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https://strongrockclassic.org/format-and-judging/

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From here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58b70f1c03596e7396371cd1/t/5ce300f4e31bdc0001a1b042/1558380789549/2019+SI+Music+Festival+Judge+Sheets+-+Competition+Portion.pdf

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Technical level: Sound - The scale of the timbre, the richness of articulation, the use of the pedal, the richness of the rhythmic formulas used, the scale, the type and beauty of the voice.
Text - Accuracy of pitch, precision in rhythm, proficiency in performance of passages, scales and other technical elements.

Expression (interpretation): Convention - Style, realisation of articulation or agogic indications, understanding of the composer’s distinctive conception, compliance or non-compliance with the accepted rules of interpretation.
Proposal - Artistic impression, artistic value, concept of composition, maturity

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Use Dynamics
Sing To Your Audience, Not At Them
Turn Off Your Defense Mechanism
Tell The Story of Your Song
Make A Move, Make a Connection

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There is a lot of prep and work to nailing a performance but there are some simple things you can do. Thanks to award winning singer/songwriter and veteran voice teacher Mark Bosnian, we have 10 tips for a better performance that can take you to the next level.

Top 10 Tips For a Better Performance

1. Know Your Song - have the words memorized and have 2 or 3 emotions that you want to evoke when you sing. Trying to sing with emotion is hard when you don't know which emotion(s) to use. "Knowing your motivation" will help you connect to the audience.

2. Use Dynamics - nothing says boring like a song that sounds the same from beginning to end. You have to change up the volume, the intensity, the tone and all other vocal elements to keep people engaged. Accent key words in each line by make them different-louder/softer, brighter/darker vowel color, staccato/legato, etc.

3. Sing To Your Audience, Not At Them - split the audience into quadrants and sing to each quadrant for a few seconds. Even if you're not making eye contact with every single person it will look and feel as if you're singing to each audience member. Your voice goes where your eyes go-don't close your eyes a lot or look over people's heads. Look us in the eye for a few seconds and you'll win our hearts.

4. Make Friends With Your Belly - learn how to use Bosnian Belly Breathing™ and "sing from the diaphragm". It is difficult to create a flow when you sing or speak if we can see your shoulders lifting up and down and hear you sucking in air. Knowing how Nature intends for us to breathe and make sound will make a huge impact on your control and confidence.

5. Be an Intentional Singer Not a Hopeful One - by learning to choose numbers on a scale of 1 to 10 you'll be able to give your body specific directions about volume, tone, etc. You can move from saying to yourself, "I hope this comes out sounding good", to "I need a 6 power to sing the high note the way I want".

6. Turn Off Your Vocal Defense Mechanism - you have a mechanism in your subconscious that tries to protect you from embarrassing yourself when you perform. By learning what triggers it, you can stop it from sabotaging your performance.

7. Make It Your Own - borrow from the best singers but don't imitate. Take elements of what great singers do and combine them in your singing-you'll create your own recognizable style.

8. Tell The Story of Your Song - almost all singers obsess about being in tune or forgetting the words. If you put your intention on telling the story of the song instead of trying to "sound good", the audience won't pay attention to the imperfections.

9. If You Don't Show It, They Won't Know It -if you don't react to a mistake no one will notice it. Practice making a mistake and continuing as if nothing happened and this will become second nature.

10. Make A Move, Make a Connection - shift your weight from foot to foot, take a step forward or to the side, change the position of your hands or your body-movement is the key to looking confident on stage.

Have any tips or advice you'd like to add? Leave them in the comments below and stay tuned for more articles by Mark soon.

Mark Bosnian is an award winning singer/songwriter and was voted into The Oregon Music Hall Of Fame in 2001. As a member of national acts Nu Shooz and Body & Soul, he toured the U.S. and sang on The NBC Today Show and The Pat Sajak Show. Mark Bosnian is a veteran voice teacher and is a widely recognized expert in the field of vocal performance. Mark has taught many notable singers including Courtney Love, Meredith Brooks, Linda Hornbuckle, Dan Reed, and 2012 American Idol semi-finalist Haley Johnsen.

He regularly teaches at the prestigious Puget Sound Guitar Workshop music camp and gives workshops, classes, and one-on-one sessions in Portland, Or and online via FaceTime and Skype. Mark's the author of the book Sing Free Now! 3 Steps To Power, Passion and Confidence and is the creator of the Sing Free Now! method of voice transformation.

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Top 10 Tips For a Better Performance | Making Music Magazine

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There is a lot of prep and work to nailing a performance but there are some simple things you can do. Thanks to award winning singer/songwriter and veteran voice teacher Mark Bosnian, we have 10 tips for a better performance that can take you to the next level.

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it’s who you are.
Most of the people in your audience are not musicians.
Confidence, authority, and charisma aren’t about how much you move around onstage.
Charisma can be developed.
Authority comes from the inside out.

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From the audience's perspective, confidence, authority, and charisma are three ingredients to a memorable music performance

What does the audience really pay attention to when you're standing onstage? Is it how great your music, your playing, your singing is? No, it's not those things... it's who you are.

Let me explain: Most of the people in your audience are not musicians, so when it comes to musical things, they're ignorant. That doesn't mean they're stupid - they just don't understand musical things.

That's not an excuse to be bad musically! In fact, I want you to be as good as you can possibly be. But what an audience picks up on (especially when they see you for the first time) is how confident you are, how much authority you have, and how charismatic you are onstage.

Confidence, authority, and charisma aren't about how much you move around onstage. I always say, "Who you are is more important than what you do." Now, what you do onstage is important, and I'll talk about that in my next blog. But this concept is so important I call it the foundation for your live show.

Artists who appear to be most confident from the stage are those who are prepared. They've developed a vision for their show and planned it out, their show is creative musically and visually, and they've developed the musical themes in their songs into "moments" for their audience. They've arranged their songs so they can pour their uniqueness into the show.

Authority comes from the inside out. Those with the most authority onstage have developed a belief system and wrestled with themselves, coming to the conclusion that this is their calling in life. It's not just a way to become a star or make some money. And they've learned how to listen to and lead an audience.

Both you and I have been told many times that people just have "it" (charisma) or they don't. I disagree. Charisma can be developed. I've worked with multiple artists over the years who are confident, learn to walk in authority, and develop charisma. Like many things, it's a process.
One of the key components for developing charisma is taking risks, both in rehearsal and onstage.

Artists I've worked with who have confidence and authority also have a spontaneous instinct inside them - they sense when something should be done, even if they're not sure what it is! But they will come up against a wall every artist I've worked with comes up to: fear. The fear to take risks. Artists with charisma have simply developed that sense of when they should take risks and they're not afraid to act on it.

Make sure you've done the proper preparation for your show. Wrestle with yourself when you come up against your wall of fear - walk through it! I promise, you'll see a better response from your audience when you've laid a good foundation.

Image of woman singing via ShutterStock.com.

Tom Jackson is a world renowned live music producer, author of the book Tom Jackson's Live Music Method and the All Roads Lead to the Stage DVD series, and master at transforming an artist's live show into a magical experience for the audience. A regular contributor to Disc Makers Echoes blog, Tom has worked with hundreds of artists in every genre, including major artists like Taylor Swift, The Band Perry, Jars of Clay, and more. He also shares his expertise as a speaker at colleges, conferences, and events worldwide.

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Creating Magical Moments In Your Live Music Performance
Singing Tips - Don't Tax Your Voice Before a Vocal Performance

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Three keys to a compelling music performance

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What does the audience really pay attention to when you're standing onstage? Is it how great your music, your playing, your singing is? No, it's not those things... it's who you are. Let me explain: Most of the people in your audience are not musicians, so when it comes to musical things, they're ignorant.

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Fit the character of the piece
Be in the moment
Enjoy yourself

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Performing on stage can be a terrifying experience. I remember reading a quote of one pianist who said that "you always get very nervous, you just get used to it after time". If you're questioning whether or not to perform, here's some things to think about. First, make sure you have good technique on your piece. Secondly, don't forget that you will survive even if you mess up! The world will keep turning and you'll get another chance to perform again. This in turn will hopefully build your confidence up! While we are bound to concentrate on proper technique during a practice session or a performance, there are other elements to executing music on stage. Stage presence plays an important role when bringing your performance to a higher level of artistry. It's what captivates an audience and can add an extra spark of excitement. Here are a few ideas to incorporate next time you're on stage:

1. Fit the character of the piece: Is your piece sad? Then look sad! Is it happy? Then look happy! Whether you realize it or not, you have to be a bit of an actor to really convey the entire meaning of your piece (especially when it comes to singing). There are of course performers who are an exception to this rule, but on the whole, I believe that in most great performances you will see great expression of emotions. Not only this but it makes your audience more comfortable to connect with what you're playing. Try studying some of your favorite performers by YouTube-ing live performances of them. Record yourself to see how you look, and remember to take this idea with a grain of salt - overdo it and it may look a little too silly!

2. Be in the moment: Nerves can easily destroy a good performance, which is why it's important to silence the worrisome voice that constantly says "What if something goes wrong?!" Remember to have fun playing your piece and to take your time on stage: Don't rush when you're walking, take time to do a full bow or two, smile at your audience! They'll appreciate it, and it may be just the thing to make sure you're focused on the task at hand. Some artists even meditate before going on stage to focus their minds and emotions on playing properly. Also, if you're required to speak, make sure you either write what you want to say down or say it out loud a few times beforehand, you'd be surprised at how easy it is to flub up a seemingly easy greeting!

3. Enjoy yourself: This is perhaps the most important and hardest suggestion to pull off. If you don't look like you're having fun, you're audience probably won't either. Now, don't confuse this with needing to smile all the time on stage. Everyone gets into their performance in their own way. For myself I know a lot of people say I look angry on stage but I'm actually having a good time! BUT, after my performance people will say that I was really into it, so the audience definitely acknowledges and appreciates someone who can enjoy themselves while performing.

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Performing on stage can be a terrifying experience. I remember reading a quote of one pianist who said that "you always get very nervous, you just get used to it after time". If you're questioning whether or not to perform, here's some things to think about.

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It's never about perfection; it's about emotion