Piano Forum

Piano Board => Performance => Topic started by: pianochick93 on September 05, 2007, 09:17:55 AM

Title: Faces
Post by: pianochick93 on September 05, 2007, 09:17:55 AM
Apparently when I play I pull horrible faces. When I realise I am I try to stop doing them, but on pieces where I am really concentrating, I just keep pulling them again.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can stop this, short of beautox  :P(how do you spell that?)

Thanks a million, because I can play, just not perform.
Title: Re: Faces
Post by: rallestar on September 05, 2007, 10:41:24 AM
Don't worry about it. There's definetely going to be pianists out there making worse faces (Lang Lang), and as long as it's natural, I don't see how it's a problem. Perhaps it will go away as you become older too, or what do I know. Bottom line is, stop thinking about it.
Title: Re: Faces
Post by: stucoy on September 05, 2007, 10:43:13 AM
Apparently when I play I pull horrible faces. When I realise I am I try to stop doing them, but on pieces where I am really concentrating, I just keep pulling them again.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can stop this, short of beautox :P(how do you spell that?)

Thanks a million, because I can play, just not perform.

I think that, so long as you are behaving NATURALLY, it doesn't matter that you are pulling faces. It's only when you are deliberately pulling faces to show the audience how deeply you are feeling the music that it becomes a problem. I think it's actually worse if you become self-concious of your facial expressions and try to stop them, rather than behaving naturally. I think the goal is to concentrate on the music, and the music only.
Title: Re: Faces
Post by: invictious on September 05, 2007, 12:33:43 PM
Try wearing a mask, always helps.
Or just leave it that way, and make it worse, so you look like Lang Lang.
Title: Re: Faces
Post by: leuthold on September 05, 2007, 02:50:55 PM
Apparently when I play I pull horrible faces. When I realise I am I try to stop doing them, but on pieces where I am really concentrating, I just keep pulling them again.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can stop this, short of beautox  :P(how do you spell that?)

Thanks a million, because I can play, just not perform.
so you have no problem... i always play for myself. i dont think the audience. i think you must try to play for yourself then maybe you will enjoy pulling faces :D...
Title: Re: Faces
Post by: thalberg on September 05, 2007, 03:54:04 PM
Focus a lot on the sound.  Direct as much of your attention as possible away from your face.  Also, videotape yourself practicing.
Title: Re: Faces
Post by: amelialw on September 05, 2007, 04:34:35 PM
haha...I do that too
Title: Re: Faces
Post by: term on September 05, 2007, 05:57:28 PM
why do you want to stop it?
especially if it is a sign of intense concentration
It is how it is, and if you concentrate on not pulling faces you will lose focus on the actual music, eventually you may get rid of that habit, but i will *guarantee* you that at any time when you are even more concentrated you'll keep pulling faces again.
Accept it, there are lots of pianists with unusual habits, just go on youtube and type in fazil say  - he's weird. But it doesn't matter, everybody accepts it as part of him (including him).
Title: Re: Faces
Post by: pianochick93 on September 06, 2007, 08:54:12 AM
Thanks guys. I guess I just want to stop because everyone comments on it, but I can see where a lot of you are coming from. I havn't seen LangLang perform, I will have a look now.
Title: Re: Faces
Post by: jlh on September 06, 2007, 08:58:54 AM
Does anyone have any suggestions of how I can stop this, short of beautox  :P(how do you spell that?)

Well, unless that's urban slang for "toxic boyfriend", it's spelled 'botox'...  ;)

Josh 8)

Title: Re: Faces
Post by: pianochick93 on September 06, 2007, 09:11:50 AM
Ah, ok.

It sounded French to me, so I tried to spell it Frenchishly.