Right notes, not necessarily in the right order! (Essential Festival in General)

Member Name: MaryanneH

Product:	Essential Festival in General
Date:	19/08/04 (58 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Adrenalin rush of performing

Disadvantages: Nerves

Right I?ll start this review with an apology for using some poetic licence on the title as I know everyone else has written about attending Rock Festivals in this category (for which my advise is have a zip pocket for your valuables, always take a packet of wet wipes and NEVER park in the official car park, 4 hours to get out of Knebworth after Genesis, was 4 hours too long.) so sorry, I will not be writing about my concert going experience, I will be writing about my experience of performing. I originally wrote this review the day after the first time I performed in a competitive music festival since I was about 12.

As some of you may know I teach piano, and always in an effort to improve myself I am doing another performance exam later on this year. So when my teacher said ?why don?t you do Cheltenham Festival to give you some performance practice? at some point last Christmas, it seemed like a good idea. That was Christmas, yesterday morning it seemed like a really stupid idea. This morning I feel much happier so I will now share my top 10 experiences that I went through over the last couple of days and maybe give someone some advise on competing in a music festival:

1.What to play

This was fairly easy the class I entered was ?The first movement of any Sonata? and for my exam I am playing Beethoven?s Pathetique so the Pathetique it is. This was also my first ever performance from memory (and I was the only one that did) so that added to the nerves. With hindsight I won?t be doing Beethoven next year, simply because most other people did.

2.What to wear

Now this for me is the slightly difficult one. I don?t do dressing up so I perused my wardrobe which consists of a lot of Jeans, a lot of T-shirts, track suits, sports wear,
a ball gown and a wedding dress. Hmmm choices, choices. The Ball gown is very low cut and way to dressy (besides it was a female adjudicator otherwise I might have gone for it) well what about the wedding dress ? well no, maybe not. So yesterday morning, nothing like leaving it until the last minute, I found a pair of black trousers that I had been gardening in and a top ? that will do, quickly washed the trousers and presto, sorted. This might make me sound like Wurzle Gummage but it was ok really.

3.Make-up

Again by the same logic that I don?t do dressing up, I don?t really do make-up either but with a bit of searching and very much the ?less is more? logic I did my face and it didn?t look too bad, you can tell how little I use it as you can still see the body shop logo imprinted on the eye make-up and I?ve had it for about 4 years and that?s one of my new ones!

4.Nails

One of the things that came out in my rehearsals beforehand was the fact that my nails were tapping big time on the piano, which is very off putting to the listener, now if I don?t do dressing up and I don?t do make-up you can imagine the last time I actually did my nails. With a lot of digging around I eventually found a nail file and some varnish (not strictly necessary but if a jobs worth doing) did the nails, then in the style of the true non-girly girl that I am, re-potted my tomatoes, so found some nail polish remover and did the nails again wondering if anything that can make you feel so petrified is really worth it.

5.Arrive in plenty of time.

This may seem obvious but the advantages of arriving early are many fold: you will need longer in the car park, so it will cost you more, you can sit and listen to the other classes so making you even more nervous and not remembering the opening line of your own piece, if you have childr
en with you they get more and more restless. Seriously though, you must arrive in good time so you don?t arrive all stressed and panic stricken and if you are not there when they call your name you miss your slot.

6.Ignoring the other competitors,

Some people take it all very seriously and can be quite intimidating to other people, ignore them its not about the mind games.

7.Announcing your piece,

Ok so I get there, the first guy stands up, goes up to the mike and says ?I have chosen to play the Haydn English Sonata?, Oh my God, no one told me I had to announce it, I?m sure Vanessa Mae and Brendl never have to do this, I know they don?t, the tele man does it for them, where?s Terry Wogan when you need him? Ok, ok, don?t panic ?good evening I?m going to play chitty, chitty bang bang? no that?s not right ?Im doin? pathetic, sorry pathetique?, arggggh I?ve changed my mind I?m going home. No maybe not. So when its my turn I hand the judge my music and walk up trying not to look like a complete flump ?Good evening, I?m going to play Beethoven?s Sonata in C minor, opus 13, the pathetique? Yeah I did it.

8.Adjust your seat,

Put your seatbelt on and adjust your rear view mirror. Just like driving a car you need to make sure you?re comfortable, so check the seat is at the right height, it?s a grand piano so make sure you foot is over the right pedal, might sound silly but I nearly missed! And off you go.

9.Bow at the end

Again something else that doesn?t really come naturally to me, I have done a lot of martial arts and Bruce Lee said, ?when you bow, never take your eyes off your opponent? I therefore find it impossible to do an artistic bow, and I look like I?m about to attack the steward ? oh well something to
practise for next year.

10.Enjoy it,

I know up until now you can read this entire review and think ?God, why does she bother if it?s that awful?? I got onto the stage, sat down at the piano, the piano then becomes your whole world, It was a huge Grand £88000 Steinway, I couldn?t see anyone else, no one else mattered, I was allowed to play on an instrument that sounded amazing and cost more than my first and second house combined. I take a deep breath, silently sing through the first phrase, strike the first chord, It?s Beethoven so its long and dramatic, it sounds better than I could ever have imagined, I?m still nervous, people are watching and worse judging me, I can see my fingers shaking slightly but the tempo was right and it sounded good, it felt good. The thing with me is I don?t dwell on my mistakes, I made a few but not many and on the whole I hid them well, only people that knew the piece would have picked up on all bar one of them. All too soon it was over, I could happily have continued and played the rest of the Sonata, but people would have complained it being 25 minutes long, and my memory is far from secure on the last movement.

So did I win? Sadly no, Mr ?Haydn? did because his piece was the most technically accurate, and he didn?t play Beethoven. However, I had some fantastic comments from the judge and I think if I hadn?t followed the late, great Eric Morcambe?s advise ?The right notes but not necessarily in the right order!? for some small sections I would have stood a really good chance of winning. The judge did almost sound apologetic that she had to take marks off for my little slips and people (Including some I am not related to) came up to me afterwards and said they understood why I didn?t win, but enjoyed my performance the most. So next year ? I
;?ll get it!


Capital letters courtesy of: http://www.chuckleweb.co.uk/fixit.php

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