HELP WITH CHOPIN

[xtopher]

im playing chopin nocturne op 55 no 1
and what i was thinkin to do while i perform it..
i can keep my head down in the p parts and in the f parts like waking up??
any suggestion or ideas??

[Antnee]

In other words your going to use your body to create a sort of show right??? Never use totally uneccesary body motions. It completely distracts from the music which is what you want to show. Good luck with your performance!

-Tony-

[willcowskitz]

Never use totally uneccesary body motions. It completely distracts from the music which is what you want to show.

Naaa not necessarily. It could be bit like dancing, you connect the mind with your body and strengthen the flow of communication between them. On the other hand, if its planned beforehand like "In that part I will do this and that" then it'll serve no real purpose but to act as a musician, and that's something you shouldn't need to act. If you would want express moods with your body as addition to the actual music, then trust your intuition and don't force it. Movement must come from inside, remember where the master of your body lies - This also guarantees that you will move accordingly to music, not vice versa, thus not distracting you from what really is the source of expression in that performance.

[abe]

when I performed this peice, i found myself staring off into space or sort of closing my eyes in the beginning part, but when it came to the loud part I became much more intense. it came naturally, no need to plan.

[allchopin]

im playing chopin nocturne op 55 no 1
and what i was thinkin to do while i perform it..
i can keep my head down in the p parts and in the f parts like waking up??
any suggestion or ideas??

What exactly does this have to do with Chopin...?

[Saturn]

Naaa not necessarily. It could be bit like dancing, you connect the mind with your body and strengthen the flow of communication between them. On the other hand, if its planned beforehand like "In that part I will do this and that" then it'll serve no real purpose but to act as a musician, and that's something you shouldn't need to act. If you would want express moods with your body as addition to the actual music, then trust your intuition and don't force it. Movement must come from inside, remember where the master of your body lies - This also guarantees that you will move accordingly to music, not vice versa, thus not distracting you from what really is the source of expression in that performance.

I'm not sure I agree with this.  Of course I agree that movement should come from inside, and that it should be in accordance with the music.

But the thing about "trusting your intuition" on such movements seems suspect.  What is good and proper and serving the purpose of music is often that which, at first may not seem natural at all if we're not used to it, and will not come from our intuition.  Intuition is based on habits, many of which are often wrong.

Amateur pianists who have a habit of "moving" often think that they're "feeling the music", and that their movements are spontaneous and natural.  But if you show them a video tape of it, they will often be appalled by how unnatural they look!  And they will often find that when they eliminate such movement, they actually feel more natural than when they were moving.

So the only real way (in my opinion) to have free and spontaneous movement in performance is to eliminate all unnecessary movement in practice.  If movement finds its way into your practice sessions, it may become ingrained and habitual rather than natural, and that's something you want to avoid.

- Saturn

[willcowskitz]

But the thing about "trusting your intuition" on such movements seems suspect.  What is good and proper and serving the purpose of music is often that which, at first may not seem natural at all if we're not used to it, and will not come from our intuition.  Intuition is based on habits, many of which are often wrong.

I should add, intuitive movement includes foreseeing movements as whole, as its true cognitive, flawless (doesn't involve conscious translation) flow of emotion and mood, and to make it complete you must be conscious of both ends of your moves, just like you can't play a piece by only playing each bar, or play part of the piece (a bar) by only playing the notes - There must be connectivity. Moving on impulse is another thing.

Unless you're playing directly from the score, you have the piece memorized to some degree and possess the whole in your head as some kind of a message, thus you don't move according to that single note or bar, but being conscious of continuity of the piece - you wouldn't take a jump if you knew the ground was about to move from beneath you - bringing your body into the cognitive process only to make the image of musical content more vivid to yourself. In a way it is similar to therapy, or dreams, you use another form of communication to bring out the deeper level of the meaning of what you're trying to describe to your audience.

[super_ardua]

im playing chopin nocturne op 55 no 1
and what i was thinkin to do while i perform it..
i can keep my head down in the p parts and in the f parts like waking up??
any suggestion or ideas??

It is a common mistake for people to think the expression should be communicated via body movements.

[Balakirev]

If it doesn't interfere with your music or help you in some kind of way, why not. I think It could add a new dimension to your performance.

It is a common mistake for people to think the expression should be communicated via body movements.

What about all the dancers, comedians, body language  etc.

[paris]

hey i played this beautiful piece, and i know its hard to keep interest because it repeats all the time, BUT you should keep interest for it with your music, NOT with body movements! imagine that you walk in the night, imagine moon and stars...just imagine and it will come.
otherway, it becomes quite boring, if you just repeat without any sense, but with 'beautiful' body movements
       

[super_ardua]

Only the sound of the piano should do the talking