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I'm getting nervous; My recital is Sunday
Topic Started: Jan 24 2006, 08:17 PM (451 Views)
kenny
HOLY CARP!!!
HELP

I've been working on J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variation #25 for almost a year.
I'm a slow learner but I have been able to play it without mistakes for about 3 months.
Occasionally it actually sounds nice - at least to me.

Today at my lesson it fell apart right before my eyes.
Mistakes everywhere.
Really dumb ones too - I NEVER make those mistakes.
(Yes I HAVE been practicing.)

I have some valium left over from a dental procedure.
Should I take it for nerves Sunday?
Does Valium affect piano playing like alcohol?
I can play guitar, but not classical piano after even one glass of wine.

Part of the problem is the piano.
My teacher's 1994 Steinway D is basically worn out.
The action sux.
I am used to my meticulously maintained M+H.
I just can't get expression out of the D.
And many soft notes just don't sound.
I wish I could perform on my, or a well maintained piano.
:dead:

Basically the bottom 1/3 of the dynamic range is not available on my teacher's piano.
Plus it is not even.
You have to memorize the notes that are too soft or harsh and compensate.

:mad2:
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
i dunno, but i'd experiment now rather than wait until sunday. also, you might try taping it so that you can hear what you sounded like later. :wink:

"why is he playing this molto lentissimo?"
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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Jack Frost
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Bull-Carp
Maybe you should smoke half a joint before you perform.....

Seriously, Kenny, I am sure you will shine. The adrenaline will carry you just fine....


jf

Quote:
 
Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
Do not take any drugs. That is, of course, unless you take drugs regularly while practicing. Just imagine yourself in your underwear.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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DivaDeb
HOLY CARP!!!
Don't take the valium, Kenny. Go easy on caffeine, get plenty of exercise...like wear yourself out a little especially if you feel like you're strung a little tight, practice but not more than normal and make sure you get enough sleep. Don't obsess about mistakes now, it's very very natural. Actors "go up" in dress rehearsals, singers lose track of words to arias they've sung for years. You don't want to dull yourself. While the adrenaline can make you feel a little anxious, it's also the stuff that can make the creative spark in performance really special.

You'll be fine doll baby. Treat yourself kindly between now and then.
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kenny
HOLY CARP!!!
JBryan
Jan 24 2006, 08:24 PM
Just imagine yourself in your underwear.

WHat?
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DivaDeb
HOLY CARP!!!
kenny
Jan 24 2006, 08:28 PM
JBryan
Jan 24 2006, 08:24 PM
Just imagine yourself in your underwear.

WHat?

Well..you could play wearing just underwear and imagine yourself clothed...
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kenny
HOLY CARP!!!
DivaDeb
Jan 24 2006, 08:29 PM
kenny
Jan 24 2006, 08:28 PM
JBryan
Jan 24 2006, 08:24 PM
Just imagine yourself in your underwear.

WHat?

Well..you could play wearing just underwear and imagine yourself clothed...

What, Again?

Huh?

I cornfused!
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JBryan
Member Avatar
I am the grey one
You could imagine your audience in their underwear but it might be more difficult to retain your composure.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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kenny
HOLY CARP!!!
JBryan
Jan 24 2006, 08:32 PM
You could imagine your audience in their underwear but it might be more difficult to retain your composure.

JB, are you trying to help, or are you just being a butthead?
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Mark
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HOLY CARP!!!
You never heard of that technique?
___.___
(_]===*
o 0
When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
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DivaDeb
HOLY CARP!!!
kenny
Jan 24 2006, 08:32 PM
DivaDeb
Jan 24 2006, 08:29 PM
kenny
Jan 24 2006, 08:28 PM
JBryan
Jan 24 2006, 08:24 PM
Just imagine yourself in your underwear.

WHat?

Well..you could play wearing just underwear and imagine yourself clothed...

What, Again?

Huh?

I cornfused!

People always used to say that if you were nervous speaking to a group of people, you should imagine them in their underwear...so they would be less intimidating. Of course...if you do, you'll laugh...which plays havoc with your composure and credibility. :P
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JBryan
Member Avatar
I am the grey one
I am actually trying to help. Chill out. You will do fine if you just relax and play naturally. All those little mistakes you hear yourself make are not even noticeable to the people you will be playing for. Try and feel some feedback and it will really be good.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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Optimistic
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
Kenny, the audience is just a sea of n00bs, and you the ruler of the free world. Wow 'em!
PHOTOS

I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up.
- Mark Twain


We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
-T. S. Eliot
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Shammy
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Middle Aged Carp
Yes... that technique is very helpful when addressing a group of chippendales but isn't recommended when addressing a group of overeaters annonymous.

But, seriously, I have sung, danced and acted in front of an audience and it helps to have someone up front you can make eye contact with that supports you and cares about you. Play for them as if they were the only person listening.

Are the puppies going to hear you play, too?
I'd rather fall into chocolate.
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kenny
HOLY CARP!!!
Okay guys.

I'll just remember that since I AM ruler of the free world I can have them all sent to the gallows to be tortured if they laugh.

It will be comforting.




Naked, or in underware?
Hmmm I'll have to visualize that.
Though if you saw some of them. . . . . :puke:
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LWpianistin
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HOLY CARP!!!
good luck!!

i'm playing in a Mozart concert on Friday, and i still can't play my piece perfectly, but i don't care. it sounds good enough, and my teacher forced me to do it. i just want it to be over. it's ruining my birthday.
And how are you today?
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kenny
HOLY CARP!!!
LW break a leg, or a finger rather, or whatever it is that we penists break.

:lol:
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LWpianistin
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
kenny
Jan 24 2006, 09:02 PM
LW break a leg, or a finger rather, or whatever it is that we penists break.

:lol:

:rolleyes: :lol:

thanks, kenny! you do the same!
And how are you today?
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kenny
HOLY CARP!!!
Thanks LW.

Oh how we suffer for our art! :weeping:
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Shammy
Member Avatar
Middle Aged Carp
LWpianistin
Jan 24 2006, 11:54 PM
i'm playing in a Mozart concert on Friday.......and my teacher forced me to do it.....

at gunpoint?????
I'd rather fall into chocolate.
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Horace
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
Just remember that you'll be doing them the great favor of introducing them to one of the little-performed gems of the keyboard repertoire.
As a good person, I implore you to do as I, a good person, do. Be good. Do NOT be bad. If you see bad, end bad. End it in yourself, and end it in others. By any means necessary, the good must conquer the bad. Good people know this. Do you know this? Are you good?
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JBryan
Member Avatar
I am the grey one
So little performed that they will be very likely not be humming along.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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musicasacra
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
JBryan
Jan 24 2006, 10:42 PM
So little performed that they will be very likely not be humming along.

especially since glenn gould won't be there.


kenny --
best wishes for a gorgeous recital on sunday! :clap:
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LWpianistin
Member Avatar
HOLY CARP!!!
Shammy
Jan 24 2006, 09:26 PM
LWpianistin
Jan 24 2006, 11:54 PM
i'm playing in a Mozart concert on Friday.......and my teacher forced me to do it.....

at gunpoint?????

at you're-a-piano-major-so-you're-going-to-play point
And how are you today?
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