People always think practicing super hard right before performing (or lesson) will enhance the performance, does it really turn out that way? I don’t think so. Be able to play beautiful on stage requires a lot of practicing and preparations. It’s all about time. Polishing a piece or making changes a week before perfoming will only stress out the player, make the exprience less enjoyable.
I would suggest not to over practice the piece a week before the performance. Slow practice by memory to strengthen the concentration . When you play slow, listen carefully to different parts and pay extra attention to dynamics, voicing, pedaling, fingering, colouring etc. Then practice with music (still playing slow) to enhance the visual memory of the piece. Get a chance to study the music silently. Imagine the sound in your head when you look at the music. This helps you to convey the imaginary sound into real music. I usually practice some technicals on the performing day but not the performing piece. Playing technicals to warm up and loosen up all the joints. Play fresh on stage! The audience can feel the stress if you play with stress. When you’re on stage, enjoy every minute and fall in love with your music.
