Performing
Athenagoras of Athens insists that we should speak of God as the musical artist to whom we attribute the harmony of the cosmos, but not as the harmonious cosmos itself, since the cosmos is but an instrument of the transcendent God.
- Albert Blackwell, The Sacred in Music
Music performance is communication using musical skills to covey the emotion of the music. Music is “a novel system of communication rooted in emotions rather than in meaning” that contains its own grammar of chords, melody, prosody, tension and resolution. (Schrock, 2009). Music notation is a language of graphic symbols that represent rhythm, tempo, melody, and harmony. However, notation is only communicative to the extent that it enables one to reproduce the phonic message and recreate the emotion it represents. We can therefore say that we read, write, and recite music, but recitation (sound) is the primary method of communication.
Here's a great exercise that uses music technology tools to demonstrate emotion in music through performance. Click on the image above to access the lesson plan.
Good vocal performance incorporates several musical and physical elements: tone, rhythm, musicianship, technical proficiency, and kinesics. This rubric is helpful for evaluating vocal performance.
