High Excellence
Good intro but don’t laugh and talk to the audience. Piece selected is OTT. Good eye contact with the audience while waiting. Confident playing. Good use of a backing track. More eye contact needed even if it’s a quick glance while playing. Accurate performance.
Excellence
Poor presentation skills, if you make up the music give it a tile like “Drum Improvisation” composed by … Playing is OTT. Good demonstration of double kick and full use of the drum kit. Precise changes – obviously well rehearsed. Racing off at the end show that it is your presentation skills that need the work.
High Merit
Mostly a good introduction, just don’t look down in the middle of it. Excellent choice of piece that you seem to know quite well. Mostly accurate with good forward flow and feel. Good eye contact with audience at the end. Almost at the excellence level just work on playing out more with confidence.
Merit
Poor introduction – doesn’t know the name of the piece she is playing, hasn’t rehearsed introduction. Good forward pulse set and maintained by the piano. Knows all the words off by heart and the music. Demonstrates good eye contact and performance is mostly accurate. Watching playing and singing at the same time as the instrument often swamps out the vocals unless you has a microphone.
High Achieved
Words and music on stand not the floor as this makes you look down the whole time. Chair too low- use a stool (as legs splayed). Good singing skills except high notes need more support from the diaphragm so they don’t fade out.
Achieved
Plays very timidly and is hard to hear. Musically correct but lacks any confidence. No audience contact. Good choice of song with picking and chords.
Stan Walker. Being Brave and Overcoming Performance Anxiety.