Dear Friends,

We’re in the final couple of weeks of the semester, which means it’s recital season! Last week I drove to Cincinnati for Briana’s senior recital (I’m her instructor of record, remotely), and then yesterday was Cora’s senior recital. Today is the studio recital where all of my students will play, and then next week will be Bella’s senior recital. And then two weeks from today, I’ll be performing Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Das Jahr in Detroit at the Scarab Club, on a historic Pleyel piano, which is the perfect instrument to play this music on. (By the way, if you're in the area, I'd love to see you there! ​Click here for more information.​)

Because I am helping students prepare for recitals and preparing for one of my own, today I'll share a few thoughts about performance preparation.

Here are a few thoughts off the top of my head as I prepare to head out to my students’ recital today.

• As a performance approaches, you need to be doing less and less detailed work and more and more big-picture work. In the weeks leading up to your performance, focus on doing 8-10 complete run-throughs of your program for different people.
• That said, only about 20% of your practice leading up to a recital should be playing at full tempo. The other 80% of your practice should be slower, detailed work reinforcing sections and correcting the things that happened or that you noticed during the run-throughs.
• Before the performance, establish a centering, calming pre-performance ritual that you’ll be able to do reliably. Practice it in the days leading up to the performance so that you can execute it on the day of your performance.
• Learn and practice a breathing exercise that you can use backstage before your performance to calm your nerves. The one I teach my students is the 4-7-8 breathing exercise. Inhale through your nose for 4 counts, hold for 7 counts, exhale slowly through your mouth for 8 counts. Repeat this cycle three times.
• Even though it feels upsetting, as a performer, to miss notes or have memory slips in a performance, the truth is that nobody attending the recital will care if you miss some notes or make some mistakes as long as you are communicating something musically. Therefore, as you prepare, continually ask yourself over and over what you want to communicate musically from moment to moment and how you can reflect that in your sound.
• In live performance, mistakes are inevitable. They are simply a fact of live performance. Instead of worrying about making mistakes and trying not to make them, accept that you will make mistakes and then adopt an attitude of curiosity about it. Ask yourself “I wonder what mistakes I’m going to make today?” This attitude can paradoxically help you make fewer mistakes because you’re not as uptight or worried about what happens if you make them.
• One of my students told me today that the thing that has most helped him enjoy himself on stage is when somebody told him that his priority should be to have fun. So, I'll finish with that important thought: when you perform, above all, have fun!

I hope you are having a wonderful day at the piano!

👋 Happy practicing,

Kate

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