Spring recital time is approaching fast! Does the mere thought of helping your students choose music for your recital stress you out?
Matching up the right piece with the right student can be tricky, but today I am sharing 5 tips that will help make the process easier for you and your students!
Keep reading to learn more…
Matching up the right piece with the right student can be tricky, but today I am sharing 5 tips that will help make the process easier for you and your students!
Keep reading to learn more…
1. Choose recital pieces early so there is plenty of time for students to both learn the piece AND to practice performing it well.
Your spring recital isn’t until the end of March–that gives your students plenty of time to practice their pieces, right? Well, if you are selecting music right now, that gives students around 8 lessons with you to take those pieces from zero to performance-ready. And that’s if your students don't miss a single lesson due to illness, sports, or spring break. That’s a tight timeline for many students!
Give your students more time than you think they will need to prepare for the recital. That way, you can spend the last few weeks leading up to the recital helping them to practice performing their pieces–not worrying if the music is securely learned.
See a sample timeline for what your student should be focusing on in the weeks leading up to a recital in this blog article HERE.
2. Consider helping your students choose at least one piece from their repertoire list of completed pieces.
One of my favorite ways to take some of the pressure off students when preparing for a recital is to let them choose at least one piece from their repertoire list. Since their repertoire lists should be full of pieces that students really like (and already know how to play), choosing a piece from the list gives you more time to focus on fine tuning musical details and helping students get comfortable performing.
3. Make YouTube playlists of recital options at different levels that your students can listen to at home.
Want an easier way to streamline the music selection process for your next recital or festival? Consider creating playlists on YouTube, organized by level, that you can share with your students to help them listen to and select their repertoire.
A quick YouTube search will often turn up several options for videos of popular recital pieces–and you'll likely find many contemporary options that are performed by the composers themselves!
4. Do you have picky or indecisive students? Use a rating system to help students narrow down their options.
A teacher friend shared this strategy with my local music teachers association a couple of years ago (thank you, Marie!), and it is a great way to help students who have difficulty choosing recital pieces.
As your students listen to each recital option, ask them to rate the piece from 1 to 5, with 5 being the most interesting to them and 1 being the least interesting. Then narrow your choices to only those pieces that received a rating of 4 or 5 and have students listen to the pieces again before making their final selections.
5. Choose your top contenders for the recital and give students a couple of weeks to practice a section of each piece before making their final decision.
Have you ever had a student with “buyer’s remorse” as the recital draws near? Sometimes a piece that you and your student think is going to be a great choice for a recital just doesn’t come together.
Consider taking a student’s top few recital choices and working on a section of each for a couple of weeks before making a final decision about which ones to perform at the recital. This gives your student time to assess the difficulty level and see if they really “gel” with a particular piece before making a firm commitment.
What do you think? What strategies do you use to make the recital music selection process easier for you and your students? I would love to hear your ideas in the comments!
Your spring recital isn’t until the end of March–that gives your students plenty of time to practice their pieces, right? Well, if you are selecting music right now, that gives students around 8 lessons with you to take those pieces from zero to performance-ready. And that’s if your students don't miss a single lesson due to illness, sports, or spring break. That’s a tight timeline for many students!
Give your students more time than you think they will need to prepare for the recital. That way, you can spend the last few weeks leading up to the recital helping them to practice performing their pieces–not worrying if the music is securely learned.
See a sample timeline for what your student should be focusing on in the weeks leading up to a recital in this blog article HERE.
2. Consider helping your students choose at least one piece from their repertoire list of completed pieces.
One of my favorite ways to take some of the pressure off students when preparing for a recital is to let them choose at least one piece from their repertoire list. Since their repertoire lists should be full of pieces that students really like (and already know how to play), choosing a piece from the list gives you more time to focus on fine tuning musical details and helping students get comfortable performing.
3. Make YouTube playlists of recital options at different levels that your students can listen to at home.
Want an easier way to streamline the music selection process for your next recital or festival? Consider creating playlists on YouTube, organized by level, that you can share with your students to help them listen to and select their repertoire.
A quick YouTube search will often turn up several options for videos of popular recital pieces–and you'll likely find many contemporary options that are performed by the composers themselves!
4. Do you have picky or indecisive students? Use a rating system to help students narrow down their options.
A teacher friend shared this strategy with my local music teachers association a couple of years ago (thank you, Marie!), and it is a great way to help students who have difficulty choosing recital pieces.
As your students listen to each recital option, ask them to rate the piece from 1 to 5, with 5 being the most interesting to them and 1 being the least interesting. Then narrow your choices to only those pieces that received a rating of 4 or 5 and have students listen to the pieces again before making their final selections.
5. Choose your top contenders for the recital and give students a couple of weeks to practice a section of each piece before making their final decision.
Have you ever had a student with “buyer’s remorse” as the recital draws near? Sometimes a piece that you and your student think is going to be a great choice for a recital just doesn’t come together.
Consider taking a student’s top few recital choices and working on a section of each for a couple of weeks before making a final decision about which ones to perform at the recital. This gives your student time to assess the difficulty level and see if they really “gel” with a particular piece before making a firm commitment.
What do you think? What strategies do you use to make the recital music selection process easier for you and your students? I would love to hear your ideas in the comments!
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