have to play for a looooong time...

[donjuan]

Ok, so I have a concert coming up where I play 5 pieces in a row for a total time of 40 minutes.  When I practice the pieces at home, I find that sometimes I lose focus just because I have to concentrate for so long.  And then I usually do something stupid like have a memory slip in a place I know very well.  I perform this concert on June 10, and by then, I must not succumb to such things.  If I can't hold this long performance together here at home, how can I do it in front of an audience? scares me pretty badly..

How can I train for these long performances?  Do I just practice doing the performance twice?  That is, get accustomed to playing for 80 minutes straight?

[quantum]

What about practicing with in an environment that intentionally breaks your concentration.  Eg: I like practing in total darkness before a concert, I make many mistakes because I can't see the keys, but it the concert in comarrison is much easier. 

Have you prepared your pieces well enough, so if you make a slip in any place (especially those you always play well) you can recover without making a big fuss?  Maybe practice making intentional slips and try to recover from them. 

I have found that the ability to adapt to the performance venue and recover from slips is much more important than aiming for a perfect performance. 

Try to build your stamina, begin practing for longer than usual.  Adapt your technique to relieve any fatigue you may feel in the middle of a performance.  Learn to back off and distribute your energy through out the whole performance. 

Also work on concentration (not only when practing).  How long can you stare at a picture on a wall before your eyes begin to wander? 

[anda]

you don't have to start "general rehearsals" so early - you still have a lot of time until june!
try, for now, staying completely focused on each work. once you can do that, then start playing two in a row, and so on.

one more thing i recommend all my students (and i also do it myself) - it's not easy, but if you can do this, it will help you with the concentration problem - it's a mental exercise to be done completely alone and away from any possible interference (phones and stuff): sit down very relaxed, close your eyes and play the program in your head, note by note. you have to hear every note, and you have to see in your head your hands playing on the piano. you have to get to the point where the "film" of your recital is complete, without any interruption due to lack of focus.

best luck,
anda

[pianowelsh]

you can develop your stamina by playing the program through twice but perhaps at this stage of the practice that might not be the most efficient type of practice?? I would muddle up the order of the pieces so that your brain has to keep working! ie dont just play programme beginning to end some times play last piece first and then the first piece and then the 3rd piece etc and rotate so that each gets the prize of being at the top of your concentration.  I would also play to really informal groups like friends etc- that really focuses your concentration because you dont want to make a mistake in front of them. If you sit them with the scores too and ask them to circle in pencil where you have blips and see if there are consistent places where your mind wanders that way you can watch out for them next time.

[lostinidlewonder]

When I practice the pieces at home, I find that sometimes I lose focus just because I have to concentrate for so long. And then I usually do something stupid like have a memory slip in a place I know very well.  I perform this concert on June 10, and by then, I must not succumb to such things.  If I can't hold this long performance together here at home, how can I do it in front of an audience? scares me pretty badly..

How can I train for these long performances?  Do I just practice doing the performance twice?  That is, get accustomed to playing for 80 minutes straight?

I find it better to study the individual pieces seperately for a while then attempt to play them all together instead of simply cycling from one to the next. To finish your practice for the day you should play through the entire set, but before that you should be studying each one individually and repeating trouble spots and learning to play over mistakes if they happen for individual peices.

[tds]

in the next two months, i'll have to have a total of three and a half hours worth of repertoire ( including concerti ) absolutely ready to play its entirety at any given moment. and by this time, there is no way i'd be able to play thru everything twice a day. i'd just be very happy if i could play everything once and flawlessly everyday. yes, i know i'd be slaving myself big time before i could ever reach that point ( i feel a tremendous pain as i typed this message ).

but yeah, in any case, playing thru your program ( when it's ready ) at least once everyday, for at least two weeks before an important event, is necessary. tds