Little quirks you have before you perform...

[lisztisforkids]

Do you have any strange or not so strange behaviors right before you perform? Right before I perform, and I mean like 10 minuets before I play, I like to sprint down a hallway
and just get rid of all my anxiety and other energy that way.

[letters]

i crack my knuckles for some reason because i never do it otherwise! i also jump up and down to get rid of all that nervous energy...

[pianistimo]

sprint and jump?  wow.  you guys have a lot of pent up energy.  i truly must be getting old.  i try to think peaceful thoughts and breathe.  i try to avoid conversation and start into my 'meditation' mode - trying think of the first page of whatever comes first.  setting the tempo and all.

10 minutes before is too late to do much else for me - except make sure my hands are warm.  maybe sprinting would help?  hmmm.  my luck, i'd trip on something and my music would go everywhere and then i'd have to pick it all up and i'd be all flustered.  much better for me to take it slow.  ten minutes before i'm probably in the bathroom running warm water over my hands and making sure my clothing/hair is ok.  five minutes before i like to sit on my hands if they are still cold. 

one thing i've learned is that it doesn't matter.  the good pianists still play good and the bad ones bad.  what really matters is how much you practiced the preceeding days, months, dare i say - year.

[franzliszt2]

I don;t do much before I perform.Although, the only food I will ever eat before a concert is pasta with grated chesse on top.

[Kassaa]

I talk a lot, I jump around etc.

[ce nedra]

Nobody may come near me. I cannot deal with company, I need solitude. Before I performance, my temper and time is very scarce, so neither must be played with. This may seem slefish, but things have to go my way before a performance, audition etc, and everything has to go right. I dunno. Whatever.

[crazy_purple_piano_freak]

I find I just have to keep my hands warm, breathe deeply etc...but about an hour before I ALWAYS have to play Summer by Hisaishi as a 'good luck' thing and listen to loads of fave/happy go lucky stuff on my mp3...my exam is on monday and all these songs are loaded and ready!!

[Appenato]

Nobody may come near me. I cannot deal with company, I need solitude. Before I performance, my temper and time is very scarce, so neither must be played with. This may seem slefish, but things have to go my way before a performance, audition etc, and everything has to go right. I dunno. Whatever.

pretty much the same way here. i don't like talking much before i perform - i'm trying to remain focused and collected, and talking distracts. if people try to talk to me too much i get very short with my replies, almost to the point of irritability towards them. i also can't listen to music before playing (like on the radio, when driving to) or if i'm waiting in the audience, i can't watch the performer's hands. it's all about staying focused.

[maxine]

hmm... i'll rid myself of all the anxieties..pretty much like what someone had already posted earlier.
lol.. but i don't run along the hallway.. just do a few punches and karate kicks here and there.
this calms me down a great deal.. and get all the unnecessary energy and adrenaline out of my system. haha.

[pianowolfi]

1. I warm up as long as possible, until I need to leave 'cos people come into the hall.
2. I take a few drops of a homeopathic med i got from my doc
3. I write my name on the floor with my foot, sometimes with both feet (but not simultaneously )
4.I move my fingers very quickly to keep them flexible while walking up and down.
5. I try to load myself up with as much positive musical energy as possible, making sure that nothing, absolutely nothing can stop me: YEAAAAH, I'm gonna play this fantastic pieces of music now!!!

[rohansahai]

I smash a glass.

[henrah]

I smash a glass.

Must be quite expensive for you

[bartolomeo_]

I pray.

[penguinlover]

So do I. 

[invictious]

I try to warm up with a piano if possible, otherwise I meditate and avoid conversation, be really quiet and have a cold look.

[pianoperfmajor]

yeah i limber up my fingers by bending them back and fourth...usually while sitting on the bench about to play.. i should really change that to BEFORE I get to the stage. haha. 

[henrah]

My Grandpa eats sardines on toast before he sings, and he avoids anything that will make him fart.


As for me, I've never performed in front of an audience before (as a recital, not just playing for friends etc), but all these methods mentioned has got me interested.

Experimentation, methinks.
Henrah

[alwaystheangel]

When I was little I used some Homepathic drops too!  I don't know if they actually worked or if I just thought they did, so it did (good ol' placebo)  I warm up my hands under water, and sit on them, and during a competition, I read the msuic and play "air paino" on my lap.  I also just think about what every note should sound like and imagine the perfect performance.  I also Go outside with some friends and get them to make me laugh if I'm really nervous,  The tension just leaves, all though I laugh excessively loudly and too much, but it sure makes me feel better!

[chopinfan_22]

I lock myself in a room, breathe slowly and deeply, move my hands and arms to keep them limber. I crack my knuckles too. I'll also rotate my shoulders and stretch my neck, arms, and upper torso.

[anda]

i drink coffee, smoke, and avoid being alone.

[nanabush]

I lmfao... honestly... I try to be alone bfore so I can get the laughter out.. but if it's a recital where I get up from the audience to play... I have to like bite my lip so as not to laugh... and when I bow I'm always like snikerin its pises me off lol

[tompilk]

I don;t do much before I perform.Although, the only food I will ever eat before a concert is pasta with grated chesse on top.

lol! that's a legendary food!
Anyway, I dont like to eat and i dont like to talk - i just like to sit and contemplate!
Tom

[brahms_schumann]

I pray.

I do it too. There is a special prayer for me just before entering the stage.