Are you preparing for your spring recital? Do you want to help your students keep their recital pieces "fresh" and get comfortable performing in front of an audience?
Let's face it: performing is tough! Whether your students are beginners or advanced performers, having a checklist of ways to practice a piece leading up to a performance can be very helpful.
In this article, I am sharing my top 10 ways to practice a piece before a performance. Want to help your students feel prepared to give their best performance ever? Keep reading to learn more, and to get a FREE printable list that you can download and share with your students!
Let's face it: performing is tough! Whether your students are beginners or advanced performers, having a checklist of ways to practice a piece leading up to a performance can be very helpful.
In this article, I am sharing my top 10 ways to practice a piece before a performance. Want to help your students feel prepared to give their best performance ever? Keep reading to learn more, and to get a FREE printable list that you can download and share with your students!
10 Ways to Practice a Piece Before a Performance
Click HERE to get a free, printable PDF download of these tips.
1. Practice as slowly as possible.
When we know a piece well, it is sometimes easy to let muscle memory take over and to overlook small details in the music. Practicing slowly forces us to pay attention to detail and to stay present in the moment.
2. Practice hands separately.
Practicing with each hand alone allows you to watch for patterns in the music, to focus on shaping the melody line, and to work on playing cleanly. This is also a great way to test your memory if you are performing without your music.
3. Practice on the closed piano lid, focusing on technique.
Are you using arm weight on loud passages? Are you bouncing to create a crisp staccato? Is each finger really connecting smoothly on legato passages? Practicing on a closed piano lid or tabletop will help you to focus on these technical movements so that your performance is even better.
4. Practice the piece without warming up first.
Playing a piece “cold” is a great way to replicate the performance experience. We rarely (if ever) have the luxury of warming up right before we play in a recital!
5. Do a complete performance run-through, including: walking up to the piano, adjusting the bench, opening the music (if needed), playing the piece, taking a bow, and walking off stage.
Make sure you are prepared for all of these “nitty gritty” details of performing so that you can play your very best.
6. Record yourself performing the piece.
Recording yourself can help you to not only hear how well you are performing a piece, it can also replicate the performance experience by making you just a bit nervous.
7. Practice performing in your concert attire.
Make sure you can move your arms freely and pedal comfortably on the big day by practicing in your concert attire, including shoes, before the event.
8. Practice performing through distractions.
Can you keep playing, no matter what happens? Practice performing your piece while a pretend “audience member” coughs, shuffles papers, opens and closes doors, etc.
9. Perform the piece on several different pianos.
One of the challenges of being a pianist is that we rarely get to perform on our own instrument! Make sure you are comfortable playing on an unfamiliar instrument by visiting your local piano shop, church, or a friend’s home and playing your recital pieces on a new-to-you piano.
10. Perform the piece for a small group of family or friends.
Finally, looking for a tried-and-true way to prepare for a performance? Perform for a small group of close friends and family who can cheer you on as you prepare for your big event!
What do you think? Are there any practice tips you would add to this list? I would love to hear from you in the comments!
Click HERE to get a free, printable PDF download of these tips.
1. Practice as slowly as possible.
When we know a piece well, it is sometimes easy to let muscle memory take over and to overlook small details in the music. Practicing slowly forces us to pay attention to detail and to stay present in the moment.
2. Practice hands separately.
Practicing with each hand alone allows you to watch for patterns in the music, to focus on shaping the melody line, and to work on playing cleanly. This is also a great way to test your memory if you are performing without your music.
3. Practice on the closed piano lid, focusing on technique.
Are you using arm weight on loud passages? Are you bouncing to create a crisp staccato? Is each finger really connecting smoothly on legato passages? Practicing on a closed piano lid or tabletop will help you to focus on these technical movements so that your performance is even better.
4. Practice the piece without warming up first.
Playing a piece “cold” is a great way to replicate the performance experience. We rarely (if ever) have the luxury of warming up right before we play in a recital!
5. Do a complete performance run-through, including: walking up to the piano, adjusting the bench, opening the music (if needed), playing the piece, taking a bow, and walking off stage.
Make sure you are prepared for all of these “nitty gritty” details of performing so that you can play your very best.
6. Record yourself performing the piece.
Recording yourself can help you to not only hear how well you are performing a piece, it can also replicate the performance experience by making you just a bit nervous.
7. Practice performing in your concert attire.
Make sure you can move your arms freely and pedal comfortably on the big day by practicing in your concert attire, including shoes, before the event.
8. Practice performing through distractions.
Can you keep playing, no matter what happens? Practice performing your piece while a pretend “audience member” coughs, shuffles papers, opens and closes doors, etc.
9. Perform the piece on several different pianos.
One of the challenges of being a pianist is that we rarely get to perform on our own instrument! Make sure you are comfortable playing on an unfamiliar instrument by visiting your local piano shop, church, or a friend’s home and playing your recital pieces on a new-to-you piano.
10. Perform the piece for a small group of family or friends.
Finally, looking for a tried-and-true way to prepare for a performance? Perform for a small group of close friends and family who can cheer you on as you prepare for your big event!
What do you think? Are there any practice tips you would add to this list? I would love to hear from you in the comments!
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