Recital Basics

Tomorrow is the date of the Spring Recital at Pfafftown Baptist Church, 4336 Transou Rd, Pfafftown, NC at 3:00pm.

Here are some things to remember:

Performers: Early means on time, "on time" means late
Good performers not only don't show up late; They don't even risk the chance of it.  Aim for arriving 15 minutes early.  If you're running late, you still have a safety window.  However, if you arrive on time, you can relax in your surroundings and get used to being there before the recital begins.

Remember Stage Presence
Don't sit down before you take a bow.  Don't leave the piano before you take a bow.  In the case of the latter, it doesn't matter how you think you did.  Sometimes we don't perform as well as expected, and in our self-disgust we forget our etiquette.  Always remember your stage presence.

Don't try for better than ever, just as good as normal
The best you've ever played your piece(s) ever is as good as you can expect in a performance.  Don't try for the miraculous flawless all-star performance.  You'll feel deflated after the first mistake.  The tension will cause more mistakes to come.  Relax.  Trust your preparation, and remember that practice time is over once you play.  You're not to even consider monitoring your mistakes or trying to improve it.  You have all the way until you leave the house tomorrow to improve and prepare.  That's all you can do at that point.  Trust it, and show it off.

Give yourself room to fail
With all that said above, you will probably make a mistake.  You might, just might play a note-perfect piece with your best ever playing, but that's not super common.  So many things have to go right for a flawless performance.  If you expect something wrong might happen, you won't be caught off guard.  Remember, you might not mess up, but give yourself permission to do so.  Public performance is just as much about selling your wrong notes as playing the right ones.  You'll know your mistakes far better than nearly everyone who is listening.

What to Wear
There is no required dress code, but a recital is considered at least a semi-formal event.  Suggested dress is button-up shirt, slacks and dressier shoes for guys.  Coat and/or tie are optional.  Girls should consider a dress or a dressier casual look.  If you don't own anything like this, wear the best you have.

Good luck to everyone, please remember to review the Recital Etiquette before tomorrow.  Have fun, and I will see you soon!