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I was nervous but getting along okay (Brahms Intermezzo Op 118/2) until I suffered a complete mental lapse and playing came to a screeching halt 10 measures before the end and I could not pick it up from where I left off. I fumbled a few more measures and then hastily beat a retreat. The audience was understanding but it was very disappointing.

I think my brain shut down after the most difficult part of the piece came and went. For some reason my brain produces "chatter" during recitals that distracts me from the moment and the music. It is as if I am thinking in the third person, giving critiques and fretting about the next passage.

Any ideas of how to "focus" one's mind during recitals?

Hi, I don't have any personal advice as this happens to me all the time. The book "The Inner Game of Music" addresses these voices and is recommended by many. I found that putting a 'name' to the voice just made it more apparent... that's just me...

I am looking forward to the responses...

Thanks Sandy, I'll look into that book.
It is so strange because these "voices" only appear at recitals. It never happens during practice or lessons.

I hope I'm not schizophrenic after all...

IT'S THOSE DARN GREMLINS!

Sneaky little boogers..... aren't they?


It is rare that I get to play for others, .... but I have friends that play guitar and banjo professionally. (As in.... almost every night, here and there... but mostly in Nashville.) The advice one of them gave me, seems to fit any instrument.

Practice picking up and beginning the piece you are presenting from each measure. Randomly practice beginning from one measure playing thru and then start on another measure and play thru.

Then.... when you make a flub, or an outside force causes you to be totally flabbergasted.... You will know where you are and will have no difficulty continuing from there.

-Eat a banana before you perform. Mentally it's a big boost of confidence, and physically too because bananas will relax you and calm you down.
-Know your piece inside and out. Learn about it's history, the composer, meanings of everything surrounding it.
-Really concentrate on the sound and opening of your piece before you step on stage.

Matt

The one thing I would suggest is attempting to play in public more often. Stage fright probably never leaves anyone permanently, but the more frequently you play in front of an audience, the less likely that its effects will manifest themselves in your playing.

I say that from experience. My first recital was last year in the spring, and I found it mortifying. I was playing some pieces that I knew REALLY well and had been playing for a while (Anna Magdalena Bach pieces and an arrangement of Debussy's Reverie)...and I blew it. I had to start and stop in the middle of the pieces, and I got increasingly frustrated as I went on.
Although I haven't been in an official recital since, I HAVE had the ability to play in public a bit more often...for friends at school, for family parties, etc. And each time, it's gotten a lot easier!

So, those are my three cents. I'm no expert, but from personal experience, I'd say that the more you try and take advantage of public playing opportunities, the better you will become.

+1.

And practice the method of successive approximations... play a recital piece to and by yourself. Then play it in front of an "audience" of a stuffed animal or two. Then play it with a small child or loved one off doing something in a different room in the same house. Then doing something in the same room. etc. etc. Gradually build yourself up to more challenging audience situations. That will make the real thing much easier than going from only playing by oneself to sitting in front of a huge audience on recital night.

Although I'm sure you're feeling disappointed, please remember that your audience won't care (and probably couldn't even tell you about) the ten measures you left off, but they enjoyed all the other measures you got right.

Matt,

I think you would need to eat, oh, maybe six of them to get much therapeutic effect. But if you DID eat six of them you would suffer from other difficulties.


Verania,

You ask the perennial question that most of us cannot even begin to answer. I perform in public so seldom that I cannot remember from time to time what I do. Well, I'm doing it again this Sunday as part of a trio, so I had better figure something out!

Actually, the answer -- or at least part of the answer -- is to know your piece thoroughly. Sounds trite, I know. But simple it is not ...to paraphrase Yoda.

Know your piece structurally (having analyzed it). If you know the chord structure and the progressions, you will be much less likely to crash. Know the piece on the page if you're using music. That, I think, is often overlooked. Your eye usually bounces between the keys and the music, and you need to know exactly which passages in the music demand your eye to do them right, and which do not. I find I often have to plan this out. Letting it happen by itself can cause derailments.

I think that if one does these things, then concentration during the actual event probably becomes much easier.

I will try to get more mock rehearsals in before my next recital. Many great suggestions. Thanks! I've never analyzed my piece systematically as Piano Dad has suggested. I'll talk to my teacher about it. It could help occupy my mind and stave off the nerves if I have something to think about during recitals.

Also recording your whole piece is good. Puts you under a little bit of pressure, and lets you know where you are likely to flub -- in case you don't know it already

This only happens to me when the people listening know the music. I feel like I'm being judged in that case. When the listeners are unfamiliar with the music, it's just between me and the keyboard.

I have not played for an audience yet, other than my daughter and teacher, and I have no advice.

I just wanted to say, what an awesome description!!
That is exactly what happens to me when I record, but never could quite put it into words.

As a kid, for my one and only recital- I had some comic relief prepared in advance.. If I got stuck the plan was to start playing 'Camptown Races', you know "The Camptown racetrack's five miles long. Oh, de doo-da day" and then I had a re-entry point just after the hard part... didn't have to use it, but now i wish i would have..

I second the advice above to try and play in public more often, especially for strangers

It's not necessarily easy to do, but I found a good way is to go to a local music store, for example Guitar Center or Best Buy and just play while folks are walking around.
Don't expect compliments, or even for people to pay attention. But can you play with the volume up?

Knowing the piece inside out, starting from any measure, is obviously key.

take care

I have the chatter in my head too.

This may not work for you, but does help me. I
place a television in the room and have it playing in my line of sight. I guess learning to ignore the distraction is what helps.

I played in front of hundreds of people when I was younger (well into my late teens) and never gave it a thought. Now, an audience of 1 can almost overwhelm me even when I know they don't play at all and probably don't even recognize it when I do make a minor mistake.

Mike White mentioned the feeling of being judged when we are playing and that is exactly what I feel. I freeze up, backtrack and correct but a kid just grimaces and goes on.

Along with all the good suggestions above, you might try starting on different measures as you practice. For example, play the last measure, then the last two, then the last three, etc. (Variation: work backwards through the piece playing two or three measure chunks.)


Your intermezzo is a lovely piece, by the way.

I think the worst part of crashing at a recital isn't so much the (perceived, audiences are so forgiving) embarassment, it's the fact that you are so disappointed in yourself. You know you can do it, and you let those 'voices' get in the way of a prepared performance. Death to the 'voices!'

I am disappointed most by the fact that the beautiful and almost spiritual Intermezzo was interrupted by my ill-timed crash. The audience got short changed, and so did I.

Don't be too hard on yourself.

You might want to check this book out. It's called The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green
I seem to be recommending this book a lot.
It deals with exactly what you are talking about-the inner dialogue that goes on while you are trying to concentrate on your performance.

I guess this thread made me think..

--> do i want and need others to validate my progress and/or talents ???

Would people even create art or music to go unseen or unheard.. or posts on a forum?

maybe i should stop thinking so much..