After five years of experimentation, I believe I finally found a reliable way to perform with confidence that works for me. If you like to read in details my experimentation during past five years, check out this article “Dealing with Stage Fright” which contains a long list of strategies that you may try.
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Fake Singing
Working with Ms Marietta Orlov at TSMAF’s masterclass 2008, I found she had an interesting teaching technique. After a student had played through a work, she would ask the student to play the piece again, while she sang along. Her voice effectively conveyed the musical flow despite most of the time being pitchless. Her singing voice was like waves of energy that allowed me to feel the energy of the music.
Inspired by this, I started practicing my piece while imitating this singing but not only pitchless, but also silently - that is making no voice but use my breath to mimic the energy of the music. This allowed me to use my breath to produce the musical flow without making any distracting noise.
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Tongue Conducting
Later, I added a conductor to my performance: my tongue lightly tap the roof of my mouth for keeping the rhythmic beats. It is as if I am saying ‘Dah Dah Dah’ or ‘Tah Tah Tah’ silently.
So now I have a singer, conductor, and pianist all in one! Somehow this ‘fake singing’ and ‘tongue conducting’ allows me to actively listen to myself, and be at the moment, maintain an unthinking state.
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Unfocused Gaze, Looking Away
I then read in a book about performance anxiety. About how pianists often look at the keys of the piano, which is not the actual source of sound! This book suggests pianists should look at the strings which is where the sound come from!
After a little experimentation, I found that if I looked at the left hand side (so that I am looking away from the audience); looking with unfocused eyes anywhere from slightly toward the ceiling or to the piano strings calmed me tremendously! It also helped me listen to my own playing much better. Marietta Orlov also mentioned in the master class that hearing is the most important thing when it comes to musical performances, next comes tactile sense. Last is sense of sight. Therefore, playing with unfocused eye help me put my mind into hearing and tactile, and less on seeing.
Hey if you have other ideas, please let me know. Write your ideas in Let’s Talk.
