Your performance rituals

[pianoman53]

I thought it could be both fun and educating to write down all those rituals or "steps" you have before concerts. I think (and hope) that everyone's got them, and that they all have the "I know I'm getting nervous before all concert.. BUT THIS IS DIFFERENT!!".
So to tell yourself "No, it's not. It's the same eeeevery time!" by writing it down, and to see that you're not alone (and to laugh a bit at other people's steps) maybe could be a good idea.

Okay, so I start!

From the day I find out that I have a concert to the moment right after the concert.

1. "Yes, I have a concert! This time, Everything will be different, and there will be scouts that will say that I'm really good, and that I should play at their concert, and I will get an amazing career!!"

2. (couple of weeks before the conert) "It's going according to plan! I just have to know every single note!"

3. (But more than one week before the concert) "Okay.. TOMORROW, i will learn every single note!", I also start to get a bit bored with what I play, and it's not unusual that I start playing new pieces.

4. (Like 5 or 6 of days before). "Dammit! I still don't know every single note! I will fail every freaking piece, and play wrong notes everywhere! I know I think this every time, but this time is different, after this, I WILL quit piano!... Ooh, let's play this new piece..!" This is usually where, suddenly, nothing works. A warming up scale becomes Feux Follet, and the pieces I play becomes even more impossible.

5. (a few days before) "... okay, one more day of practicing every phrase, sloooowly..." I start practicing less and less. From my usual 5-7 hours down to 4...

6. (The day before concert) ... down to barely nothing. Just looking through the pieces, where the difficult parts are, maybe practicing some technique. "It will actually go quite well.. I actually know this!"

7. (The concert day) "FUUUUUCK!!!! WHY DIDN'T I PRACTICE MORE! I FREAKING HATE THIS! EVERY TIME! EVERY F-ING TIME!! I know I always say this.. But I will stop playing concerts after this!... WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BE FREAKING QUIET! I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!!!!" And whatever composer I play, it's the most difficult composer there is, end of story!

8. (after) "Huh? Noo, I wasn't that nervous, it was waaay worse before" And it usually goes quite well...


So, here are my life before a concert... What's yours?

[nanabush]

Even if know a piece really well, if someone else plays before me, and they play well, my heart rate increases and I immediately feel discouraged.

I can't stand that, and it always happens, but I still play fine.  I no longer have shaky hands or feet thank god.

Recitals, I kind of just go in, play my stuff with the idea that people came because they wanted to see me play; not that they wanted to give me a grade or a snobby critique.

Masterclasses, *** those are awful.  I had to play Alborada del Gracioso after two people played concerto movements.  They each played for about 12-15 minutes, and they nailed the pieces.  Then my damn brain was telling me that I was playing an inferior piece of music, and that if I made mistakes it would be all over.

I ended up playing it OK, but I felt I was overthinking about how fast I was taking the repeated notes, and those didn't go over too well.

[avguste]

Here are mine for each concert season:

-practice 3-4 hours per day. Minimum 3-4 days per week (because of teaching). This includes the summer vacations.
-each of my practices is organized and i know specifically which piece I am working on.
-I use a software called CompoundTime https://www.compoundtime.com to keep automatically track of my practices (when I dont forget to activate it). And each practice is automatically posted to facebook and twitter
-between the previous and the new season , I usually take 2 vacations (usually a couple of days up to 1 week each)
-when the season starts, I continue my regular practice 3-4 hours per day.
-when I travel around the country (which is quite often), I make sure to be able to practice 1-2 hours wherever I am. Especially if I am on the road for more than 1 week at a time.
-the closest the concerts come, the more focused I become.
-right before I get on stage, I do my breathing exercises and similar to many think that I could have practiced more.
-I enter on stage and I perform.

I have been actively performing since 2008 and so far, in 4 years of performances (that is about a total of 48 total concerts), only 3 concerts havent been as good as could be.

[camille101]

The day before a performance, I tend to pray like its the apocalypse.
Camille