Don't Let Playing Piano In Front Of An Audience Intimidate You

I remember very well the first time I ever played piano in front of what seemed like a large audience. In reality, it was probably a fairly small audience, but I was nervous regardless, as I was just a young kid. My time on stage that day didn't really last very long, but it seemed like an eternity. I wasn't sure if I would even be able to complete my so-called performance. I wasn't sure exactly why I was nervous, because I knew I had practiced and was perfectly capable of playing the piano music that I had planned on playing.

After the performance I commented to my mother about how nervous I had been during the performance and I told her I didn't know why. Of course she told me I played the piano fine and that I didn't appear to be nervous. I knew otherwise. I realized later that my problem was that I felt self-conscious the whole time I was in front of that audience. I was concerned about what I looked like up there, what the music sounded like to the audience, what the audience and even my mom was thinking about my piano playing, and probably any other number of things that raced through my mind while I was playing piano on stage. I simply couldn't relax and enjoy the time.

How should I go about correcting this problem of being self-concious while playing the piano? For an overwhelming majority of people, performing in public in front of an audience can be a very frightening experience, but it shouldn't be. The idea is to keep playing, and eventually your confidence will grow and you won't have that fear when you perform. Some people just feel more confident playing the piano in front of an audience than other people do, and that's fine. There is nothing wrong with being nervous at all.

I think one of the best ways to overcome this is to just start playing piano in front of small audiences, even if only one or two people, and gradually work your way up to playing the piano in front of larger crowds. If you can play piano in front of just one person, then you can play piano for any large number of people too! You just have to realize that a large crowd is simply a group of smaller crowds and individuals. Rather than beginning your piano performing career in front of large crowds, where it's only natural to be a bit nervous, you should start by playing in front of small groups and you won't have to experience that fear nearly as much, and your confidence will grow without you hardly even noticing it. That confidence will show through when you start playing piano in larger venues for bigger audiences.

Todd Bridges is a life-long music fan and piano lover. His website is at http://www.perfect-piano.com

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