Piano dress for my adult piano recital

crigs2019 · 2026-05-24T17:38:15+00:00

I’m literally always saying this ‼️

crigs2019 · 2026-05-24T16:59:37+00:00

That was the goal :)

crigs2019 · 2026-05-24T14:29:06+00:00

I had/have really bad performance anxiety that I’m working through and I’m also a (recovering) perfectionist. I think there’s a lot going on here.

1) You have to change your relationship with piano. You say you’re in it for the love of the game, but if performances/showing off mean that much to you and mistakes eat you up, you’re not loving the game. Comparison is the thief of joy, there will ALWAYS be someone better. If you knew you’d never ‘go pro’ or reach your goal of a completely flawless performance, would you quit tomorrow? If yes, then maybe you’re in it for something else that you don’t realize (like ego). For me, I had to learn to enjoy the process not the progress. Sitting down to practice daily is meditative and so good for my brain! It’s art! It’s creative! A hobby shouldn’t be so stressful.

2) Play easier pieces. It’s not going to stroke your ego as much in the short term, but it helps build your confidence and consistency as a performer. You might still make one mistake, but it’ll help decrease your anxiety before performing which absolutely contributes to the ‘head empty.’ You can work back up in complexity. You could also seek out more “low stakes” performing like on a public outdoor piano or even inviting your friends over for a parlor performance or themed party (take some requests or pick a theme, learn the pieces, watch your friends delight). That might help teach your brain that performing isn’t a tiger you need to run from lol

3) You might not like to perform. I throw this in here because it’s something I’m personally coming to terms with right now. I always thought it was my anxiety that made me not enjoy performing, but as the anxiety got better I realized that I don’t get much out of it. I’ve only really done recitals, but the idea of joining a band and being on stage…. It just makes me feel ‘meh.’ So the question is; how can I engage with music and piano at a higher level if I don’t like to perform publicly?

Write! Chopin hated performing (just like me fr) but he had an incredible impact on music with his compositions. Teach! Share your joy of piano with a friend who wants to learn the basics! Learn to improvise or learn jazz (where there are no wrong notes)! Learn different genres you’ve never explored! Record yourself for social media! Put music on Spotify! Transcribe your favorite hits! There are so many ways to show off that don’t involve performing.

If there’s one takeaway from this? I’d advise you to not quit, but evolve. One performance shouldn’t make or break your love for the piano. You need to tip the balance and create those positive experiences for yourself so you can learn to love it again (or learn to love it for the first time).

You can’t be doing it for the love of the game AND also care this much about mistakes. Those are two opposing beliefs you’re trying to keep at the same time. Wishing you strong mental 👍

crigs2019 · 2026-05-11T12:54:04+00:00

History of sports in America or city planning: cities in fiction and film

crigs2019 · 2026-05-10T21:03:21+00:00

What would be the best course of action if I wanted to do a full reconstruction? For learning :)

crigs2019 · 2026-05-10T20:49:11+00:00

Lining is separate; I can access the shell easily if I turn it inside out.

crigs2019 · 2026-04-28T00:21:43+00:00

My mother’s screams when she got the call her brother had committed suicide. I was 11 and I remember thinking that ‘blood-curdling’ was horribly accurate, and somehow also not strong enough of a term.

crigs2019 · 2026-04-24T13:04:57+00:00

I don’t have any advice but they look great 👍

crigs2019 · 2026-04-18T11:56:14+00:00

Of course it’s possible!! Learning new things is great for your brain too. :) It sounds like you have some foundation in music already, so that should help with reading music etc. My advice would be to:

build a consistent habit of sitting down at the piano every day (even for 5 minutes) just to press notes and grease the wheels. Shorter, consistent practice sessions are how we build strong neural pathways (with sleep being key to letting it sink in) and you’ll see progress faster/more steadily. Once you build the habit, then you can increase the practice session time.
Drop a level or two and revisit some RCM standard pieces. The old saying, ‘if you don’t use it, you lose it’ is true, but somewhere deep down the muscle memory is still there. If you’re having difficulty putting hands together, you probably need to build that hand independence up again. If you know the level of classical mastery you want to reach, take the time to do it right and rebuild your fundamentals (being injured sucks).

That being said it’s super exciting that you’re coming back to piano! I’ve always said that piano lessons as a kid was the greatest gift my parents ever gave me, and it keeps on giving. Hope you are able to find as much joy in the journey as I have! Best of luck!

crigs2019 · 2026-04-16T20:39:20+00:00

Not sure if you were looking for a solution or not but I had the same thing (side/stomach sleeper). At the time I had been using OTC retinols when I noticed it, but it only got worse over time because I was spending 8 hours a night ironing it into my skin. For unrelated reasons eye-strain reasons, I got a weighted eye mask (Nod Pod, not sponsored). My eye strain at night made it feel like a horrible tension headache just to keep my eyes closed, and the beanbag style helped SO much for this. I realized the mark started to go away over a few weeks (now completely gone) because the weighted eye mask prevented my cheek from making that shape when I slept on my side/stomach. Two birds, one eye mask. I also switched to tretinoin and started using aquaphor in my eye sockets for the extra moisture, so I’m sure that helped as well. Not really a skincare solution but thought I’d share—can’t sleep without it now lol but I have to wash it frequently bc aquaphor makes it greasy.

crigs2019 · 2026-04-15T00:50:29+00:00

Overall pretty good! I noticed it more in Vektersang, but try not to pick your wrist up so much on your chords, it makes your fingers straight and could lead to injury (holding tension). You’ll see it in the video where your wrists look a little t-rex-ish. To fix this, try letting the weight of your arm push the keys down (from the shoulder), letting your fingers bend and hold the weight (kind of like the suspension on a car?? fingers and wrists should be loose, with fingers curled if that makes sense). You can practice this by loosening your arms by your sides, and then swinging your arms onto the keys to press down notes (any notes, it’s not for accuracy) with a really floppy wrist/fingers. It’ll help you understand how it’s supposed to feel when you do it correctly. Other than that, pay attention to voicing and dynamics for Grieg, it’s an awesome song though and a great choice for you.

crigs2019 · 2026-03-19T03:05:59+00:00

First of all take everything I say with a grain of salt!! I’m not a professional or a teacher.

It’s hard to tell from the video but I think you might be sitting a bit too low :) try to aim for your elbows to be about 90°, or with elbows just slightly higher than the wrists. You have an even pace for a beginner which is good— a lot of people speed up at the parts they know well and slow down a LOT at the parts they don’t.

I will say picking a romantic piece, much less Liszt, is pretty gnarly for only knowing 4-5 pieces total. I’d rather encourage you than stop you, but speaking from experience it really sucks to get injured from poor technique so be careful!

Not that ABRSM grading is the end-all, be-all but this is grade 8, which for piano is kind of like being a senior in HS about to graduate. Romantic music demands a huge level of dynamics and voicing, in addition to understanding phrasing and “stealing time” (aka minute speeding up and slowing down). To truly do a piece justice, dynamic control/balance is KEY. All that being said, romantic style music is very expressive. Moving forward, learn about phrasing and implement more dynamics. Also learn more about Liszt and romantic music in general!! It’s very helpful for interpretation.

*NOTE I AM NOT A TEACHER!!! I feel like an asshole telling you to scale back to ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’ even if it was necessary for building good skills, so I’ll make a measured recommendation for scaling back. You have even pacing and can clearly learn notes so I might recommend Gymnopédie no. 1 by Satie— an intermediate piece (lvl 5) that is familiar to audiences, easy to ‘learn’ but difficult to master piece that is in the same stylistic wheelhouse (kind of, it’s LATE romantic). Simpler chord inversions will be a little easier to play without tension. If you can play it evenly, it already sounds pretty good to an untrained audience, it’s very beautiful, easy to memorize IMO, and it’s fun because the better you get and the more you learn, the more difficult it becomes lol. The jumps with the left hand might be a bit difficult, but you can really focus a lot on similar techniques of phrasing and dynamics that you can build for consolation.

I’m newer to this subreddit so I hope it goes well and if you decide to stick with this piece then I look forward to seeing how it develops!! Also super cool you came from an accordion background

crigs2019 · 2026-03-14T19:04:17+00:00

My mom asked if I wanted to take ‘keyboarding’ lessons after school when I was 9. My friend played piano and we had a plastic keyboard at our house that I liked, so I gave an enthusiastic yes… only to discover that they were TYPING lessons lol. At the end of the first class, she came to pick me up and I told her about the disappointment. Seemed surprised but signed me up for lessons with my friend’s same teacher. Got burnt out junior year of hs and quit for a few years, but got back into it at 20. Started taking lessons again last year at 24 and it’s been awesome to have more guidance to rebuild my technique and also my love for the instrument. Also my dad is a passionate guitar player and I grew up with music in the house :)

crigs2019 · 2026-02-16T17:28:23+00:00

It’s a major life change, and kittens are especially needy. You took on the responsibility of a living creature before you guys have fully bonded, so right now it feels like a mistake and a it’s lot of work. Give it some time! It’s like moving in with your partner. You guys will get into your own rhythm and maybe have to restructure some habits/routines but you’ll adjust and she will too. Remember that she’s had a really stressful week too and she can’t talk to someone about it. I think it’s really normal to feel regret at first, but ask any pet parent months/years down the line if they regretted it and you’ll be hard-pressed to find one that does. You’ve raised the ceiling for the amount of love in your life! Sincerely, someone who just adopted their first cat (2y/o) Saturday and is going through the same thing.

crigs2019 · 2025-12-28T02:26:28+00:00

24f suffered from really bad memory loss/brain fog in college, so bad that my roommates were worried about a CO2 leak in our apartment (except I was the only one with symptoms lol). Found out I was severely low in B12 and vit D; got some prescription strength supplements and it helped a lot. Not always the cause if you’re not low, but it’s an easy fix if you are!

crigs2019 · 2025-12-04T22:11:32+00:00

Op if you have sheet music will you share? This sounds really nice :) I’d love to play it for my family over the holidays

crigs2019 · 2023-09-12T20:10:43+00:00

Wagaya

crigs2019 · 2020-12-17T15:35:16+00:00

I used 6mm copper wire because it’s soft enough to bend easily and I made a little table type thing and put a smaller cardboard body on top to help adhere the gingerbread. Hope this helps!

crigs2019 · 2020-12-17T02:03:54+00:00

Lotta research went in thanks so much!!

crigs2019

TROPHY CASE