Concerts and Recitals -- A Love Hate Relationship

 

   As a pianist, I have been in my fair share of recitals and concerts.  While some people love being in the spotlight it is not my favorite thing. Now, I watch my students, preparing for a recital and it brings me back to when I was a student.  I absolutely hated playing in front of people back then, I'm not even sure how my parents and my teachers got me to actually do it.  I would have to say that not a lot has changed since back then accept that I have many, many more performances under my belt.  But it gives me insight into my students that struggle with the same thing.
       Well, Christmas as you can imagine, is a busy time of year for me.  Now, after last Christmas, I said, no more Christmas concerts!!!  It is just too much work, too exhausting, too stressful.  Well, of course, by midyear, I have forgotten all about the work, exhaustion, and stress and want to start planning a Christmas concert.  It's like breaking up with someone and a few months later, getting back together with them.  How can we only remember the good parts and somehow forget all the bad parts??  How do our brains completely misplace all the unpleasant memories??  Well, somehow it does, and onto the planning stages of the concert I go.
     This year I have decided to play the accompaniment for ALL the music for the concert.  In previous years we have used some background music for parts of the concert, but after viewing the videos, I am not happy with the result.  This may seem a bit self destructive considering I am also producing, singing and dancing in this concert, but with no turning back, I plunge head first into it.  September turns to December and I THEN remember how busy I get during the holidays, but I can't turn back now, Christmas is just a few short weeks away.
     The day is finally here, and of course I barely slept last night with all the things I have to try to remember.  Dress rehearsal goes smoothly, and I am excited to see my vision come to fruition. view dance video  Despite all my worries and fears and sleepless nights the concert goes beautifully.  Everyone does a superb job and it is well attended.  I couldn't have asked for anything better.  And now that the holidays are over I can relax and breath and plan my next recital.  LOL
www.pianobycheri.com picture below is a still life I did "Concert Prep" Music is Love in Search of a Word

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The Real Reason to Take Music Lessons

     I was reading a blog today on a piano teacher's view on articles such as Studying Music Makes You Smarter. http://colorinmypiano.com  I thought that her viewpoint was quite interesting and I have to say, I very much agreed with it.  Anyone that deals with music of any kind online has seen the articles and posts that suggest studying music can improve your cognitive and social skills.  Well, I have read these articles and posts and not really put much thought into them.  The point this blogger was making was -- Did you take piano or any music lessons as a child to get smarter??  Do we as teachers teach piano and music because we want to make people smarter??    Well, the obvious answer to both of those questions for me was NO!
     So, that got me to thinking about why I did take piano when I was a kid and why I stuck with it.  I see so many kids come and go from my studio, and it's so disappointing to me, how was I not one of those kids?  What was different about me or my teacher that I stuck with it?  To help me jog my memory, I called my mom to find out about my practice routine and her involvement in it.  Well, much to my surprise, she was only involved in practice time for maybe a year.  So, I was practicing on my own at age 6.  Wow! Now back to the question, why did I take piano and stick with it?  Well, because she put it so accurately, I will quote Joy Morin. "I believe in music for music’s sake.  I believe that there is something magical about learning how to create beautiful sounds.  I believe music is a wonderful and powerful way for humans to communicate feelings, emotions, and stories with others." 
     I truly do believe that music is magical!  When I was a kid music was not only beautiful, it was an escape into a world that allowed me to speak without saying anything, to be sad without crying, to be angry without yelling, to be happy without laughing, to be frustrated without screaming.  I loved this world, and because I was not over booked and over stimulated like most of the kids today, I had the time and the energy to sit down at the piano and cloak myself in this world.

     Now, as a piano teacher, I get to see what that magic does for a child, through the eyes of an adult.  One of the best things a parent can do is give their child music lessons of some kind and help them through that first tough year of learning enough skill to be able to start enjoying the music that they are making.  One of the main reasons I decided to teach was to be able to pass on to someone else what my piano teacher gave me as a child -- another world, a beautiful world, a magical world that doesn't exist anywhere else outside of music.
     So, does music make you smarter?  Maybe.  Will it benefit other parts of your life?  Probably, but who cares!!  The real reason to take piano or music lessons of any kind is to be enriched by the beauty of music.  To be able to step away from the world around us and be able to create a beautiful musical escape.  And if you are being honest with yourself, that IS the real reason why took music lessons and now want your child to.
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