Degression

[mosis]

I'm going to cry.

I have been playing Chopin's op. 9 no. 1 nocturne absolutely perfectly all week. It was, what Bernhar would call, "grape juice." All the notes were in the right place, all the tempo was correct, all the cross-rhythms were even, and I could do this whenever I wanted over and over again.

Today, I sit down at the piano, and everything is just sucking. What the *** is going on? I could play it perfectly and now all of a sudden I'm screwing up the left hand arpeggios, I'm choking on the cross rhythms, and I can't hit a note to save my life? What happened? I didn't "skip any steps" or "cut any corners." I was playing as I've always been playing, and now it's dreadful!

This has happened before. I don't know what to do. This has plagued this piece and others many times. What's going? Please help before I go insane.

[klavierkonzerte]

this is totally normal we all have off days.

maybe taking a day off the piano or playing easy slow pieces the you enjoy plaing might help.

[mosis]

You know, I pretty much just solved my own problem. =o

I turned on the metronome and ran through the piece twice with it on. I then turned it off and I played fine. I was playing the piece faster and louder than normal, whether it be due to my fatigue or anxiety or whatnot, and this was affecting my technique. When I just slow the nocturne down to about 96 bpm (as opposed to the 116 bpm I see on my sheet; WHO PLAYS IT THAT FAST?) and quiet it down, the expression is clearer, the notes are correct, and I don't choke at the cross-rhythms.

However, I am having some issues with memorizing the "sotto voce" part. I'll work on that tomorrow.