Hey everyone! Our recital is this Saturday, November 13th at 3:00 pm. John Marshall High School. Please enter through Door 1. Turn right past the auditorium, and then turn right down the last hallway. We will be in the choir room! We will have a Zoom broadcast. I will send the link out to participants on Friday so that you can send it to family that are not in this area.
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Here’s how our recital will go:
- Everyone arrives by 3:00 pm and all students sit with their families
- A program will be provided showing the order that the students play
- I will call each student up to the piano when it is their turn, and ask them to play a few measures of a technic book to “warm up”, then tell me when they are ready
- I will announce each student with name, age, school, and the song they are playing
- Students play their piece(s), and then bow before returning to sit with their family
- The next student will be called, etc.
- Please stay for the entire recital–support all the students, not just your own.
This recital is meant to be INFORMAL! Many of my students are beginners. This will be a first recital for so many of you! I want this to be a positive experience for you, where you feel happy afterwards and content with your performance. I have these tips for a successful day!
- Dress comfortably! There is no dress code. You may dress up, or dress down. I will be dressed up. 🙂 (Let’s take some pictures!)
- Are you feeling nervous? Do you have a favorite (small) stuffed animal? Bring it along! They can sit on the bench next to you while you play to encourage you.
- The bench might feel different from what you are used to and it might be a different height. Be sure to do that quick warm-up to get comfy before starting.
- Please clap for everyone and let every single student know they did a good job.
- Smile! You know you are prepared and have been working hard.
- Bring your music! If we have circled anything, or written in finger numbers, that will only be in YOUR copy. Even if you have memorized your song, please bring your music.
- Remember that I am so proud of you for getting up in front of everyone and trying your best!
What to Say/What NOT to Say–Parents, I’m including a list of popular things I hear people say to kids (and adults) after they make a mistake, or think they didn’t play as well as they could have. I’m including “Why I Think Its Not A Good Thing To Say” TM based on my personal experiences, as well as what you can say instead.
What NOT to Say and What to Say Instead
- “No one noticed that you made a mistake“
- This isn’t true, and the person playing knows it. There is always going to be someone in the audience who will know a mistake was made, for whatever reason (they’ve played the song themselves, they recognize a facial gesture that suggests something was wrong, they can just hear a mistake, etc.).
- Instead, try The audience might have heard your mistake, and they still enjoyed your performance
- Point out that the audience still clapped, they still smiled for the student, and the concert didn’t end because of the mistake.
- No one cared about your mistake
- Please never say this to a performer, whether a child or an adult. “No one” includes the performer. The performer cares that they made a mistake, and saying that “No one cares” invalidates the performer’s feelings. It’s normal to feel sad or angry that a performance wasn’t as good as desired. It’s not okay for another person to tell the performer that their feelings aren’t important.
- Instead, try I understand that you feel (sad/angry/frustrated) about your mistake. Tell me more. Let’s talk about all the parts of the piece you played right.
- Please validate the feeling about the mistake, then switch to talking about what the student did well. If you would like suggestions of what you can tell your student they did well on, please ask me. I am happy to help.
- It doesn’t matter. There will be another recital.
- But….it does matter. Right now, to the performer, it matters. You’re right, there will be more recitals. There will be more opportunities to try again. But right now, it hurts, and it DOES MATTER. Please validate your child’s feelings.
- Instead, try I’m sorry you feel (sad/angry/frustrated). I’m still proud of you because…
- And then validate what they did right. Your kid is going to do amazing in this recital–even just getting up in front of a group of people can be a big accomplishment
- If your student plays perfectly, AWESOME! Let them know that.
- Please do not compare your child to anyone else’s child. We are all at different stages of life. If you have questions about why one student did something, and can your child do something similar please ask.
Thank you for the honor and privilege of teaching your children. It brings me significant joy to work with these amazing kids.
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