Page 33 - How to Shine on Stage

2

Factors Influencing the Success
of Musical Performance

31
What are the factors that lead to a successful musical performance? To
answer this question, we need to consider the temporal perspective, since
the development of performance expertise is a process which depends on
the level of musical ability and thus musical talent: from personal quali-
ties and motivation, and self-regulation (reflected mainly in the practice)
to more advanced cognitive abilities, such as mental imagery, attention
and concentration, and memory. Additionally, social factors such as par-
ents and teachers have an important role in an individual’s musical tra-
jectory. All of this indirectly influences musical performance, as it is a
part of the process leading to musical success.
On the flip side, there are factors that influence musical performance
success directly, such as technical, interpretive, expressive, and psycho-
logical readiness. While major emphasis is placed on the first three forms
of readiness, mental readiness in music performance has only begun to
be discussed to some degree in the last ten years. And it is the mental
preparation that paves the way for a superb musical performance.
A perusal of the review papers on successful musical performance
skills (e.g. Green & Gallwey, 1986; Greene, 2002; Kohut, 1992; Har-
greaves & North, 1997; McPherson, 2022a; 2022b; Parncutt & McPher-
son, 2002; Rink, 2002; Salmon & Meyer, 1998; Williamon, 2004)
reveals that very few individuals are born performers. The majority ac-
quire these skills to some degree by learning. In acquiring the skills of
successful performance, however, one must be patient and persistent to
achieve the desired results.
I have chosen to address musical success in terms of indirect factors,
which concern the long-term process of music education leading to mu-
sical performance expertise, and in terms of direct factors, which have
a concrete impact on the success of a specific musical performance. In
addressing the indirect factors that contribute to the success of musical
performance, I will stress as the foundations of the path from musical be-
ginnings to musical performance expertise musical abilities and, in rela-
tion to them, musical giftedness and musical talent. Additionally, I will