There are some people like me who just want to play the piano for their own personal pleasure and that’s great but, there are also people that want to play the piano, so that they can perform for others.
If you want to be a confident performing piano player, then you can learn some techniques to help you achieve your goal, even if you are one of those naturally gifted performers ( I have learned how to perform, I just choose not to do it).
In becoming a good performer, you need to start small. If you are just starting to learn the piano you can still start learning to perform as well.
When it comes to performing on the piano I have found it an advantage that you will often have your back to your audience, which means that you can’t actually see your audience. I was one of those kids that enjoyed playing the piano but didn’t enjoy performing and I found it helpful that I didn’t get to see the audience and they couldn’t see how uncomfortable I felt!
Firstly, you need to be able to play your chosen piece of music, very well. You should know it so well that you could play it perfectly without the music. I’ve often said to my students that you should be able to play it blindfolded – and yes, you can learn to play a piece of music so well that you can play it blindfolded!
To perform confidently, you do need to minimize your chances of making a mistake by knowing your piece of music perfectly. This is the most important thing you can do.
If you are a beginner, then start performing as soon as possible. It doesn’t matter if your piece of music is only 10 seconds long and your audience is just one person sitting down to listen to you play.
If you are someone that is returning to playing the piano and performing is something new and exciting that you want to do, then start with pieces of music that are below your skill level, as this will help you learn those pieces of music quickly and accurately. By performing pieces of music that are a little below your skill level, you are more likely to perform well and this will be a real confidence booster.
When it comes to actually performing, especially when it is just you, sit down at the piano and pause just for a few seconds. This really gives you enough time to make sure you are sitting comfortably, your music is not going to fall down and to gather your thoughts. I have been to many performances where the pianist takes their time to make sure that everything is to their liking. If you’ve ever gone to see an orchestra perform, you would be aware that between the setting up of music on the stands to the shuffling of chairs to the orchestra tuning up – that it all takes several minutes and the audience waits patiently.
When you are performing, whether it is by yourself or with a group of people, it is important that if you make a mistake, don’t go back to fix it but rather keep playing like the mistake never happened.
One thing that is really important to remember is that if you make some mistakes when performing, most people will not hear those mistakes. This is because they might not be familiar with the piece of music that you are playing, or if it is a well known tune then they might not be familiar with the particular arrangement you are playing. People will often be so impressed by someone playing the piano (even if the piece of music is very simple) because it is something that they can’t do, they just simply won’t hear any mistakes at all. I’ve heard a lot of amateur performances over the years and after any performance there is almost always a buzz of conversation about how terrific the performance was. The truth is that most were terrific, quite a number had a few mistakes and some had a significant lack of preparation. No-one will notice any mistakes you make and no-one will actually care if you do make some mistakes.
I hope this information helps you get the most out performing – if that’s what you want to do.