Practice TIP of the week:

Here are the most recent practice tips I have covered:​
​🎵 May 25: Analyze to Memorize​
​🎵 June 1: Performance Run-Throughs​
​🎵 June 8: Breathing to Alleviate Performance Anxiety​
​🎵 June 16: 3 Performance Mindset Tools​

Each month, I focus on a specific theme for practice tips. This month’s theme is Performance Mindset.

Today's Practice Tip: Create Your Pre-Performance Ritual

Performing on stage is a profound act. When you perform in front of a live audience, you are no longer just playing for yourself. It is an interaction between you and the people listening.

Because performing feels so different from “just practicing,” it can feel rather surprising (and not in a good way) to play in front of people, unless you mentally prepare for the experience.

One important aspect of preparing involves creating your own pre-performance ritual. This is a pre-planned series of steps you take before every performance.

The reason this works is because it helps you feel calm and focused before a performance when you are able to make those final minutes predictable. Nerves thrive in chaos, but rituals create stability. That’s why athletes, actors, and musicians often follow the same sequence of actions before every performance.

I use the term “ritual” in place of “routine,” because it underlines the ceremonial aspect of performing. There is nothing “routine” about playing a concert, and your preparation needs to reflect that.

Here are some keys to developing your own pre-performance ritual (PPR):

• Keep it simple. Don’t make your successful performance dependent on completing a complicated series of steps. Only do what is necessary to ground yourself and prepare yourself for the performance.
• Keep it flexible. Make sure that if extenuating circumstances arise, you can adapt your PPR to fit the time and space allotted to you.
• Think about what food you need. On concert days, I always try to follow a similar eating pattern.
• Incorporate deep breathing. Deep breathing is the most significant antidote to nerves you can do, because it calms your autonomic nervous system and counteracts the flight, fright, or freeze mode. So, be sure your ritual includes some calming breathing.
• Other things you might include:
  • A mantra or positive statement. Having a mantra you say to yourself before you perform can boost your confidence before you walk out on stage.
  • Power pose. Standing in a “superman” pose with your hands outstretched or with your hands on your hips and chest open can also boost your confidence.
  • Visualizing the performance going well. Close your eyes and image yourself walking out onstage with confidence, bowing, and sitting at the piano. Imagine playing the first few measures and it going as well as it could possibly go.

Once you have decided on your pre-performance ritual, it's important to practice it. If you have a big concert coming up, replicate the PPR on a non-concert day and do a play-through at the same time as your concert. Also, incorporate elements of your PPR into your daily practice – for example, practice sitting "backstage" and going through your PPR, walking "onstage" , bowing, and starting your piece.

Over time, this sequence becomes a mental cue: it’s time to perform now. This can steady your nerves and improve your confidence in performances. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

💜 Some of My Favorite Things

1. 🎹 Performance: If you've never heard Studies for Player Piano by Conlon Nancarrow, you're in for a wild ride!! These pieces sound like no human could possibly play them, which is the point, since these were written specifically for player piano! Nancarrow composed directly onto piano rolls, freeing himself from the limitations of human hands and allowing himself to explore rhythms so complex and layered that no one person could possibly play them.
   His work laid the groundwork for composers like and György Ligeti and inspired avant-garde musicians, including Frank Zappa.
   At first listen, these studies can be almost upsetting. Some of them sound like jazz improvisation in hyperspeed, a glitchy machine, or a wobbly, "drunk" piano. But, behind this controlled chaos is a brilliant musical mind experimenting with polyrhythms, tempo, and exploring the capabilities of the player piano as an instrument. These are not “pretty” pieces, but they’re unforgettable, and they just might blow your mind. It's a good reminder that not all art has to be aesthetically pleasing to be meaningful.
   Here's a link to a playlist where you can sample some of them, and also watch the rolls spool by.
2. 🎧 Podcast Episode: If you checked out the above Nancarrow playlist and thought, What is happening?!, this episode will help clear things up for you! This 22-minute episode from The Music Show (ABC Radio) dives into the strange brilliance of Conlon Nancarrow and his Studies for Player Piano. Composer and scholar Kyle Gann breaks down Nancarrow’s life and influences, his approach to rhythm, and why he remains a cult hero for many composers. Listen here!
3. 📚Books - People often ask me what books, music editions, music collections, and piano resources I recommend. You can check out my list of some of my favorite books and materials for students of the piano here.​