Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum LIVE..(video recital) Please comment! Need help staying focused!

I am an adult student, I've been studying piano for almost 4 years now.....(in 5 days!)

I just had a LIVE recital May 08....my 3rd..... but I did something crazy! I decided to perform 4 pieces, instead of my usual 1 piece.....My teacher and I both agreed that I was ready, and I truly thought I was, but then on stage, the unthinkable happened. I fell apart...The 1st and the 4th piece were sort of unsalvageable.... I can't post them, let's put it that way!

The second and third pieces are the ones I thought were decent enough to post.....I KNOW there is a lot of room for improvement, but I am interested in your comments......If anyone has helpful performance tips, please let me know!!

Please excuse the audio! The recording hall was great, but our camcorder is not!

Here are links to the two videos...


Chopin Nocturne in E minor Op.72
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wdqt5IqnZU

Mendelssohn: Venetian Boat Song Op.30, No.6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdgMkB1F9_A&feature=user

Thanks,

Kelly

Only 4 years??? you play very well for that short amount of time.

Your LH is very good in both the Chopin and Mendelssohn pieces.

I notice some pauses here and there. When you play with sheet music on, you need to follow it more tightly than looking at the hands. If you are in the process of memorizing the piece but decide to perform using sheet music, practice with the sheet music on at least 5 times. And keep your eyes on the sheet music.

Only 4 years!!?? Wow, nice job on that Chopin! How long did you work on it?

Kelly,

Your tempo was excellent. You kept both pieces moving forward which is important. Very expressive, especially on the Chopin.

OK, Kelly, it's official. I hate you. That good in 4 years? I crash and burn if someone happens to walk by the house. Assuming the two you are holding back are as bad as you say (I doubt it, we are our own worst critics..)then you hit a couple of homers and struck out twice - that's a .500 average and would earn you millions if you played baseball.

The first and last Crashed? Hmmm. Nerves, and then the race to end, perhaps?

What do I know??? The ones you posted are wonderful, and you should be proud.

Yea, I still hate you...a little. I'm slowing getting over it.

Very nice.

I enjoyed it very much. Thanks for sharing, Kelly.

That was very nice. Regarding your questions: play in front of the camcorder often and for family and friends at every opportunity. Search the archives here for memory techniques. There have been some excellent discussions on how to memorize a piece for performance. Read Chang's book. Keep playing at those recitals - you're doing great!

Kelly, Awesome! I never would dare to perform like you, so no advice from me. Just admiration.

Awesome! Bravo!

Hi Kelly

I think the fact that you still went on after the rumored collapse of the first piece ( I'm betting you played much better than you think you did) shows great focus. When things start going south with the performance - especially a piece that you know YOU KNOW - it can be more than unnerving. I've seen people go back to the beginning and start again, and I've seen one person decide not to continue with the performance. (FWIW, I admire these people for at least trying - it takes courage. )

It's hard to keep going when everyone's eyes are on you, but you soldiered on, and I can say having watched the videos that #2 & #3 were lovely even if not perfect.

If I have one piece of advice, remember that no one ever walked into a concert or recital saying, "Gosh, I hope this sucks!" Your audience wants you to do well. And 9 times out of 10, they haven't been practicing for an hour a day, day in day out, so they'll never notice the mistakes (unless they're teachers :p ) .

Best of luck at the next one!