Cant play under stress

[yup790]

When I practise and no one can hear I play well, to the best of my ability.
However, as soon as someone walks in - even if its my parents - or I press record my hands seize and I cant play.

How do I get over nerves.  I can play well to myself one minute, then mess up he first line the next.

What do I do.

[mjames]

It's simple really; just as you practice your pieces in order to play well, you can practice playing in front of other people by playing in front of other people. What I like to do, go to bars/restaurants where you can play for people. Try and play easier pieces at first, or some background music then as you become more comfortable you'll become bolder and your tensions will ease. The only cure is to play in front of people.

[m1469]

While it's true that practicing performing is a big part of an aspect of the solution, I generally believe that most people who leave it at that have been performing about as long as they can remember, were raised under certain circumstances that supported them in performance (without even necessarily realizing it this way), and generally don't remember or know what piano practice is without it being attached to performance.  For them, it's a kind of comprehensive muscle that is either being exercised regularly or is out of shape, but either way, one in which they can just kind of call upon and use when needed.

Some people have to actually learn how to perform in a more conscious way, and need to grow and develop in an understanding about how performance and practice are related.  Performing can be a good way to discover strengths and weaknesses that were not necessarily apparent in solitary practice, and it can be helpful to have somebody outside of oneself, a teacher, for example, who is knowledgeable about performing, about pianism, and who is hopefully invested enough in a student's ability to perform to give a student feedback highlighting strengths and weaknesses as needed, and who can aid in a student's perspective on performance to grow into something digestible and usable for them personally.