Playing in a recital….

ShiroKuro · 2024-11-03T11:22:24+00:00

You may remember that I’m scheduled to play in a concert, it’s in late November. Since I haven’t really done anything like that since the pandemic, I thought...

keff

ShiroKuro Good luck.

Sgisela

All the best, @ShiroKuro! I’m sure it will be a good experience.

ShiroKuro

Thank you both!

BTW in the past, when I played in recitals or at music parties, I didn’t record myself. But I think I’ll have my spouse record when I play in the recital next week. For one thing, listening to the recording will let me see how accurate my impression of how I played is (i.e., when I’ve finished playing, I might think it was worse than it actually was, or I might be thinking it was better)…

keff

I have an option of playing in a concert on 7th December and am worrying that it is getting too much. I have recorded a piece for the PT recital but am not very happy with it and would like to record again if I get time. On top of that an acquaintance has asked me to learn a concert version of a carol that will accompany her playing and it is not something I can read at sight without making mistakes. I have two piano duets to practice with two separate friends and lastly must prepare a piece for the next piano group meeting on 30th Nov. Arrrrgh.

ShiroKuro

Hmmm. If it feels like too much, either cancel one or maybe reduce the number of pieces?

Or decide that you’ll do your best, smile when it’s finished and not worry about how well or how poorly you play?

I’m voting for the latter! 😅

thepianoplayer416

Depends on how well you prepared your pieces whether they're at or close to the performance level. And whether you're psychologically ready to play the pieces.

keff

thepianoplayer416 I have reduced the pressure this afternoon by making an acceptable(hopefully) recording of the carol that my acquaintance had requested. I was sent the score on Tuesday 29th Oct so not had a great deal of time to learn it. Indeed I haven't learnt it but used a trick that my piano teacher advised when faced with playing something when time is short....remove some notes that you can get away with.

Animisha

ShiroKuro, how brave of you to chose the piece that gives you most trouble. The best of luck!

ShiroKuro

Animisha thank you! Although whether I'm brave or stupid remains to be seen! 😃

Sam

@ShiroKuro Of course, the worst thing in a recital like this is waiting for your turn to play. You can't really listen to the other players, you have a million thoughts going through your head - everything but what you should be thinking about. I usually play from memory, so I am thinking - "How does it start?"

My worst experience about playing with a bunch of kids was at a music teacher's group recital. Each teacher sent their best students to play. The teacher in charge of the recital made all the performers sit in the same row, in the order they would be playing. So there I was, sitting with little kids on each side of me. I definitely felt out of place. I did not play my best!

It's all good though. All grist for the mill...

Good luck!

JB_PT

ShiroKuro As far as I know, I will be the only adult in this recital. Also, I think they pick the performance order loosely based on the difficulty of the piece, so I’ll probably be playing near the end, but also probably not at the very end. Hopefully there will be some hot shot high school student playing something really advanced after me.

Do you know the age ranges? Just curious. I've mentioned here before that I played in my first teacher's recitals twice (and a 3rd time was planned but I chickened out at the event and just listened). Her students were between 5 and 18; the majority seemed to be under 10 or 12. She had a handful of adult students...some performed intermittently and some flat-out refused.

ShiroKuro Hopefully there will be some hot shot high school student playing something really advanced after me.

I would think that's a given. 😂 There were 4 high school students performing at my recitals and they were all amazing.

Sam The teacher in charge of the recital made all the performers sit in the same row, in the order they would be playing. So there I was, sitting with little kids on each side of me.

I can relate! At the recital I bowed out of, initially I sat over in the "performer's" area. Once the little kids started filling up the seats around me, I suddenly felt very conspicuous (and a bit ridiculous) and quietly snuck away to the audience seating.

Ithaca Would it help to think that every time you make a mistake, or play a phrase a little less well than you'd like, that you're doing a huge favor for the kids?

What a nice positive spin. I wish it could have worked for me! What I experienced was the young kids not paying attention to anything until it was their turn to play, and the older kids were all way better than me. It's hard to imagine my mistakes did anything for them, but who knows...

I wish you luck @ShiroKuro, and looking forward to hearing about it. 🙂 No matter how it goes I expect the experience will be beneficial, especially as a rehearsal for your upcoming event.

ShiroKuro

Sam So there I was, sitting with little kids on each side of me. I definitely felt out of place.

Yeah, I really hope they don't do that!

It's all good though. All grist for the mill...

I agree. This will be a learning experience, if nothing else! And that's why I signed up for it! I just need to remind myself of that...

@Ithaca your comment is a good reminder just of the importance of being a good role model. No matter how well or poorly one plays, being gracious and kind to oneself is the key.

@JB_PT I have almost zero information about the event or participants. I take lessons at this music school once a week, and although there is the occasional adult student (usually guitar, though, not piano), most of the other students there all look to be well under elementary school grade 6.

However, there are enough students that the school breaks its recital up into six slots over two days, 15 performers (max) in each slot.

So I am seeing only a very small slice of the students. The last time I asked my teacher about it, he didn't seem to have an idea either, although maybe he will know more now. I'll ask him at our lesson this week.

Ithaca

ShiroKuro It would be a lot better if there were other adults in the recital, but ah well.

Would it help to think that every time you make a mistake, or play a phrase a little less well than you'd like, that you're doing a huge favor for the kids? I've seen lots of recitals and (non-piano) competitions which are mostly kids with a few adults sprinkled in, and when the adults don't do so well (but take it with good cheer), it seems to give the kids a lift. Not in a mean way, but the kids feel better about not doing as well as they were hoping to, as well. However well or poorly the adults do, they end up being good models for the younger folks. As a parent, I'm super-grateful to the adults who stick out their necks in this way, not least because I don't think I could screw up the courage to do the same.

ShiroKuro

Hmmm, I might change my recital piece (assuming it’s n to too late, I don’t know if they’re printing programs)

Anyway, I don’t think this piece is ready. And it’s a lot of pressure knowing this is the only piece I’m going to play at the recital (I always do better when I play two pieces, easy one first).

But the other two pieces I’m planning to play at the concert are both more ready, and easier….

I will see how my practice session goes tomorrow and probably pick one of the other pieces.

There’s no reason to set myself up for failure…

twocats

ShiroKuro even if they printed programs you could get up on stage and say "there's been a change from the program, I'm playing [piece]". Nothing is in stone! 🙂

ShiroKuro

@twocats good point! 😃

I’m going to email my teacher today. Our lesson is on Wednesday and the recital is on Sunday.

I think I will benefit from the experience more, and enjoy it, if I’m playing something I actually have a chance of playing well.

ShiroKuro

Oh good grief. So, I just listened to yesterday’s practice recording…. It actually sounds pretty good. Much, much better, in fact, than I realized.

There are two spots where I kind of get stuck, but I played through them. But in general, it’s actually pretty musical and conveys (I think) the qualities about the piece that I love and that are the reasons I picked it in the first place.

I should see if I can upload this recording so some of you can listen to it and tell me what to do. 😅

ShiroKuro

Ok, here's my practice recording from yesterday. There's a 10-15 second blank at the beginning (sorry, I didn't edit it out.) Also, fyi the recording quality sounds terrible on my PC speakers, but pretty good on my iPhone (how I recorded it) and on the EarPods headphones.

It's about 4 and half minutes long.

So, what say you? Should I play this at the recital on Sunday?

twocats

ShiroKuro I responded on your other thread that it often sounds rushed to me (I would especially pay attention to the fast notes and giving full weight to rests) but I think if you played it in a recital that it would be a respectable performance!

Nightowl

ShiroKuro That's a beautiful piece, I can see why you chose it. The piece is way beyond my playing level and I would never have the courage to perform in a live recital, but since you asked for opinions here are my thoughts about tempo issues. You play the piece in a steady way, but I think the issue is that you are not differentiating enough between the lengths of short and long notes - you are playing them too "similarly" to capture the nuances in the tempo. If you listen to the professional recording and immerse yourself into that process, you can imagine waves rolling gently up onto a sandy shore, they approach slowly and build up, then there is the cascade of water as they break. That is the sort of feeling I have when listening to this piece - I find myself mentally anticipating the next musical "wave". Maybe if you try this you might get a better idea of which sections to speed up slightly and be more conscious of the rests.
It sounds like a good idea to play an easier piece before this one, as it might help to relax you before playing this piece. You are clearly a talented and confident player and with time I'm sure you can finesse this piece, but if you feel you need more time then perhaps just play the other two easier pieces at the upcoming recital, to take the pressure off.

ShiroKuro

Thanks!

I think I have a tempo problem.

Because the original recording (by the composer) is just under 4 minutes. And you better believe it doesn’t sound rushed!

But I am playing at 4 minutes 30 seconds.

So in theory I’m playing slower but I am sure you’re right. So if there are spots where it sounds rushed, what does that mean?
This isnt exactly a rhetorical question … more like .. ok, hmm now what do I do. Because I don’t want to slow down more. But I definitely don’t want it to sound rushed.

Player1

ShiroKuro

2 things:

I like it very much and if you played to that standard at the recital you'll do extremely well.

Never compare yourself to a professional.

twocats

ShiroKuro I take it back, he's written it so it's a little off-beat but it's intentional! I would try to play it softer and more delicately in the left hand like he does; maybe hearing the off beats in the left hand so clearly was why I thought it a playing error. Or maybe I just was hearing something else in my head 😂

I think the original tempo has more momentum but your tempo is also good and I wouldn't force yourself to go faster. I think you're ready to perform this 🙂