard: by Paul Badura-Skoda
Interesting article on Bach’s Compostions for piano versus harpsichord: a very interesting read
Glenn Gould on You Tube playing Bach
Superb discussion on the interpretation of Bach’s piano music from Andras Schiff from Andante Magazine

How to overcome nerves in Performance

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Superb article from the Suzuki Foundation on dealing with performance nerves
How to turn stage fright into peak performance
Mindfulness Meditation: Creative Musical Performance through Awareness
Ruth Bongetti’s article on 7 Easy Habits for Confident Performance is an absolte must for all VCE Music Students.

How to practice the piano

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Piano Practice at home
Scale Practice Techniques for the Piano
Ways to More Efficient and Productive Piano Practice: a must read!
Concrete Piano Practice Techniques from Lady Piano
Fundamentals of Piano Practice by C.C.Chang

General tips on performing solo

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A great site from Music Masters that discusses general performance advice and tips
Very comprehensive site from MENC on how to confidently nail that solo

Tips on developing a strong practice routine

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Superb site that describes how to get the most out of home practice from Connexions
Review of John Rink’s book, The Practice of Performance, describing sound practice skills
Superb guide to setting up a thorough practice routine by Lee Jordan-Anders.
A very interesting summary of how to develop a strong practice regime from the BBC!
The Home Practice Checklist for students! [...]

In Tune for Life