The Secret of Piano Performance
Piano Performance! Here are suggestions to help you
improve your performance, be in Control and reduce performance anxiety.
Ok, so you can play the piano quite well! How about performing?
Have you ever been on stage and performed in front of a crowd? Have you ever done that?
I am sure not many of you would have had that opportunity yet. It may not have to be a crowd also; you may be required to perform in front of a group of moderators as part of a competition or an examination.
Sooner or later you will have to do it and it is better that you be prepared from your side whenever that opportunity arises.
Piano performance
Not same as playing for Yourself!
Well, it is a totally different ballgame from playing for yourself!
It is because when playing for yourself or for your close ones, you can afford to do
mistakes and nobody would mind or
criticize your playing. It is not the case though while performing in front of people you do not know.
Almost every performing artist in this world would have had to deal with performance anxiety, also known as stage fright.
As with any other skill, this is something which you will get used to over a period of time; the more you perform the more you will be comfortable and the better you become.
If you wish you can even
record your piano performance on Video, to analyze it better. For more information on
recording videos,
have a look at this site!
Piano performance
Things you need to know!
Though being comfortable on stage is important, if you are not fully prepared with your piece, it will make you jittery which will further add onto your nervousness.
It simply means you will need to take care of other things as well, as part of your preparation for a live performance.
Let us go through these important aspects, please remember that you need time and patience to do justice to these steps.
Planning for the Performance!
Learn about the piece and the composer! Do some research on the culture/history of the time when the piece was composed! You will get insights into what the composer wanted to communicate to the listener. It will also help you to talk to the audience about the piece.
Plan how much time you are going to devote to learn the piece. Learning the piece would mean getting a good grasp over the technical expertise needed to play the piece and to memorize the piece.
Memorizing the piece would mean knowing the piece inside/out. You should be able to know how each phrase in the score sounds like, you should be able to hum/sing the left hand and the right hand notes individually.
Plan for few mock sessions before the final performance and give sufficient time between these sessions so that you can improve on your weaker spots. Make these mock sessions as realistic as possible!
Preparing for the Performance!
As mentioned earlier, you need to be fully prepared with your pieces else you do not stand any chance of performing well. Having control over the music is important to have a control over yourself while performing.
Make sure your memorization process is spread across days and not crammed in just one long session. It will never work that way! If you cram everything in one session, you may remember the piece for some time but you will then start forgetting bits as hours pass.
During your practice sessions, do not play at much higher speeds to finish the pieces in a short time. Stick to the actual pace of the piece! Slow down if you are not able to get control over certain sections of the songs, but once you have learnt it well, play at the actual pace.
Exercise and be fit! It will improve your focus and your body will feel much better.
Day of Performance!
Get as much rest as possible on that day and the previous day. Avoid outdoor activities the previous day, in case you get hurt. Basically, take rest and keep your mind calm!
Take drugs such as beta-blockers (for performance anxiety), after doing your own research and after consulting your Doctor. I personally do NOT recommend it.
To err is human! I mean it is ok to miss some notes here and there or to have some memory slips. So do not get upset with yourself when that happens during your performance. Do not STOP and just continue with the piece. With time, you will learn to cover up such small mistakes while performing.
Once on stage, breathe as much as possible and remember that there is no need to rush through things. Take your time to get your focus back, once you walk up to the piano to begin or when you finish one piece and move onto another. If you hear people talking, wait for them to stop before you begin. Basically, take as much time as you need to get your focus back!
I guess you now have sufficient information to plan out your next performance. As you have seen, planning and preparation plays an important role for delivering a great performance. Once these are taken care of, it becomes easier to take control of your performance anxiety.
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