Performance

You play the clarinet to a good standard. Outline how you would plan a ten-minute programme.

1. 01Set the total and number of pieces

   Aim for a total of at least ten minutes, normally across three or four contrasting pieces, so any one weak moment does not sink the whole and you can show range.

2. 02Build in contrast

   Choose pieces of different styles, tempi and moods - for example a lyrical slow movement, a lively fast piece and a piece in a contrasting idiom - to demonstrate versatility and interpretation.

3. 03Pitch the difficulty

   Select repertoire that stretches your technique and earns a good difficulty level but that you can play securely and expressively - challenging yet reliable under recording conditions.

4. 04Check the practicalities

   Ensure any accompaniment is arranged and balanced, and that the whole programme can be prepared to a high standard in the time available before recording.

Result: The programme is planned by fixing a total and a set of contrasting pieces, pitching the difficulty to stretch-but-secure, and checking the practicalities - balancing range, standard and reliability, the keys to a strong programme.

You can play an ambitious virtuosic piece, but only about eighty per cent reliably, or a slightly less demanding piece securely and expressively. Which should you choose, and why?

1. 01Weigh the demand

   The virtuosic piece would earn a higher difficulty credit if performed well - demand is taken into account in the marking, so harder music has a higher ceiling.

2. 02Weigh the risk

   But at only eighty per cent reliability, under recording pressure it is likely to have errors, insecurity and tension that would lose marks for accuracy, control and communication.

3. 03Compare the outcomes

   A slightly less demanding piece performed securely and expressively will sound convincing and controlled, scoring well on accuracy, interpretation and communication, with only a modest difficulty trade-off.

4. 04Decide

   Choose the piece you can perform to a high standard: a strong, secure performance of appropriately demanding music beats a shaky attempt at harder music, because a poor performance is penalised more than a slightly lower difficulty.

Result: The decision favours security: the difficulty credit of the harder piece is outweighed by the risk of an insecure performance, so the appropriately demanding piece performed to a high standard is the wiser, higher-scoring choice.

A student plays a slow movement accurately and in tune, but it sounds flat and mechanical. Which criteria are unmet, and how can they be addressed?

1. 01Diagnose the gap

   Accuracy and technical control are met (right notes, in tune), but expression, interpretation and communication are not - the performance is correct but lifeless.

2. 02Add dynamic shape

   Introduce dynamics and phrasing - shaping each phrase with swells and tapers, bringing out the melodic line - so the music breathes and has light and shade.

3. 03Make interpretive choices

   Decide on the movement's character and pacing (its mood, where it grows and relaxes, the feel appropriate to its style) and perform those choices convincingly.

4. 04Communicate it

   Perform the whole through with conviction and continuity, as if reaching a listener, so the expression comes across as genuine musical communication rather than mechanical correctness.

Result: The performance is lifted by addressing the unmet criteria - adding expression, making interpretive choices, and communicating - turning accurate notes into music, which is what the higher marks reward.

One fast passage goes wrong about half the time. Devise a practice plan to make it reliable.

1. 01Isolate the passage

   Extract just the problem passage (plus a bar either side) and work on it separately, rather than only meeting it mid-run when it is too late to fix.

2. 02Practise slowly and correctly

   Play it slowly enough to get every note and rhythm right every time, building accurate muscle memory - correct repetition, not fast, error-prone repetition.

3. 03Build speed gradually

   Increase the tempo in small steps, only moving faster once the current speed is reliable, so security is maintained as speed grows.

4. 04Reintegrate and test

   Put the passage back into the whole piece, then test it under pressure (recorded, or performed to someone) to confirm it now holds up reliably in context.

Result: The passage is made reliable by isolating it, practising it slowly and correctly, building speed gradually, and reintegrating and testing it - deliberate practice that turns a fifty-fifty passage into a secure one.

You are playing second of three parts in an instrumental trio. How do you prepare so the ensemble performance scores well?

1. 01Secure your own part

   First learn and secure your own part thoroughly through individual practice, so you can play it reliably without having to think about the notes - freeing attention for the ensemble.

2. 02Rehearse for timing

   Rehearse with the trio to lock the timing, learning to keep together, follow the pulse, and place your part precisely against the others.

3. 03Work out the balance

   Agree the balance - playing out when your part carries the melody or an important line, and blending and supporting when accompanying - so the texture is well balanced and your contribution is audible.

4. 04Shape it together

   Agree and rehearse the shared interpretation (dynamics, phrasing, character) and learn to listen and respond, so the trio performs as a coherent, sensitive whole.

Result: The ensemble part is prepared by securing your own line, then rehearsing with the group for timing, balance and shared interpretation - demonstrating the collaborative musicianship that ensemble performance is assessed on.