Being called upon as a judge and adjudicator for a performance event is a distinct honor. Having had the opportunity to adjudicate in such events, I have gleaned certain ‘pearls of wisdom’ from the experience. I’d like to share just five essential tips for being an effective adjudicator; tips that will help you critique performances with confidence.

1. Write Concisely

Like mastering an instrument, practicing writing concisely is an art that should be developed conscientiously. Often, you are called to adjudicate many performances in a short time and writing relevant and practical critiques is essential. While complete sentences are favorable, they are certainly not necessary. Practice truncating your thoughts in meaningful phrases:

Good: “Your performance today was certainly entertaining and displayed much confidence”

Better: “An entertaining performance exuding confidence”

TIP: Be prepared for the event you are to adjudicate with a “Useful Comment Sheet” you would have readied beforehand. This sheet would include categories like Technique, Tone, Rhythm, General Musicianship etc, and under which you would list descriptive words or phrases that you would find handy and useful at the time of adjudication. It also helps in preventing writer’s block!

TIP 2: Ready, Set .. GO! Soon after the performance begins, gather your thoughts fast – and start writing! You’ll stay on schedule, and organizers will thank you for doing so!

2. See the Big Picture First

There is a strong tendency for many of us to address issues (musical or otherwise) during a performance and while we are adjudicating. In my earlier experiences of judging competitions, I would spend too much time critiquing the details and missed out on opportunities to mention the more important issues that might have contributed to the success (or failure) of the performance. Seeing ‘the big picture first’ is a practice worth developing. This is how I realize this concept (in a Q & A format):

Q: What is the general music concept I would like to address?
A: Technique
Q: What specifically about the performer’s technique need I comment on?
A: Fluidity of scales, brilliance in tone – commendable; unintended accentuation – needs work

Remember: your first responsibility as adjudicator is to critique a performance and provide a score/rating deserving of the performance. Be careful not to step into your “teacher shoes” and focus too much on pedantic comments.

3. Give Praise

Developing a habit of praising others genuinely comes easier for some of us. (It really isn’t that hard – it comes from an inward appreciation for life and all that’s good in it!) Be fluid, genuine and generous in your praise when it is deserved. Furthermore, your compliments may not only serve to motivate the performer, but affirm what his/her instructor is teaching.

For younger musicians, I have even found myself including comments like: “It is most obvious that you have a wonderful foundation in music. Please be sure to thank your teacher for investing in your success!” It’s a double-blessing: the student is happy that you noticed the hard work, and the teacher is grateful that he/she is on the right track.

A word of caution: Be sure that the final score reflects your comments. If your critique is riddled with generous praise and your final score reflects a less than desirable performance, it not only confuses the performer (and teacher) but your scoring method may be called to question.

TIP: As much as it is easy to write “Good Job” or “Nice Work”, stay away from those phrases. Craft your own unique “praise phrases” that show you put some genuine effort! Here are some examples:

Commendable performance
Truly inspiring
Such poetry in your phrases
Performed with poise and elegance
A generous offering indeed

4. Listen Carefully

Epictetus, the Greek Stoic philosopher offers this advice:

“Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak.”

As an adjudicator of a live performance, your critique is based on your active participation as a listener. Exercise active listening skills and you will find it easier to judge a performance. Here are some practical ways you can develop active listening skills:

• YouTube is a great resource for videos of live music performances. Type the title of a piece you are familiar with in the YouTube search box, and select a video performance of the piece. Listen carefully to the performance. Initially, critique the performance by speaking your comments out loud. Later, practice noting your observations on a piece of paper.
• Develop a sense of focus by choosing a musical aspect you will comment upon BEFORE listening to a recorded performance. (For example, tone production or phrasing) Discipline yourself to listen for and comment ONLY on this predetermined musical aspect. This not only aids in aural focus but provides you an avenue to develop different ways of critiquing a single musical aspect. (This might be an opportune time to start making that “Useful Comment Sheet” I mentioned earlier!)
• Record your own students performing their repertoire under study at their lesson time or recitals. Use these recorded performances as a source for your active listening skills. Not only will you benefit from it, but your students will to, in their next lesson!

5. Know Thyself

Knowing and establishing what your standards are BEFORE you begin adjudicating is essential for being an effective adjudicator. For example, in an adjudicated event with a rating system of Superior, Excellent, Good and Fair, would you reserve the rating of Superior solely for performances which are virtually perfect? What constitutes a superior performance according to your standards?

At times, you will be asked to judge a competition in collaboration with one or more adjudicators. Knowing what your standards are become more vital in this situation as you may encounter differing opinions and standards proffered by the other adjudicator/s. In most cases, you will collaboratively come to a consensus as to a final score. At times though, your individual score is independent of the scores given by the other adjudicators.

TIP: If you are new to adjudicating in a competition, always make it a point to speak to the organizers and clarify what is expected of you as an adjudicator. Make an effort to know the rules of the event/festival before it commences.
In events like evaluation festivals (where the performer is in no competition with other performers), organizers may suggest that judges be “more generous” in their scoring of performances, and where the general purpose of these events is to motivate and encourage young performers in their musical pursuits.

In conclusion, these are but a few essential tips I have found most helpful in my experiences as an adjudicator in performance events. Do feel free to contribute to this article by leaving your thoughts and opinions about the subject. We could all use more tips on being more effective adjudicators!

Alex Thio

The Musician’s Coach

Yo-Yo Ma in Masterclass

Approach with caution.

Coaching the young musician is both a joy, and an intense challenge.

No one told me that they were so impressionable.

Nothing was said about how sensitive they tend to be.

Again. Approach with caution.

I continue to be stretched and challenged myself as I coach young musicians. Yet, I am continually encouraged – even invigorated by the talent these young ones possess! (Gosh, I feel like an old pedagogue. Trust me, I’m not. I feel all of 29 years. Again, trust me, I’m not.)

I want to highlight 3 best practices when working with young musicians. Each of these have not only brought me a smile, but one for the young musician too.

Best Practice No.1: Be Enthusiastic

Take a cue from world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

His enthusiasm as a performer is obvious – and contagious. Young musicians who have had the privilege of being in his presence at a masterclass have often marveled at this intoxicating enthusiasm of his.

Your enthusiasm for music and life will translate to the student musician you coach. They will take away from the coaching session more than just tips on performance or musicianship; they walk away envying the zest you possess and possibly even aspire to be as enthusiastic as you.

Start the session with a hearty greeting!

If you’re meeting the young musician for the first time, get to know him/her a little more than just: “So, who’s your teacher?”

Be enthusiastic over the music itself! It’s refreshing – and the student will gain something from it!

One more thing. Be enthusiastic, and you might save a young musician from falling by the wayside and wasting his talent.

Best Practice No.2 : Be a Source of Encouragement

Honest encouragement and affirmation only strengthens the young musician’s efforts. A positive, nurturing environment in a coaching session reaps its rewards in good time.

Listen when they apologize for mistakes – then assure them that they are in a “safe zone” to make all the mistakes they want. Be sure to tend to those mistakes, and provide solutions. (Make some “mistakes” of your own – and then say, “Don’t you just LOVE it when teachers make mistakes?!)

Be attentive to their playing, and offer praise for aspects of their performance you genuinely find praiseworthy. If all else fails and their performance abilities are lackluster, create little ways for the student to succeed. And then praise.

Best Practice No.3: Be Professional, not Petty

Many of us serve as music coaches to students who do not belong to our studio. Their private teachers entrust these students to us to help them polish their performance skills.

This is a trust we cannot and must not break.

By this I mean: be professional when you encounter students who might have performance issues, who might show little or no knowledge of the fundamentals.There is a strong tendency for us to point a blaming finger at their teacher – don’t cross that line. It isn’t professional, and serves only to undermine the trust and respect the student might have already forged with the teacher.

Instead, take time to BE a teacher even in the coaching session. Unlike Liszt, who told his students to “do their dirty laundry at home”, take time to suggest solutions for challenges that the student might be encountering – then and THERE at the coaching session.

Instead of criticizing, take time to CORRECT. The student’s teacher will THANK you!

Respect the fact that the interpretation or technical solution which the student has embraced may have in fact been the suggestion of the teacher. Work with it and offer your musical opinion as just that – an opinion. Ultimately it is the young musician who must make the choice.

Coaching young musicians has its rewards. Being enthusiastic, encouraging and professional only serve to secure these rewards. Happy coaching!

• Best practices are processes we develop ourselves (or embrace from others) that contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency in which we conduct our business. A method to our madness, one might say.
• Best practices are the tips and tricks of the trade that secure our success (and sometimes, our popularity).
• Best practices are usually common sense – though not embraced common enough.

I decided to start compiling these best practices in a blog series that I will entitle Best Practices: A Practical Guide to Working with Musicians. With this series, I hope not only to share my own ‘tips of the trade’ but to encourage reader/blogger contributions to this forum of sorts.

YOU are welcome.

My first post in this series is one close to my heart – working with young musicians. Until then, I invite you to generate some great ideas of your own, and contribute when you’re comfortable. We could all stand to learn from your expertise.

We Share a Pulse

As a collaborative pianist and coach, I often encounter a student performer whose understanding and grasp of PULSE is less than desirable. During the first rehearsal (and often in the midst of the first ‘run-through’ of the piece in collaboration with the performer), I often pause and offer:

“It sounds like you have a wonderful grasp of your notes. However, you’re having some challenges in keeping your pulse.”

I continue with:

“You and I have just met. We don’t know each other from Adam and Eve. True, we’re both musicians. But the other most important aspect that binds us together is .. a pulse. Your understanding of a pulse, and my understanding of a pulse is somewhat different. Let’s use this metronome and see how different our pulses are.”

Why is pulse important in collaborating with another musicians? Because it SECURES alignment. Without a common pulse between solo performer and collaborative pianist, you can be sure that alignment is going to be a nightmare. And that’s an understatement.

It is one thing to FEEL a pulse within oneself: it is another to depend on the mechanical, stalwart beat of the metronome.

Here are some of the excuses (valid or otherwise) that student performers offer me when I approach them about the question of pulse and the use of the metronome in their practice:

“I can’t play with the metronome. It’s too confusing.”

“I can’t hear the click of the metronome above my playing.”

“I rarely practice with the metronome. I just follow the recording I listen to.”

“I practice only portions of my piece with the metronome – like the more technical passages.”

While these may indeed be realistic responses (a.ka. excuses), they reveal the insecurity some student performers have regarding practicing with the metronome. The core of this challenge might very well be that they don’t know exactly how their pulse relates to the pulse of the metronome.

TEACHERS, BEWARE. Are you continuing to teach your student everything BUT practicing with the metronome? Does your student know the fundamentals of using a metronome?

First, TEACH YOURSELF how to use the metronome. Simplify the process. Only then might you be able to relay the process to your student.

Collaborative pianists around the world will THANK YOU for imparting this vital knowledge to your student. (Count me in!)

Resource: An excellent article written by John R Stevenson entitled The Metronome.. The Musician’s Best Friend describes the metronome and some wonderfully practical uses for the musician. You can download a PDF copy of this article for free by clicking this link.

Want to develop your sense of rhythmic pulse? Visit www.rhythmpatterns.com, a wonderful resource online for students and teachers alike, containing 1200 rhythmic exercises to help you develop proficiency in rhythm. Audio (MIDI) is provided to help you get those rhythms correct!

From Getty Images

When I was in college being mentored by a wonderful professor of piano pedagogy named Dr. Michelle Conda, she often mentioned how to overcome the reluctance in many young (and older) pianists to bring themselves to practice the piano.

Butt to the Bench, she’d say. No matter how busy things are, bring your butt to the bench. Once you’re on it, it’s easy to begin the practice routine.

There is much truth to what she says. Often times, it’s a matter of bringing yourself to the piano, sitting yourself down, and setting some goals to achieve during your practice session. Here are some practice tips you or your young pianist might adopt for more productive practice sessions at the piano.

What’s YOUR Time of Day?

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges in piano practice is choosing a time of day that is most conducive to you and your concentration. Some folks are ‘morning people’; others evening.

For young pianists, a good time for them to practice would be after dinner (and chores), when the rest of the family can hear them at the piano. It’s a great time for Mom and Dad to come by and give an affirming and encouraging word too.

No matter what time you choose, make sure that time slot doesn’t vie against another commitment or obligation. The worse you could do is to practice, and feel guilty that you ought to be doing something else.

Also, a cup of tea or your favorite beverage by your side doesn’t hurt!

Where DID that pebble land?

Setting goals and achieving them is like throwing a pebble far, seeing where it lands, and figuring out how to get there. It isn’t any different in practicing the piano: set simple, achievable goals and you’ll feel encouraged in the process. Write 3-5 goals down on paper and set it beside your music. Try your best to accomplish these tangible goals in your single practice session.

Reviewing as Part of Practicing

While it is always good to work on new material or finetune a piece during your practice session, it’s always refreshing to include review, that is, playing through repertoire you’ve already learned and perhaps memorized. Take time to enjoy ‘old’ repertoire afresh!

The Metronome is Your Friend

Do take time to work isolated passages of music with your metronome, especially those that are technically demanding. Start slow – and be meticulous about being true to the pulse.

But before you do anything, bring your BUTT TO THE BENCH! And good luck with your practicing!