{"id":795,"date":"2017-08-29T17:16:53","date_gmt":"2017-08-29T15:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edwinm29.sg-host.com\/?p=795\/"},"modified":"2025-03-24T12:23:35","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T11:23:35","slug":"tips-play-piano-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/tips-play-piano-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Tips To Start Playing Piano Before An Audience"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #103133;color:#103133\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #103133;color:#103133\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/tips-play-piano-audience\/#1_Be_well_prepared_and_tend_to_your_repertoire_often\" >Be well prepared and tend to your repertoire often<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/tips-play-piano-audience\/#2_Perform_your_best_pieces_only\" >Perform your best pieces only<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/tips-play-piano-audience\/#3_Practice_performing\" >Practice performing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/tips-play-piano-audience\/#4_Start_with_a_small_audience_first\" >Start with a small audience first<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/tips-play-piano-audience\/#5_Be_focused_and_be_calm\" >Be focused and be calm<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/tips-play-piano-audience\/#6_Know_your_tempo_well\" >Know your tempo well<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How does it make you feel if someone you know asked you to play the piano in front of an audience? \u00a0Does the thought of it makes your hands start shaking and sweat start running down your back? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be assured. \u00a0It\u2019s very normal and you\u2019re not alone. \u00a0It proves that you are a human, as this is a natural instinct embedded in us in times of stressful circumstances. Almost every musician goes through this. \u00a0Some sources report 94% of orchestral professional musicians experience this before a piano audience. \u00a0That\u2019s practically every musician except for a few that neither has no emotion or just don\u2019t give a crap, or they\u2019ve been performing for years already.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Learn more about <strong>how professional musicians cope with performance stress<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--><\/style>\n<p><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;&lt;div class=&quot;componentContainer&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;row&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;column&quot;&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;h2Notable&quot;&gt;Start your musical journey&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Fall in love with the music -&lt;\/strong&gt; Learn your favorite songs, at a level suitable for you.&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Enjoy interactive piano lessons -&lt;\/strong&gt; Explore courses covering music theory, technique chords &amp; more.&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Get real-time feedback -&lt;\/strong&gt; Skoove&#039;s feedback tells you what went well and what needs practice.&lt;\/span&gt;&lt;\/li&gt;&lt;\/ul&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;column&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/optimized\/iPhone15-1A-3-800.webp&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;1024&quot; height=&quot;846&quot; class=&quot;alignnone size-large&quot; \/&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;\/small&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;skooveButton skooveButtonWithin&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; title=&quot;Book a trial lesson&quot; href=&quot;https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/auth\/register_promotion?coupon=7d-blog-npd&amp;utm_source=blog&amp;utm_medium=btf&amp;utm_campaign=7d-blog-npd&amp;t=Start%20a%207%20day%20free%20trial&amp;st=No%20credit%20card%20required!&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;Book a trial lesson&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;small&gt;No credit card details required&lt;\/small&gt;&lt;\/div&gt;&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:769,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;11&quot;:3,&quot;12&quot;:0}\"><div class=\"componentContainer\"><div class=\"row\"><div class=\"column\"><div class=\"h2Notable\">Start your musical journey<\/div><ul><li><span><strong>Fall in love with the music -<\/strong> Learn your favorite songs, at a level suitable for you.<\/span><\/li><li><span><strong>Enjoy interactive piano lessons -<\/strong> Explore courses covering music theory, technique chords & more.<\/span><\/li><li><span><strong>Get real-time feedback -<\/strong> Skoove's feedback tells you what went well and what needs practice.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"column\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/optimized\/iPhone15-1A-3-800.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"846\" class=\"alignnone size-large\" \/><\/div><\/div><small><\/small><a class=\"skooveButton skooveButtonWithin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Book a trial lesson\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/auth\/register_promotion?coupon=7d-blog-npd&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=btf&utm_campaign=7d-blog-npd&t=Start%20a%207%20day%20free%20trial&st=No%20credit%20card%20required!\" rel=\"noopener\">Book a trial lesson<\/a><small>No credit card details required<\/small><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good news is this. \u00a0Performance anxiety is a healthy thing and we can learn to use it to boost our performance. \u00a0Yes, you read it right, it is possible and many musicians and performers learn to use it to their advantage. \u00a0You can too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps, you can already play a song or two, or you may have a small repertoire of music pieces already. \u00a0Even if you\u2019re just starting out, eventually, somebody you know might say \u201cI heard you started playing the piano, how about you perform a piece at my birthday party?\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s fine if you never want to play the piano to an audience. Just close your door and play for yourself. \u00a0However, the greatest joy in music comes from sharing and playing with others. \u00a0It\u2019s definitely worth a try no matter how scary it may seem at first.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The key is not to attempt to overcome but to manage your anxiety and control your outcome.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some tips to manage your performance anxiety and be better prepared to play the piano to an audience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-809\" style=\"width: 150px;\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/keep_calm_and_play_-_Cerca_con_Google-264x300.jpg\" alt=\"Keep calm and play\" width=\"88\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Be_well_prepared_and_tend_to_your_repertoire_often\"><\/span><b>1)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><b>Be well prepared and tend to your repertoire often<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This starts with knowing your song or a piece well and regularly play them, improving small amount every time. \u00a0Practice correctly and have an excellent habit of practice. \u00a0A good starting point for how to do so can be found in our post: <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>The Art of Piano Practice<\/strong><\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Especially important in preparing for performance is knowing your most difficult passage, and spend a good amount of time becoming more comfortable with that tricky parts.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Perform_your_best_pieces_only\"><\/span><b>2)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><b>Perform your best pieces only<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if you want to perform virtuoso pieces, if you\u2019re not at that level, you\u2019re asking for trouble to begin with. Know what you can play the best and pieces you feel most comfortable with. As you progress as a pianist, your repertoire will grow and you will add more pieces to your list of potential performance pieces. Eventually, that virtuoso Rachmaninoff piece can be on the list, but maybe not today. \u00a0It\u2019s totally fine to play a simple piece at the beginning and know that you don\u2019t have to prove yourself to anybody. \u00a0Music is about sharing the joy of sounds and certainly not a competitive sport.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Practice_performing\"><\/span><b>3)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><b>Practice performing<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simulate a performance situation in your living room. Settle down on your bench at your piano, open your score book, take a deep breath and play the entire song through till the end. \u00a0If you make a mistake, try to finish the piece and remind yourself that you are in front of people, even if you\u2019re alone. \u00a0Repeat this simulation often. With time, you will gain more confidence. What helped me the most in doing so is that after some time, I realized, I could save the performance even if I make a mistake and that it\u2019s not the end of the world. It isn\u2019t, and your loved one will not leave you because you played D instead of E on that one note.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Need to practice more? You can always go back to Skoove courses:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/en\/app\/courses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-817 size-full aligncenter\" style=\"width: 180px;\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/start-now-en-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"43\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Start_with_a_small_audience_first\"><\/span><strong>4) \u00a0Start with a small audience first<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your first performance is at Carnegie Hall, you will have an incredible anxiety without a doubt. However, if your first performance is your loved ones, close friends, or your neighbors, one or two people you know, there\u2019s a good chance you can pull it through well. If you have an anxiety for people, have your dog as your first audience. This sounds ridiculous but why not? There\u2019s nothing wrong with practicing your performance that way. Gradually, you will begin to enjoy performing and have a few more people as audience. Eventually, performing at your friend\u2019s birthday party seems like a routine.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Be_focused_and_be_calm\"><\/span><b>5) Be focused and be calm<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Be aware of how your body is reacting to the stressful situation. Take deep breaths and get in the \u201czone\u201d &#8211; you and your piano is the only thing that exist in the universe during a performance. \u00a0Never mind the noise and people around you, focus. \u00a0Do your best at being calm and quiet internally. Settle down on your bench and feel firmly grounded.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Know_your_tempo_well\"><\/span><strong>6) \u00a0Know your tempo well<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most common thing that happens with performance anxiety is that you play your piece way too fast and you stumble. \u00a0That\u2019s very common and happens to every musician at one point or another. What this tells you, is that you must know at which tempo you feel most comfortable to play the piece with. Quietly hum the beginning of the piece in your head, just as you know the song, and be conscious not to speed up during playing the piano to an audience, especially around that difficult passage in your piece. To work on that point, you can try practicing with a <strong>metronome<\/strong>!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can learn to manage your anxiety by incorporating these tips. Try it and <strong>share your joy<\/strong> of music to the world, it\u2019s a wonderful feeling!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Need some practice before your performance? <strong>Get back to Skoove courses!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have fun performing!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">More piano playing tips:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Beginner tips for good piano posture<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>4 Tips to Learn Piano Effectively<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Learn to Read Piano Sheet Music Faster<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Try out your free trial of Skoove today!<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding: 46.21% 0 0 0; position: relative;\"><iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/479012867?autoplay=1&amp;loop=1&amp;title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0&amp;muted=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class='maxbutton-1-container mb-container'><a class=\"maxbutton-1 maxbutton maxbutton-christmas\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Start free trial\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/en\/app\/account\/promotion\/ONBOARDING\/12-month?utm_source=blog&#038;utm_medium=contextual&#038;utm_campaign=free-trial&#038;utm_content=contextual-link-free-trial\"><span class='mb-text'>Start free trial<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How does it make you feel if someone you know asked you to play the piano in front of an audience? \u00a0Does the thought of it makes your hands start shaking and sweat start running down your back? \u00a0 Be assured. \u00a0It\u2019s very normal and you\u2019re not alone. \u00a0It proves that you are a human, &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"\/blog\/tips-play-piano-audience\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">6 Tips To Start Playing Piano Before An Audience<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"%%title%%","_seopress_titles_desc":"Do you feel nervous to play the piano in front of an audience? Here are some tips to manage your performance anxiety and be better prepared!","_seopress_robots_index":"yes","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"piano audience","footnotes":""},"categories":[245],"tags":[194,149,205,148],"class_list":["post-795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-piano-tips-tricks","tag-best-way-to-learn-piano","tag-piano-audience","tag-piano-tips","tag-tips-for-presenting-to-a-large-audience"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skoove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}