What do you do before a concert?

In my opinion, first and foremost, one must not arrive stressed. It happens to everyone, or at least to many, to have the feeling of having forgotten everything, just like before an exam! Calm. Above all, relaxation. Resting. Resting after having studied conscientiously and without deception. Our unconscious knows well what we know and what we do not know, and it plays various tricks on us. Never underestimate the easy passages. Try to maintain concentration, something that one should start doing right before the concert. Try not to feel the solemnity of the event, but rather the joy of communicating one's own idea. We know well that we will go out to play compositions that have also been played by Pollini, Rubinstein, and Horowitz. The same ones have also been played by beginners. In my opinion, it is worth not putting oneself in competition. It serves no purpose. Those who left their homes to come and hear us can go home satisfied if they carry with them the idea that we were capable of communicating. That is, something for which it was worth meeting the artist! The concert is a great opportunity to be able to communicate through this extraordinary non-verbal language. Of course, this must not lead us to "invent" strange things. We must respect the Author, but we can equally "interpret" his great idea by moving within certain limits. The listener-spectator also carries home the "presence" of the artist who, through their "gesture," more or less pronounced, more or less wide, almost guides the listening and directs it toward their convictions.

Another thing that comes to mind: think, read, or remember the here and now, and never think about what will happen a moment later or what has already happened. Throw behind your shoulders what happened a moment before, even if it was a mistake. Never think: "...and now comes that passage of octaves....." I would like to make many other considerations... but I leave space for others.

As pianoexpert already said, relaxing is extremely important. Personally, before a concert, I try to do something else entirely for the rest of the day; perhaps I focus on the clothes to wear, or otherwise on other things of secondary importance that could distract me.

Another thing I do is not throw myself into studying the pieces I have to play; a quick review, even just sight-reading, will be perfectly fine since I take for granted that the piece I am about to play has been studied and deepened for the necessary amount of time, and studying it all at the last moment would be counterproductive.

Another thing that I think is extremely important is not thinking that you will manage to play everything perfectly, but thinking about giving your best; this will not fill your head with false illusions and will comfort you more.

Then it is important to remember that the tension felt when bowing and when sitting down is the first part of a process that will lead us (if managed well) to be more efficient and to truly give the maximum possible in that moment. Furthermore, as pianoexpert already said, one must not worry about the passages that are about to be faced, but must face them with great naturalness. Very often it happens that you might stumble and miss a few notes; it even happens to the greats, you mustn't lose heart, also because it is precisely these small mistakes that make the performance more real; what the audience feels is nonetheless something that cannot be reproduced with a record; in the hall, the mixture of tension and those small slips that the performer can make serves precisely to generate that atmosphere that can only be experienced in a "live" performance!

Anyway, generally speaking, apart from these tips that one can give, a large part of the process used to release tension is very personal and above all mental, so what I have written (and I think also what anyone else will write) is just a basis of things tested through personal experience, but which must be colored with one's own personality.

P.S. - I apologize for any grammatical errors, but I am connected via mobile phone

@Lowseling

I was already doing the things you talked about, obviously one needs to be mentally relaxed etc., but perhaps I didn't explain myself well.. For example, before every concert I don't eat beforehand but after, because I think I play better on an empty stomach.. I was curious to know about strange attitudes comparable to mine.. do you not do anything particular before a concert?

pianothor wrote:

@Lowseling

I was already doing the things you talked about, obviously one needs to be mentally relaxed etc., but perhaps I didn't explain myself well.. For example, before every concert I don't eat before, but after, because I think I play better on an empty stomach.. I was curious to know about strange attitudes comparable to mine.. do you guys not do anything particular before a concert?

Ah sorry, I had misunderstood the question then. Well, personally I eat (maybe too much) chocolate; fortunately, when I start feeling pre-performance tension, I postpone my ailments to the next day xD

In a concert, tension is always there, it goes without saying. In my opinion, the important thing doesn't happen so much before the concert but during it. At least in my case, there is an instant when I begin to forget about the audience, and that is the instant in which I enter into the music. I think of the musical phrases just before playing them, singing them inside me and trying to let out what is inside me. If one is influenced by the audience, this doesn't happen. As a rule, I always tend to put technically demanding pieces last. I try to start with less demanding pieces, increasing difficulty each time, for several reasons. The first is quite clearly the issue regarding hands that are still cold despite the pre-concert warm-up phase; the second is that playing a technically demanding piece while being aware of the technical limitations imposed by a hand that hasn't warmed up properly generates fear and psychological tension that leads to mistakes. From there, fear generates fear; you enter a vicious cycle where you no longer think about the quality of the music but about not missing notes and thus not making mistakes. In the worst-case scenario, you panic and freeze. You get lost in terror, memory deceives you, and the rest is known to at least everyone who has stood before an audience for the first time.

Asking someone to enter [the stage] calmly would be nice if it were true. In reality, no one is able to do so. The first 30 seconds are terrible: the heart beats at twice the normal rate, hands tremble, fears assail us, but one must have the strength to enjoy the music and from that point on, enjoy the time of the concert.

Missing a note is not indicative and it happens to EVERYONE!!

Today we are used to listening to perfect performances because they are digitally manipulated. I invite you to listen to Chopin's studies performed by Cortot (not some amateur, one of the greatest masters of technique)... They are full of errors, but it matters little when the musical phrase follows a diction that makes it seem as if the piano is singing.

In preparation for a concert, however, there are things to do. First and foremost, play often in front of people. Never hold back when you find a nice piano inside a restaurant. Sit down and play; they are the best experiences for getting used to failure [breaking your face]. By performing and giving concerts quite often, you will see that little by little the tension before going on stage will be increasingly reduced. Let's start getting to know each other and learn how to manage ourselves in cases of high stress.

Usually, before a concert, I always eat a banana. It is rich in potassium and provides a lot of energy. Not eating only serves to arrive at the concert without sugars, and that can become risky. The brain uses sugars to function, and it is important that during phases of high mental stress there are plenty available. On the other hand, we shouldn't overeat either. A regular meal like the one we normally have. We are giving a concert; it is something natural and beautiful, we aren't running a 42 km and 195 m marathon!

Be yourselves, enter into the music, and forget about the audience. Remember that you are on stage for the music and not for the audience, so enjoy it to the fullest!!

Forgive my errors too, but I am writing with an iPad which occasionally corrects some words...

Ciao!

Reading your words, I was reminded of my first performance last June before a packed audience; it was the end-of-year recital. (In previous years, I always stayed in the background out of terror). It was my turn to play after the singers, guitarists, flute players, and drummers, and I was even the last of the pianists; I had stomach cramps, but in the end, I sat on the bench and began to play, trying to isolate myself from everyone. Midway through the piece (Cavalleria Rusticana Intermezzo), I made a trivial error on the attack; this distracted me and I stopped for a few seconds, apologized to the audience, took a deep breath, and started again, managing to complete the piece.

Tension all melted away in an instant and I was as happy as a child.

Having played before an audience, I liked it very much. I think that this makes up for all the work done, the effort, and so on.

My former teacher told me these exact words: "Hearing you play moved me... keep going like this".

This is the recording of the piece made a few days ago; get your tissues ready...

Open content (youtube)

@Simone actually I thought I played better on an empty stomach because when I play after eating it feels almost like I'm falling asleep at the piano or I just can't perform well the passages that require more stamina.. But I hadn't thought of a simple banana instead of a whole lunch.. how silly of me

Normally, concerts are always held in the late afternoon/evening. Digesting a normal lunch takes a couple of hours, three at most, so eat a normal meal without worry. As a snack before the concert, a banana is a good energy fruit. Yesterday, before going to play (having arrived a bit early), I went to the Civitavecchia seafront with my girlfriend; we stopped at a bar and had two good banana and strawberry smoothies and a fruit juice. At the concert, I was in good shape, full of energy, not bloated in the stomach. Sugars also help concentration, refresh you, and are good for your health... The ideal snack before a concert.