How to practice long pieces for upcoming performance?

[maliee01]

Dear all,

Any suggestions on how to practice a fairly long ( 13') piece for a performance that is in 5 days?
I practice small parts slowly with attention to precision, and a page or 2 pages seem to flow nicely in tempo ( it's Allegro throughout), but the whole piece doesn't seem to hang together or I don't have enough stamina to get through  without losing it.  I am torn between playing through over and over vs continuing working on individual parts, slow  VS in tempo...   I might be in trouble...

Thanks for your advice.

[49410enrique]

hmm that's a toughy, my first inclination (which probably may not help) is to advise you to consider rescheduling or cancelling (temporarily) the performance. the standard used on my in school and that I hold myself to now in my contuing study is 14-15 days the piece is 'stage' ready that is I should be able to give a polished musical of performance of the work consistently or the performance date should be rescheduled or i don't participate in the program if it's a mixed deal and can't be moved.

if the , preferrable, above option is not going to work in your case you should be focusing exclusively on the areas you struggle with, using slow targeted practice to make sure you are consistely working through the challenge, and also using what I would use in the week leading to a performance, 'perforamce' practice, that is the week of i am not really practicing the work (it's learned) but i am practicing performing it that is being in an on stage mindset and performing (vs just playing through) the work to the best of my abilities front to back non stop.  little baubles i might address in a separate session to make sure it wasn't nerves but those work themselves out with repition (of 'performances').

so you should probably have three daily sessions, one perform the work, second practice those sections still not ready, three re perform the work integrating the progrss you achieved after identifying (first session ) and addressing (second session).   24 hours out you should not be practicing, and the day of perhaps a run trhough or two in separate sessions if possible before the performance.

[j_menz]

I agree with enrique save that to build the stamina you lack, I'd run through it two or three times in the final practice of the day.

[jesc]

I am torn between playing through over and over vs continuing working on individual parts, slow  VS in tempo...

I'll have to assume that this is a difficult piece relative to you. What I do when tackling difficult pieces is to do both. I study difficult passages individually and then integrate them as a whole.

Studying individual parts doesn't guarantee that the whole is good. For example, I'm studying an etude with a passage labeled "ff" and "vivaccissimo". Studying it independently, I can play it without issues. However, that passage is preceded by another stamina draining staccato going to forte also. Therefore when I play the whole piece, it is not the same.

[schubertiad]

Here are a couple of blog posts from the excellent Graham Fitch which look at exactly this problem. He can explain it much better than I can, so I'll just direct you to the links:

https://practisingthepiano.com/?p=69

https://practisingthepiano.com/?p=1181

[quantum]

In addition to the good advice you have been given above, I would also practice recovery.  That is the ability to get back on your feet if something were to go wrong. 

In the days leading up to a performance, I like to review the piece backwards, from last bar to first.  The object is that you know the direction you are headed, and if something were to happen you can easily get back on track because you know the direction you are headed.  Eg: If you piece were 32 bars in length you may wish to practice the following:  Bar 32,  Bars 30-32,  Bars 24-32,  Bars 16-32, Bars 8-32, Bars 1-32.  Notice how parts of the piece nearer the end receive more repetitions. 

Another exercise to practice is random jumping.  You start the piece at a chosen point, play for a few measures or phrases, then randomly jump to another part of the piece without breaking the continuity of the music.  The focus here is the unbroken flow of music during the jump, you may get strange harmonies but the fluidity of music is never broken.  Eg: Play bars 8-16, 1-4, 16-24, 4-8, 30-32, 8-14, 2-10, 20-32.  You may use the score for this, as the focus is not the memorization but the ability to connect dissimilar phrases in a coherent and unbroken manner.  Nonetheless, memorization can be reinforced using this method, as one is not dependent on the linear timeline of a piece to recall a particular section of music.   

[maliee01]

You all have  been amazingly helpful!
Canceling is not an option - fortunately or unfortunately... I am going for my personal best in this performance, not trying to dazzle or win a competition. I am back to music and performance after several years of doing other things, so I am trying to be gentle to myself and just be proud that I was able to put together few serious pieces in a short period of time.
Cheers!

[49410enrique]

In addition to the good advice you have been given above, I would also practice recovery.  That is the ability to get back on your feet if something were to go wrong.  

In the days leading up to a performance, I like to review the piece backwards, from last bar to first.  The object is that you know the direction you are headed, and if something were to happen you can easily get back on track because you know the direction you are headed.  Eg: If you piece were 32 bars in length you may wish to practice the following:  Bar 32,  Bars 30-32,  Bars 24-32,  Bars 16-32, Bars 8-32, Bars 1-32.  Notice how parts of the piece nearer the end receive more repetitions.  

Another exercise to practice is random jumping.  You start the piece at a chosen point, play for a few measures or phrases, then randomly jump to another part of the piece without breaking the continuity of the music.  The focus here is the unbroken flow of music during the jump, you may get strange harmonies but the fluidity of music is never broken.  Eg: Play bars 8-16, 1-4, 16-24, 4-8, 30-32, 8-14, 2-10, 20-32.  You may use the score for this, as the focus is not the memorization but the ability to connect dissimilar phrases in a coherent and unbroken manner.  Nonetheless, memorization can be reinforced using this method, as one is not dependent on the linear timeline of a piece to recall a particular section of music.  

this is great advice i also forgot to mention something like this and am happy you brought that in, when i use it i call them 'memory' stations, i picture the piece like a moving train, we both start together, and i have in my mind/ear several important (numbered or lettered) 'stations' where should i realy come up on a complete mental and muscle memory blank of how to proceed i jump to (forward, 99% of the time it is better to move forward than move back only to come to the same stop a 2nd time) the next one and keep on keeping on.

analyze the score and label/name them, usually important musical places such as high points/points of arrival, key changes, new sections (i.e. form wise), etc., or important chords etc are great places. so get those memorized and practice playing and suddenly stoppting and going right on to the next section and keep going. this can save a performance and turn what could have been a disasterous 'blank out' into a merely 'forgettable' bauble.

also final thoughts on my end, really really polish the starting and ending sections (especially closing measures!) as people will tend to really remember how a piece began and ended (even the ending more so).

if you have time, take a film of your playing and watch for strange faces or anything funky try to work that out you don't want to look like a certain pianist whoose name rhymes with 'bang-bang' up there most of the time.....

PS what are  you playing?

[maliee01]

Thanks again, Enrique
I am playing Beethoven's 3rd movement of the Tempest and  2 parts of Bach's Partita 6.
My goal was really to enjoy whatever  I can deliver rather than to wrestle these pieces to the ground,  but it might not happen this time. After all these years I forgot how much work and attention to details goes into performing, I just remembered my " high" . Oh, well...