Performance Review Evaluation

Link to my video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VuJcin79VI&list=PLUwncSquNfWySAUHJD2nVa6njPIDGzg9L&index=9


Watching this back, it didn't go as bad as I thought at the time but there still many things I need to improve on.

Strengths:
When I started the piece, it went well as there were no hesitations and practiced it many times which had obviously paid off. I think this is because when I practice I tend to go back to the beginning which would show why I'm good at it. Also, there were some good elements of playing within the whole piece and that shows the practice I put into certain areas of the piece and this is because of my practice schedule which is practising certain areas numerous times. When I did go wrong, I did carry on playing which helped instead of just stopping completely and starting again.

Weaknesses:
However, there were many hesitations and the piece gradually slowed down as I carried on. This may be because I have practiced particular parts more than others and not concentrated on the parts that contain hesitation and slower playing. I made faces when I went wrong which gave away to the audience where I went wrong though sometimes it wasn't noticeable. I should try and control my facial expressions when playing and when I go wrong I should just carry on. In the performance, I don't look like I'm enjoying myself and I am but the audience doesn't know this. I will get more emotionally involved by really hearing the piece rather than just practicing it. My hair covers up my face a lot which could psychologically be a thing that hides me a little bit. I should try singing and playing with my hair back to see how this affects my performance and see if it makes it better.

My practice routine is effective but I don't think I am using it right. I practice the bits I know better more because I feel more confident when I do but I must practice the parts I am not comfortable with yet to get them up to scratch. I will not change it because I feel like it is working, I just need to apply it to the areas I am not confident with yet and it will help me.

From this experience, I have learnt that I am not too confident performing by myself. To gain confidence I could perform in front of my family and friends more often to get used to playing by myself. Also, just to practice more in general to feel more prepared when performing to an audience.

Performance Review

Today we had to do a performance review where we had to perform both of our pieces. Unfortunately, my accompanist forgot his music for My Favourite Things so I couldn't perform that, but I did do my other piano piece, Sparrow.

I thought that it started off well, as it always does because a habit is to go back to the start of the piece everytime you practice, which is a habit I should get out of by starting with a different bar of my sheet music instead. As the song progressed, I feel it got worse. I played the wrong notes and my fingers stumbled over the keys because I was so nervous. What's fustrating is that when I rehearsed it before, it went better and not so many mistakes were made as to when I peformed it in front of the class. Also, what made it worse was showing my audience that I had gone wrong by my facial expressions and saying things under my breath. If I hadn't of done this, my audience wouldn't have known the difference as they didn't know the piece, this is something to keep in my mind next time I peform.

I think something that affected my performance the most was my nerves. My hands and legs were shaking and this definitely affected my performance. Because it was a solo piece, all I could think were negative thoughts about myelf and putting myself down. Even though the group I peformed in front of were very supportive and I have performed in front of them before, it is still a very daunting thing to do. To try and calm myself I could think positive thoughs and get into my head that I can do it instead of telling myself that I can't. Also, I can try and practice or perform in front of my family/friends to get used to playing infront of people and try blocking them out and concentrate on myself more than worrying what my audience are thinking.

In my performance, there were some good elements in my playing. Such as when I went wrong, I just carried on instead of stopping which would have made it more obvious to my audience. Also, some parts of the piece I played were good, such as the beginning and some bars in the middle.

Posture

When playing and singing, my posture must be correct in order to peform better:

For playing piano, I must sit up straight and by sitting not too close but not too far away from the piano to get the range I need to reach all the notes, my feet should be stable on the ground for easy access to the pedal, sit on front half of the bench, not all of it, hands should be rounded and fingers bent, elbows slightly higher than the keys and wrists should be loose and rounded like my hands.

For singing, chin should be about parallel to the floor, shoulders should be held back and down, with chest held high,but not in a strained position, abdomen should be flat and firm, held in an expandable position, hands should be relaxed and still at the sides, knees should be flexibly loose, and never locked, feet should be slighty apart, one slightly in front of the other, the weight of the body is slightly forward.  Things I could do o make sure I have the right posture for singing:

Stand up against a wall, placing heels, calves, buttocks, shoulders, and head touch the wall.

Place one hand on the abdomen while breathing, to ensure the abdomen is expanding and relaxed.

Shift the weight of your body forward until almost standing on tips of the toes. Try to establish a feeling of buoyancy.

Stand in a slouched position, then change to the correct position, noticing the difference between the two

Practice Schedule--Sparrow piano piece

First of all, I have to warm up. So to do this I play some scales and arpeggios to warm up my fingers. Then I listen to the piece, only halfway through so far, and play it using the sheet music. In this video, I only play the first two pages as it would to much to go through all the way through already:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vic3sLgNdGA&feature=youtu.be

 I talked with my piano teacher and she recommended doing short sections of the song, like a few bars, and doing this all the way through the song until I am happy with it and until it improves. When I have played the two sheets together, which I have in the video, I record it and see what bits I am struggling with. The bars I am struggling with, I will use my piano teacher's technique to improve them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_pfDdrZ--Y&feature=youtu.be


I do the right hand and left hand separately and then put it together slowly when I feel confident enough and gradually build speed as I improve on the section I'm working on.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6RaDWcVyD8&feature=youtu.be



After all this, I record myself again to see the improvement, then I make notes on what sections need work and more practice.