im performing liebestraume, brahms rhapsody in b minor, and chopins first etude . . . . . in three days.

i play each one terrible .

im panicing i catn play them.


and I STRUGGLE GOING STRAIGHT TO the chopin if anyone knows what i mean.


AAAA!

You cannot type either!

You need to be careful. It takes time and practice and effort to learn to do anything well. If you are going to be impatient and sloppy, you are not going to be able to do anything well.

Perhaps making a fool of yourself in performance will make you reevaluate your life, and look at the things you are doing wrong. At least it will not kill you.

Well, post fewer "uh oh"s and go back to practicing! Panicking isn't going to help, either.

Re-arrange them to a manageable form. Do not go on stage 'as is' - you've nothing to gain.

don't play the chopin etude 1st, your hands probably need to warm up first.

as keyboardkluz said, re-arrange your pieces.

and panicking is'nt going to help, go practise and listen to your pieces too

All good advice here, and one thing I'll add: Have "Plan B"s for each spot that troubles you. Ideally, you'll play perfectly. When that doesn't happen, you got to Plan B, whatever that may be for that passage. Focus completely on playing with expression, too. If you're going to play wrong notes, at least let them be expressive ones so the audience can get something out of it.

And then in the future, know your limits and plan around them.

Frankly, I would bow out. Or postpone. Some famous man said something like: it is better to remain silent and be thought an idiot than to open your mouth and prove it...

Don't disappoint yourself and all the people who are backing you up.

I don't think I'll bow out. I'll play the etude last I think.

It's not so much I need a plan B as there's no passage I have particular trouble with; it's more that when I try to listen to myself when playing it sounds really bad and I can't believe it's enjoyable to anyone!

Take the passages and join them together into a piece. You need to have an overall conception of each piece.

..........or, when you get on stage, take a breath, let it out, face the audience and announce, "I'm going to play these three pieces Approximately the way they were written." Then raise your head and eyes up, clasp you hands together as if in prayer, look at the audience again, then play your heart out.
You will have already made it enjoyable for them.

Anyway, good luck.

Hate to state the obvious, but have you considered playing something else, perhaps something you are already well-prepared for?

My question is, how did you get yourself into such a predicament? Is it a mandatory recital at school, or one your private teacher is giving?

If it is something that you can bow out of, that might be the best course of action. Then set it for a later date, and really practice until you feel you know them well enough for a recital. Also, play pieces that you really have down pat. Do a practice recital for some friends, and get used to playing in front of people. Good luck Gaby Tu

hopinmad,
Is this strictly your own assessment of your playing? Has anyone heard you play these pieces and given you an objective opinion? It can be hard to evaluate accurately one's own playing.

Perhaps you're being too hard on yourself? Without hearing you, I can't really say if you are just being harsh or if you are accurate in your assessment of your playing. Playliszt: I like your style! LOL

At any rate, you do have to consider that if you are in fact not playing these pieces well (and I would get a second opinion from a trusted teacher or colleague), then you must ask yourself if anyone wants to hear you *almost* play something. Usually, no one will be impressed that you could almost play the etude, even considering its difficulty. Play what you can do well.

1. If you play each one "terrible" why would you want to go out and play them in public?

2. Why don't you record your playing of these pieces, post them here and have your friendly Pianist Corner audience tell you if they are indeed terrible? Perhaps you are being too hard on yourself?

3. In practicing for performance as well as in typing, the secret is to slow down and do it right.

Actually, I always type worse after I've practiced piano for some reason

well, it depends on who u r performing to.
if u r performing to professional people, then PRACTICE HARDER.
but it u perform for people who dont really know music, then, who cares? u r already REALLY good to be ABLE to play those pieces.

Just performed the three pieces.

Should have listened to those telling me to bow out.


Completely murdered the pieces.

Commiserations.

don't be discouraged though

The experience was no doubt worthwhile. What can you do to make it better next time?

Me too. I'm a medical transcriptionist and work at home (great setup for practicing), and I can't go directly from piano back to transcribing. I have to wait about 10 minutes or so, or else the computer keyboard feels "strange" and I can't find my place.

It was probably not as bad as you think.

Last week I preformed "Tico-Tico" in an open-mic type thing. I really convinced myself that I did badly but afterwards got many congratulations from people.

It's not the end of the world.

Typical experience. If you really were that bad, I guess your teacher gave you "the look". In my case, people are often of the oppinion that I played better than I thought. There were a couple of instances in which I felt like you, but I saw it coming a long way and warned my teacher. Turns out one time I was justified in bashing myself after the performance, but just one. I guess confidence is not my strong point.

Oh I had many congratulations but I felt they would have congratulated had I gone on and played one note!

Keep playing for that audience! Every time you perform, you learn something.
Every time I perform, the meaning of "do not procrastinate" sinks in deeper This gives me hope that someday I may have a performance where I'm "completely prepared".
Hang in there.

Sorry for being ignorant but what does "procrastinate" mean?

I'm playing the same pieces again (on two occasions) during the next month, hopefully I will be playing then better by the end!

hopimad:
Sorry for being ignorant but what does "procrastinate" mean?

You could look it up at www.dictionary.com or perhaps you'd rather put that off until tomorrow

-Michael B.

Merriam-Webster seems to be much, much better:

http://www.m-w.com/

Just compare what and in what order the two dictionaries say about 'liberal'.