Help Your Child Get Ready for the Piano Recital
Posted by: Georgia Reader in Education, tags: Education, Entertainment, internet piano courses, learn piano, learn piano online, music, music lessons, online piano courses, performance, piano lessons, piano recital, play pianoWhat is the purpose of a piano recital anyway? Well, it’s an opportunity for a student to show what they have learned for the past few weeks or months. And it’s a good place to listen to other students and get some motivation and set some future goals to reach, too.
Some parents of students view recitals in a very depressing and pessimistic way, and they expect the worst performance from their child. When parents think in this manner, they transfer those negative emotions to their child, who then believes that they can’t do very well at a recital. At the same time, some parents force the concept of a recital on a young student, yet expect a poor performance from their own child.
What do piano teachers think about recitals? It can be viewed as a presentation of the hard work the students have done over the past few weeks or months. Keep in mind that parents need to have a positive spin on the recital so that they are not projecting their negativity on their child.
Every student will have some nervousness, but most of that can be avoided with some planning. First of all, the child should absolutely play a piece or two that he or she likes to play and that sounds good to the ear. This will give them confidence in their ability to perform in front of an audience.
The parents should give the child confidence and praise for their pieces way ahead of time. Plan a couple of impromptu piano recitals at home for family and friends, and even have some refreshments afterward, like a real piano recital. Even practice walking up to the piano and sitting down, even bowing!
This will give your child more confidence and they will feel somewhat more comfortable when they perform in front of a larger audience. It also helps if you tell them (even better if the teacher tells them) that nobody hardly knows their piece and most people cannot tell if they make a mistake. Students should dress for comfort for their recital, with comfortable shoes (no flip flops) and with hair neatly out of the eyes.
Your child might want to record the recital pieces and listen to see if there is anything there they may need to change, such as notes, dynamics, and so on. They may want to tell their piano teacher about it and play for the teacher again before the recital. In sum, a student can learn self-confidence so that the next recital will be even better.
Last tip for family members: treat your child’s first recital as a very special occasion to be remembered. Next, treat your child with compassion and listen to what they have to say about their concerns—then reassure them. Keep in mind your child will treasure memories of the first piano recital, so keep it special and take everyone out to your child’s favorite restaurant after the event.
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