This article was originally written in Turkish and has been translated into English with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). The translation may contain errors; the original Turkish version is the authoritative text.
In my earlier articles I described the kind of preparation needed before giving any speech in front of an audience. Playing an instrument or singing in front of an audience also requires long preparation.
What does this long period involve? If we take a singer as an example, the following points arise:
- As I mentioned in earlier articles, they need to go through voice or instrumental training.
- They need to decide what style of music they will perform.
- They should train themselves in this style, just as in voice training. This is essential for staying in the music business. For example, someone who will sing Turkish folk music should take lessons in it and know all the characteristics of folk music.
- They must be able to read music.
- They should prepare their repertoire according to their voice type (tenor, baritone, bass – soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto) and range (high, medium, low).
- They should sight-sing the pieces they prepare (solfège: reading the notes with their pitches and names), and then fit the lyrics under the notes (reading the text in rhythm).
- They should decide the length of their concert.
- They should decide how many pieces they will perform according to the length of the concert.
- Once they have studied the pieces thoroughly and feel confident, if these pieces have been performed by others before, they should listen to them in various interpretations. When listening, it is more useful for a male singer to listen to male performers and a female singer to listen to female performers. We must never forget that we should always avoid imitation (copying). A true artist must stand out with their own interpretation. If you will be the first to perform a piece, the first thing to do, if the composer is alive, is to find out what they want. They will tell you what state of mind they were in when composing the piece and what kind of interpretation they want. If the composer is no longer alive, you should pay attention to the lyrics and to the expression markings the composer wrote on the score; if there are no such markings, the best thing is to interpret the music as you feel it, following its course.
- The group of instruments that will accompany you (orchestra, piano, ensemble of traditional instruments, etc.) should be decided, and you should rehearse with them until the pieces can be sung comfortably.
- The hall where you will give the concert should be examined in advance and its acoustics checked; if a sound system will be used during the concert, care should be taken that it is of good quality. At least three rehearsals in the nature of a general rehearsal should be held in the hall.
- The costumes that you and the orchestra will wear should be decided in advance; if you will change costume during the concert, the place, the time and the piece after which you will change should be arranged beforehand.
- Before going on stage, depending on your instrument, you should warm up either your voice (for singers) or your fingers (for instrumentalists); these warm-ups should be exercises that are not too difficult.
- Once all this has been done, it is time to go on stage. The group or person accompanying you should go on stage first, and you should come on last.
- As I mentioned in earlier articles (points to consider before giving a speech), come to the front of the stage completely at ease and greet the audience. Hold the attention of all your listeners with your gaze.
- Make eye contact with the group accompanying you and confirm to each other that you are ready.
- If you are playing or singing more than one piece, always end with lively pieces, or pieces whose climax ends on high notes. Endings like these increase your applause.
- Do not move on to the next piece before the applause has finished.
- If you are playing or singing a classical work, you will not be applauded between movements (in Western music). Enthusiastic applause awaits you when the work is over. They will invite you back on stage and ask you to play something new. The piece you play should be not too long and also popular.
- When this piece is over too, going backstage and accepting congratulations is your most natural right.