Recital prep can be a stressful time for students and their families. The pressure to play things perfectly can lead to tears and parents wondering if it’s all worth it. NOT what we want on their mind around registration season. Instead, wouldn’t it be great to keep things light and fun while you prepare students for the recital? Yes!
I’ll be sharing my top 3 easy tips that lead to smiles, lots of practice and happy families!
Make It Fun
I remember practicing for performances. It wasn’t fun drilling minuscule parts of each song.
One particular practice session sticks in my mind even decades later because it was clear both my family and I had had enough. While I was practicing, someone turned on the radio. So, I played louder in order to hear myself. The radio was turned up. I played louder. The radio got louder and … well, you get the idea.
The good side of this story? I can tell my students that no matter how loud they play the piano chances are they won’t be breaking the keys or strings.
Make recital prep fun for everyone in the family.
Get off the bench! Make your student (and their families) smile!
We need students to work on problem areas and make sure their songs are performance-ready. But, the best way to learn is to make the brain come at the information or skill in a new way.
Plus, preparing students for the recital is a whole lot more interesting than listen to the recital prep version of the Song That Never Ends.
Make It Practical
Fun recital prep activities tend to lead to more practice. After all, we are more likely to do activities that are enjoyable to us. Think about the items that stay indefinitely on your to-do list. Chances are it’s filled with items that rank right up there with picking lint out of the carpet.
But, it also needs to be practical. Otherwise, it’s a waste of lesson and practice time.
Nerves are a big part of the performance stress so recreate it in fun ways.
Students may freeze by literally stopping, playing something in a different way than they practiced or, (most common) suddenly realise what they were playing doesn’t match the music.
Part of preparing for the recital should focus on strengthening aspects of practice that let them jump back in if they freeze or get lost in the moment. This can be everything from playing their music in different orders to changing aspects of the music so if they suddenly play an octave too high it’s not a big deal.
Make It a Friendly Challenge
This idea to prepare for the recital isn’t necessarily for every student. But, it is one that has worked well in my studio.
When I moved online, I created a digital leaderboard for our recital prep challenge. Every time students practice, they earned points. And each day I practiced, I got the same number of points. The “Students vs. Ms. Rosemarie” challenge was born. Any students who get more or equal points to me earn a reward. A bonus reward went to the student(s) who earned the most points total.
Another idea is to combine it with a “Surprise the Teacher” challenge! A little gentle nudge on how they can uplevel their recital pieces means there are always a few students who use this challenge as an opportunity to earn extra points while getting ready for the recital.
Another idea for a friendly challenge is to give students recital prep activities to choose from each day. They send a video of each activity to show it was completed. And, (with permission from parents) you share them on your social media channels! Or, you can have parents posts these themselves. The advantage to the first option is that students can text or upload the videos themselves. Kids often ask at the most inopportune times (at least in my home) so making it easy on the parents usually is the best way to go.
Fun Ways to Prepare Students for Your Recital
Recital prep can be fun, practical and a friendly studio challenge (if you want). By taking the stress out of practice, we make it a great experience for parents and students alike! And, isn’t that what we want?
Which is these 3 easy tips will you use to prepare students for their recital?
- Make it fun.
- Make it practical.
- Make it a friendly challenge.
Let me know in the comments below!
An Easy, Fun Activity for Recital Prep
To help my students, I decided to make a set of fun recital prep practice PDFs for my students: 5 Ways: Recital Prep Activities. Cue the cute animals, fun emojis and colourful layout … 5 Ways is back! But, adapted for our recital prep. My students love having choices, so each page gives them 5 ways to get ready for our spring recital.
You can get your studio-licensed copy of “5 Ways: Recital Prep Activities” below! It includes 20 activities ranging from at the piano to off-the-bench and cover all aspects of preparing students for a recital.
NOTE: This article was originally published on April 28, 2021. It continues to be updated with the lessons I’ve continued to learn about helping students prep for recitals!
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