Weird Rituals and/or Routines Before Competition

[starpianist]

Hello! I have been practicing the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No. 1, Third Movement for a while now. I will be participating in the Collin County Young Artist Competition in the beginning of January, and really, really want to do well. It's really competitive, and all of the pianists there are "good". Really good. I think I may have a chronic "coldness of the hand" because I am really stiff whenever I play it the first time. My teacher says I get a lot better when I am warmed-up, but I only have one chance to be a Finalist! How do you pianists keep your hands warm and comfortable before starting? This will prove useful in the future, too, not just for this competition.

PS People, many, I think on this website, that have played this should know that it's pretty crucial to be absolutely "non-stiff" sounding. I have tried hot pads (portable and disposable), but perhaps there's something that works better?   

[richard black]

Percy Grainger used to slap his knees, as fast as possible and really hard, for 5 minutes before performing. It's actually pretty hard to do for that long but it sure as hell gets the blood flowing. Sitting still and using warming pads etc. is absolutely the worst thing you can possibly do. Keep your body moving until the last minute, only stopping in time to make sure you're not actually panting for breath when you walk on the platform.

[ahinton]

Percy Grainger used to slap his knees, as fast as possible and really hard, for 5 minutes before performing. It's actually pretty hard to do for that long but it sure as hell gets the blood flowing. Sitting still and using warming pads etc. is absolutely the worst thing you can possibly do. Keep your body moving until the last minute, only stopping in time to make sure you're not actually panting for breath when you walk on the platform.

Whilst I've always been able to appreciate Grainger's reason for doing this, I've often wondered whether it was a precursor to the kind of knee-capping practised elsewhere in more recent times...(!!)

Best,

Alistair

[starpianist]

Thanks guys!  These are really good tips. I've been in private piano lessons for eons and none of my teachers told me how to warm-up my hands (not the scale stuff). But one more question. Why is using warm pads the "absolutely worst thing you can do"? I'm not questioning your advice, I just find the possible "scientific technicalities" involved really interesting. 

[richard black]

Why is using warm pads the "absolutely worst thing you can do"?

Because it warms the hands temporarily, until the body figures that the hands are warm and stops making any effort to warm them from inside. OK, using such a pad seconds before playing can make an improvement if your hands are really freezing, but minutes before it's arguable whether it makes any difference really. I've known some people run cold water over their hands just to make the body pump some blood down there. Never tried that one myself.

[Bob]

I started eating bananas on the performance day after finding this website years ago. 

I tend to focus on being relaxed, doing the preparation ahead of time so it's not a concern if that's possible.  Keeping my mind relaxed and staying positive.  And then picking out things to improve on in the future.