How it works & sample critiques!
Student #1 Sample:
Video Mini-Masterclass
Below is a sample of three different Adjudicators
and how they have different perspectives yet have continuity in their comments.
The purpose of Prep My Art, LLC, is to add value to the client’s Art and give them strategies
and resources on how to improve.
Record settings suggestion: Click here.
How it works for all Music categories & Musical Theatre:
- Record your performance.
- Create a YouTube account and create a channel or upload your recording to your exsisting YouTube channel.
- Mark your video as “Unlisted” so only those with the link to your video can view it unless you would like it to be public.
- Upload the YouTube link to your Client account and submit!
- 15 minute maximum for all recordings.
How it works for Theatre/Acting:
Coming soon
How it works for Dance:
First, make sure you have a good quality recording of whatever piece you need feedback on. This could be a solo or duet, or even a small group piece provided that you are easily recognizable for the entirety of the excerpt (please describe your starting position in detail in the “additional information” box along with your submission), and provided you have the permission of the other dancers to submit. More fulsome audition videos with multiple selections (classwork, solos, etc…) are accepted, provided the total run time of the entire video is no longer than 15 minutes, which is a standard maximum run-time for most audition videos.
With your submission, please include full credits, including music and the name of the choreographer. If you are the choreographer and would like feedback on your composition, please ensure that this is made clear in your submission.
Once you have your recording, upload it to the platform of your choice (YouTube, Vimeo, etc…) ensuring that the privacy settings are correct for whether you want people outside the PMA team to see it or not. Once you’re done, upload the link to your client account for submission.
How it works for Film Music:
We would ask students to upload a maximum of 3 MP4 files that have a total combined running length of not more than 12 minutes. These files should contain the film excerpts along with the students mixed music track. If the student does not have video, then they should upload a music-only MP3 file of the mix. Adjudicators can then respond to the aspects of the compositions including: compositional techniques, emotional impact, music mix, instrumentation, sound quality, style, etc.
How it works for Photography:
Coming soon
How it works for Fashion:
Coming soon
How it works for Studio Arts:
Coming soon
How it works for Architecture:
Coming soon
How it works for Writing:
Price option 1.
12 point font, Times New Romans font, double spaced, one inch margins, (3,750 words max/15 pages)
Price option 2.
12 point font, Times New Romans font, double spaced, one inch margins, (2,500 words max/10)
All submissions will have up to 2 weeks to be returned to the client with feedback after submission.
Above are samples of 3 written critiques and 3 video mini master class critiques.
Clients have 2 package options available:
-Three video mini masterclass critiques
-Three written critiques
Why three critiques matter? Having viewpoints from 3 different professionals will give you a much more rounded view of your Art along with noticing the continuity in their comments on what main issues are the most import to address before it counts.
Above are samples of 3 video mini masterclass critiques and below are samples for 3 written critiques.
Wendy really resonated with me on the use of my rubato and saving some of the flexibility of time for “more special moments.” Sometimes it is difficult to balance “feeling the music” and knowing when is a better time to use that skill.
Connor really took time to address my left hand getting deep into the keys to create a beautiful tone. He also addressed an appropriate moment to lift my hand for ascetics as a performer.
Dr. Harding took extra length to address my pedaling and the importance of connecting each note as if the pedal wasn’t used. This way the pedal is only an enhancement- not the one dependent on seamlessly connecting the notes.
Continuity in the comments: All 3 adjudicators suggested to soften my left hand and that it needed to be steady yet allow the intro to be even more delicate.
Check out all those details in my comments and imagine how Prep My Art can help you before it counts.
Student #1 Sample, Written Comments,
Wendy Bachman, Royal Conservatory of Music Examiner and Teacher
Hello Sara! Thank you for your performance of your Serenade. I can tell you really enjoy this piece and have worked hard on it! Here are a few ideas to help make the notes come off the page even more!
I can hear your lovely singing melody above a supportive bass for this evening love song! The original meaning was a song sung outdoors to a woman being courted. Try for a softer left hand thumb to keep the emphasis on the bass support and keep with the “leggiero” marking by the composer. In order to have more blended phrases to bring out the emotional quality of this piece, the note that comes in after a longer or tied note in the melody could be slightly quieter to match where the decay is from the longer note. For example mm. 17 and mm. 26-27, 28-29 and 30-31.
Your damper pedal enhances your performance and mixes the colors well. Consider using the una corda pedal also to make the “subito” at mm. 31 more sudden and create the mystery of this piece. The change in the color that the una corda pedal provides can really help with the mood. The most emotional content besides the singing melody to help this style is the rubato. You have a sincere sense of your own rubato, but first establish a more steady pulse before stretching to heighten the emotion.
The first time I hear the stretching is in mm. 4 between beats one and two and then again at mm. 8. It’s a little too predictable and doesn’t have the emotional emphasis if you develop this pattern from the beginning. Save it for more special moments and it will be more noticeable after establishing the tempo. When you compare mm. 8 to mm. 56, seeing that the interval leap in mm. 8 is an octave and in mm. 56 is only a 6th, it does make sense to take more time, as a singer would, to nail that jump, but if you do the same rubato in mm. 4, it takes away the specialness of the octave jump.
It is a great practice strategy to play through with no rubato before deciding where it feels and sounds right to you to add it.
When pacing your dynamic plan, try to hold back longer in your crescendos. For example mm. 24 through 30 sounds like your “big moment’ of the piece. Hold back more , remember when you see “crescendo” it means you actually wait a measure to start building. Try to hear the RH G sharp sing through as the middle voice blends in RH mm. 31. I only see three dynamic levels indicated, but as we know with a night song in possibly the sunset, there can be many more layers of color.
At “subito” mm. 31 through 36 your tempo gets a little too slow and this is human nature as you get quieter. Keep the pacing until mm. 35-36 to stretch into the melody at mm. 37. I can hear your emphasis on the harmonies that are creating the tension mm. 37-42. Perhaps this is the weather acting up in your outdoor love song?
Compare the mm. 6-12 bass line and direction with mm. 54-58 when the composer reaches the D pedal point. The “going down and picking up the low notes” is so important and this really makes the “gravitational pull of emotion” be enhanced. At mm. 62 think of a singer having to hold the long note so “a tempo” is an indication to move forward.
I really like the pacing of your last rolled chords. All of the rolled chords could be birds trilling outside? Take even more time to slowly float your hands off at the ending and really enjoy the last little bit of the last chord. There is also a fermata on the rest… You might consider putting your hair back so we can see you from the side while you perform and perhaps if it gets in your face. You have a lovely performance outfit!
Written Comments, Connor Chee, Composer
Serenade Op. 53 No. 5 by Haberbier
Student #1
Serenade Op. 53, No.5, In the opening, the left hand accompaniment can be even softer. There are a lot of moving notes, so it’s easy to overpower the right hand melody. Aim for playing the left hand pianissimo—it will probably come out as mezzo piano due to the register and moving sixteenth notes. Keeping it as soft as possible will allow the right hand melody to shine through. Even thought the right hand will be mezzo forte, the overall atmosphere will still feel very soft due to the beautiful, soft accompaniment.
Pay close attention to the articulations marked in the melodic lines. There are staccato and marcato markings, even though the pedal will be down. This helps show two things: 1. The dynamic shape of the phrase 2. The physical attacks used to create those dynamic shapes. Having a real staccato hand movement that then drops on the marcato ending of the phrase gives a physicality to the music that will not only help shape the melody, but also elevate your stage presence.
Watch for double-stemmed notes. Bring these notes out of the texture to help move the harmony forward and direct the listener to the important lines. Also, bring out the bass line when the harmonies are moving forward chromatically. The play between the bass line and the end of each melodic line helps move the music forward in many places—use the articulation and dynamics to bring out these two lines for the listener.
When you are trying to achieve a sound that is as soft as possible, try thinking of setting your hand down on the key gently (rather than thinking of pressing the key down softly). For example, think of setting a small object (like a smartphone) on one of the keys. You aren’t pressing the key down with the phone, you are simply gentle setting it down, letting gravity do the work. This gives a consistently soft sound, without the risk of getting no sound at all.
Your stage presence and command at the keyboard is great. Overall, a very sensitive and beautiful performance! Keep up the great work.
Written Comments, Dr. Christopher Harding, U of M Professor
Serenade Op. 53 No. 5 by Haberbier
This can also be enhanced by shaping the LH with the slurs that Haberbier has written— each group of four should gently decrescendo, as if you are saying a four syllable word like “alligator”. This allows for the accompaniment to decay like the melody notes are decaying, allowing more room for the melody to be shaped in its natural sound. You’re pedaling is also a little deep and is creating too thick of a texture, in combination with your LH accompaniment. Not every note is equally important in the accompaniment—the first note is the harmonic basis of the arpeggio, the succeeding notes are more colorful and feathered out. But a deep pedal works against this.
There are moments in the piece where your attention is distracted by technically awkward things: the broken chord in m. 12, for instance, where the F# in the thumb must resolve lightly from the G of the previous measure, but the main event is the resolution of the top voice C# to D. Throughout the piece, I would start your grace notes earlier and play them softer so they don’t disturb the speaking of the principal notes. At mm. 59 I know this is difficult while holding the “A” with your RH fifth finger; if you can, try to unlock your finger from the rest of the hand while using your wrist to swing and help the bottom fingers (1, 2, and 3). If you hand is not large enough for this, then at least be sure to play the A on the downbeat of m. 58 with warmth and keep it sounding in your ear. There is a way to weave a very delicate pedaling over the two measures even if you can’t hold the note, but this depends on your ear and careful attention to voicing.
I think we should keep the tempo more flowing and simple at the end; the last two rolled chords are a little too serious for me, not charming. I don’t think this is a “proposal”, just a pleasant evening picnic, perhaps?
Thank you for your beautiful performance!