Room for improvement

So today was the garden party.  This was really my first solo performance outside the safe haven of adult learner concerts - and I've only done 3 of those.  In this case it wasn't to other musicians who were performing (and generally sympathetic) and not only were there "non performing" people there, but there were people there who I knew and who had never heard me play the oboe before - the pressure was on.   I had a major panic last night when I was convinced that I couldn't play any of my pieces and I was going to fall flat on my face.  But, when it came to it, I survived.  I don't think I played brilliantly but I got through and kept going.  It felt pretty terrible at the time, and I was very nervous but my boyfriend filmed it and, looking at the recording, it wasn't as bad as I thought - though still not great...

So let's stick with good, tricky, do differently:

GOOD

1. I got through all three pieces without falling apart or needing to stop - this is more than I thought I would manage last night.  Oh and I guess actually turning up and doing it despite being really scared.

2. While I'm playing my posture is not too bad and I do move a little bit to the music - more than I thought I was doing.

3. Most of the finger work sounds quite fluent even when it felt a little clunky,

4. There are times when my vibrato comes through and does sound quite natural.

5. There are occasional flashes of good phrasing and expression

TRICKY

1. I sound terrified when introducing the pieces - which I was!

2. My tone is really quite thin - I need to do some work on this over the summer. Some of this was nerves, but not all of it.

3. Intonation wasn't great - I knew this but couldn't quite seem to bring it in line.  Need some work on control during the summer.

4. A few stumbles along the way - I think the Mozart was a little ambitious!  I could just about play it but there were too many dodgy bits that didn't quite work.

5. Too much frightened rabbit and not enough expression in the music as a whole!

DO DIFFERENTLY

1. Make sure I know exactly what the set up is - there were too many surprises on the day.  I thought it would just be background music rather than having people sitting and watching as the main event.  I was also thrown by having to introduce the songs and there were more people there that I knew than expected.

2. Pick pieces that I can play well - or at least make sure I have time to practice enough to bring them up to standard.  Do not be unprepared!

3. If playing outside - make sure the music is securely fastened!  Mine didn't entirely blow away but my biggest stumble was due to it threatening to!

4. Relax and think about expression more - focus on the music.

5. Blow more air - will bring pitch up, louder would be good and will give scope for more dynamics overall.

Overall verdict - not disastrous but definitely room for improvement.