Performing is where everything in this series comes together. Whether you sing in the school choir, play in a steel band or present a solo for CSEC, a good performance depends on the same things: a suitable piece, healthy technique, clever practice and the confidence that comes from careful preparation. This post gives you a plan, step by step.
Choosing a piece
- The right level – choose something you can already play or sing accurately, with a little challenge. A simple piece performed well beats a hard piece full of mistakes.
- The right range and key – singers should check that the highest and lowest notes are comfortable (use the range finder below). Many songs can be transposed into a better key.
- Contrast – look for changes in dynamics, tempo or mood, so that you can show expression.
- A piece that suits you – pick music you enjoy and understand. Know its style, composer and background, because you may be asked to talk about it.
- A clear score – have a clean copy of the music (or a chord chart), with bar numbers.
Good starting pieces for Forms 1 to 3 include folk songs such as “Brown Girl in the Ring” and “Linstead Market”, the national songs of Trinidad and Tobago, spirituals such as “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, and short classical melodies such as Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”. At CSEC level you perform rehearsed pieces at a foundation, intermediate or advanced level, together with scales, arpeggios and technical studies in the same keys as your pieces.
Posture: the foundation
Good posture lets you breathe freely and move easily, and it stops you getting tired or sore.
- Standing to sing: feet about hip-width apart, knees soft (not locked), shoulders relaxed and down, head balanced with the chin level, and arms loose by your sides.
- Sitting to play: sit near the front of the chair with both feet flat on the floor and your back tall – do not slump against the backrest.
- Holding the instrument: bring the instrument to you, not you to the instrument. Cover recorder holes with the soft pads of your fingers, not the tips; at the keyboard, keep your fingers gently curved; at the pan, stand at a comfortable height with relaxed wrists.
Watch: a quick guide to better singing posture.
Breathing for singing and playing
Singers and wind players need a steady, controlled flow of air. Breathe low and deep: as you breathe in, your waist and lower ribs should expand while your shoulders stay still. The diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle under the lungs, moves down to let the lungs fill, and the intercostal muscles between the ribs help the ribcage widen. When you sing or play, let the air out slowly and evenly.
- Hiss: breathe in for 4 counts, then hiss “sss” as steadily as you can for 8 counts, then 12, then 16.
- Hand on your waist: feel it move out as you breathe in and back in as you breathe out – the movement should not be up at the shoulders.
- Plan your breaths: mark breathing places on the score with a tick (✓), usually at the ends of phrases and at rests – never in the middle of a word.
The voice: how it works and how to use it well
Your voice is an instrument inside your body. Air from the lungs passes through the larynx (voice box), where two small folds of tissue called the vocal folds (vocal cords) vibrate to make the sound. The sound is then made fuller and louder by the resonating chambers – the throat (pharynx), mouth and nose – and shaped into words by the tongue, lips, teeth and palate.
Vocal technique checklist
- Pitch and intonation – listen carefully and match the note. Singing scales and arpeggios in solfa trains your ear.
- Tone – a relaxed jaw, an open throat (like the start of a yawn) and a lifted soft palate give a full, free sound.
- Diction and pronunciation – shape the vowels clearly (ah, eh, ee, oh, oo) and sound the consonants crisply, especially at the ends of words, so the audience can understand you.
- Poise – stand calmly, look at your audience and let your face show the meaning of the words.
- Vocal health – warm up before singing, drink water, avoid shouting and screaming, and never sing through pain. Changing voices (often between about 11 and 15) need gentle practice in a comfortable range.
Warm up first
Athletes warm up before a race, and musicians warm up before a performance. A short vocal warm-up might be: gentle stretches and shoulder rolls; slow breathing and hissing; lip trills or humming, sliding up and down; then five-note patterns on “mah”, moving up by semitones. Instrumentalists warm up with long notes, slow scales and arpeggios.
Try it: vocal warm-up and range finder
Use this warm-up to find the notes that feel comfortable for your voice today. The box then tells you which major scales (C, G, D, F or B♭) fit inside your comfortable range – useful when you choose a key for your song.
TRY ITVocal warm-up and range finder
Sing along with the five-note pattern d–r–m–f–s–f–m–r–d. Each time it repeats it moves by a semitone. While a pattern is playing, tap “Comfortable” if it feels easy, or “Too high or too low” if it feels strained – and then stop going further that way.
Your comfortable range will appear here.
Press Play to listen. Nothing plays until you press the button. Start with your volume low.
Higher voices (unchanged voices) start on A3, the A below middle C; lower (changed) voices start an octave lower. Sing at a comfortable medium volume and stop if your throat feels tight, sore or tired.
Watch: a five-minute warm-up you can sing along with.
Technique for instruments
Every instrument has its own technique, but the same ideas apply to all of them: a good playing position, a relaxed body, clean finger or stick movements, and an even, controlled tone. Scales, arpeggios and short technical studies build accuracy and fluency – practise them in the keys of your pieces (see post 5 for the scales and arpeggios of C, G, D, F and B♭).
On the steelpan, hold the sticks loosely so that they bounce off the note, strike each note area in the right spot, and keep your wrists relaxed, as the video shows.
Practising effectively
- Little and often – 20 minutes every day is better than two hours once a week.
- Warm up with breathing, long notes, scales and arpeggios.
- Slow down – practise tricky bars slowly with a metronome (try the one in post 3), then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
- Work in sections – fix one phrase or bar at a time, then join them. Start some sessions at the end, so the ending is as secure as the beginning.
- Record yourself on a phone and listen back. Check the rhythm, pitch, dynamics and diction.
- Perform early – play or sing for a friend or your family before the real performance.
Performing with others
In an ensemble – a choir, a steel band, a recorder group or a band – you have extra jobs. Listen to the other parts and balance your sound so that the melody can be heard. Keep together by watching the conductor or leader for cues to start, stop and change tempo or dynamics. Blend your tone with the people around you, and in rehearsals discuss ideas politely using musical terms.
On the day: performance tips
- Tune your instrument and warm up before you go on.
- Walk on confidently and, if asked, announce your piece: its title, composer and style.
- Take a breath and think of the tempo before you begin.
- If you make a mistake, keep going. The audience often will not notice if you do not stop.
- Think about the space: a large hall or an outdoor stage may need a little more volume, and a small room less. At the end, pause, then bow to thank the audience.
Review your performance
After each performance, reflect honestly – CSEC calls this the performer’s reflection. Answer these four questions, then ask a classmate for peer feedback using the table below.
- What did I do?
- What went well?
- What could be improved?
- What would I do differently if I performed it again?
| Area | Ask yourself |
| Accuracy | Were the notes and rhythms correct? Was I in tune? |
| Fluency | Did I keep a steady tempo without stopping? |
| Expression | Did I show the dynamics, articulation and mood? |
| Technique | Were my posture, breathing and tone good? |
| Communication | Did I connect with the audience? In a group, did I listen and blend? |
Activity: prepare a two-minute performance
- Choose a short piece to sing or play using the checklist at the top of this post, and check its range with the Try it box.
- Make a two-week practice plan: what you will practise each day, and for how long.
- Perform for your class, then fill in the review table and get feedback from two classmates.
Quick check
1. Name three things to check when you choose a piece to perform.
Show answer
Any three of: it is at the right level; its range and key suit your voice or instrument; it has contrast in dynamics, tempo or mood; it suits you and you understand its style; you have a clear score.
2. Which muscle moves down when you breathe in deeply?
Show answer
The diaphragm.
3. Where in the body is the sound of the voice made?
Show answer
In the larynx (voice box), where the vocal folds vibrate.
4. Give two ways to make your practice more effective.
Show answer
Any two of: practise little and often; warm up; practise slowly with a metronome; work in sections; record yourself; perform for others before the real performance.
5. What should you do if you make a mistake during a performance?
Show answer
Keep going without stopping, and focus on the next phrase.
6. What are the four questions of the performer’s reflection?
Show answer
What did I do? What went well? What could be improved? What would I do differently next time?
Previous: Reading a Simple Score: Ledger Lines, Ties, Repeats, D.C. al Fine and First- and Second-Time Bars
Next: The Science and Technology of Sound, and Careers in Music
Syllabus link: T&T Lower Secondary (NCSE) Visual and Performing Arts curriculum – Music, Forms 1–3: Melody 3.1.29, 3.2.25 and 3.3.21 (sing melodies using appropriate vocal techniques, e.g. pronunciation, poise and breathing); Performance 3.1.40–3.1.42, 3.2.35–3.2.38 and 3.3.35–3.3.38 (scales and arpeggios, appropriate basic techniques for the instrument chosen, performing one piece individually and in a group, and analysing the pieces performed); Connections to Science and Physical Education (the vocal mechanism, breathing and posture). CSEC® Music syllabus (CXC 31/G/SYLL 17): Section 3: Performing, Specific Objectives 1–4, 8, 10 and 12 (technical competence alone and with others; expressive elements; evaluating pieces performed; discussing performance in a viva voce; ensemble skills); Content 1–4(a)–(g) (posture, breathing, intonation and diction, scales and arpeggios, rehearsed pieces) and 10(b)–(c) (self- and peer assessment; the performer’s reflection).
Attributions to media used in this post:
Queensland State Archives 1616 Public Instruction Activities at the Teachers Training College Lecturer in Music and class learning to play the recorder April 1951.png – Agriculture And Stock Department, Information Branch, Photography Section – Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Pronunciation organs diagram.png – Obsuser – CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Anatomytool larynx and vocal cords English.jpg – Cenveo – CC BY 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Piano practice hands.jpg – zaui/Scott Catron – CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Steelpan performance at Osu Summer Festival.jpg – KKPCW – CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
© 2026 Vedesh Kungebeharry. All rights reserved.