Laurie Richards, Nebraska
Hi everyone,
I’ve been holding my “Winter Music Celebration” studio events over the past few weeks and wanted to share a few things. I personally never call them ‘recitals’ – I think this word has a stigma attached for many people. I refer to them as parties, festivals, jam sessions (if appropriate), Spring Fling/Fall Fling, open houses, etc. I have a larger studio, so I held two smallish events with about 12 students each, a larger one with 21 students, and a separate event for adult students. About 90% of my students participated.
My goals for these events are:
- Students will experience different ways in which to enjoy playing the piano and will feel inspired when they leave.
- Students will enjoy the feeling of accomplishment after sharing a well-prepared piece of music.
- Parents will gain a greater understanding of the value of creating music.
I always encourage students to consider more than foundation songs when choosing pieces to perform. I invite family members who play an instrument or sing to perform with the student. I encourage duets and class performances. Here are some examples my students are doing:
- Young Level 1 student accompanied her sister singing a contemporary worship song, with dad on guitar (song had Honey Dew chords)
- A few played duets with a parent or sibling (e.g. Night Storm acc. arr. while parent played the melody and/or improvised)
- A class of 6- and 7-year olds played a “Chester Relay” for Chester Chills Out – 1st student played the I pattern, 2nd played the IV, etc., then at the end all four played a I pattern together with both hands at the same time! (well, sort of together). Really fun and cute.
- One accompanied her mom singing Let it Go.
- Several are playing Christmas or other accompaniment pieces as audience singalongs.
- Several are playing original compositions, which I believe is very inspiring to the other students.
- Some are playing medleys they have created (e.g. a foundation song plus one or more arr. of the song, plus maybe an intro/outro, improv section, etc.)
I think this has enormous long-term benefits. The foundation conversations we have are so much more effective when parents really understand the value of their investment in music education. Experiencing it is much more powerful than just hearing me talk about how great it is to have music as a lifelong companion. They see kids enjoying themselves and making music with their families. In this day and age it probably borders on nostalgic – pure family enjoyment not involving screens or phones.
Some things that helped these events to be successful:
- Informal, non-threatening environment.
- Students practiced the whole ‘routine’ two or three times in class (different weeks) – the introduction, the songs, the bow, everything. They were extremely well-prepared and confident, so there were very few mistakes.
- When they introduced themselves, they said their real name and their ‘elf name’ (I provided a chart on the program) e.g. my elf name is Puddin Pickle-Pants. Really loosens things up and helps the students relax.
- The variety of types of performances kept it interesting.
- I took pictures of each student at the piano during the event, then created and mailed a nice postcard with the pic and lovely background graphics to each student as a keepsake. (I use SendOut Cards for this). It’s time-consuming, and I don’t do it every time, but occasionally it’s a nice touch.
- I asked for volunteers to contribute to the refreshments so it wasn’t all on me, but no one felt like they HAD to bring something. This worked out really well. We enjoyed chatting and eating after the program.
For my adult students I had a small gathering in my home. Everyone brought food or wine, we ate, chatted, did an icebreaker, and whoever wanted to play, played – but more as background music rather than ‘performing’ – which they are MUCH more comfortable with.
I would encourage you to hold occasional events to help your students and families see the bigger picture of what you are offering with Simply Music.