piano with nicole

Here is a copy of a worksheet I go through with each student in the weeks leading up to a recital, as an overview of performing. 

Recital Ready!

Ideas to help you prepare for our upcoming recitals: 

1.  Preparation.  The key to having a great performance is to be confident with your music.  You can accomplish this through the practicing you do at home.

● When you are practicing, start at the tricky sections–not always at the beginning.

● Play your pieces for your family to test your memorization.  Keep going no matter what.

● Play through your pieces while imagining yourself at the recital.  Make yourself feel nervous; it will be good practice for the actual performance.

● Even after you have memorized your pieces, practice with the music in front of you sometimes to reinforce your visual memory.  

2.  Before you play.  It’s completely normal to feel nervous when you are waiting your turn to perform.  Try these ideas to keep your nerves under control.

● Remember to breathe!  Breathe slowly and deeply while you are sitting in the audience.  Breathing quickly will increase your heart rate and stress your body.           

● Relax your muscles.  Pretend you are a floppy rag doll with no tension.           

● Imagine yourself playing wonderfully.  Do not imagine yourself playing poorly.  

3.  While you perform.  This is the point where you get to share all the hard work you’ve done with your friends and family.

● When you sit at the bench, wait a few moments until you begin.  Make sure you are at the proper distance away from the piano.  Also, wait a little between pieces so the audience knows you are playing a different piece.

● Before you begin, imagine the mood or emotion you want to create with your music.

● If you have a memory mistake, jump ahead to a later point in the piece rather than going back to the beginning.  Do not be discouraged if you make a mistake.  Even professional concert pianists hit wrong notes and have memory lapses sometimes.  

4.  After you perform.  Congratulations–it is quite an accomplishment to perform in front of others.  I am proud of you.           

● Enjoy yourself.  You did it!           

● If you are disappointed in your performance, that’s okay.  What would you do differently next time?                                                                                  

● Talk to some of the other performers.  Encourage them by telling them what you enjoyed about their pieces.           

● Take a break from practicing.  But not too long of a break…………