Lesson 37: Performance Preparation and Stage Presence
- Play three familiar pieces in one sitting without restarting.
- Listen back and choose one thing to keep and one to improve.
Prepare three secure pieces for an audience, even one listener; see the reference for nerve management.
Play: choose the programme
Choose pieces you already play comfortably: one slow, one fast and one moderate; a prepared strain counts.
Slow
- Vivaldi: RV 443 — complete Largo (advanced)
- A complete slow movement for later study.
- Pavane: Belle qui tiens ma vie
- Renaissance pavane — dignified, modal.
Fast
- Telemann: TWV 41:C5 — complete first movement
- Advanced option: four alternating slow and fast sections.
- The Rakes of Mallow
- Complete theme and written variations; keep the semiquavers even.
Moderate
- Petzold: Minuet in G — first strain
- First strain now; add the second only when B5 (alto E6) is secure.
- Greensleeves (Chappell)
- Complete melody.
The week before
Before recording, practise one full run of each piece; if you miss a note, keep the beat and carry on.
Performance day — warm-up
Keep the warm-up brief.
The performance itself
Record all three pieces in one sitting; listen the next day and name one clear strength and one change for your next practice.
When you have a recording of three pieces — slow, fast, moderate — played in one sitting without stopping, move on to Lesson 38.