Yay well done Dawn, so chuffed for you :-) Gives me a bit of confidence for my debut next month.....

Good luck with that then. Where and what are you playing?

Teddington and the Reinecke Sonatina 1. Bit scared but am just playing it every day so hopefuly will be second nature by middle of Feb!

Don't know the piece but this is what i did. It worked for me. Expect things to go a bit ropey in the week before as the day looms and nerves start up a bit... But should be ok on the day All the best anyway. Post again when you've done it.

Thanks :-) had a less than helpful comment from a friend when I told her about it. 'WHAT?? You can't even play in front of me, how do you think you can do that??' :-(

I'd been very scared at the thought of doing my piano solo at yesterday's Leeds concert. It was a piece I know really well and can play it perfectly on my own. But I'd never played it well in front of my teacher, and at the rehearsal in the morning, I played it in front of a couple of other performers and again made a bit of a hash of it. But in the concert itself it went virtually perfectly - the only thing I did wrong was not hit a key quite cleanly towards the end so I got a chord instead of a note, but it didn't throw me and it's given me more confidence now for next time (although I probably won't be saying that when next time comes around )

So take heart, Juniper, you could be very pleasantly surprised at your performance Will be rooting for you!

I think that playing in front of friends is actually very different to playing at a forum event where you don't really know people and are unlikely to see any of them regularly. To me, playing in front of friends would feel riskier - if you make a complete hash of something at a forum event then a) people will understand and b) if you feel really embarrased and don't feel up to facing the people you played in front of again immediately then you don't have to (the events are spaced out and this gives you time to recover in between and re-build courage). I've played at four forum events (York playday, Stalybridge adult learners and two of the Leeds 'players for pleasure' events) and I now play regularly at church, but I wouldn't want to play in front of friends unless I aready knew them as musicians (and not just as friends).

Other people may disagree, but that's how it all feels to me.

Oops, just remembered I was going to post after the event.

Well I did it! Change of piece on recommendation of my teacher. I played a reasonably close approximation of Cornick's Waltz in F. I didn't shake too much or collapse in a heap and the time flew past which is probably a good thing Not sure if I'm quite ready to resign from this club but am definitely a less active member

Hooray!!!! Well done juniper!!

It was suggested today that I might like to accompany someone (on piano) singing at a church concert ... in a couple of weeks GULP It's not a hard part but I'd not be able to do it justice in the time and with my mega piano nerves .....

I think I'll be passing on that one !!!

Hi everyone! I can't believe there are so many people here who are more nervous on piano than on a second instrument - I'm exactly the same, and my second instrument is viola. There are a lot of reasons for this - though I started playing piano earlier, I taught myself for a while, and even after getting a teacher didn't play in a recital until I was 12. I also switched teachers several times with breaks in between. On the other hand, I've had consistent viola instruction for the past 7 years, and played in recitals at least once a year from the very beginning. Orchestral instruments also have to audition regularly, so I guess we get used to it? Also, it is frankly easier to impress on viola than on piano But I think I'm getting better... In my first studio recital for my current teacher, I was so scared that my feet were shaking and I couldn't even keep proper hold of the pedal! (I had also made the unwise decision of wearing heels...) But I've had several good performances (along with some bad ones...) since then, so

Great thread . I hate performing. I'm okay-ish with family and friends, but the second you place me in front of my A Level class or at a Recital, my hands shake, my heart beats - really unpleasant. I'm hoping it will get better in time.