There seem to be two camps of adult learners: those who dream of playing some lovely piano music at home for friends and family or even or at a cocktail bar or on stage in a performance venue and those who are simply in it for the love of it or the challenge etc. but who are absolutely terrified of the idea of playing in public.

How about you?

I've played just for me, but my family is full of hams so performing is the natural mode for me. That said, however, playing a concert wouldn't be the right kind of performing. What I like is the collaboration between musicians and dancers, or playing for a group of shut-ins who come up to me afterwards and say "oh, my wife and I sang all those songs when we worked at settlement houses in Chicago!", or playing for charity fund raisers while people are eating soup from soup bowls they've bought or watching the jugglers on the other side of the field. Or playing in a restaurant for St. Patrick's Day and having little kids come up and dance in the space in front of us. I play mostly with a band, and I love the interaction between the musicians, too.

I actually started playing for dancing because I love dancing to live music more than dancing to cds, and the pianist was leaving, and I didn't want the live music to stop! So I actually don't think of it as performing in a very formal sense. It's just part of an activity - sometimes I'm the dancer, sometimes I'm the musician, sometimes I'm the sound person, sometimes I'm the volunteer, sometimes I'm the entertainment, sometimes I'm just one of the crowd. But for me, there's always a whole community involved and everyone's got a part

And all of *that* said - I really am a ham

Cathy

I like playing for people, when I'm ready. And I am a pretty shy and solitary individual to boot. In university I used to drag my books over to the Winnipeg Art Gallery to play on their grand piano in the upstairs foyer space between the galleries. It was part of me making a rational choice that I would work on my shyness. The first couple of times were terrible though. The sweaty hands, the racing heart. But it got better. I'm still nervous in front of people, but I'm better and the adrenaline rush during and afterwards is a total drug.

I think I am a bit of ham as well.

How about both? As a child, I was even petrified of lessons. Performing, while I did it, was always an awful experience even when I did well. And yet I've always dreamed of performing well. I wanted to be one who could perform, but just needed to learn how to overcome my anxiety. It has gotten much, much better, and I try to share my experiences with my students so that they don't have to go through what I did. There are distinct ways of overcoming stage fright that many just do naturally without really knowing what they're doing.

I'll let you know next month. My teacher talked me into a recital. Me and a bunch of 7 year olds, should be interesting. I picked out four little pieces by Turk. Simple enough that hopefully I can get through them in front of a crowd. And one of them, eight bars long, is a very pretty piece called "Complaint", very moody and quiet.

I like working at the piano on my own, but playing for family, friends, or even recitals is also something I like and would like to do more. I'm certainly not immune from performance anxiety in more formal situations, but there are lots of things in life that make me nervous but are still worth doing.

My opinion is that music is a kind of emotional language, and making music for someone else or with someone else is a kind of communication. I think most of us are social animals and crave emotional relationships with others and music is one way of doing that. As I get better technically, I get more confident that I "have something to say" musically which makes performing easier.

I play piano for myself. I don't mind playing for other people and have filled in a church when needed. Yet, if forced to choose one or the other, I play for my own enjoyment.

Ed

I’ll admit that I seem to play my very best when I’m the only one listening. I get nervous and have a lot of stage freight when I play in front of others.

However, with that said, in about 4 weeks I’ll have the honor of playing in front of about 2500 to 3000 people at a college graduation ceremony. I’m excited and looking forward to it but I’m also scared to death too. I’ve been practicing the song I’ll be playing over and over and over again. I want it to be flawless.

I wonder if a stiff drink of Canadian whisky just before the performance would help or hurt.

Take care,

Rick

Research studies into public speaking have found that some people rate the fear of performing in public as "greater than the fear of death."

But, with lots of practice, work on breathing, and re-framing things in your own mind so the understanding that people really want to hear the music---every note--- and it's not all about you... it's possible to make progress.

I don't know if taking a snort of Canadian Club would help you. Maybe after the performance.

Both! I'm hoping that the more I play the more comfortable I will be playing in front of people. In fact that is one of my new goals.

Last night was my last music theory and composition class. We all had to compose a piece of music for our final exam. Last nights class was a performance of all the pieces. It was wonderful. Some played piano, some guitar and vocals. A few of us (yes me included) had the professor play our pieces on piano. So, it planted the seed for my next goal....

I was actually kidding about the Canadian Whisky; especially since the graduation ceremony is being held at a Church . Plus, I don’t drink alcoholic beverages (but it has crossed my mind on occasion ).

Take care,

Rick

Can it be a dream that gives you nightmares? When I first met my teacher, I told her about some of my goals that involved performance. She probably thought to herself, "Good luck with that old man" but along the way she has reminded of these goals when recital times have come around, saying you've got to play in front of people, if you have performance goals. Well, after 20 months of lessons, I felt I had some decent sounding repertoire, and I managed to play for over 10 minutes of prelude music (twice) at last week's 2 recitals. Since recitals are roughly every 6 months, I now have time to get ready for the next one. I did have a couple funny nightmares, in the weeks leading up to the recital, though. In one, I showed up to play, and my teacher wouldn't let me play my tunes, but made me play stuff I had been struggling with in lessons. In the other, I had my music in front of me, but I was dyslexic or something and the notes made no sense. Thankfully, this did not happen at the real deal!

Not so stressed anymore,
GregF

I confess upfront that I am not an adult learner, even if my mother did refer to a 5 year old as her 'little old man' grrrrr!

Nevertheless, maybe I can contribute modestly to the topic, thieving a moral from 'public speaking' which applies even more poignantly to public playing. The 'First Law of Public Speaking' is:
'Know your audience'.

In my case, this moral, inculcated apparently with mother's milk, has been applied rigorously, and largely in the variation:
'Know the audience for which you do not wish to perform'.

Once you figure out which kind of audience you are prepared to perform for, all problems evaporate.

GregF - thanks for letting us know how those preludes went - we were all rooting for you, and after your recital piece we were pretty sure they'd go well.

Cathy

I love playing in front of an audience and for me, singing has never been a problem but I tell you, Rickster, I would be very nervous!! But kudos to you! The most I have played in front as been during a convention with people milling around and I honestly (1) didn't know I could do it (2) I was totally oblivious to the people!
I've played for neighbors and friends and the occasional church service, so it is quite possible and is always a thrill!

Congratulations on this next stage of piano performance!