Well, my full size digi piano (yamaha Clavanova) arrived and i've started playing with both hands again after 15/20 odd years !!
Its true what everyone says that its like riding a bike-you never forget it and its amazing how quickly its all coming back.Im getting back into it by playing Fur Elise again.Sure,parts of it ,like that hard bit at the end,i'm finding hard - all thumbs- and sound like Les Dawson in places but im getting there !!!

Glad you're back playing, Yorkie. It can get a bit frustrating when you can't do what you used to do, but keep at it and enjoy the rewards - you'll get there!

Well done on getting thru you're 1st concert experience Suepea( although its a bit belated !).I know what you went thru.
I actually was appearing in piano concerts/festivals when i was 15 and im 37 now !

Well done! I have gone back to learning again after a 10 year break and love it more than ever! The only thing is my teacher mentioned that I should really do a recital again last lesson and i've been panicking ever since. I did loads when I was younger but as an adult I think you find it harder (I do anyway!). Maybe we need a confidence building thread

Ah ! Recitals !!

Not as daunting as you will find.I remember when i played in festivals/concerts when i was younger.i tended to blank everyone who was present and made a bee line for the piano keeping you're eyes permantly fixed on it whilst you are walking towards it.Then you find when you get into the music it will take ur mind off the fact there are people present.

Ive now had the piano for 4 weeks and already can play half of Fur Elise without looking at the music !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WELL DONE!

If you are really confident with your pieces, have a reasonably strong personality and don't suffer from low self-esteem, then you should be able to perform in public pretty well.
I am pretty confident but my problem is sometimes, if I'm not careful, my mind can suddenly wander off and if not careful, I can lose concentration on the pieces I am playing. Its at these moments that you can start making mistakes. What happens with me is just as I am relaxing and totally "into" the music, I suddenly become self-aware and thoughts like "this is the moment, this is it, they're out there, there's no going back" etc come into my mind. The worrying time is if these thoughts start to turn into negative, insecure thoughts about your ability etc. Its almost like a conflict between two sides of your personality....like in an episode of "Red Dwarf"...Confidence and Paranoia!! There is the confidence which is ambitious and wants to be successful, but there is also that nagging voice that wants to bring you down and see you fail...self-destruction. I suppose most people have the right balance between the two parts but I'm sure whenever I perform music in public what is usually an 80% to 20% relationship in favour of positivity can suddenly, in mid-performance become 50% to 50% and constantly shifts up and down during the performance. I suppose it all goes back to my childhood when my father used to constantly criticise my playing while I was learning to play!
I believe that the ability to total control the mind and have a high level of concentration and confidence, surpressing any negative thoughts and insecurity is the final icing on the cake when performing music. It makes the difference between a great performance and an average one.
Does any one agree?

Gae

you could be right,but recently i was playing in front of close freinds and because of that i made a million mistakes and that was with the music there! mind you after 15 years of not playing and the fact id been working the night before,i suppose i cud be excused !! Usually when im on my own i can play it without looking at the score.