Since a lot of us ABs have a bit of performance anxiety, maybe we can sort of buck each other up as we try to get the upper hand on our nerves. I'm wondering what recitals are in your immediate future, what you'll play, and any challenges you're having.

As for me, I'm supposed to play in November (instructor's group class, so no pressure), December (Adult Music Students' Forum, so minimal pressure) and instructor's recital (February). I'll take a cut at the second movement of Mozart's K545 for the first two, and I'd like to be ready to play the third movement in February.

The second movement is slow, so the main obstacle seems to be memory and avoiding tiny mental mistakes.

The third movement isn't going well. It's *fast.* Fast is always a problem when I get nervous. I'd better get moving or I'll never make it.

Anyone else getting ready for anything?

I start thinking about it the minute lessons resume in Sept. Both my teacher and I have had health and family issues so we are on the same wavelength. At the first lesson, we both had easier, light fare to try. It is going well, so I think I will try to play all three this Dec.

First will be a Schumann piece "For Julie" Op 118a.

"Grandmother Tells a Ghost Story" by Kullak (fun!)
"The Bell of the Afternoon" by Granados

The last two are from a book I picked up this summer "Essential Keyboard Repertoire Vol 8 Early/Late Intermediate Miniatures" (one or two pages in length) Great for my short attention span these days.

If these go well by Nov, I expect we will scout around for a duet to try and add.

I think I will play in th school's recital this year along with all the other kiddies. According to the teacher I will be the only adult.

I'm working on Alla Turca.

Hello folks,

I'm not playing in any recitals in the near future but I am playing at a little "piano party" (that's what I call them) this Sunday.

There's four of us who try to get together once a month and just play for each other the pieces we are working on.

Having just done my Gr 7 exam in late Aug and only just learning some new pieces I can guarentee that my turns at the piano will be tortuous to the "audience". But we've been getting together for a year now and we are relatively comfortable playing for each other but I still get ridicuously nervous and my hands shake off the keys.

I just had a lesson this weekend and my hands were shaking in front of my teacher...EGADS!


But hey! I figure I survived my very first piano exam...I can do this :p

For this piano party I will be "playing":

Bach's Prelude in D + (from the RCM Gr 8 bk)

Beethoven's Bagatelle Op. 119, No. 2 (lots of cross-hands, what was I thinking :rolleyes: )

Carmichael's "Stardust" from The Easy Fake Book ( I told my teacher that one of my goals is to play like a lounge lizard , I don't know if she was amused but she's humoring me)

and I can always resort to playing my exam pieces just to see if I can still remember them.

It really is a privilege to be able to make music no matter how simple...I just had to add this even if it sounds smaltzy but I truly feel it to be true.

Go out there and have fun!

No recitals at all! My teacher encourages his students to play in public but doesn't formally arrange anything.

This is good for me. You all seem to be past the "beginner" stage based on what you're performing. I'm still working on really easy Mozart pieces such as Minuet in F (K. 2). Even this is giving me some trouble.

I sometimes wonder if I'll even get to "real" pieces.

I'm playing Brahms Intermezzo op. 118, no. 2 in A major for our October recital. I'm excited to share this beautiful piece of music with people.

Can someone enlighten me. Is there some rule somewhere that says you have to perform without sheet music? My teacher doesn't have recitals for her adult students, but I would sign up to play along side the kids if I could have my music in front of me.
Jon

Indeed a very beautiful composition the world has even known...

Jon,
My teacher requires all her younger students to memorize their recital pieces but with the adults she encourages but does not require it be memorized. When I played in the competition it did not have to be memorized but previously when I played in my teacher's recital I did memorize the music. I have to say the recital went much better than the competition but I don't know that it was the memorization as much as having judges in the audience.

Cathy

My teacher encourages the use of our music. In fact a day or two beforehand, she recommends we make final notes and reminders in red pencil so we will see it above the jitters.

I second the feelings of the Brahms. I have been working on it for over a year , on and off. I never tire of it. Kathyk played it oh, so beautifully here on my piano at the NE PW party... I hope to have it "finished" by spring.

I did play the "A" part last year at our adult recital. We play works we are currently working on so that was my offering...Hope to play it someday in it entirety.

I don't know why there's so much emphasis on playing from memory at recital, but there is.

My teacher *requires* students to play from memory at recital. The only exception is for duets. I think the idea is that playing from memory means you'll play better and focus more on dynamics and expression.

It actually makes sense to me. By the time I turn up at a recital, I've played my piece so many times that I couldn't *not* have it memorized. I've made scores of blunders in recitals, but I've never had a serious memory glitch. My problems are in execution and concentration, not memory. I honestly don't know how people can read the music and make some of the tricky jumps that pieces require; having the music in front of me would actually mess me up!

In fact, you've reminded me of something. Last recital, I meant to record the number of times I played my piece after I had learned the whole thing. I think the number would likely be in the hundreds. This time, I really will keep track.

Cindy -- whose marching band teacher required everyone to memorize the music so the football field wouldn't be littered with music after a performance

Also remember the word is "Recital", which supposedly means you're supposed to "recite" a piece, presumably from memory. In keeping with tradition and musicianship, I think that's a classy way to present music. Just thought I'd add that in there.

Maybe that's why me teacher calls them "workshops"!

My teacher has recitals twice a year, in December and in June. When I started (five years ago) all students played in a single session. In the last couple of years, her student body has grown so large that the recital is now split into three sections (according to level of advancement) of about fifteen students per section. I'm in the most advanced section (which means there must be a *lot* of beginners!). All performers dress nicely and play from memory. The audience consists of family and friends.

Playing for an audience makes me intensely nervous. I've developed some guidelines for countering the nervousness - know my pieces cold; no caffiene (or maybe just a small amount of caffiene); smile at the audience before sitting down (it's surprising how much this helps); and breathe!

At the June recital I played the B-flat two-part invention and a Chopin mazurka. I stumbled badly about four or five times in the Bach and did ok with the Chopin. I had been working on the Bach for almost a year yet still mananged to violate rule #1 - I didn't know it cold. It was really embarassing.

Since that day I've been working hard and am determined not to repeat the experience. My program for December includes the Cmajor two-part invention (I'm gonna nail it!) and a beautiful Grieg lyric piece (op 38, no 1 "Berceuse"). Wish me luck!

Dale

Dale - I admire your determination and strategies to deal with nervousness. Good luck in December let us know how it goes!!!

Cathy

One small thing that helps me... take a few seconds right before you play (as in, you're sitting on the bench with your hands on the keys). Take a deep breath and "hear" the first couple measures of your piece. Then start playing.

I find that when I'm nervous, my tendency is just to launch into the piece, and it takes me a few seconds to settle into it. This seems to help.

I just found out my teacher is having a recital in January that I will need to play in. Not sure what I will play.

If the requirement is for something short, I'll probably play some Scarlatti sonata. If it's longer, I'm thinking of the Haydn Sonata in C, Hob. XVI:35.

I have oodles of music for my choir accompaniment "gig," and I have about half of it ready to roll. All of it is for their holiday concerts in early December. My guess (fervent hope) is that they will run out of time and not perform everything that's on their docket.

Highlights of the accompaniment are "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," "Alleluia Canon," based on a theme from Mozart, a very nice rendition of "Silent Night," and a Mexican or Spanish carol called "Riu Riu Chiu" that's new to me. Lowlight is a medley of about 5-6 songs, massive key changes (gear changes, crunch!) and tempo changes. Worth it IMO if the songs were better, but they happen to be some of my least-favorite Christmas songs.