Preparing, Rehearsing and Managing Performance

A strong performance is built long before the moment of playing, through disciplined preparation and rehearsal, and it depends on managing the psychological demands of performing. This lesson covers how to prepare music thoroughly, rehearse efficiently, and perform with confidence under pressure.

Learning a piece thoroughly

Preparing a performance begins with learning the music securely. This means working out the notes and rhythms accurately, understanding the structure and style, solving technical difficulties in isolation, and gradually assembling the whole. Rushing to play a piece up to tempo before the details are secure builds in errors that are hard to remove later. Thorough learning also means knowing the music well enough to recover from slips, because a performer who truly knows