Been playing at some wonderful events, and I wanted to make a quick note about mental preparation.

For me, I love to know the look of the venue, expected size of audience, and timeline of the event so I can walk through the day in my mind. Helpful to do this multiple times.

However, I wanted to touch base on two often forgotten things. Maybe they’ll be of use to you in your next mental preparation session or get you thinking about other “surprises” to discover beforehand!

•When you’re playing background event music and close to the audience, prepare for the constant shift of people to be a distraction! To prep for this, I’d suggest to practice a few times with your family or friends swarming around you or in front of a TV screen (oh, how my childhood piano teachers would shudder at that thought!)

•Even though I’ve performed on stages with all sorts of lighting, I can’t believe I’m always taken a back by the criss-cross shadow patterns on the keys! It often feels like I’m looking at zebra piano keys. Suggestion-know your piece(s) well. Level up by playing in the dark or with your eyes closed when you practice so you can rely more on touch versus sight.

Until next time, and some exciting announcements to make soon!