Page 59 - How to Shine on Stage

feedback, which is divided into objective and subjective feedback. The
most common tools for obtaining objective feedback are a mirror, a met-
ronome, and audio and video technologies. Subjective feedback comes
from other people listening to our performance, be it our teachers, other
musicians, parents, friends.
I will presently focus on internal feedback, which can be audito-
ry, visual, or proprioceptive (tactile, kinaesthetic) (Todd, 1993). Auditory
feedback is the most common type of feedback used among musicians.
When a performer plays a piece of music, they simultaneously check 57
their performance against the musical image they previously formed of
that piece. This gives them information about the accuracy or inaccura-
cy of their performance. It bears clarifying that auditory feedback does
not only concern the perception of sounds from one’s own instrument,
but also the perception of sounds produced by others. Visual feedback
can provide information about the instrument and the behaviour of the
conductor, other performers, and the audience, along with social feed-
back. Two or more performers who perform together use auditory and
visual feedback to coordinate and communicate with each other (Shaf-
fer, 1984). Proprioceptive feedback can be used successfully in perfor- Indirect Factors of Musical Performance Success
mance by musicians who are deaf or hard of hearing (Glennie, 1991). It
is also used by musicians who are more sensitive to music or who have
acquired this sensitivity through many hours of practice. Propriocep-
tors are divided into vestibular organs (semicircular canals in the inner
ear that are affected by the position of the body) and kinaesthetic organs
(muscle spindles in muscles and tendons, affected by muscle tension and
limb position). Musicians use their vestibular and kinaesthetic sensations
to help them monitor their performance.
In learning an instrument, monitoring one’s own thought process-
es is an important part of metacognitive strategies. As in planning, the
teacher plays a major role in monitoring the student’s own thought pro-
cesses, teaching the student to which aspects of performance to be alert.
The student’s own internal control eventually replaces the external con-
trol provided by the music teacher.
As already mentioned, regulation strategies have strong ties with
self-observation strategies. They allow one to change an activity in order
to improve their performance. Sometimes learning needs to be slowed
down, at other times the entire learning material needs to be re-exam-
ined, at yet another mistakes need to be corrected. Regulation strategies
also include skipping the harder parts of the learning material and ap-
proaching them at a later stage of practice.