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Hmm...well, at piano competitions and formal dances, you're pretty much expected to wear heels. It's more than peer pressure, it's actually the societal norm. I tend to err on the sensible side of heels, actually, and I've had female friends rib me for it. Hurting feet make you crabby and you get jealous of other people's feet that don't hurt as much, I suppose. It's a shame that they are uncomfortable, because my vainer side makes me collect uncomfortable shoes that I rarely wear. Some people say that you can get used to them, but wearing them so much that you get used to them is even worse than suffering with the pain occasionally. The modern version of Chinese foot binding, maybe? /end OT P=F/A. The pain is caused by high pressure which is caused by high F (Weight). If women are slim, there will be less pressure on the feet when they wear high heels.
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perhaps.. you should have seen my mother's (may God rest her soul) feet later in life... I won't go into detail, but they were messed up! She wore heels quite alot in her younger days.. not so much after age 30.
I haven't worn heels since my wedding 18 years ago.... and they were barely 2.5 inches. I just don't believe in hobbling. Not that they don't look fantastic.
sorry to be O T.
accompanist/organist.. a non-MTNA teacher to a few
love and peace, Õun (apple in Estonian)
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Holy Cow...My shoes were low heeled black patent sandals that were not torture devices with high stilleto heels or anything. I have worn them MANY times, they are great to play in ..but this time they started to rub on one toe. I should have had tennies in my bag but didn't. Also I was marched to the 3rd floor by these two women that really didn't know where to go!
Musica 71
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I am slim, and the heels still hurt! An additional factor for playing piano is that I've been told it contributes to the nervous leg shake that people get while pedaling. And it is also prudent to practice pedaling with heels because it is harder to pedal with high heels.
Professional pianist and piano teacher.
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.....I haven't worn heels since my wedding 18 years ago.... and they were barely 2.5 inches. I just don't believe in hobbling. Not that they don't look fantastic. Dunno about what anyone else thinks about it, but I give Apple a huge BRAVO. I am slim, and the heels still hurt!.... Yes. With all due respect to Ronald his post was asinine. I'm not saying there might not be some kind of "correlation" in what he said, but that's not the point, and I can't believe it even occurred to him to say anything like it.
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More OT: Heels hurt my back. I haven't performed much, but I bring two pairs of shoes. One to walk around in, and one pair of low heeled shoes to slip into just as I get on stage. I also have a pair of sparkly flats. Problem solved.
Best regards,
Deborah
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I did some adjudicating a couple of weeks ago for a small Festival here in Bend and some of the teen age girls wore STILETTOS. OMG...what were they thinking?
Musica 71
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One of my friends just told me about this: http://www.foldasole.com/ Apparently they are quite flimsy and weird to walk around in outside, but there comes a point when you'd do just about anything except walk around barefoot. Edit: At a recent competition (a muuuuuch smaller local event), I also had to walk up several flights of stairs in heels. I know that this is a stupid question that could only come from a stupid male, but.... Why do they make shoes for women that are uncomfortable and unhealthy, and that don't let you walk any distance comfortably? (And let's not even talk about breaking into a trot.) And which make you trip? And why do women buy them? I have wondered that all my life. And I simply refuse to wear shoes that hurt my feet. I prefer to look like a dork.
Recovering cellist, amateur pianist. Check out my blog !
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Well...back to the original thought here that it is not good to be walking all over the place back and forth, up and down, hither tither and yon right before you play! They definitely should address this at their next Competition.
Musica 71
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Say nothing about how heels do not help a female while pedaling....
Make sure you practice with them, especially if at home usually in bare feet!
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything."
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I have wondered that all my life. And I simply refuse to wear shoes that hurt my feet. I prefer to look like a dork. I better just whisper this: IMO people like you aren't the ones who look like dorks.
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around here.. HIGH heels are the thing to wear.. omgosh they are like 6 inches high! cute but give me my clogs anyday. They are good for kicking in a pinch or something like that.
accompanist/organist.. a non-MTNA teacher to a few
love and peace, Õun (apple in Estonian)
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Something else.....about the videos. As Judy said, those cameras raised the stress level. But they also gave a great memento to everyone who played. I wondered, as I always do for at least a second or two after every competition, whether I'd do this again. I always do wind up deciding pretty quickly that I can't wait for next time. And with the videos, it's an even easier decision. The idea that everyone gets videoed, even in the 1st round, and from all those great angles, is a great inducement. Where else could we ever get anything like that? I saw myself in a way that I never had before. It's fascinating, and fantastic. And for any of you who haven't been in this competition who have half-a-thought of maybe doing it, just think of how great it would be to have videos like this of yourself. Now that the event is over and I have the chance to look and listen to my videos more closely, I'm noticing more, not all of it good but most of it is. One of the things is about the tension, the push-pull, between being into the music and being into the experience of being onstage. Of course we want to try as much as possible to be into the music and not let the musical concentration be distracted by the awareness of being onstage or the concern about how we're doing. In the video, I saw something that reminded me of where I flipped from one to the other. I would have forgotten about it if not for the video. It was a great little personal moment for me -- very much an "amateur moment," but what the heck, I'm an amateur and it's a great memory that got triggered by the video. My last piece was Chopin's 4th Ballade, an extremely serious and intense piece, and with a terrifyingly intense and serious coda. The piece didn't go quite as I had hoped, but I did well at keeping my concentration on the music and on the feeling of it. But not quite 100% all the way through -- just 99.99%. I can see on the video that I stay with the music right up to the final chord. After I hit that chord, my head 'relaxes' and sort of goes down, so you can't see my face (that wasn't on purpose -- I had no idea). But when I start lifting my head, you can see that somewhere in those couple of seconds my concentration had shifted. My hands and the pedal were still on the chord -- the music wasn't over -- but you can see me starting to smile. My attention had shifted to experiencing the "onstage" part, I was feeling good that I had more-or-less survived the program, and my face showed it. That's not very professional because the feeling wasn't in tune with the music, but I recall that it felt like a wonderful moment. I enjoyed it a lot. And I enjoyed being reminded of it by the video.
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Speaking of the videos-- there are two principal shots, the hands and the face. The ratios between those two shots seemed to be about 50-50. Does anyone else wish the ratio was very different, like 90-10 in favor of the hands?
I like the face shots, but I wish they were just occasional and brief. I kept wanting them to go back to the hands. (In the finals there was an *entire Brahms variation* with just the face shot-- how annoying!) Anyone else agree?
-J
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Speaking of the videos-- there are two principal shots, the hands and the face. The ratios between those two shots seemed to be about 50-50. Does anyone else wish the ratio was very different, like 90-10 in favor of the hands?
I like the face shots, but I wish they were just occasional and brief. I kept wanting them to go back to the hands. (In the finals there was an *entire Brahms variation* with just the face shot-- how annoying!) Anyone else agree?
-J Yeah, I agree. As a spectator, I am mainly interested in the hands and the feet. It's actually very rare to see the feet at all but I'm often curious to see what people are doing with the pedaling. On the other hand, if I were the performer, I would want to see what I looked like overall in front of the audience.
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I think if I tried high heels I would land on my bottom within minutes...
Music is my best friend.
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Speaking of the videos-- there are two principal shots, the hands and the face. The ratios between those two shots seemed to be about 50-50. Does anyone else wish the ratio was very different, like 90-10 in favor of the hands?
I like the face shots, but I wish they were just occasional... I think it's the hand shots that should just be occasional. For years and years, I would automatically sit on the "piano side" for piano concerts....and so I got into the habit of sitting there for everything -- shows, lectures, whatever. Out of habit, I still do that -- for everything except piano concerts. When I see a pianist, I want to see the face.
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I like to see total picture, as in audience's view from about 10th row, left center.
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They apparently will be live streaming in Boston as well. One thing that I tend to do is not want to take any risks in the preliminary, in other words do pieces I am very comfortable with. I might be better off throwing caution to the wind and just gong for it. It is a scary thing to contemplate. In a small town there are not many opportunities to play for people...THAT is what really helps with the nerves. Just to play your most difficult offering and let the chips fall where they may, the "Damn the Torpedoes, full speed ahead" attitude.
Musica 71
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When I go to a concert, I always like to sit on the left, so I can see the hands.
Music is my best friend.
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:34 PM
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Piano
by Gino2 - 04/17/24 02:23 PM
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