Warming Up Before Competition or Audition

[marielofredwall]

(I haven't posted here in quite a few years, hello!)

I've had several auditions in the past few months, and I was wondering what would be a good warm up to test the piano? My hands sometimes shake as I play, or my hands are still cold despite doing several scales. Also, the piano can be unfamiliar sometimes and I was wondering what I could do to quickly get a feel for it the few minutes before performing. Thanks so much!

[briansaddleback]

Hammerklavier

[rachmaninoff_forever]

This is probably horrible advice but this is what I do.

If I don't have a lot of time to warm up, I just whip out the most stamina demanding piece I know at the moment and play it over and over again until I'm warm.

Scales and arpeggios don't do anything for me, I always warm up with repertoire.  Preferably stuff that I'm not gonna be playing for the competition or audition.  But if it is, then before I go on stage I'll play a piece or passage of piece that's completely unrelated to what I'm auditioning with.

[visitor]

Years ago i made the difficult transition to learning how to and gettung used to playing and performing without "warming up".
Its an easy trap to fall victim to but way impractical. You wont always have the opportunity to play in private before a lesson, recital, competing or audition., and every time you insist on and go out of your way to further develop warm up strategies you are tying your self to a deeper reliance to the point it can handicap you if you are placed in a position where you have to perform and there is no time or access to a practice instrument.

what do you do if you are  one of many on a list of players so you need to be ready and waiting, potentially a hour or more?  What about playing in a very clold auditorium or outside even (both have happened to me)?

You should work to adjust your practice and preperformance routine to  that for example you perform or give your best shot to your piece the moment you play your first note of the day at your practice session

allow yourself to go straight into lessons without warm up (the better your prep has been the less matters if warmed up).

People like to say warm up but for many its just pre practice.
You are plaing the piano, not exactly a great athletic event, its not the 400m hurdles or gymnastics.

Its nice o be ale to run through and preplay a bit, however, the sooner you can separate this in your mind as a luxury and not rely on it so much, the better off you will be.

as for unfamiliar  pianos, serious events will make the instrument available in day or days before event so hall stage reservation us your best control
2nd choice is to find access to a practice instrument of same brand and model or similar model and vintage. They will usally share may characteristics

The skill to develop is to learn how to guage the pianos feel in firs few seconds of playing and adjust . Practicng on lots and lots of different pianos helps.

Once you learn you piece get time on a junker, if you can make it sound good, then its easier when you sit at a better one.

.

[esmusssein]

Whatever you do, don't play Chopin's "Black Keys" étude. Someone I knew did it, and it didn't go down with the committee listening to her, even though the audition hadn't started. They considered it both useless as warmup and pretentious.

[tinyking12345]

If there is hot water, I always wash my hands under hot water... it helps my fingers move more easily

[briansaddleback]

Chopin Sonata 2 Lento Movement.

[minhogang]

Daniil Trifonov once said in an interview that he practices on warm water because it has weight right before a recital. That is if there is no warm up piano. Also carry a hand warmer with you (my advice)

[esmusssein]

Oh I totally forgot! I recently went back to playing the piano after a misdiagnosed injury that cost me more than two decades of silence, so what I absolutely do as part of warm up is the basics of my physical therapy, i.e. three sorts of stretches and push-ups against the wall having a certain incline. Since I may only play by sitting on a tush cush to support my spine, I also stretch my back, including letting gravity relieve pressure from my disks. I repeat after finishing my playing for the day.

[briansaddleback]

Warm up with the piece you will be performing.

[pianorahrah]

My teacher has taught me to do some exercises, such as jumping jacks or touching your fingers to the base of your palm. It improves blood circulation and will warm up your hands.
Warm up on the piano with some scales and the hard parts of your pieces.