This is such a common problem. While you’re practicing you probably reprimand yourself in some way for making a mistake and display it maybe both verbally and physically. This is something you never want to do during a performance.
The truth is the vast majority of the audience will never know you made a mistake. They are most likely not intimately familiar with your music and they will not know if a wrong note is played or you messed up on a certain passage. The moment you make any sort of acknowledgment of a mistake, they will automatically know what has transpired.
If an audience is clued in to a mistake they will not think less of you, instead it becomes an uncomfortable experience. There is nothing worse than going to a concert and seeing that a performer is unhappy with their performance. The audience is there to enjoy themselves and by letting them know you aren’t happy with something it will ruin their pleasure of the event.
The best thing to do is to go out there and do your best. You can’t let yourself get down over a mistake, you have to press on and think positively. Your performance will be that much better if you simply enjoy yourself and not worry about what you did wrong. Even if you make a mistake that was noticeable, playing with a good amount of energy and enthusiasm through the rest of the performance will cover it up. By the end of the performance nobody will remember the mistake.
Welcome back to our ongoing series of how to improve your stage presence. We’ve covered: #5 Take Your Time and #4 Make Eye Contact so far. This week we will be discussing why you should never show your mistakes. This is such a common problem. While
Now this is definitely related to the first subject (Taking Your Time) but it’s equally important. I have seen countless performances where the performer will simply pop up and down very quickly bowing – almost like a machine. It’s an awkward gesture when it is performed this way and makes the performer look robotic.
Really to understand why bowing is so important we must discuss why we bow in the first place. Sometimes when you teach youngsters how to bow they feel really uncomfortable – almost like it’s showing off. In reality, bowing is the exact opposite of showing off. Bowing is a way of thanking the audience for the applause. A bow is a humbling gesture to the audience that allows you to demonstrate your appreciation for them. It should never be considered an egotistical type of gesture.
It’s equally important to look at your audience between bows. Look into the eyes of the crowd, let them see you, and let you thank them for the applause and their attention. If you take your time it can be a great way to connect with your audience and leave a lasting impression. Remember, this is the last thing the audience will see when you are onstage – it’s after the performance – you should always leave them with a good impression of yourself.
Whatever you do, don’t continue to bow up and down repeatedly. It looks awkward and machine-like and it looks much better to simply take your time and make that personal connection with the audience between bows.
Welcome back to our ongoing series of Improving Your Stage Presence. So far we’ve covered: Taking Your Time, Making Eye Contact, and Not Showing Your Mistakes. Today we are going to talk about something you don’t even do until after your performa
This is not typically done in classical performances, but it’s certainly something you should think about incorporating. Talking with your audience creates a strong personal connection that can be invaluable in cementing lasting memories of the per
Today we are going to address the question of what is better, a Digital Piano or an Upright Piano. This is a common question here at the store and it’s something worth investigating. While neither an upright or a digital piano is comparable to a go
If you’ve shopped for a piano you might be familiar with these terms. As you might expect, the answer to which one of these types of hammers is preferable is not so simple. Cold Pressed Hammers Cold pressed hammers are typically found on American a
This question comes from one of our viewers Elizabeth from Cozumel in the Caribbean. She asks, “What can I do about the extreme humidity where I live?” when it comes to her piano. There are several things you can do to help alleviate the problem
The heart and soul of your piano is its soundboard. Like the top of a Stradivarius violin, the soundboard is the wood beneath all the strings and plate of the piano which gives it its unique quality of sound. There are certain things you should know
The piano is unique from other instruments because repeating the same note, they will be detached unless you utilize the pedal. Every note has a damper which ends the sound of a note when the key is released (unless you have the pedal down which raises the dampers).
On wind instruments, the tongue is used to delineate each note of a phrase unless it is slurred. String instruments also have different bowings to achieve the proper phrasing.
There are several techniques for playing portato on the piano. One approach is to brush the keys with your fingers. However, since key tops vary from piano to piano, this can be unreliable since ivory keys feel different from plastic key tops. Also, the moisture level in your hand will change the resistance you feel on the keys.
Here is a technique you may find helpful for achieving slightly detached repeated notes. It involves lifting previously played fingers high to allow as much legato as possible:
You can always detach the notes more since this technique gives you total control of the length of notes. It can also be utilized for passages of different notes. You must practice without the sustain pedal to achieve the phrasing desired. Later, using the pedal can add color to your playing.
Portato (commonly referred to as Portamento) is somewhere between legato and staccato. Legato means to play notes connected while staccato means to play them detached, sometimes even short in faster music. Portato would fall in-between these two styl
