Music performance is one of the most commonly sought opportunities by incoming freshman at music colleges. There are plenty of schools that provide excellent instruction and give students the textbook basics they need to understand their craft. There are fewer programs, however, that make music performance an equally large priority.

This philosophical lapse can be damaging for music students who don't wish simply to play in a vacuum. The reality is, all the tone work, breathing exercises, and sight reading practice in the world is wasted unless it's done with applicability. Why should a music student learn to modulate his or her singing voice if no opportunity exists to let the world hear that voice?

Principles of Music Performance

Music performance encompasses a whole slate of factors from presentation and body movement to projection and acoustics. A student must come to view the craft of playing as about more than just artist presentation and audience reception. Great stage performers know how to engage their listeners and make them feel as if they, the "receivers," are experiencing their own individual performances.

This process is easier said than done. For some singers and instrumentalists, communicating with audiences is almost second nature, while for others it's an affair fraught with sweaty palms, jangled nerves, and racing hearts. With time and practice, however, music performance grows easier, but it often takes the help of a well-trained pro to help students reach this stage.