Piano Forum
Piano Board => Performance => Topic started by: Pianostudy on April 04, 2005, 01:43:41 AM
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I am giving a recital this coming weekend and was wondering how you all practice the week leading up to a performance. Do you practice more on the whole, i.e. play start to finish through your program, or do you still practice little details, going through with slow practice, etc.? Or do you do both? What kind of mindset do you try to have for the week and days before your recital? Thanks.
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Whats the program?
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I'm playing Bach Prelude & Fugue no. 14; Beethoven Sonata Op. 2 No. 3, Chopin Etudes Op. 10 Nos 12 and 2; Chopin Polonaise Op. 44 in F# minor.
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Hah Craig.
I shall be at your concert.
By the way, SLOWLY of course, and lightly, with minimal motion is what Dr. Campbell tells me......man, it sure works for him.
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Practice as you normally would.
Usually practicing MORE right before a competition is a natural act. Just make sure you do not cram on the DAY of your performance... at that point, there is nothing you can really do to improve. Just run through your pieces, which should already be perfected, to further encourage yourself that you ARE ready for this! And you are out there to do the best you can!
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Nice program. Good luck! I admire anyone whose program is truly perfected before the recital-- or ever!-- but for me, the most helpful thing is to keep thinking of the pieces as works in progress (works that are in good shape, of course)-- and not get too tired the last few days beforehand. It think it's impossible to play EXACTLY the same way twice, so as you keep playing the same prepared pieces, you start comparing this time to the last time to last Tuesday... it can get obsessive and turn into a downward spiral. I find it calming and productive to think of a few easy ways to add life to something or just be a bit different. Not tempo, unless you know yourself as a performer extremely well. But little artistic details, like changing a few ornaments or switching some "p" vs. "f." It's never too late to make something better and, as others have said, it's never too late for slow practice (in fact, the week of a big concert is almost the only slow practice I do!). It's also good to go to a movie the day of the concert so you can't keep practicing, and no one can ask you how you feel every ten minutes. Have a banana backstage (they're calming), and something to drink between pieces. Very best wishes.
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Day Before - Morning: I play through everything once as if it were the real competition/concert. I wear my performance dress and shoes to make sure I'm comfortable and not going to have a wardrobe malfunction.
Day Before - Rest of Day: Nothing piano related. I don't even touch the piano.
Day Before - Evening: Nothing piano-related. I go out to dinner/movies/party.
Day Of - Morning: Nothing piano-related.
Day Of - Minutes Before - Test Real Piano (if allowed): I test out the piano, keys, pedal, bench... with a few opening bars of each piece so there are no surprises.
Day Of - Minutes Before - Warm-Up on Different Piano: I blast through things TOTALLY NOT RELATED to my competition/concert --- usually a few Joplin rags to get really pumped.
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Day Before - Morning: I play through everything once as if it were the real competition/concert. I wear my performance dress and shoes to make sure I'm comfortable and not going to have a wardrobe malfunction.
Day Before - Rest of Day: Nothing piano related. I don't even touch the piano.
Day Before - Evening: Nothing piano-related. I go out to dinner/movies/party.
Day Of - Morning: Nothing piano-related.
Day Of - Minutes Before - Test Real Piano (if allowed): I test out the piano, keys, pedal, bench... with a few opening bars of each piece so there are no surprises.
Day Of - Minutes Before - Warm-Up on Different Piano: I blast through things TOTALLY NOT RELATED to my competition/concert --- usually a few Joplin rags to get really pumped.
i used to have a routine like that, too - and even worse, my recital-day was all a ritual!
start touring - you'll see how everything changes... :(
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i used to have a routine like that, too - and even worse, my recital-day was all a ritual!
start touring - you'll see how everything changes... :(
It's not a ritual, just common sense that works for me: why play thru your concert pieces endlessly in the day/hours/minutes leading up to a performance? <-- what can possibly be gained from this? It's like students who frantically leaf thru their lecture notes just prior to an exam. <-- Why???
Several reasons:
1. Lack of security in their knowledge
2. Lack of confidence that they will perform to the best of their ability upon demand
3. Poor preparation up front
4. False sense of having truly mastered something
Just my $0.02 ;)
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It's not a ritual, just common sense that works for me
i called it a "routine" - i called my own recital-day a "ritual" (and trust me, i'm right about this :) )
and i never said there's anything wrong your routine - actually, i think it's great if you can afford to do all that stuff in the recital day and the day before.
all i said is you can't do anything like that in a tour - can you?
best regards
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oh, dont forget to pray, if you are a believer. best, tds