I survived my recital last night!
It was a weird piano (reconditioned Henry Miller)and we all found it "different" to play.
My teacher said I did well. No major errors, just some minor ones and I think I covered well.

I'm surprised how let-down I feel today. It's over. No more intense work on that one piece. It's kind of sad. Now I have to start all over and find new pieces to work on. My teacher made a few suggestions-- guess I will sit down, try them out, and see what I like.

Anyone working on something you love in the late intermediate/early advanced range?

T'sMom, although you will never work intensely on that piece again, it's always nice to keep it in your repertoire. Also, you can always polish it and make it better in the future (ie relearn it).

I am working on Joplin's "The Chrysanthemum", my 5th rag. I'm 3/4 done now. I love this piece!

I think you have an adrenalin hangover And I'm not kidding, tho I don't think that's the term for it. But I really do think there's a physical reaction to no longer being that intense. A lot of competitors get it.

I think a nice rag is a great idea.

Cathy

Congratulations. I can't imagine doing my rectial on a piano I hadn't played before!

Enjoy this time - embrace it! The madness will come again sooner than you really want!

I get that. It's the post-adrenalin low. And it does feel a lot like a hang-over. I find chocolate helps, but probably a rag is healthier.

Yes, I felt the adrenaline hangover all day!
Now pouring through music to find my next projects. Teacher recommended something from WTC (I forgot which piece, will have to dig out that note), also a Beethoven Sonata (but I'm not sure I love it. Sonata #1. Have to listen to the pros do it a few more times). And, since I seem to like the Tchaikovsky Seasons, it's time to pick a new season. Tried a few of them out just sight reading, and I'm thinking maybe February. It's long, though.

I should ask him about adding a Rag. They are not my strong suit because I have a short finger and R hand octaves are difficult for me. I can do them but they hurt after a while.

Congratulations T'sMom . I had a similar experience recently (described in a separate thread), including the weird piano and the adrenaline hangover. Although I'm at a lower level than you and I performed publicly for the first time in my life.

Congratulations! I'm a newcomer on this Forum and this is my first post!

I just survived my first recital in 30 years last Friday, too! I was shaking the whole time, but was able to stay in the "zone" and finish without stopping. (All the kids before me did so well, so I felt a lot of pressure!!)

In my case adrenalin is still pumping so this weekend, I spent hours with the piano practicing my yet-to-be-finished pieces. I think I will take a look at Tchaikovsky's Seasons you mention. I like him, too.

Moi, aussi. I turn most of the RH octaves into 6ths or 3rds, depending on where the harmony is. My left hand stretches a little further, but it's still hard to keep loose enough to do fast runs. But I play rags anyway

Junko - welcome. Congratulations on your recital - glad to hear you're still high

Cathy

Congratulations, T's mom! I'm happy to hear that it went so well. (In my mind, "only minor errors recovered well" is a spectacular success!)

And congratulations (and welcome!) to you, too, Junko!

You are coming down from the performance high. It is a big let down, no doubt. This experience has led many a musician down the path to drug abuse, several I know personally.

Stay focused and keep practicing is the best advice I can give. After a while, playing for a bunch of people will be no big deal, if you do it enough. Good luck to you.

I know how you feel! So much build up and it's over in what feels like a nanosecond! During the academic year, my teacher's adult students also have a monthly workshop where we play for each other, but I won't even have that to work towards until the fall.

After my recital, I also made the mistake of taking a couple weeks off from piano. Well, maybe it is good in the long run to take a break now and then, but it was really difficult to get back into it, and due to some other demands on my time, I'm still not into my regular near-daily practice routine.

My teacher has me working on a Study in G major by Cornelius Gurlitt. It's about a grade 7 level piece. It's quite pretty. Also working on "Fantastic Dance" by Robert Schumann - it's neat, but needs to go quite quickly to sound cool, so it's going to take me all summer I predict to get it up to a good speed.

Hi T'sMom. I don't come read the ABF often so it must be karma that I came across your post!

Sonata No. 1 is not difficult like the crazy Pathetique, Moonlight, and Apassionata. It's actually a fun piece once you get your mind into its melodies and rhythms. For some reason I never finished learning movement III back then but I had since gone back to it and found it quite feasible after a couple rounds of initial reads. Movement II is your typical lovely Beethoven slow movement.

I love Rag too! Is there a ragtime thread around here? I have small hands, too! The Entertainer is definitely a no-no for complete accuracy vs. score. But surprisingly, some of Joplin's other pieces aren't as demanding on the hands. Swipesy is doable. Sugar Cane is still doable although you really need to warm up and stretch beforehand (haha). Weeping Willow is slower and shouldn't be a problem.

Did you know that there exists 15/16 and 7/8 keyboards? I want to try one of those one day. Although, they are a pricey addition for the "luxury" of hand comfort for us small-hand people:

http://www.steinbuhler.com/index.html

Thank you for all the support and interesting comments!

Gnuboi-- Cebukid is the resident ABF Ragtime expert, check out some of his threads. I refuse to consider the Entertainer a no-no. It's one of the pieces that led me to quit piano as a young teen. I just couldn't play the R Hand octaves and I felt like the score was not difficult and if I couldn't play it then I must have no piano talent. So I do work on it now and can play it accurately, but not with enough speed yet. Hands do stretch with practice!

Quarkomatic-- I like the Schumann recommendation but can't find a good quality performance on YouTube. Do you know any links?

Junko-- I'm honored to participate in your first post. I'm in Massachusetts too and had a similar ~25 year hiatus from piano before restarting. Congratulations to you!

I tried out Tchaikowsky's February a bit. At first it seemed possible but now I'm starting to wonder. Eventual speed needs to be very fast. It's filled with measures where each hand holds down some notes while releasing and substituting others. Requires lots of concentration. No wonder my teacher made a weird face when I asked about it.

Looks convinient but I'd rather play on a standard size keyboard because if I get used to the smaller one I will not be able to play wherever I go.

It's a universal concern. I responded the same when I first saw a post about it.

Does one...

1. Forsake the conventional keyboard altogether?
2. Keep something conventional (digital, electronic, another acoustic) to prep before a recital?

I would love to do #1, just for myself, but I'm not sure yet if my kids would be negatively affected as you pointed out.

Some owners report no issues switching back and forth. But I've never tried one so I don't know.

Oh that's not true.
You'll be able to adjust when you move to a regular size keyboard.
People are adjusting to keyboards with different characteristics all the time (eg. playing a piano with a very stiff action) and they adapt to make due.
Your body and brain is smart enough to be able to adapt to a slight change in size when you have to. It's not like all of a sudden you won't be able to play anything.
You will not have to worry about not being able to play it but it might take a small amount of time to get used to it.
Of course if you keep telling yourself over and over that you won't be able to play on a regular keyboard well then you won't.
But if you tell yourself and your brain to do a slight adjustment then you'll adapt.

I was finally able to try one. I kept hitting 9th's when trying to do 8ths... I suppose my hands remember the octave stretch all too well Yes, over time, adjustment would be complete. However, I can definitely imagine needing non-trivial practice on a conventional keyboard before performing even for a teacher (on a conventional keyboard).

I saw on a video where someone playing something from the Romantic did a C# to D# chord with something in between on the right hand. Impossible for me! And it sounded so beautiful...