Performance: Realising a Score with Intent
What you must know
Performance in Music 2 is assessed on how convincingly you realise a chosen work, not on difficulty alone. Understand the score's structural map (phrases, cadences, sections, repeats), its stylistic context, and the technical demands of your instrument or voice. You should be able to justify interpretive choices - tempo, dynamics, articulation, tone colour, balance - by reference to the notation and the style period. Know the difference between accuracy (correct pitches, rhythms, fingering, breathing) and interpretation (shaping a phrase towards a goal). Examiners reward a coherent reading sustained across the whole work.
Traps in questions
A common trap is confusing marked dynamics with implied ones: a crescendo hairpin tells you direction and relative span, not absolute volume, so answers claiming a specific dynamic level are usually wrong. Another trap is treating tempo terms as fixed numbers; andante is a character as much as a speed. Watch for questions that ask about ensemble balance versus individual projection. Also beware of assuming repeats are optional when the score explicitly directs them.
Worked example
Suppose a question asks how to shape a rising sequence of four two-bar phrases. Rule of thumb: identify the goal note of the whole sequence (usually the fourth phrase's peak), then plan a single dynamic arc that peaks there, with articulation tightening as the line ascends. This produces one arch, not four separate swells - a distinction examiners listen for.