RECITAL WRAP-UP
Congratulations to the 14 students who participated in the Spring Recital this past Sunday, May 19! I hope to see more new faces the next time we have one. Performance experience is much like real life. It's tempting to say, regardless of how you did this past weekend, that every time you perform will get easier and you'll do better each time. The reality is that there are too many factors. How nervous you are, how focused your concentration is, how well you've slept, how confident (without being overconfident) you are, and how well (not just how much) you've practiced will all determine how you do on any given day. This is why you can play perfectly one recital and not do so well the next. It's also why if you didn't play your best one recital, the next time you play might be really well.
Here are several things you can do to get better at performing in public.
1. Practice well. More practice is better than less practice, but that's not the same thing as practicing well. A big goal of practice should be to identify mistakes early and to work on what is causing the mistake, not just the mistake itself. Every mistake you've allowed yourself to make has the potential to show up when you're nervous. Fix the tendency to make them, and you'll play it right every time.
2. Memorize regularly. You have enough stress in life and even in lessons for me to actually assign memorization. To play well without music on a regular basis, you need to apply yourself to memorize something regularly. If this is difficult for you, try just 1 or 2 measures for a start. Later on, I'll likely write on proven methods of memorization, but for now try anyway you can. A good practical thing to memorize is if you have a page turn. Memorize several measures before and after the turn so you can be early or late turning the page. Take something you learned a while back and already know how to play well with the music and commit it to memory.
3. Watch your hands when you play. This is related to the above point. Every teacher I know says you should keep your eyes on the music, and not your hands when you play. This is correct...when you are FIRST learning the music. Sightreading well is impossible if you insist on looking at your hands more than the music. However, If your goal is to get off the music, then you need to get your eyes off the music. You may need to do this gradually.
4. Slow down and breathe. Breathing gets shallow when you get nervous. Take slow and deep breaths to clear your mind. Move slowly to and from the instrument. Set a tempo in your head before you play a note. This isn't the same suggestion as saying to play everything slowly. No, you should play everything up to tempo, but control your tempo.
5. Your audience supports you. Keep this in mind whenever you play. Who comes to hear you play? Not your enemies; not the people who can't stand you. It's people who care about you, and people who love music. An audience isn't a collection of judges. Instead, it is a group of silent cheerleaders. How can you possibly get nervous when you think of your listeners as a resource of support? I think the day I realized that was the day I stopped feeling fear in front of audiences. My nerves are now excitement. Remember this rule anytime you play for someone else.
SUMMER PLANNING
With school about to be out for a few months, this always brings up a few questions. Do you teach in the summer? Can I take time off and resume in the Fall? Is it better to continue taking lessons or take time off? Do I have to practice in the summer? How can I practice when I'm at camp/the beach, etc?
Do you teach in the summer? Yes. I teach year-round. Count on no lessons for July 4, but there are no other days I plan to miss as of this moment.
Can I take time off and resume in the Fall? Yes. My policy is that you must pay a two-week minimum whether you attend or not to maintain your spot when you return. If you choose to take time off without payment, then you would need to find a new vacant time when you return.
Is it better to continue taking lessons or take time off? If you are progressing at all, it's always better to continue. It's virtually a law of nature that the more time you take off from lessons, the more time will be needed for review just to get back to where you are. However, if lessons and/or practice time have been frustrating, you won't be hindering progress with a break. It may be just what you need.
Do I have to practice in the summer? Let's answer this as if you're at home and have much more free time. Why wouldn't you practice? In fact, why not practice more? The number one reason I hear from students for not having practiced well in a particular week is that they had too much homework. This is not a problem in the summer. In fact, this is an OPPORTUNITY! Practice like you never have before!
How can I practice when I'm at camp/the beach, etc? If you're on vacation, I'm not going to suggest that you should practice hard, but it's possible and not unreasonable to take 10-15 minutes each day and do some mental practice. You can practice scale fingerings, for example. You can take a piece or two with the music, and play it on a table or desk as if you were playing on the keyboard. This has been shown to be roughly 80% as effective as playing on a keyboard or piano.
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