Playing "Perfectly"
This may seem like a silly question but hopefully relatable. How long does it take for you all to reach "near perfection" on a piece. At least when it comes to not making any noticeable mistakes (wrong note, too long of a pause, slight rhythmic error due to technique etc)? I find it very difficult to get any piece (advanced player here) to a true near perfection... it's not so much the challenge of a piece, just that I seem to make human errors.... maybe it's a cognitive or focus/attention issue.. not sure?
8 replies
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Hi Zak,
I, too, have difficulty in getting any piece to "near perfection." So far, the best I have done is to get a piece to the point at which a note-mistake does not bother me going forward. That process takes a month or two. I'll be interested in hearing what others say about this topic and how they get to "near perfection."
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For me it depends what piece it is. I was practicing 9 month Chopin sonata 3 and have played it 3 times for a little audience. Was not near perfect, but was good enough to communicate something and caused emitional reactions. Now I am playing a Hadyn Sonata, that’s much more easier. 🙋♀️
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Zak, I understand your frustration. I feel it too. It feels like it takes forever to really get a piece “in my body”, as they say, so it feels flowing, natural, and without flubs. It takes months, depending on how difficult the piece is.
I am just now returning to playing the piano after a 30-year break because of a wrist injury. Honestly, I think it was my youthful pursuit of “perfection“ that caused me to overdo and get a terrible repetitive strain injury.
I have a different perspective this time around. If you’re playing for a competition or some sort of high stakes performance where perfection counts, yes, it is important to get things note perfect. But for most of us, that is not the case. I’m finding that my audience is far more inclined to appreciate what I am able to communicate emotionally. And honestly, if I’m overly concerned about playing things technically correctly, it makes me tense and less able to play emotionally. I miss the boat entirely.
I’ve listened to many big-name pianists that make mistakes in their performances, and nobody seems to care much. Certainly not me. Listen to some Horowitz recordings. He makes tons of mistakes! What comes across far more strongly is how he reaches into his listeners' hearts. I personally feel that that is the more important dimension to focus on.
And as far as dealing with mistakes, I think it’s more important to have strategies that help you to recover from them in a performance rather than trying to get it completely perfect beforehand. You are human and mistakes happen. There are courses here that address that topic.
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I recently had this discussion with Noa Kagayama at Bullet Proof Musician, and have decided that perfection is not possible. This is a journey and making mistakes is just a part of the learning process. Some say mistakes are how we learn.
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Amazingly relevant for me! Thank you!
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I have had the exact same thoughts as you for a couple of years. I've tried to collect tips and tricks from various sources, and from what I've gathered it kind of boils down to slow practice and errorless learning. That is, practice slow enough that you don't make any mistakes. Keep it slow for a high number of repetitions, and very, very slowly increase the tempo.
This also allows you to identify any strains you might have in certain passages, and to mindfully make sure you relax your hand between key presses. I have found that it requires a huge amount of self-control to keep the tempo this slow for so long, and it's so tempting to just go with the flow and play a tempo. I've also heard from some professionals that they practice very slow and emotionless prior to concerts.
Myself, I've been practicing a rather tricky Rachmaninoff etude since January, and I still can't play it perfectly. I think I am getting closer every month though. I also totally agree with Sunada, and thanks for saying that by the way. Also, I heard in a podcast from a celebrity pianist (was it maybe Garrick Olssen?) who said, humorously, that when he listened to someone playing the most difficult parts of Rach3 flawlessly, that perhaps it meant they held something back. -
Love everyone's comments below! Makes me feel better since I always seek that perfection level but inevitably fall short. To get a piece to a level where I'd feel comfortable performing it, I usually keep practicing it for about two or three weeks after I think I've got it. That also seems to help with expression.
