I'm about to hit the road - the icy road - for a few miles, as the car and ourselves board the train for Florida. Yawn. But finishing up another bio that's...
This is a very fine essay on Harney. I hope you don't mind if I offer some comments and questions. I put my comments in bold. "His race has also been called...
Dear Perf. Bill and group, I have a copy of "Music On My Mind" on my bookshelf. Great book. I will see what I can do about the comp. list; or perhaps I could...
Hi, Bill: I have a couple of corrections and possible supplements to your excellent Ben Harney bio for your consideration. Apparently I give more credence to...
This might be for Mr. Ramet who could inform us of the state of ragtime in the UK. Is there many events to listen to any pianists? Thank you. Marco Romano....
Yes, I may be vacationing to my ancestral homeland this year. Any Brit among us care to comment on where a ragtimer might be either 1) most welcome or 2)...
Hi all, I was just wondering if any, which is most all of you well learned knowledgable people, knew how I, or anyone in general, could get over stage fright....
Hi Bryce, I've been performing in various venues for almost 4 years now, and had to overcome a great deal of stage fright. Here's my 2 cents: I think the...
Dittos on Max's comments. Performance anxiety diminishes with experience. However, here are some practical tips I found to be helpful when I returned to the...
Yes, practice was the most important thing for me as well. I find that when I take the time to really learn a piece, rather than to just be able to get...
I've never really had a problem with stage fright -- biggest thing is practice. Of course, playing in front of Johnny, Trebor, Dave J. or anyone else in that...
Cold hands are a pianist's wort nightmare. Not only do they dexrease finger dexterity, but playing with them also causes cramps. My personal solution is to...
Hi there Marco, Ragtime in the UK is every bit as dead as ragtime everywhere else. Unlike the US there is no faux-nostalgia thing going for ragtime here. ...
Hi, I have it in the extreme. An incredible extreme. To the point of being unable to play when even small groups of people are in the room. One person, for...
Hi Bryce, I perform sparingly and always get "stage fright". I have a few thoughts to share for what it's worth: - I don't have enough performing experience...
While not a musician, I have been speaking in public, comfortably, far longer than I care to mention, and have on occasion been called on to quell the nerves...
Interesting point. In a religion class in high school I remember learning about a Hindu technique for tolerating pain, which is, simply put, to imagine...
I used to see not a few stage stars professionally with my therapist cum doctors hat on. I see no shame in using hypnosis - not that that's what I called it...
... I have a data point on that that's not me but someone else, who is terribly shy about performing in public. He is much more relaxed, and plays much...
... Personally, the accuracy of my playing decreased dramatically whenever I had more than one drink, even if I didn't feel the slightest bit tipsy. It wasn't...
Hello Adam. That's not the kind of answer I was expecting. Surely there might be some ragtime players who you can go to see and hear in the UK. I think there...
Dear Adam, Jeff Barnhart, one of our favorite Ragtime piano players, spends a couple months per year in the UK. I just checked his website, and it appears as...
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I actually played at my school talent show; I played the Lion Tamer, and for some reason, played it at like quarter note...
My palms used to sweat so profusely that keeping my fingers on the keys became a real challenge. Some might say that even today, my fingers don't spend much...
Hi folks, I'm curous as to whether disasters like this have ever happened to any of you. It turns out that putting a copy of that rag I'm working on in the...
Bill Edwards, ragtime historian, performer and collector will perform on Saturday, March 15, in Peoria IL with 2007 World Champion Old-time Piano Player Ethan...
Yipes! That sounds horrifying. Do you have printouts of the sheetmusic for any of them? I hope you can recover them. If you've got a MIDI file, there are...
