TheMusiC

Meteo: the difference between a good performer and a GREAT performer (this is true in the professional orchestral world as well) is confidence -- performing well is just as much psychological preparation as it is actually practicing the music. there are tons of players out there who'll practice their nuts off, then get on stage and totally blow the gig, usually because they get really really nervous because they want to "play it well." most of the time, when people get nervous, it's because before they play (or while they're playing), they have the whole, "OH GOD I HOPE I DON'T MESS THIS UP, SO MANY THINGS COULD GO WRONG" mindset instead of the "i'm going to do my best to express the ideas within this music to the audience" attitude. be confident -- if you can nail it in your practicing, then you can nail it on stage. another thing is to make sure that during the performance, you're focused on the music and ONLY on the music, i.e. expressing the emotions and ideas present. a lot of times when people mess up during orchestral solos or recitals, it's because something distracting catches their eye, or they hear something off, or they notice that their shirt is clinging to their arm or something. there's actually a class about this at juilliard -- they actually hired a guy from west point who trains snipers and such, and in the class, the students would play solo in all sorts of environments with all sorts of distractions and crazy things going on (i.e. desks and chairs would be knocked over while they're playing, balloons popped, etc). keep your focus on the music -- don't worry about "how and where i might mess up," worry about "what do i need to do to make this sound good." also: something that i do (and i know many others who do this as well) to prepare for an audition/performance is record myself playing through the piece(s). i'm an oboe/english horn player, so it's not quite exactly like a piano (=P), but the principle behind this method are pretty similar. for example: when i'm practicing, a note might be out of tune, but i won't be able to hear it because, as the performer, what i hear is sometimes different from what the audience hears. recording yourself playing will allow you do listen from the perspective of the audience rather than from the perspective of the performer. so, i record myself: and, believe me, when i hear that a note i hit in a phrase is out of tune, it never, ever is out of tune again =P. aaaand lastly, you can learn a LOT from watching professionals perform. note the way they walk on stage, the way they set themselves, etc.