Great to get your thought on this Josh. You referenced this but to expand a bit. I find if I approach "performing" as sharing beauty with people, then I am much more in control. I am doing something for others. If I approach it as "see how good I am, can you please think highly of me? " That's when I am in trouble. It may sound silly but it is the same way if I am telling a joke to a group of people. If I approach it that I want to share something funny, it goes off fine. If I approach it as "see how funny i am" , the joke falls flat.
Thank you so much for your tips Josh. My legs are always shaking and I start to overthink everything once I play in front of an audience. It feels like I'm getting soaked inside my head. I'll definitely try to focus on the music the next time I'm playing, this sounds like a great idea. 😊
Awesome video, this is something I have struggled with SO MUCH and I still do. Krystian Zimerman had this great tip that before the performance, think about all those busy people from all over, they all took their time and came all the way just to see you perform and enjoy your music and you have to appreciate it and give them the best performance possible, that mindset actually helped quite a few times in the past. Thank you so much for the tips :D
The issue of piano stage fright has been an issue for me all my life, both in terms of a challenge but also just being interested in it. Some people appear to be born performers and some don't though of course one wonders if the appearance of being a natural performer rests on some hard work and methods Josh covers. There's a couple things I want to add that I discovered over the years. 1. There might be a good reason you are nervous. Not all stage fright is the result of a mental lack of focus . It could be legitimate. If your pieces are barely memorized or you are only memorizing your pieces with each section in context then you should be nervous since the chances of the train running off the rails in front of a large crowd are very high and your subconscious mind knows this. You can't fix this with a mental attitude. The only way to fix it is to memorize pieces fully. I always make sure I can start a piece at the start of any section or phrase in the entire piece cold. This is a lot of extra work but it helps with stage fright because I know no matter how bad the mishap I can always rescue it immediately in a way which most people in the audience will never notice unless they play the piece themselves. Various attitudes and mental tricks and techniques work well if the source of your nervousness on stage is truly psychological. However this will not work if you simply don't know your pieces. 2. People act surprised they suffer from stage fright when they play live only once or twice a year. It is absurd to think this is abnormal. If you rarely perform live of course you are nervous because you are not good at it. No sane person would think that they could give speeches confidently by never being in front of a crowd regularly or play football in a stadium effectively by only doing it twice a year, so it is just as odd to think that you can perform live once a year and defeat stage fright with nothing more than a trick or attitude. The only remedy is to perform in front of people regularly until you are as comfortable in front of a crowd as you are at home. 3. When you practice playing make certain you know the notes based on harmonic and melodic landmarks, not on muscle memory. Muscle memory can disappear suddenly at anytime live for no reason at all no matter how good you are. Understanding a piece musically will not disappear live. Just my thoughts.
Thanks for these tips Josh. It's so true about what you say about the power of being in the moment while performing. Thanks for the book recommendations too! Love your videos.
That's really helpful, thanks! Please consider doing a video on the first movement of Haydn's Sonata in C-Major Hob. XVI: 35. :) This "easy" piece is actually pretty difficult when you have to play it at full speed... Thanks! :)
I really think a player must link every practice step to how the music sounds and attach it to how it feels in your hands when you do it. Then when you perform, you must focus on your memory of the sounds you intend to make and the muscle memory can follow. One also must practice performing something nearly every day, even if it is just a line or two and even if it is just for the recording device. Of course, one needs a routine of practice steps that I don't think any of these hot shot players who do videos like this follow because they have so much more natural talent than we ordinary people have. When I was in college and struggling mightily with the demands of trying to play the piano decently, I read this quote: "'In the very first composition the pupil studies, he learns how to work in the new way, which is as follows: he takes the first bar, or phrase (according to the amount he can grasp and retain), and dissects it till every marking is clear to him. He decides how he will play it-with what fingering, touch, pedalling, accent, etc. He practises each detail as he comes to it. He puts all the parts together, learning it by heart as he goes, finishing one section, making it as perfect as he can in every respect, both technically and musically, before he attempts the next. What is required of him is, that he shall study every piece of music so thoroughly that he knows every detail in it, can play any part of it accurately, beginning at any point, and that he can *visualise the whole without the music*-that is, see in his mind what is written, without either notes or instrument. Every pupil must study in this way-bar by bar, slowly and deliberately engraving each point on his mind as on a map. "One page a day so learnt will give you a trunk-full of music for your répertoire at the end of the year," says Leschetizky, "and, moreover, it will remain securely in your memory."' ("Theodor Leschetizky" by Annette Hullah) It helped me develop a practice routine that accomplished some of what I believe Leschetizky meant. In brief, 1. each step must be truly mastered and completely internalized. One can and should repeat any step as needed for complete mastery. 2. One must divide the music up into tiny sections. 3. The sections must overlap with each other by one note/chord, i.e the last note of one section is the first note of the next section. Each section can be as small as a few notes or beats (if there are few notes per beat) in a row, never more than one can grasp in one thought. 4. One must memorize the note and finger sequence hands alone and then together, along with the "tune" of each fragment. Hands alone should be done as equal length notes, without any rhythm pattern, at first no faster than one can consciously plan ahead. For me, that speed was about one note per 1.5-2 seconds (some of us are not too bright when it comes to piano playing). Hands together must begin extremely slowly but 99.999% of the time with the correct rhythmic ratios. 5. Later one can practice each fragment first very slowly, take a several (3-8) second pause while gathering one's thought of what one will do next, and then as fast as possible to accelerate the development of muscle memory. 6. After two or more small sections are truly mastered, one can combine them into ever longer sections, starting slowly and using a metronome to gradually increase the speed. 7. Always remember step 1. Always continue to mentally connect (humming in your mind --but PLEASE don't vocalize) the "tune" you are playing with what you are doing physically. Eventually this mental imagery of the sounds will trigger the other learned patterns and playing will become much more reliable and enjoyable. Until you are skilled enough, you don't cover as much ground in a day as you might wish and it is mentally very exhausting, but it does work. I have described the essence of this to several pianists with far more talent and skill than I will ever have. Some said "Of course, how else would you work?" Others said "Oh no. It breaks everything up too much", failing to grasp the important function of overlapping the sections. So don't expect everyone to understand the value of ideas like these.
Hi Josh, thank you for the video! I was wondering if you could link any videos on Clara performing? I can't spell her name quite right so I can't find her on youtube. Thank you!
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I realized while ago what was/is the reason for stage fright while playing piano: fear that my memory will play trick on me and I forget what to play.
This was the first helpful advice I've ever received about my struggle with stage fright. Thank you
Great to get your thought on this Josh. You referenced this but to expand a bit. I find if I approach "performing" as sharing beauty with people, then I am much more in control. I am doing something for others. If I approach it as "see how good I am, can you please think highly of me? " That's when I am in trouble. It may sound silly but it is the same way if I am telling a joke to a group of people. If I approach it that I want to share something funny, it goes off fine. If I approach it as "see how funny i am" , the joke falls flat.
Here's a little mental tip I use when performing to help calm down my mind and play my best. I hope it can help each of you as well!
Very helpful thank you!
Thank you so much for your tips Josh. My legs are always shaking and I start to overthink everything once I play in front of an audience. It feels like I'm getting soaked inside my head. I'll definitely try to focus on the music the next time I'm playing, this sounds like a great idea. 😊
You're so genuine and authentic!
Awesome video, this is something I have struggled with SO MUCH and I still do.
Krystian Zimerman had this great tip that before the performance, think about all those busy people from all over, they all took their time and came all the way just to see you perform and enjoy your music and you have to appreciate it and give them the best performance possible, that mindset actually helped quite a few times in the past.
Thank you so much for the tips :D
Thanks for the links to Books, very important for personal review
"getting out of your own way" I like it!
When I was young (11), I played in front of people all the time, ( albeit very early playing). Now I could not imagine doing it.
The issue of piano stage fright has been an issue for me all my life, both in terms of a challenge but also just being interested in it. Some people appear to be born performers and some don't though of course one wonders if the appearance of being a natural performer rests on some hard work and methods Josh covers. There's a couple things I want to add that I discovered over the years. 1. There might be a good reason you are nervous. Not all stage fright is the result of a mental lack of focus . It could be legitimate. If your pieces are barely memorized or you are only memorizing your pieces with each section in context then you should be nervous since the chances of the train running off the rails in front of a large crowd are very high and your subconscious mind knows this. You can't fix this with a mental attitude. The only way to fix it is to memorize pieces fully. I always make sure I can start a piece at the start of any section or phrase in the entire piece cold. This is a lot of extra work but it helps with stage fright because I know no matter how bad the mishap I can always rescue it immediately in a way which most people in the audience will never notice unless they play the piece themselves. Various attitudes and mental tricks and techniques work well if the source of your nervousness on stage is truly psychological. However this will not work if you simply don't know your pieces. 2. People act surprised they suffer from stage fright when they play live only once or twice a year. It is absurd to think this is abnormal. If you rarely perform live of course you are nervous because you are not good at it. No sane person would think that they could give speeches confidently by never being in front of a crowd regularly or play football in a stadium effectively by only doing it twice a year, so it is just as odd to think that you can perform live once a year and defeat stage fright with nothing more than a trick or attitude. The only remedy is to perform in front of people regularly until you are as comfortable in front of a crowd as you are at home. 3. When you practice playing make certain you know the notes based on harmonic and melodic landmarks, not on muscle memory. Muscle memory can disappear suddenly at anytime live for no reason at all no matter how good you are. Understanding a piece musically will not disappear live. Just my thoughts.
I need to use this when I come to my lessons! :)
Thanks for these tips Josh. It's so true about what you say about the power of being in the moment while performing. Thanks for the book recommendations too! Love your videos.
Very helpful! Thank you so much for that
Fantastic advice Josh. Thnx
Thank you very much.
Amazing thank you josh
Thanks!!
That's really helpful, thanks!
Please consider doing a video on the first movement of Haydn's Sonata in C-Major Hob. XVI: 35. :)
This "easy" piece is actually pretty difficult when you have to play it at full speed...
Thanks! :)
I really think a player must link every practice step to how the music sounds and attach it to how it feels in your hands when you do it. Then when you perform, you must focus on your memory of the sounds you intend to make and the muscle memory can follow. One also must practice performing something nearly every day, even if it is just a line or two and even if it is just for the recording device.
Of course, one needs a routine of practice steps that I don't think any of these hot shot players who do videos like this follow because they have so much more natural talent than we ordinary people have.
When I was in college and struggling mightily with the demands of trying to play the piano decently, I read this quote:
"'In the very first composition the pupil studies, he learns how to work in the new way, which is as follows: he takes the first bar, or phrase (according to the amount he can grasp and retain), and dissects it till every marking is clear to him. He decides how he will play it-with what fingering, touch, pedalling, accent, etc. He practises each detail as he comes to it. He puts all the parts together, learning it by heart as he goes, finishing one section, making it as perfect as he can in every respect, both technically and musically, before he attempts the next. What is required of him is, that he shall study every piece of music so thoroughly that he knows every detail in it, can play any part of it accurately, beginning at any point, and that he can *visualise the whole without the music*-that is, see in his mind what is written, without either notes or instrument.
Every pupil must study in this way-bar by bar, slowly and deliberately engraving each point on his mind as on a map. "One page a day so learnt will give you a trunk-full of music for your répertoire at the end of the year," says Leschetizky, "and, moreover, it will remain securely in your memory."'
("Theodor Leschetizky" by Annette Hullah)
It helped me develop a practice routine that accomplished some of what I believe Leschetizky meant. In brief,
1. each step must be truly mastered and completely internalized. One can and should repeat any step as needed for complete mastery.
2. One must divide the music up into tiny sections.
3. The sections must overlap with each other by one note/chord, i.e the last note of one section is the first note of the next section. Each section can be as small as a few notes or beats (if there are few notes per beat) in a row, never more than one can grasp in one thought. 4. One must memorize the note and finger sequence hands alone and then together, along with the "tune" of each fragment. Hands alone should be done as equal length notes, without any rhythm pattern, at first no faster than one can consciously plan ahead. For me, that speed was about one note per 1.5-2 seconds (some of us are not too bright when it comes to piano playing). Hands together must begin extremely slowly but 99.999% of the time with the correct rhythmic ratios.
5. Later one can practice each fragment first very slowly, take a several (3-8) second pause while gathering one's thought of what one will do next, and then as fast as possible to accelerate the development of muscle memory.
6. After two or more small sections are truly mastered, one can combine them into ever longer sections, starting slowly and using a metronome to gradually increase the speed.
7. Always remember step 1.
Always continue to mentally connect (humming in your mind --but PLEASE don't vocalize) the "tune" you are playing with what you are doing physically. Eventually this mental imagery of the sounds will trigger the other learned patterns and playing will become much more reliable and enjoyable.
Until you are skilled enough, you don't cover as much ground in a day as you might wish and it is mentally very exhausting, but it does work.
I have described the essence of this to several pianists with far more talent and skill than I will ever have. Some said "Of course, how else would you work?" Others said "Oh no. It breaks everything up too much", failing to grasp the important function of overlapping the sections. So don't expect everyone to understand the value of ideas like these.
Self hypnosis helped me.
The Alexander Technique can really help too.
Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!!😝😛😋😜🤪🙂
Hi Josh, thank you for the video! I was wondering if you could link any videos on Clara performing? I can't spell her name quite right so I can't find her on youtube. Thank you!
Claire Huangci
@@ilzejaunzeme thank you
cool