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EdwardsTrumpets · 04-05-2006, 01:29 AM

Sorry about posting this in multiple places, but I would like as many people to see this to offer advice. I've got a bit of a problem, and was hoping someone can help. I have been preparing a concerto for performance with the symphony I play in which is coming up early next month. I have been preparing this piece for almost a year, and I had performed it before in a recital several years ago, so I feel that I really know the piece. I have been playing it by memory for about 3 weeks now, with some minor memory slips here and there, but lately I have been really botching a lot of the technical passages in the piece. Some of the passages have always been a nag, but now I'm starting to miss licks that have never been a problem before. I'm starting to sweat because it seems like sometimes the more I practice it, the worse it gets. I've tried all sorts of things, like slowing down the passages, "aiming" for certain notes, and I am nailing them when I am finished practicing. But when I go to put it in context again in a run-through, with only that one chance, I screw it up maybe 50% of the time. I know this is some kind of mental block, because I've played the passages cleanly before, but I can't seem to stop choking. I need to feel 100% confident about this, or I'll be a wreck when I walk out on stage. And I've put in way too much work to fall on my face. Any help, advice and suggestions are appreciated.

04-05-2006, 01:29 AM	#1 (permalink)
EdwardsTrumpets New Friend Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 14	preparing for performance Sorry about posting this in multiple places, but I would like as many people to see this to offer advice. I've got a bit of a problem, and was hoping someone can help. I have been preparing a concerto for performance with the symphony I play in which is coming up early next month. I have been preparing this piece for almost a year, and I had performed it before in a recital several years ago, so I feel that I really know the piece. I have been playing it by memory for about 3 weeks now, with some minor memory slips here and there, but lately I have been really botching a lot of the technical passages in the piece. Some of the passages have always been a nag, but now I'm starting to miss licks that have never been a problem before. I'm starting to sweat because it seems like sometimes the more I practice it, the worse it gets. I've tried all sorts of things, like slowing down the passages, "aiming" for certain notes, and I am nailing them when I am finished practicing. But when I go to put it in context again in a run-through, with only that one chance, I screw it up maybe 50% of the time. I know this is some kind of mental block, because I've played the passages cleanly before, but I can't seem to stop choking. I need to feel 100% confident about this, or I'll be a wreck when I walk out on stage. And I've put in way too much work to fall on my face. Any help, advice and suggestions are appreciated.