Fumbling, breaking the rhythm, going out of tune or missing a crucial note in the middle of the performance is every musician’s horror! As a pianist it is obvious that you want to hit the right notes and give flawless performances, but nothing is perfect and that applies to your piano playing skills as well.
You either concentrate too much on the minute details, failing to harmonize the piece on the whole or be so involved in the total picture that you completely screw the details! However you can avoid these common mistakes and enhance your performance, check them out:
Limiting Your Potential
Sometimes musicians fail to realize their full potential and express themselves freely on stage. It might be due to fear, insecurity or being caught up in the web of rules and conventions. They fail to experiment on the musical scores adding a dash of their uniqueness because they fear it might not be good enough.
Stage fright can really increase your chances of fumbling or going out of tune on stage. The trick is to lose yourself in your performance so much so that the audience fades away; this boosts your confidence and enhances your performance.
Too much of Improvisation
Yes it is necessary that you add a touch of your uniqueness to the original piece; experiment with it a bit but not too much. Excess of creativity can make the piece very complex and that increases the chances of errors tenfold. If you’re playing classical pieces, stick to the original version as much as possible. Improvisation is important but too much of it can really spoil the flavor of the piece. Unnecessarily omitting, adding, or replacing the notes would only complicate matters.
Misinterpreting the Piece
In order to translate the musical notes on the piano you need to understand them first. There are instances when pianists can lose their focus and misread the notes, playing something completely different than what they intended. Playing the piano requires immense concentration and total focus.
There are times when the musician is unable to play the right musical score due to some printing error; these mistakes are easily avoidable, provided you are attentive while playing.
Limiting Your Musical Knowledge
As a pianist you must understand that listening to good music is as important as learning how to play them. And that does not mean just limiting yourself to the classics or the famous musical scores. Widen your musical knowledge, listen to different albums and notice how the notes sound.
Pay attention to the technical intricacies of the notes and implement the same onto your performances. Most pianists cannot get those notes correct because they don’t really know how they sound!
Reading too much between the Lines
Well contrary to popular belief, not all musical scores are about complex abstract concepts some of them are pretty simple and have to be taken at face value. Music is a pretty individual form of art and can be interpreted differently by everyone. But most pianists attach unnecessary and complicated meanings to a seemingly simple piece, they read way too much between the lines! They completely miss the basic theme of the piece.
Not connecting with the Piece Emotionally
Playing the piano is not a scientific process where you just need to perfect the technical details and learn the notes for a grand performance, no; you must also feel the music.
Unless and until you don’t connect to the piece on an emotional level you cannot really communicate it perfectly to the audience. Music has the power to move you, make you cry, laugh, be happy! If you’re not enjoying the musical score then it is no point expecting your listeners to appreciate it.
Carelessness and Complacency
No matter how famous or established of a pianist you are you just cannot be complacent about your music. Just because you’re an experienced pianist does not mean you stop practicing, dedication and consistent practice is what makes you a good musician. Also the musical score requires your absolute attention and focus, you cannot afford to be careless and miss out a note in between.
The Bottom Line
Though seemingly simple, these errors can really ruin the musical piece! Watch out for the above mentioned errors to avoid any unpleasant glitches in your performances.
Featured Image: Image Credit
#NashvilleRoadshow somehow the audio didn’t reverse and now everyone cheers when @joshuadun gets off the piano pic.twitter.com/rz5KUS0wmN
— Kelsey (@Kelseygrace35) August 8, 2016
Imagine Louis teaching Harry to play If I Could Fly on the piano ??? #IfICouldFlyProject pic.twitter.com/nmN2TuzlGg
— Best Larry Fics (@BestLarrieFics) August 6, 2016
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