How to Play Piano Music in Public

I thought it might be useful to tell you a thing or two about how to play piano music in public.

Playing LIVE proves mistakes don’t matter.

I used to be terrified of making mistakes, especially as a “solo” artist who felt “naked” on stage.

I discovered, to my delight, that audiences don’t care—and usually don’t notice—what I considered “mistakes.”

Proving…

Your audience only cares about your mistakes if you do.

If you ignore your flub and play through it with confidence, your audience will believe it was your intention... or simply won't notice.

So practice NOT caring about mistakes, playing through and recovering from them. And then BELIEVE it.

EXAMPLE: A Performance Disaster Gone Right:

Early in my career, I played my “worst show ever” at a school. I felt defeated in the moment but played on as if I was not. I did not let my face betray my dismay!

After the show, a professor came up and said to me: “In my 15 years here on staff, you are the most fluid, graceful player I have ever seen”

I learned that day that mistakes only matter to the audience if they matter to me.

The Trick to Being Successful Playing Piano in Public

The trick to being successful playing piano music in public is do everything you can to gather a crowd. To do this, I play with as much movement and emotion as I can to draw the attention of passers by. If you can gather a crowd around the piano, more people notice and join the crowd. The crowd itself draws attention because people want to see what's going on. So, if I have a crowd, I sell more CDs. If I lose the crowd, then I have to work very hard to get them back.

How to Play Piano Music in Public at the Mall

Playing piano music in public at the mall is a two-way street, emotionally. If you have a slow night, you walk away feeling a bit down because you just put all of yourself out there and few people noticed - you feel a bit like pretty wallpaper. On the other hand, if it's busy, you have a constant flow of people at the CD table and you walk away on an emotional high because not only do you sell a lot of CDs, you feel noticed and appreciated. I very much prefer when the latter happens!

The greatest thing about playing piano music the malls is all the people you get to meet and talk to. As an artist, there's nothing like getting that instant feedback to your solo piano music. If people love it, they tell you, and it gives you a little boost. Quite often, people who have purchased your piano music before will come back and tell you stories about how the piano music has impacted their lives.
I met a teenage girl who had just listened my solo piano piece "Tomorrow" on Spotify. What made this meeting special was that she had just flown in from the U.K.. She just happened to be visiting at the mall with some friends and then heard me playing that same song at the piano. She couldn't believe it. What were the odds of this girl from the U.K running into the composer of the piano song she had just listened from Spotify a few days previous? It was one of those weird coincidence things.

Mall Signings

How about hanging out in the mall for a day, and doing a signing? Even better, hook up with a mall music store to get even better exposure during your signing by passing out flyers on your music.

Mall Giveaways

Personally give away FREE copies of your singles for a day at a mall, directing mall patrons to stop in at the mall music store and pick up your CD. Make sure your single has your website and contact info on its label.

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