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Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Are You Nervous for Your Piano Recital?

By Georgia Reader

Many parents consider their children for piano lessons as they feel that it helps with their school studies and the fact is the piano is a universally popular instrument. Some, if not most piano instructors have piano recitals for their students annually or more often. Many parents love watching their child perform and view it is a benchmark ofr their child's activities and give it a sense of achievment.

Beginning piano students often want to know what happens during a piano recital. Teachers often tell students that it is a chance for them to perform pieces in front of an audience that they have learned and perfected over the months. So a recital is a great chance for students to show improvement and progress over the school year by performing in front of their parents and peers.

If you're a student, there is a lot of preparation that goes into your performance at the recital. One of the best things that you can do for your recital is practice for a few hours every day if possible. Even if you feel somewhat comfortable with your piece, keep on practicing as the song should flow easily.

In addition to practicing on the piano, you should run through the performance several times in your mind because visualizing the entire concert is very beneficial. Your subconscious mind doesn't have the ability to determine what reality is and what is visualized. This means that if you run through the performance successfully a number of times, your subconscious starts to believe that it's easy.

Most parents know that students performing in a recital is a great steppingstone toward self-confidence, yet there are a few that want to wait a couple of years to keep them from performing. Some worry that their child might make mistakes and get upset, but that might have something more to do with the parents' confidence in themselves instead! Fortunately, this does not happen too much as there is more of a problem of parents pushing a new student to perform right away.

Find out if your child is dreading or anticipating their recital by questioning them, and then tell them positively how you are looking forward to their performance. If they seem to be nervous or upset about the idea, reassure them and discuss the matter. Some children need some positive talk from their families and friends to change their minds about performing.

Some parents project an attitude that the recital is a big deal and that they should be nervous. They tell the child how many people will be watching and the child starts to become anxious. They think about what it would be like to make a mistake in front of so many people, so don't fall into that trap.

Students appreciate it if their parents are supportive about their upcoming performance. They will look forward to "showing off" how they progressed since the last recital. Performing in a recital will prove to be a gratifying experience where it can prove to be a wonderful memory in the child's life.

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