I psyche myself out before fast songs! read this

[allchopin]

Ok this has become a serious problem with me, and i cant seem to overcome it. It is kinda hard to describe but here goes.... before i play a fast song right off the bat (like etude #4 Op. 10 chopin) i kind of pysche myself out before the first note and i cant seem to even hit it. I cant start the song without like twitching and either hitting the note softly first or thinking of a metronomic beat in my head. Does anyone have ANY problems with just starting fast passages with both hands sometimes? this is weird, i hope im not pyschotic...   :-/

[Hmoll]

 I cant start the song without like twitching and either hitting the note softly first or thinking of a metronomic beat in my head.  

Next time you perform, let me know because I'm dying to see what this looks like!

Just kidding.

Sounds like you need to practice beginning the "fast" pieces you are working on. Practice the first couple of phrases or so of the pieces where this occurs, and pay attention to your "stage presence."  Repeat as necessary. Make sure you have the right tempo in your head before you start.  If you can't find the right tempo before you start, you might want to think twice about performing op10 #4 - but not before I get to see it first
The people taking the time to hear you perform deserve a proper down beat without a lot of twitching.

Also, if you have the chops to play the op10#4 etude, you should start to think about using a more sophisticated musical vocabulary. Hint: See pskim's thread on "pieces, not songs."

[danpianoman2003]

I used to have the same problem! and i know how to fix it. By the sounds of it, you are afraid of messing up when you go to fast with your pieces. before you perform, you must be well hydrated, for half of you bodies twitches and dazes come from dehydration and lack of internal fluids. when you get on stage, don't think of only how fast the piece is. think of your coordination of you fingers and try not to go to fast for you may kind of think of other things and the body will use many fluids to calm down your nerous system.


             I hope you don't think I am to medical and speak doctor talk but i know a lot of the nervous system for i recieved my doctors degree in the central nervous sytem. Try what i said and you will be ok.

[allchopin]

hehe sounds good- HOWEVER, the stupid thing is, its not even when im publicly performing (which i have only done twice, scared the heck outta me)- it happense occaisionally when practicing! must be just psychological

[tph]

I used to suffer from this, not only with fast pieces but with slow ones too, where delicate sound control was paramount (e.g. the opening of Franck's Prelude, Choral, and Fugue, or 1st mov't of Ravel's Sonatine). I agree with the above posting that a solution is to work the beginning.  Get used to throwing yourself right in, and if you screw up, just keep going.

I think the fundamental problem is that you might not have a sufficiently clear focus of how you want to begin at the moment of attack.  This could be due to practising too much on autopilot (i.e., without listening to yourself sufficiently), or general fear.  

Consider playing slightly under tempo to see if this still occurs.  If it does, pick a tempo where you can begin comfortable, and build up gradually.  If it's a question of anxiety, try breathing techniques to release tension at the bench, and clear your mind.

tph

[NetherMagic]

allchopin try all those suggested methods

and i also have one thing to add

I think it's with your confidence, you're just not that sure right on the spot that you're gonna get past it without any mistakes.  So instead of psyching yourself up, run a series of mental propaganda through your mind before you play like "I'm the best player in the world" or "Vladimir Horowitz will bow down to me after I show him this!" etc.  I used to get super nervous up on stage (still am actually) but what you do is you keep on saying good things to yourself and DON'T think about the hard part!  Since thinking about it will just make you more nervous so like why not just demolish all your worries and get on with it?

newayz just a pointer, good luck with your chopin etude  

[RhiAnne]

Hi,

 I am not sure whether this will help you or not.  When I know that the song that I am about to practice is fast and I cannot seem to slow it down then this is what I do.l

 I play it through as fast as I can, not regarding tempo or mistakes.  I play it at an unreasonable pace, because when I slow it down to where it needs to be, it will be a relief to play it as the tempo specifies.

 This is reverse psychology.

 See you later.  Bye.

[allchopin]

testing the glow font....

anyway, yeh these are all mostly ideas that i have thought of, but thanks for the reinforcement.  I tend to get a metronome in my head before starting- does any body else do this?

[la_carrenio2003]

I think is a matter of lack of relaxation -that's from the twitches come from- and the difficulty on starting depends of the concentration and BREATHING. I understand what you mean with that metronome in your head, but a tempo is not a metronome's thing,you know? it depends on the breathing . Did you ever see Richter playing this etude in that video recording "Richter: The enigma"? If you didn't, you must. He breathes -or the music breathes- from the 4th beats where the quarters are,and the passages are a consequence of this. With breathing I mean the real physical breathing and the way you divide in equal waves the piece, it depends of the musical structure.