mind

[henrikhank]

When you play a really difficult piano (or organ) piece that you tough you would never play, what is going on in your mind by that time?

What should one do internally when playing? what do you think?

[outin]

One part of my brain is alternating between "I can't believe I am actually doing this" and "I'm going to mess up soon" or sometimes "was this what my teacher said I should do" or "what was it again that my teacher said about this part". Every now and then: "What was that finger to use again/the key to play...help...I'm losing the tempo if I can't remember soon..."

Another part is listening to the piece in my mind, how it should sound and comparing what comes out of the piano trying to adjust. When this part manages to take over I sometimes get the "flow", just play and the above mentioned parts are silent. But this happens rarely...

[j_menz]

I don't see that the difficulty of a piece changes what goes on in your mind when you play it. When you can actually play it, you are thinking of the music; being "in" the music. This is true as much of the Hammerklavier as of Fuer Elise.