Playing To An Audience

Sooner or later someone is going to ask you to play the piano for them, or you are going to want to share your music with other people. The same advice applies whether you play for an audience of hundreds, or just your family and friends.

If you are going to play anywhere but in your own home, check the piano to make sure all the keys work properly. Then, make sure the piano sounds in tune. (Do not try to play a piano which is not in good condition because it will spoil your music.) Find a piano stool or seat which is the right height for a good playing position.

Choose music which you know well and which you can play without hesitation. Do not play the most complicated piece you know, or the most recent tune you have learned, as you are more likely to make embarrassing mistakes with these. If you are going to play more than one piece, pick tunes with different rhythms and speeds, in different keys, so your playing does not sound all the same. Mix loud and soft music, and save the best and most dramatic pieces until last.

Work out good beginnings and endings for your tunes to make your playing entertaining and professional-sounding. Try to hear each tune in your head before starting to play to get the speed and the feeling of the music right.

Above all, have confidence in your playing - whatever you play will be enjoyable for your audience as most people like the sound of the piano.

Never announce that 'you cannot play very well', or 'you will probably make mistakes' - this kind of talk is likely to make you do these very things. If you do make a mistake, make a joke of it or ignore it - most people will probably not notice a mistake anyway. Never play with cold hands, because your fingers will be stiff.

There are many places where you can play in public if you want to - College and Music Society concerts, local Talent Nights and other places you may find advertised in local papers, music magazines or on notice boards. Alternatively, arrange musical evenings with your friends or family.

Playing to an audience, once you have conquered the initial nerves which everyone has, is an excellent way to improve your playing because it gives you the incentive to play better and polish your music. Practise playing to an audience by looking out of a window while you play and imagining that the whole world is watching and listening to you, or play to a cassette or tape recorder.