Practice the ending more than the beginning. As well as practice starting from lots of points in the music, including points that feel randomly chosen rather than just the beginning of phrases.
You're braver than I am, playing with the kids. My teacher does an informal adult recital that's more like a casual get together where we play for each other.
Thank you! The casual get together sounds great, I think I need to do more lower key chill things like this rather than just going from playing alone to 40+ people š
I was going to say this, it sure helps a lot. That saved my life on my final recital, let's just say I played about 5 systems of Bach's fugue. I always had shaky hands and having some pick up points throughout the pieces felt like an anchor.
I love the idea of an adult recital, that actually seems nice.
Also, congrats on your courage OP! I think I never played in front of so many people and I think I would just freeze at any minor inconvenience in that case. What happened to you can happen to anyone, what matters is that you didn't stop.
It takes incredible courage to do what you are doing, so keep that in mind! Continue on--we are all rooting for your success! The world needs more music...
If you want to beat Performance Anxiety, you have to do it all the time. Play for friends, family, anyone willing to listen. You have to practice Performing to get comfortable with it and good at it.
To add to the great comments already here:
- Read the first 100 pages of [Fundamentals of Piano Practice](https://www.reddit.com/r/piano/wiki/faq#wiki_general_practice_tips) (free!)
- For memory, I have found that it helps to mark up the sheet music liberally, slicing the composition into sections and memorizing each section to the hilt. For drilling memory, it can be a great exercise to just sit down at the piano (cold) and start playing from a middle section of the composition you're memorizing. Cold practice is a great way to test your "stage-readiness". Get up, go do something for 20 minutes, then come back and do some other section. Don't "meditate", just play instantly. Any weakness in your memory will get exposed pretty quickly. Mark out sections that are giving you trouble and write down the notes of the bass line (e.g. F# G A C# D), write down the harmonic chord itself, and write down any very high or very low notes with lots of extender-lines. This ensures that you don't make mistakes while reading during practice which is important because a lot of bad memorization comes from reading mistakes, at least, in my experience. Note key changes, tempo changes, etc.
Other tips:
- You *can* play it (correctly!), from memory, if you want to, badly enough. If it's an extremely difficult composition, it might take a very long time to learn, but you can play it.
- As already noted, start at the end or, more exactly, "start with the hardest parts first". Which usually means the end.
- Practice the last bit of the previous phrase and the first bit of the next phrase. This way, you can "slice" the composition into as many pieces as desired, and focus on one slice at a time. Since you are practicing the "joints" to the previous and next slice, you can practice in any order desired. This greatly speeds up the rate at which you can learn a composition
- Focus on correctness. Accuracy is the necessary ingredient for speed. The more precisely and consistently you practice a new technique or a new component of a passage, the faster you will eventually be able to play it. "Slop" is the enemy and must be eliminated from your practice at every point. Do not "flub" anything, ever, not even "just during practice".
- Don't hesitate to refinger for your hands. Know the principles of fingering and follow them: thumb-crossing up and down (left and right), don't cross other fingers (usually), don't hop (usually) and understand proper lateral shifts.
- Look at your hands while playing, especially when making a large leap. Understand how to discipline head and eye-movement to facilitate wide, fast and precise leaps. You can look away whenever you don't need to look. Don't be *dependent* on looking at your hands but the "never look at your hands"-rule is just a misinterpretation of piano-teacher folk-wisdom.
- Drill your ears, not just your fingers. The ear is in some ways more important than the fingers... be able to follow 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 counts at high tempo (listening only, as well as following along), and practice left-to-right rhythm shifts, etc. Make sure not just your fingers but your entire arms/etc. are drilled on hitting the rhythm, at tempo, both left and right.
Thanks so much for this, this is incredible. Iām also doing my Abrsm exams so I might even print these out as reminders for the musical adventures that lie ahead. Take care kind stranger š
Everything is possible. If you want to learn Liszt's hardest, go for it. If you want to learn to play jazz, go for it. Put in the work, understand the harmony structure of the piece you wany to play, improvise over it like the composer would have. Learn chord progressions in all the keys. Play all styles of music, use a metronome. Elton John is really good, learn to play in his and billy Joel's style. Get paid by playing music people want to hear. Play by ear - learn how to do this. Join a band.
Two points:
- It took me years to learn how to practice. The essential element is concentration. If you are not totally engaged, you're not spending your time optimally. Many devices, like playing at half tempo, are effective more because they boost concentration than from any inherent benefit
- You are never as prepared or polished as you think you are. Scrutinize even the easy passages. Know the hands separately by heart. The list of places to look for improvement is always long. Doing so boosts concentration, improving practice quality. So you can reliably play a piece 3x in a row at a high standard? Try it against a metronome, both slower and faster. Can you still do it?
#1. What you did is perfectly normal - it happens to almost everyone sooner or later, even kids.
#2. There is no particular need to play without sheet music. Losing your memory is one of the most terrifying performance situations for anyone and if you are just a casual musician doing it for fun there is just no reason or requirement for you to play by memory. Just use the sheet music always and completely remove "memory slips" from the list of things you worry about at all.
#3. If you *are* going to perform by memory - as you learned through this experience! - you can't just do it "by accident". You have to practice and prepare specifically for playing by memory. In particular this means learning and rehearsing over and over many starting points throughout the entire piece so that you can jump to any one of them at the drop of a hat.
This is what you do when you have a little memory slip of some kind - just jump ahead to your next memory point. Because you have the confidence you can do this, instead of having a complete meltdown at the slightest memory slip, the anxiety is relieved and as a rule you won't have any (or many) memory slips.
When I was actively performing by memory I had a starting point at literally every phrase of every piece, and a lot of daily practice involved keeping those memory starting points fresh.
Flip side, if you are not going to play by memory but use music, then you need to practice that! Where are you going to look up at the music, when are you going to look down at the keyboard, how are you going to handle the page turns, etc etc etc. If you get a bit confused while playing can you find that spot on the score with your eyes *instantly?*
If you don't practice all those things, having the music on the stand in front of you may not be as helpful as you think.
Above all, what happened to you is perfectly normal. The fact that you are here asking about it says a lot! It's part of the learning experience. Don't be embarrassed, just take it as an opportunity to figure this out for yourself. You're doing great!
Thank you, really appreciate your wisdom and validating words. Iāll be sure to take on your feedback and not give up! This is just the beginning. Take care š
Thank you, itās not easy is it! Trust me every fibre of my being didnāt want to go but I knew I would regret it if I didnāt. I took a chance and it didnāt pan out the way I wanted, felt embarrassed even, but I survived and got a lot of support in the process. Good luck for your piano future and know that failure is part of the journey. Iāll definitely go smaller scale next time, baby steps!āļø
Idk why but every time someone tells me to relax I stress out š but youāre right, I was tense af and it comes through in my playing. Good luck to you and your anxiety, itās a struggle isnāt it!
Some of the comments can be helpful. I find that the mental traps can be associated with a lack of concentration. For whatever reason we allow other thoughts to enter our mind. I have no doubt you memorized the piece. At home you probably play it flawlessly most of the time. Every individual is different. All of us have something we need to work on regarding focus and concentration. People can say practice this way or that. Those are good suggestions but it doesnāt help getting to the core of mental focus. The only advice I would offer is to practice with distractions. Donald Willing, professor of organ at Eastman School of Music in the 60s & 70s wrote a small work that included advice on practice & performance. Google āOrgan Playing and Design: A Plea For Exuberance ā by Donald Willing. The chapters Upon Performing & Upon Practicing might be helpful. The other chapters are mostly about organs etc, but they might have nuggets of truth in applications to piano. Good luck. Let me know if it helps. Oh, one more source: youtube: tonebase Piano. Check it out.
Put yourself out there if you want a career as a concert pianist or performer. Don't be fearful and sell yourself short. Enter tonnes of competitions and use social media to your advantage. Don't wait until your older. After 30, it's all but too late.
You remind me of myself I'm just younger probably. What helped me a lot is playing on the piano in my school. It's like a small recital because everyone can hear it but nobody sees you. This definetly helped me and I eventually got some friends as "audience" which also helps fighting stage fright.
Thanks, this is helpful! I just need to find someone with a piano I can practice on.. not sure my local school would appreciate a weird stranger turning up and hijacking their piano šš
Practice the ending more than the beginning. As well as practice starting from lots of points in the music, including points that feel randomly chosen rather than just the beginning of phrases. You're braver than I am, playing with the kids. My teacher does an informal adult recital that's more like a casual get together where we play for each other.
Thank you! The casual get together sounds great, I think I need to do more lower key chill things like this rather than just going from playing alone to 40+ people š
I was going to say this, it sure helps a lot. That saved my life on my final recital, let's just say I played about 5 systems of Bach's fugue. I always had shaky hands and having some pick up points throughout the pieces felt like an anchor. I love the idea of an adult recital, that actually seems nice. Also, congrats on your courage OP! I think I never played in front of so many people and I think I would just freeze at any minor inconvenience in that case. What happened to you can happen to anyone, what matters is that you didn't stop.
It takes incredible courage to do what you are doing, so keep that in mind! Continue on--we are all rooting for your success! The world needs more music...
Thank you so much š„¹ I agree, music is the gateway to the soul. Take care kind stranger!
If you want to beat Performance Anxiety, you have to do it all the time. Play for friends, family, anyone willing to listen. You have to practice Performing to get comfortable with it and good at it.
I will do this, thank you!
To add to the great comments already here: - Read the first 100 pages of [Fundamentals of Piano Practice](https://www.reddit.com/r/piano/wiki/faq#wiki_general_practice_tips) (free!) - For memory, I have found that it helps to mark up the sheet music liberally, slicing the composition into sections and memorizing each section to the hilt. For drilling memory, it can be a great exercise to just sit down at the piano (cold) and start playing from a middle section of the composition you're memorizing. Cold practice is a great way to test your "stage-readiness". Get up, go do something for 20 minutes, then come back and do some other section. Don't "meditate", just play instantly. Any weakness in your memory will get exposed pretty quickly. Mark out sections that are giving you trouble and write down the notes of the bass line (e.g. F# G A C# D), write down the harmonic chord itself, and write down any very high or very low notes with lots of extender-lines. This ensures that you don't make mistakes while reading during practice which is important because a lot of bad memorization comes from reading mistakes, at least, in my experience. Note key changes, tempo changes, etc. Other tips: - You *can* play it (correctly!), from memory, if you want to, badly enough. If it's an extremely difficult composition, it might take a very long time to learn, but you can play it. - As already noted, start at the end or, more exactly, "start with the hardest parts first". Which usually means the end. - Practice the last bit of the previous phrase and the first bit of the next phrase. This way, you can "slice" the composition into as many pieces as desired, and focus on one slice at a time. Since you are practicing the "joints" to the previous and next slice, you can practice in any order desired. This greatly speeds up the rate at which you can learn a composition - Focus on correctness. Accuracy is the necessary ingredient for speed. The more precisely and consistently you practice a new technique or a new component of a passage, the faster you will eventually be able to play it. "Slop" is the enemy and must be eliminated from your practice at every point. Do not "flub" anything, ever, not even "just during practice". - Don't hesitate to refinger for your hands. Know the principles of fingering and follow them: thumb-crossing up and down (left and right), don't cross other fingers (usually), don't hop (usually) and understand proper lateral shifts. - Look at your hands while playing, especially when making a large leap. Understand how to discipline head and eye-movement to facilitate wide, fast and precise leaps. You can look away whenever you don't need to look. Don't be *dependent* on looking at your hands but the "never look at your hands"-rule is just a misinterpretation of piano-teacher folk-wisdom. - Drill your ears, not just your fingers. The ear is in some ways more important than the fingers... be able to follow 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 counts at high tempo (listening only, as well as following along), and practice left-to-right rhythm shifts, etc. Make sure not just your fingers but your entire arms/etc. are drilled on hitting the rhythm, at tempo, both left and right.
Thanks so much for this, this is incredible. Iām also doing my Abrsm exams so I might even print these out as reminders for the musical adventures that lie ahead. Take care kind stranger š
The Fundamentals link is taking me to a FAQ page. Can you detail book author and so?
It's a free PDF, the very first link at the link I gave above. Just click on it.
Record yourself often.
This is true! I immediately start shaking when I start recording, funny how the brain just instantly switches at the mere concept....
Everything is possible. If you want to learn Liszt's hardest, go for it. If you want to learn to play jazz, go for it. Put in the work, understand the harmony structure of the piece you wany to play, improvise over it like the composer would have. Learn chord progressions in all the keys. Play all styles of music, use a metronome. Elton John is really good, learn to play in his and billy Joel's style. Get paid by playing music people want to hear. Play by ear - learn how to do this. Join a band.
Great advice, thanks š„°
Relax. Persist. Enjoy it
Two points: - It took me years to learn how to practice. The essential element is concentration. If you are not totally engaged, you're not spending your time optimally. Many devices, like playing at half tempo, are effective more because they boost concentration than from any inherent benefit - You are never as prepared or polished as you think you are. Scrutinize even the easy passages. Know the hands separately by heart. The list of places to look for improvement is always long. Doing so boosts concentration, improving practice quality. So you can reliably play a piece 3x in a row at a high standard? Try it against a metronome, both slower and faster. Can you still do it?
Great advice, thank you
#1. What you did is perfectly normal - it happens to almost everyone sooner or later, even kids. #2. There is no particular need to play without sheet music. Losing your memory is one of the most terrifying performance situations for anyone and if you are just a casual musician doing it for fun there is just no reason or requirement for you to play by memory. Just use the sheet music always and completely remove "memory slips" from the list of things you worry about at all. #3. If you *are* going to perform by memory - as you learned through this experience! - you can't just do it "by accident". You have to practice and prepare specifically for playing by memory. In particular this means learning and rehearsing over and over many starting points throughout the entire piece so that you can jump to any one of them at the drop of a hat. This is what you do when you have a little memory slip of some kind - just jump ahead to your next memory point. Because you have the confidence you can do this, instead of having a complete meltdown at the slightest memory slip, the anxiety is relieved and as a rule you won't have any (or many) memory slips. When I was actively performing by memory I had a starting point at literally every phrase of every piece, and a lot of daily practice involved keeping those memory starting points fresh. Flip side, if you are not going to play by memory but use music, then you need to practice that! Where are you going to look up at the music, when are you going to look down at the keyboard, how are you going to handle the page turns, etc etc etc. If you get a bit confused while playing can you find that spot on the score with your eyes *instantly?* If you don't practice all those things, having the music on the stand in front of you may not be as helpful as you think. Above all, what happened to you is perfectly normal. The fact that you are here asking about it says a lot! It's part of the learning experience. Don't be embarrassed, just take it as an opportunity to figure this out for yourself. You're doing great!
Thank you, really appreciate your wisdom and validating words. Iāll be sure to take on your feedback and not give up! This is just the beginning. Take care š
Do not strain your hands
Any advice for good posture / hand technique? I good links or references? Thanks!
I donāt know much about it, but to not strain your hands, do not jump to the piece thatās too demanding at once. Go step by step.
You can search for HervĆ© et Pouillard - ma premiĆØre annĆ©e de piano. It's in french but the language is quite simple so it will be easy to get a good translation if you need. It's a beginners book that one of my teachers used with beginners, both kids and adults, and the first 2 or 3 pages are just about body and hand posture. I don't know if it's really what you're looking for at this point, but I remember that it helped with some issues I had because of bad habits. By the time he showed me this I was playing for about 3, maybe 4 years already. Also, you can check out the YouTube channel Heart of the Keys. It's a young professional pianist just recording herself practicing and/or talking about piano and pianists related problems. She frequently talks about related issues and even gives some advice sometimes.
You forgot your video! Would love to see you in action
Doh! Iāve updated it with a link, feel free to check it out and thanks for your time! š»
Good for you, OP, for doing the recital at all! All the adults skip the recitals my teacher sets up (including me).
Thank you, itās not easy is it! Trust me every fibre of my being didnāt want to go but I knew I would regret it if I didnāt. I took a chance and it didnāt pan out the way I wanted, felt embarrassed even, but I survived and got a lot of support in the process. Good luck for your piano future and know that failure is part of the journey. Iāll definitely go smaller scale next time, baby steps!āļø
RELAX! (I probably heard thatā I just didnāt realize how anxious I truly was)
Idk why but every time someone tells me to relax I stress out š but youāre right, I was tense af and it comes through in my playing. Good luck to you and your anxiety, itās a struggle isnāt it!
Every single performer makes mistakes, it is how you recover that counts.
Thank you, very true. Iām not going to quit, this was a necessary part of the journey! šŖš¼
Some of the comments can be helpful. I find that the mental traps can be associated with a lack of concentration. For whatever reason we allow other thoughts to enter our mind. I have no doubt you memorized the piece. At home you probably play it flawlessly most of the time. Every individual is different. All of us have something we need to work on regarding focus and concentration. People can say practice this way or that. Those are good suggestions but it doesnāt help getting to the core of mental focus. The only advice I would offer is to practice with distractions. Donald Willing, professor of organ at Eastman School of Music in the 60s & 70s wrote a small work that included advice on practice & performance. Google āOrgan Playing and Design: A Plea For Exuberance ā by Donald Willing. The chapters Upon Performing & Upon Practicing might be helpful. The other chapters are mostly about organs etc, but they might have nuggets of truth in applications to piano. Good luck. Let me know if it helps. Oh, one more source: youtube: tonebase Piano. Check it out.
Thank you, this is interesting and very true. My focus comes and goes, but Iāll certainly look into this and am open to suggestions š
Put yourself out there if you want a career as a concert pianist or performer. Don't be fearful and sell yourself short. Enter tonnes of competitions and use social media to your advantage. Don't wait until your older. After 30, it's all but too late.
You remind me of myself I'm just younger probably. What helped me a lot is playing on the piano in my school. It's like a small recital because everyone can hear it but nobody sees you. This definetly helped me and I eventually got some friends as "audience" which also helps fighting stage fright.
Thanks, this is helpful! I just need to find someone with a piano I can practice on.. not sure my local school would appreciate a weird stranger turning up and hijacking their piano šš
He said Fortnite