Re: Re: performance mindset

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Posted by Kenneth Sloan on May 28, 2003 at 14:02:11:

In Reply to: Re: performance mindset posted by Mary Ann on May 28, 2003 at 08:45:34:


a pro should be able to perfrom at 80% of capacity....which implied that you should not perform a piece that demands more than 80% of what you can do.


Precisely.

In a completely different (non-musical) context, I have a full lecture that I give twice a year - the punch line is "never try to get more than 80%".

There is a time and place for that last 20%. Lessons, the practice room, exercises, even many etudes. These things are not meant to be heard in public.

The bind that most performers find themselves in is...there's always material out there that requires that last 20% of their capabilities.

The even harder bind is what I'll call the need for "military power". There are situations which look like "performances" but which are really designed to test your limits. In a "life and death" situation, when you have to go to that last 20%, you do it. The bad news is that most of the people who go to that last 20% die.

Echoing (slightly distorted, perhaps) what others have said - the point of the practice room is to move the material into your 80% range. When performance time comes, the technical (and musical) details *must* be completely under control - which allows you to back off and play it at your personal 80% level.

The message is: your 80% performance is *guaranteed* to sound better to the audience than your 95% performance! It sounds counter-intuitive, but it's true. When I hear a performance in the performer's 80% range, I hear the music - when I hear the performer bumping up against hs technical (or musical) limitations, I think of dogs playing poker (they're not very good, but it's amazing that they can do that at all!)

Of course, the best idea is to practice until the piece fits into your 80% range. The *next* best idea is to play the current piece at your 80% (well, OK...go to 85%) level, warts and all.


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