58
votes
How to avoid stopping when I play a wrong note on the piano
The source of the problem
The most common cause I've encountered for this kind or problem is practicing primarily from the beginning a piece.
The "mechanical" solution
Beginners tend to ...
- 94.8k
44
votes
Is there a way to rehearse being in a stressful performance situation?
You've hit on a very important point. I give this speech often to my students, that we "practice practicing," but rarely "practice performing." Especially for a non-professional, a ...
- 19.2k
43
votes
Can a flute soloist sit?
Absolutely. Nobody ever expects (extreme case) Itzhak Perlman to stand.
Personally, I'd be a happy audience if a flautist sat on a barstool, as many guitarists tend to do.
Now, performing while on a ...
- 15k
40
votes
Forgetting the musical notes while performing in concert
For some reason, practice isn't always enough for prepare us for a performance. That's not unusual. Some things that have helped me and others I've talked to include:
"Practice" performing in ...
- 58.6k
37
votes
Fermata over a rest at the end of the piece?
Do you sit there and prevent the audience from clapping until you want that rest to finish its extended duration?
I've always thought this is pretty much what a fermata like this is about. When ...
- 58.6k
35
votes
Accepted
Can piano studies be played as a performance piece?
Well pretty much anything can be played as a performance piece but many of them would be very dull to listen to. Personally I find Hanon extremely boring and I believe many other people do too. ...
- 5,126
33
votes
Accepted
I feel like I don't evolve, and sometimes shamed when playing with someone better than me
I find any learning process goes in cycles:
At first, you're pretty bad. And you know it.
Then, you start getting better. You're playing pretty well. Everything is great.
And then you realise that ...
- 9,679
30
votes
Can a flute soloist sit?
I've never seen a flutist sit, but I've also not seen very many flute soloists.
What I have seen is plenty of soloists that do sit, so you'd be in good company!
And keep in mind that cellists, ...
- 85.1k
29
votes
Accepted
How do you play this measure on piano? Are unwritten polyrhythms a thing?
Here's how I'd interpret it. Excuse my lack of drawing skill.
There are four beats in the right hand, each a crotchet in length. I've drawn lines between each beat to make them clear.
The left hand ...
- 9,679
23
votes
Why don't bands try to fade out songs live like they do in the studio?
There might be many different reasons for different bands. So I will be able to point just some possibilities.
Studio recording and live performance are different ways to present the songs. Recordings ...
- 17.8k
22
votes
Vocal range of a crowd
One other place where we find large crowds of people singing songs together is worship music- so perhaps we can find relevant advice there.
The general consensus* is that the most friendly keys for ...
- 9,623
21
votes
How to dare to whistle or to hum in public?
I think it’s important that you should not in any way feel like you have to be able to do this. Singing, whistling and humming should be a means of expressing yourself because you are in the mood for ...
- 23.1k
20
votes
Forgetting the musical notes while performing in concert
Dealing with pressure
Get a sound recorder or use your phone and record your performances. The extra pressure of recording yourself will cause similar pressure to an actual performance. Also practise ...
- 3,984
20
votes
Is it a good idea to drink alcohol before a performance?
Doing this as a method to give better performances is a good way to slide into alcoholism. Though commonly played down alcohol is a serious poison that will damage your body even in non excessive ...
- 23.1k
17
votes
Accepted
What can I do to stop getting nervous before and during a performance?
How often do you practice in front of others? You could try asking people to join you while you practice, or find a public piano and jump on to practice. The idea is to have more experience playing ...
- 7,429
17
votes
Can piano studies be played as a performance piece?
I have taken a few works from Czerny, slowed them down and played them as prelude pieces in church. One day a woman commented how gorgeous a piece was that I played and I told her it was by Czerny. ...
- 3,250
17
votes
Can a flute soloist sit?
Orchestral flautists sit the whole time so it's clearly possible to play the flute to a high standard while sitting. It's the 21st century and people are used to legislation that requires employers ...
- 311
17
votes
Accepted
Why was no first prize awarded at a competition?
This actually happens more than you might think. If you Google it you might be surprised by how many results you can find.
The reason is usually to do with the overall standard of the competitors. ...
- 5,126
16
votes
Is there any way for my to become a better judge of my playing? Especially while I'm playing
This is a terrific, and very important, question!
Have you ever heard a recording of yourself speaking? Did it come across as odd to you? Did you ever think "that's not how I sound!"? The same is ...
- 85.1k
16
votes
Forgetting the musical notes while performing in concert
A good practice exercise I've found to help with this is to play along to a metronome and not play every other bar. For example, play bar 1, then sit in silence for bar 2 whilst imagining the sound in ...
- 569
16
votes
Why don't bands try to fade out songs live like they do in the studio?
There are two different ways this can be done:
a) The band plays at a quieter and quieter dynamic level, until none of the players can be heard anymore (over the crowd etc. noise).
There are a couple ...
- 35.8k
15
votes
Accepted
Why was Le Concert Spirituel playing out of tune at Proms 2012?
You are right, it is because they are using very old horns known as natural horns which had no valves or holes. They had known limitations and were quite difficult to play. You can see and hear a ...
- 839
15
votes
Is it reasonable to expect a non-percussionist to play a simple triangle part?
How much does it take to learn how to play the triangle?
10 seconds.
How much does it take to know how to play the triangle?
Hundreds of hours of practice, years of experience.
Just like many "...
- 7,323
15
votes
Accepted
Vocal range of a crowd
Just about everyone can manage an octave from B♭ to the one above. Women and men will find their own octave. Take it up to C if you like. By D some will begin to fall out, but this should be ...
- 95.6k
14
votes
What can I do to stop getting nervous before and during a performance?
What I used to do before giving a lecture to a large crowd was the following ritual. (I never had time to do this in a music context.) First, hit the restroom; next, eat one small slice of cantaloupe. ...
- 25.8k
14
votes
How can you sustain a long note on electric guitar smoothly?
Sheer volume &/or compression.
Live on stage there's enough volume coming back to the guitar string that sympathetic resonances can keep it going.
High-gain amplification also compresses the sound,...
- 28k
13
votes
Practice to avoid mistakes or practice to cover mistakes
Short answer: Both, but practicing to avoid mistakes is by far the more important thing to practice.
The whole idea of rehearsing as a band is to minimize the amount of mistakes you'll make on stage. ...
- 1,010
13
votes
How to simulate performance volume levels in MIDI playback
Don't over-think this. Live players listen, adjust and balance. They don't interpret 'f' as a fixed dB level, 'p' as another. They make it work.
A sequencer will only give you a very general idea ...
- 95.6k
13
votes
Why don't bands try to fade out songs live like they do in the studio?
I have seen bands do fade-outs live, and I have played in bands that did fade-outs live. So it does happen.
Exhibit A:
Why does it not happen more often? It's hard ...
- 2,420
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