Your Piece Is Coming to Life!

With the recital getting closer, it’s more important than ever to keep up your daily practice. This is just when your piece is getting good, and should be becoming more fun to play! Keep giving it the attention that has brought you this far.

Now, focus on performing your music. What are your favorite parts? A beautiful melody? A surprising change? A lively rhythm? Make sure your audience can hear what you love about your piece. Bring out those moments with the expression we have worked on in lessons.

Take your time. When the notes become easier, it’s tempting to speed up. Keep the tempo we have practiced, and give every phrase its full attention. Even an exciting piece needs a steady beat!

Give any uncertain spots a little extra care. Practice a few measures slowly and correctly, then connect them to what comes before and after. Remember to practice your ending, too. It deserves as much attention as your beginning.

Then give yourself a practice performance. Announce your name and your piece, settle your hands, hear the starting tempo in your mind, and begin. Play from memory all the way through. If a little slip happens, keep the music moving until you reach the end. When you’re practicing at home, finish the whole performance first. Then go back and work on any spots that need extra attention.

Invite someone at home to be your audience. Let them hear the whole performance, right through the last note and your bow.

Most of all, listen to the music you are making. You have worked hard to learn this piece. Now practice sharing it!