emotions into perfomance

[pianoviolin]

I hope this doesn't sound stupid or anything for all you great pianists out there,
but when I'm at home practicing i can totally concentrate on feeling the music but when I go do a performance, all those emotions that were there are not there.
I'm always concentrating on not hitting the wrong keys!
It totally sucks.

So is there any advise on how I could concentrate on feeling the beautiful music instead of just worrying and worrying??

Thanks.

[spencervirt]

The more that you practice, the more comfortable you will feel about hitting the right notes. When you practice so much that you cant hit a wrong note, it will become easier for you to relax and concentrate on the music.

If you're worrying so much about hitting a wrong note that it hurts your musicality, you probably aren't ready to perform that piece. I had this problem with a recital that I had playing a Chopin nocturne. I had learned the entire last page basically the night before. I had tried to prepare in a short amount of time and couldn't. What I did was accept that I wasn't ready, accept that I was going to miss notes, and I went up there and concentrated on making a beautiful interpretation. I flubbed a bar, but the rest was played musically, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been! Never strive for perfectionism, it will scare you. Just accept beforehand that you are going to miss a few notes. It will relieve the pressure. Remember, you're still an amateur! We all miss notes.

If you're not worried so much about the notes, it's easier to let the piece breathe and easier to feel the music. Hope that helps somewhat.

Spencer

[jonnyjohn]

concentrating on not hitting the wrong notes...if you do end up not hitting the wrong notes...then what... your performance just going to be average.

interpret the piece and make it convincing....so even if you play the wrong notes it'll be worth applauding.

Hmm a weird practice tip I can give you is just to go read a movie script and try to act it out. You'll gradually learn how it is to feel to channel a particular emotion, and once you are comfortable with channeling particular emotions you'll be able to use it in music and feel more comfortable acting it out on stage

[pianoviolin]

thank you so much for those words! It really helped me.

Is there any more advice people can give me?

[mcdiddy1]

You should take steps to working out how to deal with stage anxiety. Music making is the manipulations of sounds to imitate emotions. A sound cannot not be happy or sound but it can manipulated into a way the sounds like an emotion. If you want to have music that sounds emotional then you need to learn to have the technique to manipulate the instrument under pressure.

When you hear that you're playing sounds flat or emotionless, it simply means you are not having the same depth of dynamics, control of tempo, or fluidity of movement. In other words it is not like the minute you are on stage you lose your human emotions and become a robot. You simply suffer from being constrained by feelings of judgement and a will for perfection or a varsity of other reasons

Some things you can do is,
 memorize the music so well you could executing visualize the notes,potentially write them down,
play with your eyes close, and
 Play from any section of the music.
practice playing very slow to break your muscle memory so you will not rely on it
 Basically that deals with being completely prepared so the act of executing the music is easier.

Another thing you can do is play in front of people all the time. Get used to people watching you playing and take out the judgement. Create practice sessions where you imagine you are on state and under the most pressure in the world and allow yourself to play free regardless of mistakes. Overplay the dynamics in your practice and act out the music. When you can go overboard, when you actually step on the stage your movements will naturally be much less due to nerves.

Best thing you can do for yourself is record yourself. Many times we get a false impression on how we actually sound because when we practice we are focused on many other aspects. When you record yourself, you may surprise yourself how much different your impression of how you played is from how it actually sounded. Things may be better and things may be worse but you will get an impression on how it sounds to an audience. You may find the "emotion" you look for  in the music was there and you didn't realize it.

[okforall]

Practice is the answer to comfort in performance

Regards, Ok

[go12_3]

I can understand what you are saying, pianoviolin.

There are times when I practice, I just play the notes with no emotion. Sometimes I practice for technique, making sure I am learning the notes and fingering.  Then the next step is the comfort level, when I can play without worrying about the technical aspect of the score.  At this level, I think of the phrasing...which I become more sensitive to the sounds that I produce when I strike the keys.

I think after learning a piece for a while, it becomes a part of me, a part of what I am becoming as a person and as a pianist.  It's the experience that I embrace while playing a piece with emotion.  The emotion will come after learning the technical aspects of the music.   I have days I may not feel as good and so I just play the notes.  I know I cannot play with emotion on every piece I'm learning nor can I play with emotion each day.  Also, the worrying may ease up as you become more comfortable in learning a piece because it will grow within you.

 I've been learning Debussy's First Arabesque for a long time.  The poly-rhythms are a beast to learn!  THAT was technical!  So I had to concentrate on that along with the fingering throughout the whole piece.  However, in time, I grew more comfortable in playing as the piece grew inside my mind and heart.  Now, I can play this piece with ease, pleasure and with emotion.

Embrace what you have learned on the piano, pianoviolin, because music should not ever have to make you worry so much.   

[pianoviolin]

Thank you soo so much! Wise words right there!

This really helped me over the past few weeks as I performed in my classes. I was really thinking about these things.

It feels like my performance side of things has stepped up onto an upper level

I've learnt Debussy's First Arabesque last year or something, and oh golly gosh, those poly-rhythms were a pain! As I went through learning the technical side to it, as you said, it actually did grow inside my mind and heart. And yous just made me realize that.

Thank you all once again!

[go12_3]

Thank you soo so much! Wise words right there!

This really helped me over the past few weeks as I performed in my classes. I was really thinking about these things.

It feels like my performance side of things has stepped up onto an upper level

You're welcome!  And best wishes in your classes!   

[liszt_ani_rach]

show emotions by the softness or loudness of the piece, and legatos, etc..
but don't be like Lang Lang (my advice)..

[prok_2]

It's been said that a trained musician's brain will respond to music differently to someone with no training or education in music. The emotional response in 'normal' people or non-musicians are said to take place in the right hand side of the brain whereas for musicians the response to music or emotion is in the left hand side of the brain.

This simply means that we are more analytical about our art rather than emotional. We listen to harmony, melody and rhythm whereas the person with no musical training is simply enjoying the aesthetic aspect of the performance not always understanding the technical or academic part of music. It is therefore said that it's better to go on stage without any of the everyday emotions and simply focus on the music in order to have a successful performance.

I'm currently doing a course at University called Music, Health and the Brain where we discuss these issues with regards to the psychology of music...

Hope that helps a bit

[forgottenbooks]

I know that feeling. I'm always concerned about not making mistakes when there is an audience. When I make a mistake, I can almost hear them tut-tutting inside their heads. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone can give you tips on how to get over the fear of making mistakes. It needs to come from within you, philosophically.

[mcdiddy1]

You can also read some excellent advice from music practice book such as "A Soprano on her head" and The Perfect Wrong Note"

Basically the advice they give is letting go of inhibitions and fears and acceptance of your playing in the moment and using the "mistakes" as learning moments. The both feature great chapters about overcoming stage fright and getting over the common feelings of being judged by the audience. In  The Perfect Wrong Note, it talks about playing music in a way where you are projecting the music onto the audience rather than feeling the weight of judgement by "judges" in the audience.

Learning to play in public is part of the music journey everyone takes and like everything eles the more you are prepared for the moment and more you practice doing it the better you will get.

[teresa_b]

Hi, Haven't been back here for awhile--I feel for you, because I have had the same problem--self-consciousness can keep you from "being the music" in performance!  The previous suggestions are good.

You know how people sometimes say that if they are in a blah mood, and they purposely smile, they start to feel much better?  It can work for performing too!  Other than KNOWING the notes cold as best you can, I find that it's helpful to imagine a scenario that fires up your imagination (For example, recently I played Mozart's G minor Piano Quartet--imagining characters in an opera pleading, blustering, joyously prancing--all helpful!).  Also, simply gesturing--body movements to reflect the mood of the music, weight where it needs to be, a spritely attitude with a smile on your face during those happy passages--all stuff that I find puts me into the spirit!
 
Have FUN!
Teresa

[paedelium]

I too have a problem with my perception of the audience always being critical -- especially as a first year performing in piano class in front of all the teachers and 40 odd piano students (from fellow undergrads to doctorates). A very daunting experience.

I find the best way to relieve pressure in a performance is to welcome it. At the practice rooms in the music school, we often play to each other, taking turns as the performer and critical audience. ("Where can I sit to make you most nervous?" is a question we always ask the performer!) That way, you have enough freedom to perform musically, yet still retain that bit of pressure to get the notes correctly. You'll find the weak spots in your performance, and work on it to make it really water-tight. So by the time you do perform in front of a bigger audience (which is just another practicing-under-pressure exercise ), your fingers will know the "feel" of performing under pressure so hopefully it will allow you more freedom to lose yourself into the lovely music.  

Don't forget to enjoy it!