what should I be thinking about when performing?

[Glissando]

My teacher says I should be thinking about something when I perform. Usually, I'm thinking along the lines of 'okay, don't flub up the fingering in this passage; crescendo coming up- sink into it; alright, this is a 'happy' passage, play those staccatos nice and bright; etc." However she says that, for example, when playing a sad piece you should try to think of something sad so you can put more emotion into it. My problem with this is that I don't have enough brain power to be thinking about so many things at the same time!!!!
Besides, when I try to do that I usually end up thinking about something stupid- like for Bach's Invention No. 1, I thought of riding my bike- you know, up the hill, down the hill- see it? I thought not.
What is ya'lls opinion on the matter?

[jazzyprof]

It is not necessary to think of something sad in order to bring out the emotion in a sad piece.   It is necessary to LISTEN to yourself play.  How often do you actually listen to yourself while playing?  The composer has written the piece in order to create certain emotions in the listener.  If you follow the written phrasing, dynamics, and rhythmic instructions and listen to your playing, it will evoke certain emotions in you.  Those emotions will then further affect your playing, which will intensify the emotions.  There is a feedback effect here.  But really, the most important thing is to listen to yourself play.

[Brian Healey]

I try not to think about anything while performing. Nothing at all. I try to blank out my mind and let the ideas flow. When it comes right down to it, that's what practice is for. You do all your thinking when you practice, and that way when it comes to performance time, you can just let it happen. The mind is another muscle, and the more you use it while you're playing, the more it will disrupt the natural musical flow.
Definitely don't think, "I hope I don't screw up this section" or anything like that because that will almost guarantee that you will screw it up. Either that or you will be so focused on that part that you will screw up another part. Don't fill your mind with negative thoughts.

Actually, sometimes when I'm playing I pick out a cute girl in the audience and focus on her. I play as if it's just me and her and I serenade her with the piano. I know, it sounds sort of sleazy, but I think it makes my playing sound sexier 

[Sketchee]

I had a recital today and I was pretty nervous before I had to go.  In the past, I had gotten so nervous I'd been visibly shaking and could barely hold the pedal down.  People noticed!  So today I just thought, first of all to think the same way about playing as I did when I practiced. That calmed me down just when I went up there.  I had to play three pieces in a row: one accompaniment and then two solo pieces.

Then when I was playing I just kept thinking about musical things: concentrating on the tempo, trying to remember any cues written on the score, control the dynamic flow of each phrase, etc.   That really helped me from thinking about missing notes even though the pieces I was playing was well under my usual technical skill;  I was assigned these pieces to help with my musicality and interpretation.  THinking about "music crescendo!  This part is marked "con anima now it changed to con forza" really helped.  Also my pieces were both very repetetive so my teacher had emphasized making them sound different on each repeat so I was thinking of that.

[julie391]

1 other tip-

DONT think about the audience naked!!!

it is quite distracting to say the least!

[Glissando]

It is not necessary to think of something sad in order to bring out the emotion in a sad piece.   It is necessary to LISTEN to yourself play.  How often do you actually listen to yourself while playing?  The composer has written the piece in order to create certain emotions in the listener.  If you follow the written phrasing, dynamics, and rhythmic instructions and listen to your playing, it will evoke certain emotions in you.  Those emotions will then further affect your playing, which will intensify the emotions.  There is a feedback effect here.  But really, the most important thing is to listen to yourself play.

See, that is exactly what I thought I should be doing. Exactly! Only I couldn't put it into words like you can.
I always listen to myself play- I mean, what's the point of playing piano if you can't enjoy your own beautiful playing, right?
The only time when I'm actually performing when I forget to and concentrate on technical stuff only is when I am really, really nervous.
I've only been with this teacher for about 6 weeks (I've been through 4 teachers because of moves). My last teacher was a monster and I was super nervous about trying out a new teacher. I think that's why I wasn't playing very expressively. I really like my new teacher though, and have been playing much better for her the last 3 or so lessons.

[Glissando]

IDefinitely don't think, "I hope I don't screw up this section" or anything like that because that will almost guarantee that you will screw it up.

Okay, I'll remember.

[Nana_Ama]

My teacher says I should be thinking about something when I perform. Usually, I'm thinking along the lines of 'okay, don't flub up the fingering in this passage; crescendo coming up- sink into it; alright, this is a 'happy' passage, play those staccatos nice and bright; etc."
 However she says that, for example, when playing a sad piece you should try to think of something sad so you can put more emotion into it.

LoL, I think I have the opposite of your problem, I never think about the crescendos, and things, even though I try, but I get distracted by thinking of a scene.  For instance, while playing an invention, I see two people playing tag, and then I start to get distracted. lol

... when I try to do that I usually end up thinking about something stupid- like for Bach's Invention No. 1, I thought of riding my bike-

well, that's not stupid, that's ...different 

[Ludwig Van Rachabji]

Have you ever seen the movie Shine? In one part, the teacher says something like, "First you must learn the notes so that you can forget all about them." (I don't remember the exact words)

This is true. Don't think about anything. Just let yourself be pulled into the music. Don't think about what comes next or about screwing up. Don't think about anything at all, and you should be fine.

It has always worked for me atleast.

Ludwig Van Rachabji

[jazzyprof]

To reiterate the importance of actually listening to yourself play, here's a quote from Abe (in another thread here), reporting on his recital:

There's a thread asking what you think about when you perform...well, let me tell you. On the Mendelssohn, my mind wasn't very focused, and I was thinking about pretty random stuff. Lol, i was even thinking about whether or not to post anything on this forum about the recital when it was finished! I didn't have very much time to think during the chopin, it's only a minute long. Mainly I was focusing on relaxing my right hand and hitting the right chords in the left. On the Brahms, I tried really hard just to listen to myself, and hear how I sounded. I found this is really helpful: a.) I really got into the music much more than the other peices, b.) I was much more focused, c.) I hit the right notes, and i wasn't just relying on pure muscle memory and reflex.

[nick]

It is not necessary to think of something sad in order to bring out the emotion in a sad piece.   It is necessary to LISTEN to yourself play.  How often do you actually listen to yourself while playing?  The composer has written the piece in order to create certain emotions in the listener.  If you follow the written phrasing, dynamics, and rhythmic instructions and listen to your playing, it will evoke certain emotions in you.  Those emotions will then further affect your playing, which will intensify the emotions.  There is a feedback effect here.  But really, the most important thing is to listen to yourself play.

Agreed!

Nick

[anda]

it has to be a combination of anticipative imagining in your head what you want to play and listening. listening always provides feed-back, i agree, and it is most important, but you have to also play  the work in your head along with the hands. do not think "now this is a cresc", but play the fragment in your head as you want your hands to play it everything (notes, legato/staccato, dynamics, rall, accel, etc.). it always helps the hand, and also keeps you focused on the work and helps getting rid of any fears/shaking/anything else non-piano related.