Champagne Rag - Playing After Some Glasses...

[dschoenenberger]

Hi

I have experienced that I play much better (and don't mess up) after having drunk some wine or champagne half an hour before a performance!

There has been a discussion about betablockers. Alcohol (with measure of course) probably has a similar effect, but it dont makes you too cool! Your music becomes rather more emotional, and there is no stagefright. Perhaps that is because you dont clearly perceive the audience.

Wondering about your comments and own experience,
Dominik Schoenenberger.

[amee]

What an interesting topic!  However I believe you play best when there are no chemicals in your bloodstream.  Nervousness is natural and normal; it helps some people play better and strive higher.  Of course there are those who can't cope with nervousness at all, but that problem should be solved with lots of practice.  Wouldn't alchohol also make you forget passages and blur your mind and fingers?  I've never drunk it to the point of being tipsy so I'm not sure of the effect.

It also depends on your own body.  Alchohol may have an entirely positive effect on some; making them play better, forgetting nervousness etc, but it may also get to another person's head and have a disastrious effect.

Just my personal opinion...

[frederic]

I sometimes drink a tiny bit of red wine before i start to practise. I mostly drink things with caffeine. Like coffee or tea and sometimes energy drink. It helps me concentrate and won't get so tired if i practise until very late.

[Colette]

I absolutely cannot function if i drink before i play. my fingers just don't move. strangely, what helps is being sick...yes i know it's weird, but i've found that when i've performed under bad conditions, like being sick, it forces me to concentrate 10 times more than normal, resulting in a better effort and outcome. i have a concert on sunday, so wish me ill health!
and yes, i guzzle coffee almost every hour when i have to sit at the piano 8-10 hrs a day. probably not the best thing for the body.

[tosca1]

How civilized Dominik! Champagne would be best as the alcohol is more quickly absorbed into the bloodstream.  
Alcohol is a marvellous socializer as it reduces inhibitions and makes you feel convivial.  However, it has not helped me at all when playing the piano as after drinking wine my judgement  and reactions become clouded and I feel that my fingers are even less coordinated.
If it works for you it would be a perfect way to reduce nervousness without having recourse to synthetic drugs which I am sure are more deleterious to our system than a lovely glass of champagne.
Cheers!
Robert.

[e60m5]

One may also argue that having had a few glasses merely makes you ::think:: that you play better...  

However, on a more serious note, I find that whenever I drink before I play, as said elsewhere in this topic, I seem to be much less inhibited, and take more risks in my play - whether or not I take sensible risks tends to depend on just how :much: I drink...

A positive effect, all in, on playing? In some cases, I'd think so, yeah... but it doesn't help being crash drunk at the keyboard.

[jdskee]

Wow! I feel the same about driving my driving skills after I knock back a few.

Have you tried taping your performances after having a few glasses and then listening to them when you are sober?

I suppose it would be ok at a party where everyone is halfway to sloshed and they wont care if you screwup as much, but at a concert where people have paid to hear you I would stay away from anything that could alter your brain.

[Legatello]

Some artists take drugs before getting on the stage, like Bob marley and others. I dunno if they did that to stay cool or because they were addicts but it seems they played very well  

Anyways, maybe a glass of wine is ok, but getting really happy before playing the piano cannot be something good!

[_Nicole]

I'll have to test this theory out when I turn 21. I'm only 15 at the moment, so that wouldn't go over too well with my parents. I know a lot of songwriters like to get pretty tipsy and then write something.

Nicole

[Bosendorfer_214]

I have a feeling that having a glass of wine might help with composure.  But too much might affect your ability to make rational decisions.  Like Nicole, I am 15 so I am not sure.  I may have to wait a while, but it may be the breakthrough that I am looking for.  

Nick

[Lucy]

I personally find that in most cases, what alcohol does is accentuates your current mood, whatever that is. Like ... if I drink when happy, I feel even happier, if I drink when I'm upset (which I avoid at all costs!) I just get so depressed.

I've never tried drinking before a performance ... although this one time I tried playing my violin when drunk. I ... broke the E string. hope that helps .. ^_~

[88keys]

I know a lot of songwriters like to get pretty tipsy and then write something.

Writing a song (or a classical piece) is very different than sitting at the piano and playing it!

When composing a new piece of music, what you need is a free flow of ideas. If new original music is what your looking for, being concentrated and focused may actually be a bad thing. That is exactly why most composers seldom get the ideas for their music when they sit next to the piano...

Unlike the composer, a performer must be concentrated and focused when playing a piece.

So I find it hard to believe that wine or drugs or whatever can enhance the quality of a pianist. Actually, I would venture to say, that those who play well while being "high", are playing well in spite of what they have in their bloodstream, rather than because of it.

[Johnnylightning]

Hi

I have experienced that I play much better (and don't mess up) after having drunk some wine or champagne half an hour before a performance!

Me 2!  My stagefright destroys my performance