Many people, and I am one of them, complain that when they practise at home everything goes fine, but in front of a teacher - or, worse, an examiner - wrong notes appear out of nowhere, the timing slips and it all goes to pot. Sure, some of it may be nerves - but my teacher doesn't make me nervous, and I don't play nearly as well in lessons as I do at home! During my last lesson, I think I found part of the answer (well, an anwer): Body language.

I was playing arpeggios for my teacher - 4 octaves with her sitting beside me. Conscious of the fact that I didn't want to end up in her lap, I was using my hands to play the notes and keeping my body still. Consequence: wrong notes in all the top octaves! I think this kind of awareness of another person's presence must affect all aspects of our playing to some extent. If you are alone, you can fill the room (sort of), but when someone else is present I think most of us shrink down to some extent out of deference . Perhaps the answer is to "claim the room" every time you are going to play, regardless of who/how many are present. Be a true Performer and don't be afraid to dominate, accept the room as yours, etc, etc.

So... What d'you think?

I sort of agree with this - I think in more formal performing situations, ie in front of a teacher or examiner, we do try and control our bodies more which affects our playing - in front of friends, or on our own we're more likely to let it hang loose more, as it were. The obvious answer to this is to be able to switch off the fact that we're playing in a more formal situation - any tips on how to do this?

i agree. whenever i play a fast piece i feel so self conscious because i don't want to be bouncing up and down >_< so i get much more stiff

Have any of you seen Lang Lang play, he opened last years opening prom, he played Tchaikovskys 1st piano concerto and he moves so much he could almost have made Slatkin (conducting) redundant.

The thing with playing to someone else is that the moment you try and do something different, you will go wrong. Teachers always know if you are trying to play something slowly so as not to make a mistake as you will invariably make more mistakes anyway and it doesn't sound natural. So the only way around it is loads of practise, relax and don't try and do anything different. Try and find lots of opportunities to play to people, especially in the run up to the exam.

QUOTE

I was playing arpeggios for my teacher - 4 octaves with her sitting beside me. Conscious of the fact that I didn't want to end up in her lap, I was using my hands to play the notes and keeping my body still

As a teacher I am always very conscious of this and will always try and move back or go and sit over on the sofa. I once played one of my pieces to a student and she sat in my seat which really made me realise how weird it is having someone in your eye line, you do forget, on behalf of teachers everywhere I apologise.

IMHO

When I play on my own with no one watching, I reckon that my hands play in a sort of auto pilot mode (no mistakes). When someone stands and watches me, I feel very different, suddenly I notice my hands and the keyboard and I am concerend that I am going to play something wrong.

I am taking grade 8 shortly and I have been recording my performance on a cassette recorder. This puts me in a similar frame of mind because the recording light is on and I want the performance to be good.

What I am saying is that we work in two very different ways. If we practice in only one then we will only perform well in that mode. If we practise in the second mode (the more important one) then we will play well in that mode.

Another approach is to ask neighbours etc to stand and watch you perform your pieces. This will make you spot any weak sections.

In my case, I don't think I would be able dominate the room or convince myself that noone is there so my approach is to practise in the same situation to get used to it.

I'll soon know if it has worked after the 2nd of December.

Not sure what happened here, it duplicated half of my original thread does anyone know how to delete a post completely?

yes this happens.

when i practise piano at home, i always get my notes perfect

and then when my teacher comes, she sites beside me and i get all nervous and play all the wrong notes...maing it sound like i havent practised!!

its because im so worried of playing the wrong notes.

QUOTE (Digby @ Nov 10 2004, 07:53 AM)

Have any of you seen Lang Lang play, he opened last years opening prom, he played Tchaikovskys 1st piano concerto

i really like his playing....i mean he can play so well...why i don't have that kind of technique..... it's soooooooo annoying.....

QUOTE (Jahmal @ Nov 10 2004, 07:53 AM)

What I am saying is that we work in two very different ways.  If we practice in only one then we will only perform well in that mode.  If we practise in the second mode (the more important one) then we will play well in that mode.

My first horn teacher, at the end of a session in which we had been working on some point of technique or tuning, would often say, "Now remember, when you're performing, play like that."

The way I avoid playing wrong is by clearing my mind when I'm playing, and then I find that I'm fine.

yeh same with me - i find that at home when im playing a piece from memory it all goes fine and my hands just "know" where to go. But in a performance or an exam my mind races so much that im always convinced im going to forget the next note - the only way to combat it is to stop thinking and hope my hands go to the right note!!

Yer, same. I hate playin in front of people, i get well embarassed, and play it all wrong. But never mind. That sayin practise makes perfect isnt really tru, lol. I get my piano 2morrow lol, im well excited lol. Neway happy piano playing xxx

i try to ignore everyone when i play..... i don't care when they suddenly come into the room.. or whatever....i'll try not to loose my concentration on the piece of music..... this applies in concerts as well...

Even if it's my teacher who I know is totally on my side, I can't help but feel like I'm being judged. That makes me go into a sort of "adapted" mode, and that works to the detriment of my performance. It's like I only perform in pastel shades, not full colour. Does that make sense?

QUOTE (Amber @ Nov 10 2004, 09:22 PM)

It's like I only perform in pastel shades, not full colour. Does that make sense?

sorry...i don't really get that...

QUOTE

Even if it's my teacher who I know is totally on my side, I can't help but feel like I'm being judged. That makes me go into a sort of "adapted" mode, and that works to the detriment of my performance. It's like I only perform in pastel shades, not full colour. Does that make sense?

Oh - yes ! I do know exactly what you mean. Well put.

Maggie

QUOTE (Amber @ Nov 10 2004, 09:22 PM)

Even if it's my teacher who I know is totally on my side, I can't help but feel like I'm being judged. That makes me go into a sort of "adapted" mode, and that works to the detriment of my performance. It's like I only perform in pastel shades, not full colour. Does that make sense?

Yes, well put.

I have that problem all the time. It's a question of relaxing into the piece but soooo difficult when you feel that you are being judged.

Don't know the answer. Just lots of performance practice and, as someone else has said, trying to practise under nervously demanding conditions.

To state the obvious, music is all about performance which is why the wonderful idea of sending a tape just would not work. But I note it is done with GCSE and as long as someone could vouch that it is done under exam/performance conditions I suppose it could work. But then I would get just as nervous doing the tape!

I think SilverPianist makes a good point about the tape recording: I'm sure you'd be disappointed if you went to a concert and the pianist said "I can't play it for you, I'm too nervous but I recorded it on a tape earlier and you can listen to it now"!

Even the best concert pianists make mistakes in performance that they don't make in practice, we're all affected by nerves. This is why so many people seem to mistakingly think that they should skip so many exams: they think that they are good enough to jump straight in at grade 5 or whatever because they can play the pieces and that they played badly because they were nervous but should have passed and aren't that good. The truth is that playing the piano is as much about overcoming these nerves as acquiring technical skills (or at least making the technical skills that one has secure against nerves).

On the original topic I think that what I do is go into 'safe mode' for playing: I play a little more gingerly and not as well as I normally would to try to minimise mistakes even though my pieces are fine in an unpressurised situation. I liken it to doing a beam routine in gymnastics, in order to not fall off in a competition one might choose not to jump as high from the beam when doing moves; it isn't as good as jumping high so one probably won't win with this strategy but it minimises the potential for loosing or feeling like a fool for falling off! I think there's a parallel with piano playing: one is scared to put everything into it but instead concentrates on making a technically accurate performance then there's less chance of going completely wrong (stopping or playing so many wrong notes) but the expression and fluency may be effected.

I think the major problem though is over concentration: when I'm playing I don't have to think all of the time about which note comes next, how I'm going to play it etc. but when I'm in the exam my brain is determined to think about what it's doing and not to let my fingers just do it that means that I'm playing in a different way to normal and I will panic if my brain doesn't know what to do, so I always have to explicitly make sure that it will....

I think it's related to the difference between finger memory and real memory too: I used to play the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata from memory and if I was ever under pressure I would get through some portion of it and then stop (in different places each time): my brain didn't actually know at all which notes I was supposed to be playing only my fingers knew what to do, but because the pressure forced my brain to think it inevitably interrupted my fingers at some point by trying to work out which notes to play. When my fingers were interrupted there was no recovering and I had to stop playing because I didn't know what to play.

Ahh.. performance .. a very difficult thing ..

Maybe we could think it this way.. the audience wants us to perform well.
We give them the musical energy while we are playing. They respond to us by giving rounds and rounds of clapping, or simply saying a "thank you" like what all examiners does and we accept their encouragement.

At the end of the day, it is a wonderful and special performance that we have made. Playing wrong notes is actually nothing. After all, we had nothing when we first started playing the piano. As long as we let the audience enjoy in one way or another, we have suceeded.

I don't know if I am right, but just some funny thoughts..

QUOTE

As a teacher I am always very conscious of this and will always try and move back or go and sit over on the sofa. I once played one of my pieces to a student and she sat in my seat which really made me realise how weird it is having someone in your eye line, you do forget, on behalf of teachers everywhere I apologise.

Might get my teacher to move where I can't see him next lesson, just to see if it helps .

QUOTE (AnotherPianist @ Nov 11 2004, 01:51 PM)

[...] I think the major problem though is over concentration: when I'm playing I don't have to think all of the time about which note comes next, how I'm going to play it etc. but when I'm in the exam my brain is determined to think about what it's doing and not to let my fingers just do it that means that I'm playing in a different way to normal and I will panic if my brain doesn't know what to do, so I always have to explicitly make sure that it will.... I think it's related to the difference between finger memory and real memory too: I used to play the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata from memory and if I was ever under pressure I would get through some portion of it and then stop (in different places each time): my brain didn't actually know at all which notes I was supposed to be playing only my fingers knew what to do, but because the pressure forced my brain to think it inevitably interrupted my fingers at some point by trying to work out which notes to play.  When my fingers were interrupted there was no recovering and I had to stop playing because I didn't know what to play.

"The Inner Game of Music", by W Timothy Galwey and Barry Green, is largely about ways to stop the critical, judgmental self from interfering with the competent, automatic self that knows, if left to get on with it, how to perform, from adequate practice and preparation. Galwey is a tennis coach and worked out his method by analysing what happens when good players play below their best and lose to greatly inferior ones. Green is a professional bass player.

My comment won't really help any of you now, but it might help the next generation!
Start performing when you're a kid!!!!
I am convinced that is the secret. From as early an age as possible, get your kids to play for the neighbour, their friends, when visitors come, everywhere you go.
I know a few people who won't play their instrument if another human being can hear them! They just can't bear the thought of anyone hearing them play. Sad.
If everyone was like that, we'd never hear any music.
I had no choice when I was a kid but to play for others. Now as an adult I could just as easily play for 100 as on my own. I used to be nervous going into exams - but that I think was more due to worrying about being asked a hard question, or not getting a high grade. Once playing I forgot it was an exam.
So get your kids playing for everyone as much as you can.
As for being older now and suffering from nerves, my advice would be - force yourself to play for EVERYONE that you can force into listening. Even strangers! Especially your exam pieces. The more you perform, the easier it will become. There are exceptions to this I know, but most people who have phobias can cure them with help, and fear of performing is a kind of phobia which needs tackling. It won't go away if you don't. It might even get worse!

One thing that I think about when about to perform in front of people such as an examiner is that what is the worst thing that could happen? So, I sit down, start playing the music and if I make a mistake.......is that really so terrible? So what if my performance does go all wrong and I have to stop several times? Is it going to kill me? Perhaps the worse thing that could happen is that I fail an exam and I have to take it again. I lose a bit of money but it is not the end of the world is it? Maybe I have practised for months for an exam and on the day it all goes wrong. What's more important are the months of practise I put in and the resulting advances I have made as a pianist. Who cares if it goes wrong on the day?

I hope that helps someone. I think it is really good advice to practise as much as you can in front of others whose opinion you value. This will be invaluable for the exam.

Shelton

same happens to me too, practising at home my pieces are fine, go into my lesson........

Teachers: If you have shared lessons and one pupil seems to be quite nervous, makes loads of mistakes then it might be that the pupil is nervous of playing in front of the other pupil. The girl who I share my singing lessons with is very nice but I'm kind of nervous about singing in front of her because I don't really know her. This didn't happen when I had shared violin lessons because I knew the people I shared lessons with before I had lessons with them.
This might sound quite strange but hopefully it'll help someone.

QUOTE

My comment won't really help any of you now, but it might help the next generation! Start performing when you're a kid!!!! I am convinced that is the secret. From as early an age as possible, get your kids to play for the neighbour, their friends, when visitors come, everywhere you go.

I'm sorry to say I'm inclined to disagree a bit with this!! When I was little I constantly played for neighbours, played at family parties etc. and although I don't remember being nervouse back then I am now. I hate playing in front of people, especially when I feel they will judge me coz theyre better than me, i get incredibly scared performing in front of one of my friends!!!!! Mind you perhaphs its coz when u become a teenager you often become kind of more conscious of yourself if you know what I mean.
I have to choose AS levels this year and would love to do music but I'm so scared my performing will let me down (ne1 else ever feel like this coz people think I'm stupid being petrified of performing for 5 minutes!)

Luv u all!
xxx