Performance/Exam Booster

Staters Kit

By
Daniel Nistico
 Preface
Unfortunately, classical musicians of today are generally not taught to perform extraordinarily.
We are often taught to play it safe, and to play it like how everyone else plays it. But this just
doesn't go down well with someone who is listening to you.

When we perform we want it to be extraordinary, not just technically polished. Throw technical
polish out of the window, because that is not what listeners want. They want to be
transported by the music, and have emotions flood their entire being, uplifting them to places above and
beyond Earth.

This book can help you get started on the journey to make your next performance extraordinary,
by boosting your skills and resources to their maximum potential.

Contents
Musicality - 1

Recording - 2
Listening - 3

Studying - 5

Technical Excellence - 8

Optimum Health - 10

Copyright 2016 Daniel Nistico. All Rights Reserved

 Performance/Exam Booster Staters Kit - Daniel Nistico! 1

1. Put Musicality and Expression First and Foremost in your

Playing and Practice

A lot of classical musicians play music from the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic eras - i.e.
music written between the 17th to the 19th centuries. How did extraordinary musicians
from these centuries affect their audiences? You can find many accounts about the
performances of great musicians from the past, including Bach, Beethoven, Paganini, and
Liszt.

They weren't remembered for their technical polish - great musicians/performers were
remembered for their ability to move audiences to tears, and could transform their
instruments to imitate human expressions - sighing, laughing, trembling, etc. - and create
orchestral effects to make their instrument sound like another.

Always remember that technique should be at the service of art, and not the other way
around. A quote is below from Carlevaro's Guitar School, where he explains this message
very nicely.

A performer is always faced with two problems. One concerts the purely mechanical difficulties
contained within a musical work, the other the interpretative and expressive aspects of the music. It is
highly advisable to tackle the latter problem first, for the artistic domain should be entered from the
very beginning. Is it conceivable to plunge into a piece before knowing what is to be expressed? This is a
point that should never be lost sight of since without it would come the risk of distorting the very nature
of art. Were the trade, in its literal sense ever to become the main goal, the outcome would be devoid of
art itself...

When you're practicing your program, think about the expression,

emotion, and atmosphere of the music before you work on the technical
aspects. Write these down into your score!
 Performance/Exam Booster Staters Kit - Daniel Nistico! 2

2. Record Yourself Frequently

It is very easy to record ourselves in this digital age. If you have a smartphone, tablet, or
computer then you should know how to do this, so take full advantage of it! You can usually
do both audio and video recordings on these devices, and I recommend using a mixture of
both.

Audio: We often think that we're playing very expressively, but in reality we're not.
Recording yourself will immediately tell you how your playing actually sounds, and this is
what the audience hears - they don't hear what's in your head!

Once you've made a musical decision about a phrase, section, or piece,

immediately record yourself and see if that intention is actually coming
through. If it's coming through 90%, then make it 110% the next take! If
you don't like the original intention, then don't be afraid to change it to
something else, even if it's drastically different - this is like taste testing.

Video: I'm going to be the first to admit it - when I play my face usually looks stern and
serious, even if the music is playful and light. The audience loves it when performers look
like they're enjoying themselves.
Your listeners can also can relate to the music better if your body language conveys the
musical meanings and emotions. However, performers can go overboard and can actually
hinder the audience's connection to the music by moving too much, or using body language
that doesn't sincerely convey the music's meaning.

The solution? Video some practice sessions and performances, and watch
back to see how you look when you perform. You can turn off the sound
and analyze your stage presence from a purely visual standpoint.
 Performance/Exam Booster Staters Kit - Daniel Nistico! 3

3. Listen to a lot of Music - not just "the Greats"

When was the last time that you listened to a style of music that you weren't familiar with?
How about a composer that you'd never heard of before?
Or a performer that you'd never heard of before?

This digital age allows us to listen to just about any style, performer, or genre we can
imagine, so take advantage of it! You might discover new works along the way that you
could add to your repertoire - unfortunately conservatories and exams provide us with a very
narrow and limited range of repertoire. Don't just adhere to this system - find your own
niche and surprise your listeners with pieces that they're not familiar with, and inform your
playing by listening to lots of different types of music!

Listen to a genre of music that you've never listened to before. It could

be some kind of folk, jazz, opera, etc. - be adventurous!

Psuedo-traditions
One problem that arose throughout the 20th century is the pseudo-tradition.
This is a tradition of performing pieces that is created by certain great performers and
teachers, who then pass it on to listeners (through recordings and concerts) and students
(through conservatories).

This has now led to performers sounding very similar to one another, playing the same
repertoire in the same way. The beauty about music is that each performance can be
different, not only from one artist to another, but even when one artist performs the same
piece multiple times. Audiences don't want to hear another Segovia of the Guitar, Lang Lang
of the piano, or Rostropovich of the cello - they want to hear you!

What are your ideas about the music you play?

The more variety of music you listen to, the more your idea bank will grow.

Choose one of the pieces you're working on and listen to at least two
performances/recordings that you've never heard before.
 Performance/Exam Booster Staters Kit - Daniel Nistico! 4

Authentic Listening
Finally, I'd like to introduce the idea of what I call authentic listening. For example, if
you're playing a piece by Piazzolla, then make sure you listen to Piazzolla's recordings. If
you're playing Bach, then make sure you listen to musicians who specialize in that style of
music (I recommend Gustav Leondhardt for keyboard works, and the Freiburg Baroque
Orchestra for Orchestral works like the Brandenburg Concertos).

Also, try to expand your authentic listening to include music by other composers of the
same era - i.e. music by composers who were living around the same time as the
composer who wrote the piece you're working on. This gives you a sense of the kind of
music that might have inspired the composer, and can help you to understand their style all
the more.

Do some "authentic listening" for one of the piece you're working on.
If the composer lived around the early 20th century, then there might
recordings of them playing.

For example Villa-Lobos playing Villa-Lobos, Barrios playing Barrios,

Llobet playing Llobet etc.
 Performance/Exam Booster Staters Kit - Daniel Nistico! 5

4. Study and Apply The Knowledge You Encounter

The Internet is a tremendous resource for finding information. If you know where to
look, you can find amazing information that can help your playing become that more
extraordinary! You don't need to attend a college to do this - it's online 24/7 just waiting
for you to find.

One great place to start is by studying historical performance practice. This equips you
with tools and techniques for bringing Baroque, Classical, and Romantic music to
life.

On the next page is one piece of information that might interest you...
This is from a method book published around 1859
If you play music from the 19th century - Sor, Giuliani, Aguado, Legnani, Regondi,
Mertz, etc. - then this applies to you.
Performance/Exam Booster Staters Kit - Daniel Nistico! 6

The lines represent plucking

regions - there are five in total!
 Performance/Exam Booster Staters Kit - Daniel Nistico! 7

It is then shown how one can

apply these plucking regions to
a passage of music

This information tells us that guitarists of the 19th century were using a lot of
color in their playing.

The musical example shows five distinct changes of color, and therefore hand
positions, in just six measures.

You can use this information in your playing right now!

 Performance/Exam Booster Staters Kit - Daniel Nistico! 8

5. Technical Excellence
Professional athletes have very thorough warm-up routines that get their mind and body in
peak shape. As we are small-muscle athletes, we should also have thorough warm-ups and
regimes that ensure we are in peak shape on our instrument.

Now, we all have different needs, strengths, and weaknesses. That means that everybody's
routines and regimes should be different.

I do, however, recommend dividing your time between two distinct areas of technique;
musical technique and physical technique.

Musical technique
Is working on what I like to call the building blocks of music. This includes things like
scales, arpeggios, and chords that are foundational to the construction and composition of
guitar music.

If you're preparing for an exam, then you probably have set requirements to play certain
scales and arpeggios. This is all well and good, but I challenge you to go far beyond what
is required. If you do this, then your required workload will be easy and you'll ace your
technical work in the exam. Your knowledge and understanding of musical structures
will be much deeper, and lead to more nuanced and expressive interpretations.

Below is an example of musical technique, taken from my book Fundamental

Harmony.

Have you ever practiced the triads of C Major in all positions and
inversions before? Go ahead and give it a try!
 Performance/Exam Booster Staters Kit - Daniel Nistico! 9

Physical technique is focused on the more abstract and mechanical aspects of

playing, such as:

-Shifting horizontally and laterally

-Stretching
-Barring
-Pressure
-Strength
-Finger independence
-Right hand arpeggios

The best overall resource that I know of that covers many of these is Carlevaro's Serie
Didactica para Guitarra, which is in four volumes. It is very hard to find in print, but I
will give you the exact exercises you need.

Ill also teach you how to create your own, based on the pieces youre working on.
Performance/Exam Booster Staters Kit - Daniel Nistico! 10

6. Optimum Health - Feel Amazing for your Performance so that

you Deliver Amazing Results

Now don't get me wrong, I'm no health expert. But I have spent many years performing
full recitals, and I know how being in optimum physical and mental health can affect a
concert for the better.

There are three main categories relating to health, which we are always told to improve on
- diet, sleep, and exercise.

I'm only going to recommend one task for maintaining the health of these three things.
You already know what is healthy and unhealthy for you - it's just a matter of keeping
track of these three crucial aspects of health.

Keep a daily journal for one week that lists everything you eat and
drink, the times that you sleep and wake, and all exercise you do.

Strive to improve on each category after each day passes.

 About the Author
Daniel Nistico is quickly establishing himself as one
of the leading guitarists of his generation. Daniel is
a passionate performer, teacher, and pedagogue, and
specializes in the performance practice of 18th and
19th century guitar music. His teaching and
research aims to revitalize the concept of being a
well-rounded musician, with emphasis on musical
ideas that can lead to deeper interpretive
understanding, and tools for composing and
improvising.

Daniel is one of the most gifted guitarists of his

generation
--- Nicholas Goluses: Professor of Guitar, Eastman
School of Music

Daniel constantly strives to promote guitar music

that has not had the fortune of being widely performed, and his debut solo album Un Viaje
Mistico... A Mystical Journey contains some hidden gems of the guitar's repertoire. Speaking on the
inspiration for the album, Daniel says that it is a testament to my experience learning under
[teachers] Toni Field and Dr. Donna Coleman at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

Daniels interpretation [of Sevilla] brings a quality that Ive not heard in many recordings. Its
rather laid-back, unhurried, unfussy and the lines, voices and phrasing within the music are so
very clear... I may even be so bold as to say this is currently my favourite recorded version of
Sevilla.
--- Nicole Neal: Classical Guitar n Stuff CD Review

Daniel has performed around the world, both as a soloist, and with his wife and flute partner as
Duo Vela. Daniel's goal through performance is to spread greater awareness of the scope and
expressive power that the guitar and its repertoire is capable of.

"Nistico gave an outstanding performance of Nikita Koshkins Poe-indebted Usher Waltz ... a
demonstration of technical virtuosity harnessed to a real interpretation."
--- Clive O'Connel: The Age Reviewer