Why Do Your Dynamics Vanish Under Pressure?

Recently, one of my students said his dynamics disappear in performance. When he’s alone in his room, he plays expressively. But when he gets in front of an audience, he plays it safe. Plays the notes correctly but nothing more. He’s not sure why. But I am.

I know because I used to do the same thing. Practiced a piece for months. Felt confident with it. Played it expressively in practice. But at the first sign of performance anxiety, dynamics and other nuances would abandon me.

This was a great source of frustration to me and my teachers. But then a friend told me something that has changed my playing ever since.

“To play with dynamics, practice them from day one.” In other words, when you first start learning any piece, you need to practice the dynamics as if omitting them is incorrect. Because it is.

It took me a while to come to terms with this advice. Over time, I realized that when I spent 100 repetitions getting the notes and rhythms right, I was essentially learning to play the piece flatly and without emotion. Then I would need to spend at least 100 repetitions ingraining the expressive performance so it would be as well learned as the emotionless version. In actual practice, expressive repetitions were often far fewer than repetitions where I simply played the notes right. Therefore, in performance, the dynamics vanished because they were not well learned.

So how about you? Maybe you incorporate expressive nuances from day one. If not, it can be hard to change your habits. How can you make the switch?

  1. Prioritize – You must decide that musical expression is important. Playing the notes and rhythms is not enough. Nuances such as dynamics, rubato, articulation, and vibrato are essential to make the music come alive.
  2. Plan – To be performed consistently, dynamics and expressive nuances need to be planned. This means observing dynamic markings in the score as well as writing in your own dynamic markings. Dynamics should logically fit the structure of the music, so that you can partner with the composer in expressing the piece. Here are some of the common ways to apply dynamics:
  • Play louder on the dissonant harmonies and quieter on the consonant harmonies.
  • Play louder at the melodic high points and quieter at the low points.
  • Play a phrase at one dynamic level and the next phrase at a different dynamic.
  • Crescendo in the middle of a phrase and decrescendo at the end of the phrase.

    This doesn’t mean that dynamics should be formulaic, just that if you never use the approaches above, your dynamics may sound arbitrary and out of place. Applying dynamics in these ways will sound natural to the ear, and occasional departures will create welcome variety and keep things fresh. At this point, you may be protesting that musical expression cannot be planned. That it must be improvised. I agree that dynamics can be improvised at times. But this works best after you have carefully studied the structure of the piece and what the composer is saying. As Oliver Wendell Holmes said: “I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.”

    Based on the study of the piece, you can design a game plan of dynamics that promotes consistency in your performances. If you feel inspired to change in the moment, you can do so. If not, you have a well-learned plan that will keep you from defaulting to playing flatly.

  1. Ingrain – Repeat the same dynamics over and over until they are automatic and you no longer have to think about them. Make sure that each repetition has expressive nuance and that you do not let yourself mindlessly repeat the notes without expression.

The above process may feel counterintuitive and difficult at first. But if you consistently try it with a given piece, you’ll find that when it’s time to perform, the dynamic shaping will be effortless and flowing. You will be free to enjoy the music. And isn’t that what we all want to do?

[reminder]How do you approach practicing dynamics?[/reminder]

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help you.

5 Day Classical Guitar Technique: Join the students in my course, 5 Day Classical Guitar Technique, which takes your classical guitar playing to the next level. Come inside and get my 25 years of classical guitar teaching experience, detailed technique tips, and a clearly defined technique workout for you.


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