You spend hours learning a song, but is there a difference in how you practice in the final stages before performing? The answer is yes! In my early years of performing, I never changed how I practiced before performing it. I continued to spot practice and fix errors, never playing the song as though I was performing it. Then I wondered why I was never happy with my performance!
Here is the third part of my 3-part series on five performance practice strategies in the final stages before and during a performance I wish I had known in my early years of performing.
Before the Final Stage
Before the final stage of practicing, ensure you have learned the piece thoroughly, going over all the spot practices explained in part two of this series. Once learned, you’re ready to move into the final performance practice stage.
1. When Should You Start Performance Practice?
How long before a performance should you start the final performance practice? The best scenario is 1-2 weeks, so you don’t feel rushed in your final practice. If you don’t have that much time, practice as often as you can within your time frame, practicing three or more times per day. It’s better to break up practices separately than one long practice.
2. Record Yourself and Listen with a Critical Ear
There’s a vast difference between listening to yourself while playing and a recording of your playing. Your brain is so occupied with playing that you can’t always “hear” how it sounds. By listening to the recording, you can focus on it. As you listen, be critical of areas you may need to change. Then, listen as though you’re in the audience listening to the song for the first time. Make any changes you feel are necessary. You can do an audio or video recording. If you’re focusing on the content of your playing, audio is better. If you want to improve your stage presence, a video recording will help.
3. Play Without Stopping
When you perform, there is one thing you NEVER do: stop, no matter what happens. So that is precisely how you should practice it! Play THROUGH the mistakes and resist the urge to stop and fix them. As you play, imagine you’re performing. The more times you play without stops, the more confident you’ll be about the piece, and the better you’ll perform it.
4. How You Play Cold
The way to gauge if you’re ready to perform is how you play it without warming up or playing the song a few times. Doing this is what I call playing it cold, which is how you’ll perform it. If you can’t play it without (minimal) errors and stopping, you may not be ready to perform it. Notice any troubled spots that you may need to fix.
5. During the Performance
What you think about while performing matters! Now that you’ve done the prep work, it’s time to relax and enjoy your performance. Only think positive thoughts about your performance, and have FUN! Imagine how your performance brings joy to the audience as they listen to you play. The more positive your thoughts, the better you’ll do. Doing this helps to be less nervous and takes the “edge” off. Remember how you practiced imagining an audience is watching you? Now play as though it’s just you and your instrument, forgetting about the audience, focusing only on the song you’ve practiced so hard on. If you make a mistake, don’t worry about it, and keep going. Chances are the audience won’t even know! Happy performing!
Comment #4 is revealing and answers a lot of my questions from past performances. Everything is useful to me, but especially this comment, playing cold. Thanks!