What is Your Pre-Performance Checklist? 4

What do you do before you play? Do you find that you or your students often start a piece only to ask half-way into the first measure what the tempo, dynamics, or character is? If so you may want to make yourself a pre-playing checklist.

I use the term “checklist” because it’s what a pilot does before takeoff – checking all of the elements of the plane to make sure nothing is out of whack. If you miss a step in your pre-performance checklist, you might not realize until after liftoff.

Your pre-performance checklist might vary, but here are some elements I find crucial:

• Body – How do you feel (close/far/high/low) – are you relaxed and sitting up straight?
• Visualize – Can you hear the beginning of the piece in your head? What is the tempo, dynamic, etc.?
• Pulse and Feel – Feel the tempo in your body and the first note in your hand.
• Listen – Focus your ear on what’s coming out of the piano instead of being trapped in your head.

And of course from here is “liftoff”. I usually have students hold these in short terms –  Body – Visualize – Tempo – Listen for example – so they can run them quickly in their mind.

The secret to your checklist is: use it every single time you play. With practice the whole thing will be done automatically, and in only a few seconds. If you make it second nature, you’ll never have to worry about starting the piece off on the wrong foot again. And for teachers, I promise this can solve a lot of trouble!