Tiger Woods and Piano Technique

[Allan]

I read a while ago that the father of golfing phenom, Tiger Woods, used to teach his son to deal with distractions while he played practice rounds.  Tiger became mentally tough by "playing through" distractions.  Often when we practice our pieces (in front of friends, for example), we try to emulate a perfectly silent environment which is unrealistic.  Next time, have a complete rehearsal in which you emulate the stage environment by having your friends cough a little and make some motions in your peripheral vision--get used to distractions and don't make them as big a deal.   Perhaps this method will help you in future performances.

[Clare]

I think I almost have the opposite problem - my piano's in a thoroughfare where my housemates are always walking to and fro around me, and chatting and stuff. When I have to play in front of a quiet person, I freak out! I think, why are you so silent?
But, yeah - the more you can play in an environment just like a real performance, the more at home you will feel.

[Dave_2004_G]

That never seems to be too much of a problem for me - I don't know why, but I just seem to somehow shut the audience out when I perform, I don't really notice them
That's not to say I don't get nervous, but I guess I concentrate so hard that I don't really notice being in a room with an audience!

Dave

[donjuan]

If you are a good pianist, and the listener is a good listener, there should be no talking.  The whole idea of having people talk (telling them to talk) during a performance is absurd.  If you were a poetry reader, would you invite friends over to distract you while you read?

Tiger Woods is a golfer.  Golf is a sport.  I hope no one here considers piano a sport.  Piano is expression- like art- in which the piano is the canvas and you are the painter.

The fact is, if you play for some friends, (who dont know much about music or anything in specific) most will not take your effort seriously,( talking, yelling out, "whoa, this guy's GOOD"), there's no reason for you to take them seriously.

in all honesty, I try to avoid playing for friends who aren't involved with music themselves, because the result is always the same - I especially hate it when they talk about how great I am, even when I know I haven't played very well.  

But, then again, if it weren't for these people who are amazed by anything, the concert hall would be empty, and we would all be out of a job..
donjuan  

[Allan]

I play golf.  Golf, to me, is a sport, but it also is an art.  Just ask a golfer  about the mental and emotional challenge of the game, the beauty of a great swing and the ball going a long way---ahhh!  I think Donjuan is taking my humble thoughts a bit too seriously.  

I really enjoy playing music for folks who have a musical background.  But I relish, simply relish, playing for the inexperienced.  Recently, I played  Bach for some high school students who knew mostly rock and roll.  I told them that the fuge had a tune, that it was first stated in the tenor, then in the alto and then in the bass, that it was a masterpiece of musical architecture.  The kids loved it, and, yes, they were not completely silent.  But even among attentive and mature audiences, there is some noise (coughing, wheezing, sneezing, sniffling  and shuffling).  Learning to play even in less than ideal conditions can be a helpful tool for performers.

[donjuan]

You play Bach for ignorant high schoold students?  You must really be a genius to make them listen, I mean REALLY listen to such music.  I believe those who are involved completely with rock and roll, (or even worse, RAP) have very short attention spans and sneer immediately upon mentioning music older than them.

I played Liszt for them (the bumptuous, strepitoso kind..).  They were impressed, usually saying stuff like , "whoa, your hands move fast! YOu really know how to push those buttons.  I loathe ignorance, and because of my disposition, I try not to play for them.

Personally, I have never been bothered by coughs or movement in the audience- anything a result of the subconscious-.  I would probably be worse off if someone were flicking the lights on and off...
donjuan

[Allan]

I took a little time to "unpact" the music with the high school students I played for.  I actually spoke to them before I played in order to share with them a little of my enthusiasm for the music.  After I played one kid told me he was going to buy a Bach organ cd!  I don't get many opportunities like this, but I hope more will come.  Kids, of course,  love "the beat," and I tell them that Bach was a rythmic genius.    A couple of the high school kids I played for previously came to a recital I played in and they actually enjoyed it!  I looked at them with a smile and I said "You kids are terrific!"   I hope I can share more with kids like these.

[donjuan]

I just hope to meet more kids like these.
donjuan

[steveolongfingers]

Tiger Woods is a golfer.  Golf is a sport.  I hope no one here considers piano a sport.  
 

I hate to go off topic, but a fun thing to do is to go to university pianos and try and chip the ivory on the keys.  Or smashing really cheap pianos that you get for free buy playing really really hard, then cremating the remains on the beach.  ( thats only happend twice, because getting them tuned wasnt worth it!!!!!!) those are kind of like a sport.

[donjuan]

I hate to go off topic, but a fun thing to do is to go to university pianos and try and chip the ivory on the keys.  Or smashing really cheap pianos that you get for free buy playing really really hard, then cremating the remains on the beach.  ( thats only happend twice, because getting them tuned wasnt worth it!!!!!!) those are kind of like a sport.

man...you are like the ultimate ritualistic redneck pianist..

[steveolongfingers]

man...you are like the ultimate ritualistic redneck pianist..

The only problem, I like in canada, i dont have incestious affairs........darn

[donjuan]

The only problem, I like in canada, i dont have incestious affairs........darn

you "like in canada"??  

wal, ah reckn thates rail good, yip.. ;Dummhmm, whuts with'em boys goin down yonder to that thare fishin' hole every week, yep.

A redneck accepts an Oscar:

Ah'd lack tuh thank the muther uh mah chald, ...muh mother..
donjuan

[steveolongfingers]

OKay, I LIVE IN Canada, doesnt mean i have to know how to spell.  LOL

[donjuan]

OKay, I LIVE IN Canada, doesnt mean i have to know how to spell.  LOL

really? what province? I LIVE in AB.
donjuan

[Spatula]

GO FLAMES GO! Hint Hint

Spatula = Drillyourfingers returns

[donjuan]

GO FLAMES GO! Hint Hint

Spatula = Drillyourfingers returns

Go Oilers Go!!
hint...
donjuan

[piano_luvr]

You play Bach for ignorant high schoold students?  You must really be a genius to make them listen, I mean REALLY listen to such music.

Hey...don't judge high school students so harshly!  Not all high school students/young people for that matter are "ignorant".  When I was in high school (or even when I was in middle school) I was very knowledgable of other types of music other than rap and rock.  In fact, I knew of other students who had a love for music also.  I had  a GREAT appreciation for classical music (and I still do), and I played piano also.  Sure there are some HS students that are "ignorant" about the whole thing, but so are some adults. 

I don't think it's right to bash other forms of music.  I look at ALL types of music as an art form, and commendable in their own right.  I may not LIKE all  genres of music, however I think I can appreciate them all as art. I  don't think that one type of genre of music should be put ABOVE other types.  I think all music basically serves the same purpose; to inspire.  Maybe other people are inspired by different types of music. It doesn't make it "wrong". 

I happen to be pretty eclectic in my musical tastes.  I like anything from rock to rap, from pop to classical, yet I try not to look down on others if they like certain types of music different from my own tastes. It's not bad, just different that's all. 

I somewhat agree with Allan. I think Allan made a good point about the golf/music analogy.  A golfer (or any sportsman/woman) may feel that thier sport is a work/form of art.  I think it does help to have people make distractions every now and then while you're practising so that when you DO perform in front of a large audience, you feel more comfortable.  I would take this advice only if noisy audiences during your performance is what trips you up.  For some people, too MUCH silence can be too distracting. LOL*

Just a thought....