My First Performance!!!

[Siberian Husky]

well kinda...i wouldnt say a performance performance..but its kinda..anyways..

my sister works for an old folks retirement home and she booked me a small 20 minute gig 2 months from now..im excited...my repertoire cant really support much more than 20 minutes so im in luck hehe..i'v only been playing for 7 months...

i'll be playing

Moonlight 1st n 2nd movements..

Chopin Prelude 4 and 20

and i'll end it with Chopin noc 9/2...

i wish i had my mozart clean enough to comfortably play it in front of people..these pieces seem a bit depressing to play as a collection i was hoping to maybe keep it upbeat and light for them....*sigh*..oh well gotta do with whacha got i cant pass this opportunity up

[ryan2189]

congrats and good luch with your upcoming performance. I must say only seven months and you can play some impressive material for your level. I wish I could have played those pieces when I was seven months into playing. Good for you. 

[m1469]

oooh, how fun Siberian Husky.  Congratulations as well.  You know, what Mozart are you working on ?  You don't think there is anyway you will be able to master your Mozart by then ?  In retirement homes, it would probably be nice to have something a little bit on the less heavy side.

Will you play for anyone else before you play for the retirement home ?  Friends, family... your doggies.. he he.



m1469 

[nanabush]

Good job, but I think those pieces are all kinda depressing....sry but I think you should put a lively piece at the end.

[moose_opus_28]

The 2nd movement of moonlight is delightful, not depressing!  And the Nocturne is gorgeous...they'll enjoy it.

[nanabush]

Sorry I was thinking the nocturne op 48 C minor, lol my bad.

[Appenato]

  i'm ecstatic for you. 

[Barbosa-piano]

Good for you! I've played in an old folks retirement home 4 times, my mom's friend works there and she just calls me any day, without me being ready for it, and asks: Can you play for them today? And I always try to make time for it, it is a great enjoyment for me. It is fun, but it can be hard. Specially on this case, I could just sit and play for however many hours I wished. The last time I went there, I played for 5 hours straight- at lunch, for other people down there, warming up, during dinner, and that made me a little tired. The little problem: This retirement home is here, in Texas, where not everyone likes classical music . I was playing Brahms, and I stopped for a while. My mom's friend, asked a man: Do you like this music? He, humorously replied: Hell no! Maybe some country music would be good... I just started laughing at the piano, this was very unexpected for me ... Well, she bought me a book with some country music, so that I can play it along with my classical music.
Well, it is a lot of fun, and very useful for future performances, breaking the core between the pianist, and the audience...  Congratulations!

Mario Barbosa

[ryan2189]

Refering to Barbosa's comment I must say I don't even know this guy and I really don't like him.  He doesn't have to be rude like that. He can give his opinion but do it nicely. I hate it when you work at something and then get it spat right back in your face. Sorry, just had to get it out in the open.

[ryan2189]

On second thought I might be a little too serious. I don't know.

[stevie]

lol, the chopin 4th prelude, then the chopin 20th prelude...for old folks at a retirement home?

way to go, remind them theyre gonna die soon!

[Siberian Husky]

but its all i know?

[stevie]

end them with a major chord then, show them theres some light at the end of the tunnel 

[Siberian Husky]

wow im really discouraged now...

[lagin]

Aw, don't be discouraged.  Good for you for doing this for them.  I'm sure they will like it.  Everyone has different tastes.  Who knows, maybe they love Chopin!  But, on a side note, I bet you could do your Mozart too, if you wanted.  You have two months right?  If it's in sonata form, with exposition, development, and recap.  You could just get your teacher to help you make up a short ending after the exposition.  Or, especially with people who don't play the piano, you could learn some really easy, really short pieces to add variety, and they wouldn't know the difference.  (I know you're not a fan of grades), but you could borrow your teacher's grade 5 book and learn some one or two pagers in there.  IMO, anything after grade 5 sounds really good anyway.  So they'ld still enjoy it.  Or I have a four page Mozart that isn't too hard to learn, and I think you'ld love it.  I tinkered with it last year a bit.  If you're interested pm me.  But if you want to just go with what you've got, that's cool too.  I'm sure they'll love it!  See ya buddy.

[moose_opus_28]

Old people aren't a different race you know...they'd still like sad pretty stuff.

[Kassaa]

Haha, play Marche Funèbre as an encore

[Siberian Husky]

you know i think i might just play my mozart..i have it all finished and memorized persay..i just..well i hit wrong notes here and there and have some minor tempo changes and some stumbling..i can get through it..its just not clean..and my comfort level is just asking for a memory lapse or huge spill on it..so i dont know..i didnt think there would be so many objections to those two preludes for the old folks home...but you know...

to claim that this music will further depress the seniors is to say that all chinese people are bad drivers..or all mexicans are laborers...etc etc...nothing but uneducated stereotypes..but who knows..i just wanted to play something more upbeat simply for the sake of it being upbeat..not to soothe "dying souls"....this is no charity..im doing this for fun, experience, and to meet people

[totallyclassics]

hey! congrats! and good luck! you are so fortunate to be playing those songs after just 7 months. and memorized, and in front of a crowd!  wow!
i think the repetoire you have chosen is great!  if  you feel you need something else or
if you are looking for some upbeat, not too difficult songs, try a clementi sonata. they are relatively simple and very lively.  just a thought.  i have trouble with mozart too!
i wish you luck, keep us all posted after the big event right?

tc

[Siberian Husky]

although my minor tendinitis sometimes holds me back ever since 2 months ago...i do take it as a sign to slow down..i rushed into alot and practiced too much and too hard in my first few months...i know this shindig will be good for me...i never expected to take music this fara s my efforts are primarily invested in other areas of my life as my Screen Name/Alias shows....oh yeah....i also like ponies....another thing....im eating chocolate..and you all arent...so boooo yahh!!!

[jehangircama]

Liste if you want a lively, short piece in a major key, do you think you could do the Bach Prelude and Fugue in B flat no.21 of book 1 BWV 866 (i think). It's lots of fun to play, especially the prelude. give it a shot and best of luck!

[tds]

big congrats, hus! we're all excited for you!

some suggestion: provided this is gonna be your first performance, pick pieces that you are comfortable playing. those listed in your program are fine. dont worry about trying to to learn a new piece. use your precious time to polish your chosen pieces.

if you are still juggling with the idea of putting the mozart C major sonata ( i assume the 1st mov only ) or not, then think quickly but wisely whether you can really bring it up to a concert standard in two months. or ask your teacher, which is prolly a better idea. one thing we all know: you have tendonits and so you dont wanna overburden yourself with lots of practice hours.

try to balance your practicing with resting time. mental practice can be of tremendous help. if you wanna try mental practice, try it now coz you have two months to get used to the idea of learning pieces away from the piano. yes, sure you'll see alot of benefits from doing so, BUT dont wait till later  ( if you wanna wait, wait till you finish your concert ).

important: make sure you play your program several times to different people before your concert ( even just one person at a time, thats more than cool ). play for your dogs isnt too bad an idea either 

lastly, one must have a disciplined mind to pull off a quality performance. i strive for perfection when practicing. its different now when i am up there, in which i focus more on the joy of making music itself and on communicating with my audience, heart to heart, soul to soul. heh....

now for you,  discipline, discipline, discipline.......

btw, keep us posted and best, tds

[Siberian Husky]

i cant afford to really practice this mozart daily..im actually supposed to be resting for up to a month to really relief myself completely of my tendinitis...but someone here reminded me about that bach prelude in C major..i can sight read that with no problem everytime i try..and i feel comfortable with the way i voice that piece..may not be perfect in the eyes of someoen the tough critics here..but i dont hit wrong notes and belieev i give it enough life to reduce the risk of sounding redundant...maybe i'll switch chowpan prelude 20 for this bach pre in C