A not often discussed point is that a piece should be more solid and ingrained in us to be secure enough for a public performance than it needs to be to play it well for ourselves (or a teacher) at tempo. Ideally, I want not to be dependent on muscle memory, but able to play the music in my head end to end and write out the notes at any point from memory.

Unfortunately, that may involve putting a lot more prep time in than I may want to do if just planning to play for myself, family, and friends.

@pseudonym58 and @twocats oh my, those are truly heart attack-inducing occurrences!

@sweelinck definitely the degree to which a piece is polished is also key.

Although last fall, I came to think that another benefit, at least for me, from doing these public performances is just the ā€œhard-fastā€ deadline aspect of it, that the performance date comes whether Iā€™m as ready as I can be, or not. So another goal I have for myself is to be able to prevent nerves from getting in the way of me doing my best, whatever level of ā€my bestā€ happens to be.

Part of how I came to this conclusion is connected to the fact that I have always wanted to record and share pieces Iā€™ve polished, but I never feel like theyā€™re at the ā€œtruly polished stage,ā€ so I end up recording only very few of the pieces I work on.

But the recital date rolls around whether Iā€™m ready or not, and my pieces are ā€œclose enoughā€ to share. So Iā€™d like to be able to play at that ā€œclose enoughā€ level without completely falling apart.

Studying at the university, I have to play regularly on different pianos which I never used before and in different set ups. I simply accept the fact that it will be what it will be. Most of the issues people experience with the piano being different or the light, the bench and all these other factors are essentially just psychological, ie it is not so much the set up in itself but the fear we have that makes us concerned about those differences. Over time I got used to just get at the piano and play within the given set up. There are certainly things that will make me play differently than what I do in my usual home set up but I am not trying to play exactly the same way or at least I accept that it will be different.

YouTube pushed me this video by David Chang Music. I am really impressed by his methodical approach to preparing his students for in-person performance. He has a playlist on Performance Training, too.

    @iternabe thanks, I'll take a look!

    iternabe thanks for sharing! I also watched his other video that he recommended:

    Here are some takeaways:

    • perform cold daily (can stretch and do cardio, but don't create sound at the instrument until you "perform" and also take bows before or after like you're performing)
    • record yourself daily to be able to identify your problems, he puts dates on the issues so that he can collect more data and see where he messes up some areas more often or whether it's random and just due to nerves
    • for 6-7 weeks before the performance, perform at different pianos every week
    • "perform" in different conditions, e.g. different lighting, cold hands, just got back from gym and sweaty, when there are noisy distractions. Treat things that will mess you up as useful! If you're a night person, practice in the morning! If you're stressed, perform. Anytime you're feeling that it's not optimal conditions, embrace it and perform.
    • perform as often as you can
    • if you bomb in a practice performance, it is actually a good learning experience. All performances are useful and quantity leads to quality
    • if you perform (for real) and you're unhappy with it, it's just one moment in time. It happens!

        All of this has really highlighted to me how important it is to perform in front of people and on different pianos often if I care about performing well. It used to not be a goal for me but now it is, so I'm a lot more motivated to go to casual piano performance meetups.

        Plus, I've been making friends! Some are old friends that I've reconnected with and some are new, but they're mostly very nice people. Having it be social is motivating to me as well! I'm a participant in a quarterly event, have recently been invited to a monthly one, and was given info for a different monthly one. Not sure how much I actually want to go to but there is certainly no lack of opportunity here!

          twocats Here are some takeaways:

          Wow, thanks for listing those up! I will get to watching these videos soon, but your summary is great!

          perform cold daily (can stretch and do cardio, but don't create sound at the instrument until you "perform" and also take bows before or after like you're performing)

          I actually did this in prep for my two performances in November... Not sure if it helped or not šŸ˜… in that I still got the shaky hands... but at the same time, at least I knew I could sit down and just start playing. I'll definitely keep it in my toolkit.

          for 6-7 weeks before the performance, perform at different pianos every week

          If only we could all do this! The closest I got was playing a "public" piano on campus, which turned out to have a depressed key, the key below middle C, so that meant I couldn't even play one of my pieces! :/
          Nevertheless, this is excellent advice!

          if you bomb in a practice performance, it is actually a good learning experience. All performances are useful and quantity leads to quality
          if you perform (for real) and you're unhappy with it, it's just one moment in time. It happens!

          I love both of these points! I have actually been able to believe the first one, it makes a big difference in being able to use the performance as a learning opportunity.

          The second is a little more challenging, because it's hard not to feel disappointment when a performance doesn't go as well as you hoped. But I am work in progress, and these reminders are super helpful!!!

              ShiroKuro The second is a little more challenging, because it's hard not to feel disappointment when a performance doesn't go as well as you hoped. But I am work in progress, and these reminders are super helpful!!!

              That was just your first public recital if I recall? I would like to remind you that you're very brave for putting yourself out there at all!

              I see all of these to be tips for improving over many months and years, there's definitely no quick fix here. But it's a new year and feels like a great time to start something different šŸ™‚

                  twocats That was just your first public recital if I recall?

                  Sadly, no. I have experience performing dating back to.... 2005 I believe šŸ˜… I'm including various types of events ranging from piano parties, to formal "school" recitals where I played one piece, to "concert" type settings, such as one where I played a program with 5 pieces.

                  However, the two performances I did in Nov. 2024 were my first times playing in public since 2020 -- the pandemic took away all my piano performing chances, and so I was definitely rusty.

                  But I have always struggled with piano performance anxiety, that's why last fall I made a lot of effort to do performance-specific prep etc. I have no doubt it helped, but as I said, it's hard not to be disappointed when you didn't perform as well as you hoped.

                  For me, and based on past experience, I think the single biggest factor at this point is having consistent opportunities to play publicly. Once or twice a year will not cut it, but having two performances two weeks apart in Nov. was quite good.

                  We'll see how it goes, I don't have the kind of opportunities you do, but I'm working on it!

                      ShiroKuro We'll see how it goes, I don't have the kind of opportunities you do, but I'm working on it!

                      I know you were thinking about creating a meetup of some kind and I hope it works out!

                      I feel like two big things I have to work on:

                      • not stomping so loudly on the Bluetooth pedal
                      • keeping my hand towel on the piano instead of on my lap -- I have a genetic condition that causes sweaty hands (or if the sweat isn't "on" it's excessively dry and slippery, which is arguably worse) and it's a source of comfort but I can't have it there during a performance and so I should put it on the piano at home. Even thinking about not having the towel on my lap makes me uncomfortable but it needs to be done!

                        From what I understand, many performers rely on the beta blocker propanolol to keep calm and keep their hearts from racing. It is primarily a heart medication, but it also is used for essential tremor, and many doctors prescribe it for performance anxiety. I think it comes in a range of strengths from 10 mg to 80 mg. I'd recommend trying it at home before using it for a public performance.

                          AaronSF I played with a violist who used beta blockers for performance anxiety! I think I'll try exercise to "burn off" the adrenaline first.

                            @AaronSF yeah, a pharmaceutical solution is not one I'd consider. Especially given that I'm fine with public speaking and other situations. My problem with piano performance anxiety isn't medical.

                            AaronSF Beta blockers do have side effects, and I would not recommend them to amateurs. I'm not even a fan of the fact that professionals take it, because I think it demonstrates our unhealthy obsession of getting all the notes correct in a performance setting.

                                ranjit I just looked online and side effects include cold hands and feet! That's no good.

                                I think some people take them because otherwise they would just fall apart from nervousness and it helps them to feel better. I can respect that but I don't think it's for me.

                                  To each his/her own. I only suggest propanolol because so many orchestral and solo performers use it regularly.

                                  twocats One word - practice. If you know a piece, well enough so you can play it almost without thinking about it, playing it for an audience should not be stressful. Also, bear in mind, that, depending on the type of audience, non-musicians vs skilled players, the average listener wouldn't notice a few minor flubs. And, most musicians will empathize with your anxiety. And, like someone else said, the more you perform, the more relaxed you'll be.

                                  Occasionally, when I'm asked to play something on the piano, I play a tune, or tunes, that I've been playing for years. So, any initial jitters are minimized by my confidence of familiarity with what I'm playing. One last thing...
                                  An easy piece played confidently will be more impressive than a difficult piece played timidly.

                                    a month later

                                    I played at a casual event today and I thought I was all good, but by the end I felt like I had been shaking inside the entire time. I may have had worse stage fright than last month! I guess I just need to keep going to these events and keep at it, because right now it's really not good.