What should I do (and play) immediately before the recital?

ShiroKuro

Most of you will remember that I’m playing in a recital, I’m the only adult (as far as I know), and the recital is this Sunday. (Yikes!)

Apparently, there will be a chance to “try out” the piano beforehand. I put “try out” in quotes because that’s what my teacher said, but I don’t know what it entails… This will be on the day of, 15-30 minutes before the recital starts, so my guess is, there will be people coming in, getting seated etc. And probably there will be some kids standing around who either want to try it out beforehand, or have been encouraged by their teachers to do so.

So I assume I won’t have much time, and it will be hard to concentrate during this “try out” time.

I’m not keen to play my whole piece beforehand, and I don’t really think that’s a good idea anyway. (Maybe if I could go there the day before concert and have a little quiet practice session, then I would play the whole piece, but that’s not an option).

I do want to sit down, check the bench, the pedals, put my music on the stand and make sure i know where I’m looking.

This should be a properly maintained piano, but I will nevertheless want to play something to see how it sounds and make sure there are no surprises. Had I been thinking about this, I would have prepped the scale for this piece, because one thing would be to sit down and play several octaves of scales to get my fingers on all the relevant notes But it’s in G sharp minor (five sharps) and I haven’t played this scale (or B major) in ages. Having said that, I’ll look at this scale today, I suppose I could play it relatively easily.

So, what should I do and play during this “try out” time immediately before the start of the recital?

ShiroKuro

And a separate question: the recital is at 4:30pm. I am assuming I’ll practice in the morning that day…

Should I play my whole piece on the day-of? Or not play it?

And if I do play it, should I do a “dress rehearsal” style play-through? Or a slow play-through? Or just play a few of the trickier passages? Or, again, not play it at all on the day-of?

Animisha

I would definitely play small parts of the piece to test the dynamics, especially the parts that have outspoken dynamics, such as pianissimo, if that is part of your score.

ShiroKuro Or a slow play-through?

This is what I would do in the morning, very slow. And yes, the day before I would practise the piece, also because you previously were not quite sure that you would be ready.

The best of luck, ShiroKuro

MRC

ShiroKuro And if I do play it, should I do a “dress rehearsal” style play-through? Or a slow play-through?

On the day of a concert, I like to do a slowish, laid back play-through.

Sam Test how soft you can play

Very important. If you have a specific passage in the piece that should be really pianissimo, or one where a diminuendo goes to almost nothing, try that. If your piece has a big dynamic range, it's important to hear how the piano reacts at different levels. Just play simple chords and slowly go from ppp to fff.

I certainly wouldn't play the whole piece, but if you have another piece that you know really well, you could play through that to get comfortable with the instrument.

Pallas

I don't know the answers, but I want to wish you the very best. (Toi, toi, toi! 🎹)

BartK

For trying out the piano I wouldn't do much more than play a few scales/arpeggios/chords with and without the pedal just to get a feel for the action and pedal response.

I have mixed feeling about practicing on the day of the recital. I think I would just go through the piece mentally but if you think playing it through on the piano will help you then go for it.

Sam

The pedal, bench, and music rest are the most important things to check. Does the pedal work OK? Close to what you are used to? Can you adjust the bench to what you want? Or do you need a cushion? Can you see the music (since you are using music)? How are the lights on the keys? Test how soft you can play. Playing loud is not usually a problem...

I would not play the whole piece. If you make a mistake at this point it will haunt your performance, and the time for practice is over...

lilypad

Sam Great advice! Especially the pedal and pianissimo and practicing just before the performance.

I've had enough trouble with pedal action that I have a calendar reminder to check it every month for my piano club meeting. They meet at piano stores and the pianos can be on different height casters, have sticky pedals, etc.

I hadn't thought to try out pianissimo, but I can remember several times when I had trouble getting a quieter sound out of one their acoustics that I could easily get from my digital.

I also remember trying out my whole piece on the piano once before a meeting and made so many mistakes that I decided not to play at the meeting. Later in the meeting I felt better and played well, but I'd rather not have that happen again.

ShiroKuro

Thanks everyone, this is super helpful! Especially @Sam !

I would not play the whole piece. If you make a mistake at this point it will haunt your performance, and the time for practice is over...

Great way to put it!

@lilypad , ugh, I forgot about those grand piano dollies you sometimes see, where the piano is permanantly on the dolly so that it can easily be rolled around. I hate those because they make the pedal height so awkward. Hopefully it won't be on one of those, but I'll make it a point to check beforehand.

Re the bench, I always like a high bench, but there are never adustable benches in the lesson rooms we use, so I have a black towel folded up that I always use. Maybe I'll just take that....

Oh and I have my bluetooth foot pedal, which is always awkward because you have to bend down and put it underneath the piano. In regular times, that's awkward, but I recently hurt my back and I'm not super agile right now. 😑

thepianoplayer416

A lot depends on how nervous you are on the day of the performance.

Stay focus, breathe normally. Stay calm and don’t rush.

Good luck.

ShiroKuro

@thepianoplayer416 thanks, I'll check out that video later.

But this question was more about acclimating to the recital piano.

I will be nervous, I assume. I gave up on trying to prevent that years ago. Now my approach is just to try to prevent the nerves from causing fullblown derailment.

Sgisela

@ShiroKuro - you got a lot of good advice from @Sam . I would add that it’s helpful to get an idea of what to expect from the sound, and how different this is from the piano(s) you’re used to playing. I understand that you’ve got some other pieces that you almost decided to program, so I’d consider playing 5 or 10 bars of another piece that’s in a similar style to the one you’ll be performing. Personally, I find that playing actual music gives me a better sense of what to expect from the instrument — action, sound, and pedaling effects— than just playing scales/arpeggios.

ShiroKuro

Sgisela I understand that you’ve got some other pieces that you almost decided to program, so I’d consider playing 5 or 10 bars of another piece that’s in a similar style to the one you’ll be performing. Personally, I find that playing actual music gives me a better sense of what to expect from the instrument — action, sound, and pedaling effects— than just playing scales/arpeggios.

Oh, good point!

ShiroKuro

Shoot. I don’t have anything else that has five sharps. That was why I thought a scale, because that way I could check all the keys I’ll play.

Anyway, I’ll figure something out.

MRC

It doesn't need to have five sharps. To get comfortable with the piano, play anything that you know well.

If you're really worried that the piano might have a defect, such as a unison out of tune or a damper that doesn't do it's job, you need to play a slowish chromatic scale through the whole range. If it turns out that there is a serious problem with the instrument just before the concert, you wont be the only one affected and emergency measures are called for: is there a piano tuner in the house, is there another piano...

But that shouldn't be the case. To get a feel for the piano, you don't need to play all the keys that are used in your piece. Just pick something you know and love, and play as much of it as you have time for.

ShiroKuro

MRC If you're really worried that the piano might have a defect

I probably shouldn’t worry about this! It’s just on my mind because last week, I went to play a public piano, thinking it would be good practice, but the C one octave below middle C was depressed, wouldn’t return and didn’t sound. As you can imagine, that had a significant impact on several of the pieces I was planning on playing!

I always tend to think of worse-cases and contingencies. But the recital is in a local church so I’m sure the piano is well-maintained.

Ithaca

ShiroKuro But the recital is in a local church so I’m sure the piano is well-maintained.

My children's piano teacher held a last-minute recital for his students this past June in an apparently well-funded church. He was assured that the piano was in fine condition. Upon arrival the day of the recital, he discovered that 3 (or 4?) keys were completely missing, and supposedly in locations that were critical for the more advanced students. (My children had opted out of playing, so I didn't go up to look.) His advice? Shift an octave above or below, if it made sense; if not, just skip the notes where the keys were missing. His most advanced student had a definite "what the h***?!!" look on his face for a few minutes, then shrugged and played beautifully. I don't know how the piece was supposed to go, but I enjoyed it, and I think everyone else did, too....

I think it's a good idea to assume that there will be something wrong, so that you'll be mentally prepared to just keep playing through, no matter what.

Sgisela

@ShiroKuro how did it go?!?

ShiroKuro

Sgisela it’s still about 8 hours away! 😅 (I’m in the U.S. eastern time zone)

I’ll be sure to give an update!

I am planning to grade all day (I’m a prof at a U.S. uni and I have to grade midterm exams)…. Hopefully that won’t fry my brain too much 😬

Sgisela

ShiroKuro oops — I thought it was Saturday, for some reason. I’m sure it will be great!

BartK

Good luck! 👍