How to get it right ? Help !

[quasimodo]

Lately, I taped the few pieces that I consider learned, in order to listen to myself and also to send it to someone via internet to hear her appreciation. First, for each of the pieces it took thousand times to have a clean take, but ok, it was first experience and it's stressing to know the recording runs. It helped me a lot to work out some passages and find a more or less satisfying sound. Then I did it : no wrong notes, and interpretations which were not that unmusical.

What worries me is that when I play these pieces now, without recording, I only get it right 1 time out of 10 (well maybe I exaggerate but you know what I mean...). There’s always something wrong, sometimes even big disasters and not in a specific passage, it just happens anywhere. My perception is that it’s a mental issue rather than technical. Anyway, I find it's dramatic, as far as there is no audience yet (what would it be if there was )

Do someone have any tips to get rid of my mistakes ? How to get it right at first attempt each time I play a learned piece ?

[Bacfokievrahms]

From what I know of piano playing and getting the right sound when playing a learned piece, I find that there are two factors that affect how you play (assuming the learned piece is completely learned), there could be more, I'm not very experienced.

Confidence and a state of mind/emotional state prepared for playing.

[richard w]

Concentration is an important thing to have, when you are performing. Don't let your mind wander. After that, it is a case of knowing your pieces really well. You need to analyse your pieces and understand them on a theoretical level, as well as breaking them down at the piano and developing the ability to start anywhere in the piece. Knowing as much as you possibly can about the piece will give your mind more than enough to fall back on, if it makes a mistake.

But possibly even more important - don't make mistakes in your practise. It is easier than you think to 'learn' something, and playing a passage wrong two or three times can leave your subconscious with a dilemma in performance. Does it go with the correct version or does it go with the wrong version and run straight into a blind alley, so to speak? You say that you have mistakes occurring anywhere in your piece - well I'd bet good money that they occur where you once had mistakes in your practice. Make a note of any mistakes you ever make, and once you have finished your run-through, go back and work on those areas. Ingrain the correct way to play the piece and remain aware of what could go wrong when you play through. Finally, develop strategies which will enable you to carry on if there areas do go wrong again.

You're not going to get all that into your playing overnight, but in time you can learn good performance strategies.



Richard.

[ryno200sx]

Excellent post Rich! You seem to have identified an issue I have had several times. My teacher would sometimes ask me to start at a certain measure after a mistake. I struggle with this badly, despite the fact that I knew the piece well. It was very frustrating and embarrassing. I was so accustomed to beginning a piece at certain measures that I would experience "brainlock" when I attempted to start at a location other than these certain measures. Now I make sure to test myself by starting at various points throughout the piece regularly. It helps in becoming intimate with the music and prevents practice from becoming rote repetition.

Thanks,
Ryan