  Music Information Retrieval (MIR) tends to focus on the analysis of audio
signals. Often, a single music recording is used as representative of a "song"
even though different performances of the same song may reveal different
properties. A performance is distinct in many ways from a (arguably more
abstract) representation of a "song," "piece," or musical score. The
characteristics of the (recorded) performance -- as opposed to the score or
musical idea -- can have a major impact on how a listener perceives music. The
analysis of music performance, however, has been traditionally only a
peripheral topic for the MIR research community. This paper surveys the field
of Music Performance Analysis (MPA) from various perspectives, discusses its
significance to the field of MIR, and points out opportunities for future
research in this field.
