What I do is while I practice I imagine myself playing in front of an audience and I get familiar with the feeling so when I'm on stage it juste feels natural.
My tip for staying calm when playing for others is the opposite of point 2 above! A professional classical pianist once told me not to focus on what I think (fear) the audience is hearing/thinking but instead invite them to listen to what I am playing. So when I play for someone, I imagine saying to them, ‘listen to this ‘. I find that makes me feel a whole lot more relaxed. Thanks for your great channel.
THIS! I have an exam in two hours and the only thing that calms me down is the thought if me “saying” to them “hey, listen to this”, finally someone that gets it!
I think both Jazer and you meant the same thing but said in opposite ways. It's about focus. Training the mind to focusing on the piece and not on the public or anything else at all times.
I'm not a pianist but I play guitar for 15 years now and one thing that has helped me and thanks to which I no longer have anxiety playing in front of an audience is I go and play outside for free in public places where people are walking minding their business. I was really anxious at first and so will you be as well, but I kept fighting the feeling and continued playing until I got relaxed and started focusing entirely on playing the songs again instead of everyone around me.
Thank you for sharing your talent! I’ve played the piano for almost 50 years and there are times when I get nervous before playing in front of a congregation. I play only gospel music in church and many years ago when I was 8-10 years old I played on my local radio station. My tip before I begin to play is to say a prayer asking GOD to use the talent HE has given me to HIS honor and glory. Sometimes I find my mind wandering off to something other than the music I’m playing and then I always screw up and play the wrong notes. But if I keep my focus on the Master, my playing is more flowing and the congregation can easily sing with the song. In my opinion when playing in church the piano is there not to be louder than anyone or to take over the music being offered but the piano should be played to give the congregation the correct tone, the tempo and the melody. And not to overshadow anyone. Thanks again and I look forward to watching and learning from your techniques. 😃🌟💖
I am going to play for my church in the future possibly! I’ve been praying every night that I may use the gift that God has given me to bless other people. I have a piano recital in about two weeks, please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as it’s my first one and I’m very nervous! :)
My nervousness is ridiculous. It’s as if I don’t know my pieces. When I’m calm the songs flow nicely. I’ll try these techniques before I perform . Show time is tomorrow
I bet I freeze more than you do in performance. I practiced a beethoven piece for over 4 months and as soon as I stepped on stage (hundred people in audience and bright light on piano and me on stage) I psyched myself out and didn't know how to play the piece.
I have really bad performance anxiety, it gradually reduces when I'm performing often, but since the pandemic I haven't performed much at all but whenever I do I get incredibly nervous. Something that does help me a lot though when I play is to imagine im in a trance-like state where instead of analysing everything I'm doing or wondering "whats the next note" I just listen to the music and flow with it.
Hello people like me i had a piano performance today and i was extremely nervous to the point of shaking and not being able to relax from anxiety for about 5 hours before it even started. When i went to the theater my friend opened her bag and told me get a gum and trust me. I took the gum and chewed on it before my turn. While i was out on stage i kept the gum in the back of my mouth and focused my mind on the flavor of it (i didnt chew it cause that would be noticable i just kept it there and had my mind on it). It helped i played all 4 of my pieces with overall 2 missed notes and nothing more. For reference last year when i got out on stage i was so stressed and i played only 2 out of the 3 i had planned because i forgot the 3rd one before it even began and the other two i missed many notes and did many mistakes cause i was focusing too much on my finger and the notes. I focused more on listening to my own music and tasting gum this time and time and it worked 😊. Remember the audience is there to listen to beautiful music not perfection and when you have exams the person wants you to pass not to point out every small detail you missed and lower ypur grade drastically. The overall product matters not the single section you made one mistake. Dont let that ruin your whole piece and experience playing to people can be very rewarding in the end. (btw sitting with confidence 100/10)
I have had bad experience with piano in the past and I am just coming back. What got me back was the feeling of the cheers on the stage and watching your videos, so I just want to say Thank you.
I want to thank you. I watched this 5 minutes before a piano audition and after I watched it I gained a new perspective and I ended up getting it! Thank you🙏🙏
I play for enjoyment and occasionally in front of family and used to get really nervous and shaky when people watched but since I started recording myself play, which kind of feels like you're performing for someone to watch later, I feel I'm getting more used to that feeling and now I can play without nerves in front of people... weird but works for me. Thanks for your tips Jazer, I'll try these too.
Thanks for the help man, I have my piano grade 7 exam in 27 mins and I am scared, but now after watching this video, I will go in with a confident mind and confident spirit. Thanks for the help again!
I try to focus on one of my favorite performances of the piece and try to replicate; that takes the focus away from me and my nerves quite a bit. It’s like I’m listening to that performance while playing.
The best way is to just perform as much as possible. When I just started, I was always nervous asf even if it was just for friends or family. Im in RCM arct rn and i perform with no problem anymore. Just take advantage of opportunities to perform and soon, you’ll see that performing isn’t scary at all.
So great to hear about your arct. What you playing can I ask? (I personally played for my associate- Bach SInfonia from Partita 2, Mozart Sonata in C K330, Rach Prelude Op 23 No 6, Ravel Miroir No 5)
Love your videos! I wish I could really tell what my piano teacher was thinking while I was playing! I do get a lot of feed back from her (she lets me get away with NO errors, LOL, which is good!). I love trying out your tips! I just started taking piano 8 months ago at the age of 47 and am getting so much enjoyment out of it! Never thought I was a "musical" person, but I think, wow! I've come along way from knowing zero about the piano just a short bit ago!
Thank you. Great video. Step two is simply brilliant...get out of your head! I suffer terribly from nerves at exams and even when I play my pieces for my tutor. This really helps.:)
@@planetary-rendez-vous - try practising some deep breathing before engaging the pedals and the piano. Practice first without the pedals and then practice SLOWLY with the pedals. Do this several times until your pedal action is flawless. If you can practice with the pedal, without errors, then up the speed of your playing. See if this technique works for you. 🤓
I have my GCSE performance tomorrow. I'm really scared because even if I'm just playing infront of my teacher I get really nervous. I'm so scared Especially because it's being recorded! Last time I tried to play for my teacher I got really scared and he had to get angry at me to make me play 😂😭 but this time I'm determined to do the best of my ability. Thanks for these tips, I'll try them out tomorrow! ❤️
@@lychifilm Oooh good luck!! Yeah it went surprisingly really well thanks, once you start playing it doesn’t seem as bad as you’re in the zone if that makes sense. Taking some deep breaths before hand really helped me, it sounds really simple but it does make a difference! My piano teacher told me to take all my anxiety out on the piece lol. Hope you get one well :)
Trying to learn piano. Have always been an introvert, and have experienced severe physical effects standing in front of audience whether speaking or singing. 67 years old and enjoy singing. Use RU-vid to learn. Can now play beginner guitar, harmonica, ukulele and working on piano. Have sung Karaoke and believe it has helped being in front of audience. All I can say is just push through it. The audience is always forgiving. 90% of them are glad they are not up there. Thanks for tips and your videos.
I have a talent show as well as a recital that I have to attend. Im playing beethoven pathetique first movement, but im worried that I will get nervous and mess up. This has happened to me many times in the past and hopefully this method works out
ill be performing rachmaninoff’s prelude in c sharp minor and im really nervous since its my first time playing live since quarantine started, thanks for sharing this 🙏🙏
1.) Play jazz. 2.) Make mistakes. 3.) Realize no one notices/cares. 4.) Play perfectly because there's no longer any pressure. 5.) Translate to other types of music.
Need to know a piece well with certain technical sections memorized. The sheet music and good memory is there for backup. There are times you get nervous you start reading the wrong line your memory will fill in so that your eyes can go down to the next section and start reading again. And then there are sections with short notes you can't read fast enough your memory will fill in the details. You can get rid of the nervousness but if you can't run through the music without wrong notes a few times at home, you're going to repeat the same mistakes in a performance.
Im only on grade 1 but got extremely nervous on my inital grade exam, I play perfect but the minute i unplug my headphones to play for my husband the nerves start, the other day i had my headphones on but did not realise they were not plugged in and i played perfect for him, so i will pretend im plugging my headphones in and playing to myself on exam day 😊
I pray and say at loud "I can do this and with the help of the Lord there is nothing to be afraid of". And also as you said I stop thinking about notes and just enjoy what i'm playing.
i have the biggest anxiety problem during my piano performances and i don’t know how to control it.. i start to shake randomly and panicking thank u so much for the tips i hope it will help
Today was my first performance in front a public. I made sure that I mastered the pieces, well I thought. It never occur to me to prepare myself mentally. It was terrible. My hands were shaking and sweaty. My fingers were slipping over the notes. You don't practice or warm-up between the pieces. You just sit and play.
Hi Jeezer I really like your videos and the great tips which have really improved my practise. I’d like to ask whether when you were learning the Liszt piece for 90 mins a day, you did that in one sitting? 🙏.
im 11years old and i always playing in my home soo good whenever im playing hard but in the public thats just nothing cause i feel in public nervous and make soo many mistakes but tnx
i even getting nervous when i make videos of playing piano, just when im alone im not nervous but when my mum or people or my teacher are watching me im just always makes mistakes, so thnx
I had a performance just last week, and i can conclude I couldn't remember anything after i performed else then a few mistake. Yes i was nervous to start with, but soon as I sat down I felt different... And now i look back on my performance i did, that my mom video taped, and I don't recall much at all for some reason. Maybe i was too into it????(And yes the song i played called One Summer's Day was very special to me, it brings back a lot of memory) *The video is on my channel*. Also I find your video very helpful, and hopefully u stay as a smaller RU-vidr, so all of us feel special :). EDIT: fixed a few grammar mistake
Hi! Please make a video about improvisation, I have played classical piano for about 10 years now and suck at improvising, so any advice would be very helpful :)
If l think about the audience Enjoying the peace I play there are two voices in my head one of them tells me that they really don’t and I’m just saying this to myself to make me feel better And the other voice is just trying to make myself believe that they’re actually enjoying the peace that I play
This is a zoom piano recital.. because of Covid.. so I’m nervous, it’s like a fear against having a camera watching me while I play piano... I’m playing today so good luck to me..
I thought about… taking a klonapin before I go meet this professor for gradschool lol.. I know it gets rid of my anxiety for sure heh. Nerves suck sometimes lol
I’m having a piano exam today and I’m honestly terrified. I’m worried about making any mistakes and it’s a video exam. Honestly, I’ve tried all methods and it hasn’t quite worked
when i play piano infront of my teacher, my right leg starts to shake while i use the pedal and i freeze up a bit. i definitely do my best to calm down but my legs still start to shake.
I have a performance in less than a month in I'm STRESSING out. Whenever I'm stressed my hands start to shake and they get cold and sweaty idk what to do. Also my dumas took a look at the theatre yesterday and it's HUGE, I had a mini panic attack.
What I do is, I choose one person in the audience (which is mostly my mom) and I imagine that I only play for her. Therefore I focus only on one person that I love..
I tell students to eat a really good meal in a restaurant right after the performance is over. That way they have a very nice reward waiting for them after. And to just share the music. Even if theres a mistake its about transporting people to another place while they listen to your song.
Your second tip doesn’t quite work for me. Once I think about the audience or, god forbid, look at them, I get 10 times more nervous and forget everything. Because I even more under pressure to please them and I may just fail to do so. I feel better forgetting anyone is around and me pretending I’m home alone and no one’s listening. My main problem is though that then I tend to over concentrate and thus go blanc at an autopilot going moment especially if there’s a distracting thought entering my mind.
I’m actually always nervous performing, even if only my teacher is listening. It’s like as soon as I have to perform my brain shuts down completely. 🙈🤷🏻♀️
I sound great on our Roland at home, but when I play other pianos, I sound like a 4 year old. Also, I didn't feel any anxiety, but my fingers shook and I messed up a lot when I played in public.
I have a concert in a few days and I’m really worried because whenever I am nervous, I forget the piece like I little forget it. Btw I’m in grade 5 ameb
Honestly I’m just worried about the awkwardness if I ever needed to move a foot stool or change the height of the bench. I’m hoping the person before me has the same height as me.
I always felt nervous just going to my piano teacher, and I’m an adult. The guy did not say thing, except when he sold me a book. It’s exhausting filling in the gaps when your teacher has no shared plan or social skills. Just a cautionary tale. Bail if it’s not working.
Couldn't agree more Joseph! Your teacher should be a leader and mentor to you. If you feel uncomfortable with your mentor's leadership, find some other person to learn from, there're many more out there. Did you manage to find another teacher?
