A piano recital is a wonderful way to celebrate your child’s accomplishments. They have worked so hard at learning to play the piano, and a special event can be a wonderful way to reward them for their efforts. It’s not hard to plan, and students can use pieces that they’ve already learned in their piano lessons.
What is a beginner’s piano recital like?
When people think of piano recitals, there are usually two options that come to mind:
A group studio recital:
This is where all the students who take lessons with the same teacher each prepare 1-2 songs to play and take turns. If you’ve ever taken piano lessons, chances are that you played in a recital like this!
A professional solo recital:
Advanced pianists often give a recital where they play 45-60 minutes of music. These recitals feature just one performer and usually last 1 – 1.5 hours. Serious high-school pianists often give a Senior Piano Recital. College music students are usually required to give at least one solo recital as part of their degree requirements. Professional pianists give solo recitals in their locale, or even go on tour traveling the country with a solo recital!
I teach beginner’s to give recitals that are a combination of these two options.
My piano students start giving recitals as early as 3 months into their training. They are able to perform more of the pieces that they’ve learned than they would in a typical group studio recital. The point is to have fun, and not to overwhelm, so we plan programs that take about 10-15 minutes to perform. Young pianists can perform their program multiple times for family and friends, and if they want to give a recital in my studio, I’ll have a few students team up in the same recital.
The 5 Steps to Planning a Beginner Piano Recital
Step 1: Pick a recital format
Options include:
- Just playing. No talking, no program notes. Typical of traditional student performances.
- Playing, with written notes about the pieces. Standard recital format.
- Playing, and explaining a bit about each piece or set of pieces. This is known as a lecture recital.
Step 2: Pick the repertoire
In their first beginner class, my students cover all the material from the Piano Adventures Primer level in 3 months. Since we move pretty rapidly, many of those pieces are still fresh in the student’s mind.
The student should pick 5-10 pieces that they enjoy and want to perform.
Step 3: Organize the repertoire
Pieces should fit together in some way. They can be linked by a common theme, style, or by using a narrative. For example, grouping pieces about stars/sky/space together would be a thematic grouping.
If you have fewer than 10 pieces picked out, this is a great time to pick a few more that link well with the list you’ve already built. If you have a fast piece that doesn’t seem to fit with anything else, you might choose another fast piece to create a style grouping.
Following a narrative can be really fun as well, and is a great way to bring creative story-telling into this process. I recently helped a student who is interested in comedy program her first piano recital.
Step 4: Type up a program
You may want to print out programs for the audience, or you could go a little more informal and just use the program as a guide for the performer. Either way, here is an example of a program for a recital that uses a narrative.
There are two sets, each with their own little story. The story elements are printed in italics and can serve as an exact script, or as a prompt for student’s who want to improvise their presentation.
Step 5: Perform!
An informal recital is easily held in the student’s home. Scheduling can be as simple as telling your family that you have a recital to share with them after dinner and calling everyone into the living room. Of course, you can also invite friends, or plan to give the recital while visiting family. The point is that it’s time to share all this hard work with your loved ones!
Benefits of A Beginner Piano Recital
- Celebration – A recital is a perfect way to celebrate a pianist’s accomplishments. Students work very hard and it is wonderful for them to have a chance to show off a little bit!
- Motivation – Musical study is hard work, and pianists usually take lessons for years. Performances are nice landmarks to prepare for, so that lessons don’t start to feel like an endless drag.
- A Professional Experience – Advanced pianists often give recitals. When a beginner treats performing with the same seriousness, young students get a taste of what being a mature musician is like.
Who can give a beginner piano recital?
Any beginner pianist! Students will probably need help from a parent or teacher their first time, but once they know the format, they can even plan them all on their own.
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