Musicians (specially pianists) I need help.?

Question

Ok, I ´m gonna have this piano test in a month and I have to memorize 4 short pieces to play them in front of a small audience. I´ve done it before but I still find it very hard (both memorize and play in public without forgetting the notes, fingering etc.).
What tips can you give me to memorize better and quicker and to play in public?. Thanks!!!

Answer 1

Practice reading ahead. Sing the music to yourself when you are away from your instrument.

STOP PLAYING NOTES! Play music! Each of your four pieces is a story! Each has something, about life, to say!

Tell the story with your instrument! Make the females that hear you want to go have SEX NOW! Make the males want to sit at your feet and be your slave for ever.

It is not about playing notes correctly, it is about feelings, your feelings and your moving your audience with your feelings.

The notes are a guide to this particular story, it is not your story, it is the author’s story. You just get to communicate it with your feelings.

Until you can do this, you will never play!

I do not know you personally, but I know that you are a beautiful soul! I know that you can walk into the room and every male will want to be near you! I know that God has formed you as no other creature on this earth, and that from the tips of your fingers flow all the forces of nature, every temptation that has led man to his grave, and all the joy that has raised him up form it!

Look in the mirror and see your inner self, look at your piano and let it become one with you. Sit and play, no music, play around the themes that you are to play. Let it flow as it will, there is no right or wrong!

Later, start from the middle and play, do not stop for errors, and make no negative sounds because of errors. Play the last piece and then the first. Play them all, but, today, do not stop for errors. Tomorrow, start at the top, for every error go back to the beginning, repeat until you complete the piece!

Answer 2

You need to memorize the notes on the page as well as your "hand positions". Practice playing w/ your eyes closed- that way your brain is forced to truly concentrate on what your hands are doing, what fingers you are using, etc. Study the music away from the piano. Analyze the pieces of music- it helps me to think about the chord progressions ( every piece of music can be anazlyed "chord-wise") Think about the melody of the music. Where is the music going? As for playing faster- don't speed the music up to the point that you can't stay on top of it. If you need to practice the piece at a slower tempo now, do so. Then slowly build up the tempo (practicing w/ a metronome helps). If you can get to the point where you can play the piece correctly at a higher tempo than needed, then that will really help- because if you have it nailed at a faster tempo, then playing it at the correct tempo will be a breeze. When I'm playing something by memory, I can see the notes on the page and can feel where my hands need to go next. You're going to be nervous- it's part of being a performer. If you were completely relaxed, you'd probably fall off the piano bench!! Take a deep breath before going on stage. When you sit down at the piano, Stop- focus in on what you are about to play. Look at the keyboard- imagine your hands on the keyboard- visualize what they are about to do. You have to sink down into a "zone"- block out everything. My professors used to tell me "I don't care if you have to sit at that piano for 10 minutes to get focused- do it. The audience will wait for you." Also- don't go crazy practicing 24/7 the week before you perform- you'll risk hurting your hands/wrists/etc. Believe me, I know.

Answer 3

Hi, there has been alot of excellent advice given and was even a good read for me as I get very nervous performing to the extend that my brain seems to delete myself and my hands get a new brain that is as rebelious as hell!

I had an exam a couple of weeks ago. A friend and teacher told me to try some sort of a herbal remedy to help calm my nerves. I tried one available over the counter at the chemist called 'bach flower'. It was probably all in my mind but it seems to calm me a little.

the other advice given is very good so I would certainly do things like perform to family and friends, and make sure you know you music inside and out but another additional remedy such as the Bach flower or St johns wart (it is not a wart as such!), cannot do harm.

I hope this helps!
regards & good luck,
Lissy.

Answer 4

Speaking from a lot of practical stage performing experience, I would say that you probably don't have any problems memorizing the pieces, but that you have a problem concentrating on them when called upon to perform.

You need to be aware of this difference between purely "memorizing" a piece and "performing" a memorized piece in order to avoid memory lapses due to being nervous and under pressure when you go on stage.

If you can play the pieces you're going to perform from memory for yourself when you practice, then your memory is fine. Here are a few suggestions on how to avoid memory lapses once you're "up there" and expected to perform without a glitch:

BE PREPARED: Professional musicians who perform solos on stage have a maxim that one should be able to get up and play a piece without thinking about it even if someone wakes you up at 3 am and tells you to go play the piece in question. What less experienced performers don't always realize is that technical insecurities are magnified once you're sitting on stage and feel that everyone's ears are fixed on you. This means that you should be aware of passages in the music that may be a stretch for you technically when you practice, and that you practice such passages to the point where you get as comfortable with the technical difficulties as you possibly can. Even experienced performers may feel apprehensive about certain passages in a piece of music they're performing on-stage for the first time, but they are comforted by the knowledge that they've done EVERYTHING to master the difficulties. They also realize that part of becoming comfortable with a piece of music technically requires that you perform it in public a number of times to convince yourself that you have really mastered the difficulties. This brings us to the second point about stage performance....

PRACTICE BEING NERVOUS: Just about everyone gets nervous when they get up on stage regardless of how advanced their playing skills are. What experienced performers learn is that the more often they expose themselves to being nervous, the less nervous and the more secure about playing a piece they become. You should certainly be able to perform the pieces you're going to play when people are milling about, because that will sharpen your concentration on the music and thereby help you avoid memory lapses. However, don't mistake playing under those conditions for the kind of pressure you will feel on-stage where people are quiet and listening intently to what you are doing. People who are milling about aren't listening to you very carefully and probably wouldn't notice a mistake anyway. People who are sitting quietly and listening to you will notice EVERYTHING you are doing. This is exactly what causes nervousness and memory lapses when you're on-stage: you're aware that people are listening to you. For this reason, have groups of family, friends, house guests, etc. sit down and listen to you very carefully before you go on-stage to perform. While this will hopefully make you somewhat nervous, you'll still be in your home environment, and the audience you ask to just "listen to a play-through" will be sympathetic and won't care too much even if you have a slip of your memory and make mistakes. That way, you can practice being nervous and controlling how you respond to the pressure of nervousness until you have the control necessary to play your pieces straight through without error by knowing that even if you DO make an error, you're still at home and that it isn't the same big deal as if you make a major mistake on-stage during the actual concert. Make sure that you do your play-throughs on different days for different groups of people so you come as close to the feeling of the "real" performance each time. That way, you'll steady your nerves to the point of feeling secure about what you'll be doing on-stage. And if you feel that way on-stage, you'll find that your memory is just fine and that you can actually enjoy wow'ing the audience with your musical skills.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Play each song at least 5 times a day . For thee 5th repetition, hide the sheet music from yourself.

Get to where it doesn't matter if other people are milling around when you play. This really helps keep you from getting nervous or distracted on stage.

Answer 6

Take small parts of each song and practice them over and over again. When you have it, move on to the next section. If you screw up, look at the music, that's what it's there for. Just be calm and concentrate on the music during the test. Close your eyes if it helps stare at the music holder...just be cool. I hope everything works out for you!!!! Good Luck times 1 billion!!!!!

Answer 7

Sometimes I record the pieces onto a cassette or CDplay them as I'm going to sleep...it might seem strange but the subconscious does an awful lot of work while you're asleep!

I also like to picture the notation/sheet of music in my head as I'm playing.

Answer 8

The only thing I can add is that it helps me to interrupt myself often... not all the time, but sometimes. To do something else for a few minutes, then come back to the piece. Each time you rediscover it you remember it better, just like they say you learn better doing something 15 minutes a day than 5 hours in one day: it solidifies a little each time you return to it from doing something else.

Answer 9

you have to be verry calm...do try to concentrate on your pieses corectly.play them verry often thill you get used to the idea.if you study them at home, ask you parents or someone to listen you and say how it is.i know how it is to have an audition...your fingers sweter....you are thinking at something else...try to focus and enjoy the music.don't let the smallest noise make you shiver.....KEEP CONCENTRATE!