I've been learning the piano for a little over three months now and I'm still really enjoying it.

*is officially one of the people who wishes they'd started sooner*

One of my main problems at the moment is that I lack confidence (and not just with piano).
This is already starting to affect my playing. The only person I have played for is my teacher and, even then, my hands shake constantly whenever I'm trying to play anything. Though I do manage to get through it somehow, I just suffer REALLY badly from nerves.

I have a chance to play something this weekend, an informal performance with a few other beginners. My teacher thinks I'll be ok, and that the experience of playing infront of other people would be good for me. However, I'm already sweating about it now.

I'm going to give it a try...I think...

I've considered just 'not going' so many times, but part of me really wants to do this (the part of me that doesn't want to curl up into a ball until it all goes away at least)



I know there are plenty of threads on this topic already (the search engine is my friend ), but I guess I just needed to get this 'off my chest' somehow.

Me at the moment =

We had an pupil concert last year where an adult pupil agreed to perform after just one lesson. She walked confidently to the piano and presented Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with one hand. She got the biggest applause of the event as she represented what it's all about. It's only a presentation of the best You can do at that moment and the bravest bit is where you stand up to go forward when it's your turn. Everyone in the audience is on your side.

A good point!

I'm currently feeling exactly the same way about playing in a pupils' concert next Wednesday

Welcome. I hope you will stil be enjoying it in 40 or more years' time.

Don't we all. But no point fretting.

The skill is to learn to play well despite feelings of terror and inadequacy.

You have to realise that almost everyone feels like that. Even some of the best pianists that ever lived (e.g. Horowitz, Rubinstein) have felt insecure and terrified with nerves before a performance.

We all have to face it some time. Seems a good idea to get used to playing for others right from the start. Audiences are always very appreciative of a relative beginner (in fact any amateur) that is brave enough to play for them. And very supportive too. You can almost feel them willing you to do well.

Good luck

Despite having a Diploma, (46 yrs ago when I was 16) I really have not played a solo piano piece in public since I left school in 1964.. I am hoping to make the Chester forums event in September. I am expecting to be petrified ! But nevertheless I WILL do it, I WILL do it, I WILL do it !!

The bit I've highlighted is the bit that makes it worthwhile persevering.

I've been in the same situation as you, Clueless One, but hopefully you'll find it as enjoyable as I did and you'll go on to perform in many more concerts. Trying to think of it as being excited rather than nervous works for some people. Good luck - let us know how you get on

Hi Clueless One,

I used to feel exactly like you. The thought of playing in front of anybody (even my teacher!!) terrified me and just like you my hands were shaking and when I managed to play I sounded like a robot playing! There's been a lot of threads on this forum about nerves and some comments really helped me.
I don't get nervous at all in lessons anymore. I always go with the attitude that I am a learner, my teacher is there to help. She knows how long I've been learning for and is not expecting me to play perfectly, and if things go wrong I accept it and take my teacher's advise (and she never seems to run out of exercises )to improve. As she always says, if I came for lessons playing every piece perfectly she'd throw me out of the door because I wouldn't need her!!!
I now take the same attitude when playing for friends which I seem to do more and more. Again they know I've only been playing for just over 2 years and nobody has ever made a bad comment. On the contrary they're so pleased to listen to me even though what I'm playing to them is far from being perfect, but they don't seem to care!!
Last week I booked a practice room during my lunch break in a piano showroom (I've always wanted to play on a great piano so thought I'd treat myself! ). Somehow I expected the practice room to be soundproof but that wasn't the case!!! And just outside the room were 2 professional pianists testing the grand that had been tuned for some concert!!! My first tought was..shall I run away!!! but then I thought, well, I've paid for the room for an hour, I don't know these people, I'll probably never see then again so...go for it!!!! When I left the room, the tuner and the 2 pianists smiled at me and asked me if I'd enjoyed my practice. I said I did and it was so enjoyable playing on such a great piano. They then asked me questions about my piano at home etc....I left the showroom so happy. Not once did they make me feel like I couldn't play!!! They were just happy talking to someone who enjoyed music and I felt exactly the same!

Clueless One go for it!!! Try to take a relaxed attitude. What is the worst that could happen in that concert? you mess up the piece and stop playing! What would the consequences be? Not much, the earth wouldn't stop turning, you wouldn't lose your job.... The other people would probably be willing you on to start the piece again, so it that happened start again until you get it right! As Alicia said rightly "Everyone in the audience is on your side".

This mentally has really helped me, hope it helps you too!!!
I'm sure it will go well and that you will enjoy it!!!!

I've agreed to play in one but am wondering if I am choosing pieces that have too much scope for mistakes Meh! I don't think it'll be a problem in front of people I probably won't have to meet again. It's friends and family that make me fall to pieces.

I think a big part of conquering nerves is knowing that you have the skills to perform your chosen piece well. I guess what I'm saying is choose a piece that you know you can play. It sounds obvious, but so many people try to perform pieces that they're not secure with yet. By all means learn them in your lessons and perform them some time in the future, but for now, choose something that's quite a bit easier than the most difficult thing you can play. And make sure that when you're practising on your own, you give it just as much as you would in a performance. I think there's a tendency to try and put things up a notch in performance and give it more oomph (if that makes sense) but I find that can often lead to mistakes. So practise playing your pieces as though you were performing to an audience plenty of times before the real thing. Hope at least some of that made sense!

Good Luck!

Hi Clueless One (sounds like a greeting the Abbot of a Zen monastery would use),

Could I recommend the book, "Stage Fright. Its causes and cures with special reference to violin playing" by Kato Havas.

I found it very helpful indeed, and please don't be put off by the violin bit... I think it's good for all instruments.

Cheers,

Matt.

Unfortunately this is not always true.

The story goes that Rachmaninov routinely threw up before a performance due to nerves and usually had to be helped/pushed onto the platform. The quiet chords below the orchestra at the start of the 2nd concerto is said to be his attempt to quell the nerves before he had to play solo.

Good luck and afterwards try to concentrate on what went well.

Part of what often goes wrong is trying too hard, I think - I'm still not sure how one reverses that one, but I do know I've managed to play my best when I was able to muster a feeling of, this isn't the be-all and end-all of my existence, and I want to enjoy this experience. I do try to switch my mind into as neutral a state as I can before an exam or concert, even if that means shrugging off the company of people who are important to me (I warn them in advance!). I don't let myself think of my music or any tricky bits, and focus just on trying to get my fingers and instrument warm (thankfully I don't have to cuddle a piano to warm it up ). Once on stage, I wait for people to settle, and think of the first couple of bars in the tempo I want to play at, then, still keeping the internal beat, I'll play.
Try practising these aspects of performing too - just walking on, settling, checking seating arrangements, placing music on the desk, and getting ready to play....and then starting those bars off. If you feel prepared for that bit, it'll help you feel prepared for the whole thing. I even practised bowing (as in bending forwards, not playing a violin...) for my last one - and boy, do I feel a wally doing that .

Give it a go - it can be addictive! And the very best of luck .

Put your trust in your teacher, if she thinks you are capable then you are. It will be a 'safe' environment to play in front of people and I'm sure your teacher will help you if you need it. You will also gain confidence by talking to the other beginners. Good luck, go on, go for it - you can do it

I normally do a hands behind my back, straight drop from the waist kind of bow - which seems to me to be not too pretentious.
I do have to check what top I am wearing though, otherwise the front row might get a little more than they bargained for...

My daughter's first piano teacher practised all this with her.

On the day of the concert, by the time my daughter had clambered down from the piano stool at the end of her piece (she was a diminutive seven-year-old) everyone had stopped clapping. She just stood there so her teacher asked her what the matter was, she whispered something in her teacher's ear and her teacher then announced "Would you all please clap again because we practised bowing and she would like to do her bow for you."

awww

Bless!

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[quote name='anacrusis' post='839512' date='Jun 19 2009, 09:22 PM']
I do have to check what top I am wearing though, otherwise the front row might get a little more than they bargained for...
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Lol !

They thought they were there to witness a dazzling musical performance and ended up watching Twin Peaks instead?

Trust you to lower the tone...

What less would you expect?

I suppose I suffer a little from nerves from time to time. At my last performance, I played a Mozart sonata movement at a work function. It was an informal environment, but my left hand started to shake as I played, and didn't stop until I reached the recapitulation. I think that to deal with nerves, you can:
1) prepare well, and play a piece that you can confidently perform
2) accept a degree of error in performance. Everyone must listen to Sviatoslav Richter's Sofia recital from 1958, released on CD by Phillips. It is far from note-perfect - there's a glaring clip in the opening 'Promenade' in [/i]Pictures at an Exhibition[i] - but his commitment to the music makes it one of the greatest performances on record.
3) acknowledging nerves through experience. You can alleviate nerves to some extent, but, when experiencing the symptoms, it's good to have some prior experience to draw upon. For example, my hand-shaking did not disturb me unduly, because I had had the problem before, and survived relatively unscathed. It was something to briefly acknowledge, and then ignore, not worry about.

Lots of good suggestions already on the thread.

How did it go Clueless One?

Back from the weekend, and I managed to get through it in one piece...just.

Started off feeling like this -

Ended feeling like this - ...and just a little -


I got a lot of helpful feedback and tips on my playing, and I was able to work on it over the weekend.

The thing that surprised me was that, although I felt REALLY nervous (terrified), I apparently came across as confident while I was playing (I was physically shaking).

It was good to meet others who shared the same interests, although it was a little intimidating at first (everyone else had been playing longer than me). It was a very encouraging atmosphere to be in (everyone else was so supportive).

I think this weekend has done me a lot of good. It's certainly nice to know that I CAN do it, inspite of the nerves.

I'm trying to avoid the bad habit I have of constantly going over every mistake I made in my head, and mentally kicking myself for it.

It was definitely fun though, and I'm glad I went now.

I'm actually looking forward to finding opportunites to play infront of people again.

Yep - that's how it always feels ...

It is addictive! Congratulations

Congratulations Clueless One Long may it continue

I have just read a couple of articles in a Music Psychology Journal and was surprised by the following:
According to several studies, when tests of heartbeat rate, blood-pressure and adrenaline in urine are done on musicians before performance, the results are the same for both anxious and non-anxious musicians*. All musicians have hearts which beat faster, higher blood pressure and more adrenaline just before performing. The only difference is the way the musician interprets these symptoms. Anxious musicians interpret these physical manifestations as a problem and focus on them, becoming convinced that their symptoms are worse than those of other people. Non-anxious musicians see the symptoms as a normal part of performing and don't focus on them to the exclusion of everything else. Some believed that their performance would be impaired if they didn't feel slightly "different" to normal, others were actually surprised when the doctors running the test told them they had an increased heart-rate, blood pressure etc. as they had never consciously noticed.

*The musicians were asked to define themselves on a scale from very anxious to not at all anxious.

Well done

I find that it helps me to think of the audience as cabbages, and imagine I'm playing to my veggie garden at home.

You sound like Prince Charles

Haha
Hopefully I'm not that bad... yet.
But it does work! At least, for me...