<p>I have piano tomorrow, @ 11am -.- I been practicing for about 3 weeks, and my instructor decided to have a lesson tomorrow. I do pretty good in piano, but I'm not a virtuoso, I just play for fun (gives me something to do). Here's the problem, I get nervous sometimes because my instructor is a very good piano player, and I tend to mess up a lot when playing my songs. She sometimes think I don't practice enough. I tell her that I get really nervous every time I play for her. </p>
<p>To master the piece as best as possible. Knowledge/ability gives you confidence. If you can play it consistently flawlessly in practice, then the less chance you will have of 1.) getting nervous and 2.) letting however nervous you do get affect you. And just remember, if you are not a professional piano player, it’s really not that serious if you mess up.</p>
<p>Practice the piece in a way that makes it harder than it already is? It’s a trick my orchestra teacher told us before auditions. For example [for violin], turn the sheet music upside-down. Only play every other measure. </p>
<p>For piano, I guess you could try playing with your eyes closed. This helps you really hear your playing a lot more. :] </p>
<p>Usually my piano teacher is okay with me playing songs slower than they should be when I’m at lessons. It helps avoid mistakes and such… o_o</p>
<p>Although I don’t agree with playing “every other measure” or “upside-down,” being able to play with your eyes closed is a good goal to have in perfecting a piece. Playing slower is also a good idea. Tempo is not what matters to teachers; technique and musicality matter much more.</p>
<p>Practice playing in front of other people, and when you sit in front of your teacher, take a few breaths to calm yourself before playing. Also, self-confidence does matter. If you play as if you are confident, you sound better.</p>
<p>yeah… the upside-down score and every other measure was meant to be for rhythm studies only ^^" so I agree doing the same for piano pieces isn’t exactly practical … and doesn’t really contribute much to a practice…</p>
<p>it was just an example… anyhow…</p>
<p>Fantasy Vesperia, </p>
<p>I find it helpful to record myself practicing to find out problem areas before lessons. :] That, or have a family member sit in and listen and give you tips. It always helps to step back and listen or to have extra ears around.</p>
<p>^I can see upside-down working for my cello technique pieces. While I haven’t literally flipped the paper (yet?), I’ve changed strings and also transposed half-steps before, and that works.</p>
<p>For piano… I wouldn’t even want to try turning my score upside-down!</p>