Tip #12

We decided to focus on recital prep this week and we will continue with our subject of ‘prioritizing and commitment’ next week.

A piano recital is a great way to:

• Share music that you worked on for a long time with your family and friends
• See/listen to other performers
• Learn about other pieces to grow your repertoire
• Develop skills to function under pressure and learn to turn negative emotions into productive ones

The best way to prepare for a recital is a long term consistent practice (TIP#9). At the same time, the week before the recital is a valuable time to make additions and changes to our practice routine as well.

Here are some suggestions for the practice routine:

• Make it a priority to practice your pieces slowly
• Give small concerts for friends and family
• Practice bowing before and after pieces
• Prepare clothes and shoes beforehand and rehearse with them
• Have a clear decision about performing pieces by memory or with the book and practice accordingly
• Mark pieces in books with paperclips or sticky notes
• See if children can play at the school or at any other community gatherings
• Avoid making any last minute changes
• Ask them to play their pieces at random times

Mental preparation:

• Focus on the fact that they already performed well by putting so much hard work and time into their instrument. This is only an opportunity for them to share their accomplishments with others.
• Prepare them for the idea that unexpected things might happen and let them know you will be there to help them with anything they need
• Inform them that although every piano is different and they might or might not get to try it, all pianos work the same ultimately and they will be ok
• Remind them not to expect ‘perfection’ from their performance as most of the time, we are able to perform %70-80 of our usual home practice
• Communicate that developing skills to handle pressure takes a long time and multiple, frequent performances
• Talk about what to expect by drawing a picture of how things will look like and how the event will proceed
• Remind them to adjust or ask someone to adjust the piano bench for their height/comfort

Prior to the recital:

• Try to keep the recital day as normal as possible. At the same time, it is important to provide space for children to mentally prepare for their performance. Although it might not be ideal, we should consider forgoing other scheduled plans/activities before the performance.
• Our first inclination will be to play our pieces as many times as we can on the day of the recital. However that might cause over stimulation and create more stress.
• Make sure students bring all the books they will need for the performance
• Validate their feelings of nervousness and empower them with positive thoughts/words relating how much you believe they can handle it instead of saying ‘there is nothing to be nervous about etc.
• Arrive 10 minutes earlier rather than showing up too early. Standing around might cause children to get over nervous. Having said that, being right on time or arriving late would also cause anxiety.
• Sustain an environment during the concert that you would like your children to have while their paying. If you need to leave your seat for any reason, do so in between performances, not during a performance.
• Wait until the end of the performance before leaving to show respect to all the performers and the teachers
• No matter how your students perform at the recital, shower them with positive words when it’s over. Tell them how proud you are of them, that you can tell they put forth their best effort, that their music made you feel happy.
• If any problems come up during the performance, this is not the time to address them. Focus on the positive parts of the experience. Your kid just did something that most adults are scared to do. Focus on what a big deal that is and don’t worry about trying to fix things.
• Plan to do something special after the recital to celebrate your student’s hard work.
• Remember that your attitude and feelings about a recital will probably rub off on your student. If a child feels that a parent does not wish to be there, that would effect their feelings about performing overall.
• As adults, we know how nerve-wracking it can be to go in front of a crowd to do something. Don’t project your own fears on to your child.

Sit back, relax and enjoy your children making music and bring some tissues for tears of joy!

May you know you are making a difference, even if your child never tells you themselves.

We would be more than happy to answer any questions and provide more specific consultancy if needed.

Thank you for being a part of the PianoAlpharetta community!