Anyone ever encounter this kind of problem that is when you are so used to your own piano's touch and tone. During examination, kind of feeling uncomfortable and tense up. What will you do to overcome this problem?

Hi!

I have experieced this soooo many times at auditions, exams. It's best to do a simple warm up (C Major Scale 1 octave, c major arpeggio 1 or 2 octaves) at the beginning just to get a feel for the touch and tone of the piano. i find grand pianos really hard to get a feel for, they're usually quite stiff but if it's a Steinway then woooooooohooooooo!!

Thankyou for bring this up.

I took my first Piano Exam a few weeks back and had been practising (both with my teacher and at home) on quite old and well used pianos. In the exam, the piano was a brand new upright piano and the touch was almost electronic.

I messed up in my exam big time, mainly because of nerves. The Piano in the exam was not what i expected though, in future i am going to practise on my Electronic Organ because that is what it felt like playing the exam Piano.

Best Regards,
Craig

QUOTE (sutty_73 @ Jul 30 2004, 12:28 PM)

Thankyou for bring this up.

You're most welcome, Craig.

Just want to share with everyone.

yes i sometimes have this problem, especially in exams. i usually ask the examiner if i can start with the scales so i can get used to the piano. i find that helps

yeah, I always start with scales to get used to the piano. It's always really stiff though and if I'm playing a "quiet" piece I always misjudge it horribly and the notes don't come out!!!!

Hi,

Yes, that is one big thing i have learned from the exam. Never to play the pieces first, play the scales and get use to the 'touch' of thepiano. Better to drop marks on the scales rather than the pieces ;-)

Best Regards,
Craig

i agree..play the scales first..then pieces

me too

i think we can request to play some scales to warm up and get the feel of the piano' touch & tone. Can we do that?

QUOTE (czaire @ Aug 4 2004, 05:31 AM)

i think we can request to play some scales to warm up and get the feel of the piano' touch & tone. Can we do that?

in my exam the examiner asked me what i wanted to do first, pieces or scales.

oops sorry i read you question wrong! yes i think you can ask to try out the piano first to get the feel of it.

yes you can.
and sometimes the examiner actually asks you if you want to, that happened in my grade 5 piano exam.

QUOTE (cecilia @ Aug 4 2004, 09:01 AM)

yes you can. and sometimes the examiner actually asks you if you want to, that happened in my grade 5 piano exam.

Hi Cecilia,

Me too also taking grade 5. What pieces did u choose?

Oh no, I didn't mean I had just taken it or was taking it, I took it in April 2003, from the 2001-02 syllabus... confused yet?
Just in case anyone's interested, I played A2: Rondo (Diabelli), B5: Am Abend (Hofmann) and C6: Litter-bin Blues (Pamela Wedgwood).
If you haven't taken your exam yet, good luck czaire!!!!

im taking grade 5 czaire. pm me!!!

I find that a change of touch is quite refreshing. When I play on a certain piano for too long, the keys start to feel heavy, so my playing starts to sound better on a piano that I've never played on before. :S

Really???? Does anyone else have that happen???

QUOTE (cecilia @ Aug 4 2004, 11:07 AM)

Really???? Does anyone else have that happen???

no!! i find it hard playing on an unfamiliar piano, i prefer to play for long periods of time on familiar piano's!

I think that's the most common experience!!!

QUOTE (cecilia @ Aug 4 2004, 10:53 AM)

Oh no, I didn't mean I had just taken it or was taking it, I took it in April 2003, from the 2001-02 syllabus... confused yet? Just in case anyone's interested, I played A2: Rondo (Diabelli), B5: Am Abend (Hofmann) and C6: Litter-bin Blues (Pamela Wedgwood). If you haven't taken your exam yet, good luck czaire!!!!

No problem. I'll be taking my exam end of Aug. Thank.

Perhaps you should contact the examination venue for a 30-minute practise or trial session at the the same piano you'll be using for the exam. It would be good for familarising yourself with the examination environment and indeed the instrument as well.

Hmmm... are you allowed to do that?

You're certainly allowed to ask but there's no guarantee that they'll say yes!

Doesn't everyone get this?? I always play scales first in an exam to get warmed up and then start into my pieces

QUOTE (cecilia @ Jul 30 2004, 09:10 AM)

yeah, I always start with scales to get used to the piano. It's always really stiff though and if I'm playing a "quiet" piece I always misjudge it horribly and the notes don't come out!!!!

remember that all what 'quiet' means is not loud......

QUOTE

remember that all what 'quiet' means is not loud......

Hmm so does that mean all "loud" means is not quiet?