The start of your piano recital is minutes away. The seats are filled and now it’s standing room only. You’re starting to sweat while kicking yourself for not booking a bigger venue.
15 minutes later you look out at the audience, and nobody’s standing anymore. You breathe a sigh of relief… everyone’s comfortable.
45 minutes later you look at the audience again. There’s a smattering of empty seats here and there but the audience is still looking good.
The concert ends. You look out at the audience. Where did everyone go? It looks like the home arena of a losing hockey team that’s getting blown out in the third period.
Has This Ever Happened To You At Your Recital?
Does this story hit close to home? Do you have students and their families make a quick exit once their child’s performance has ended? If you’ve answered yes then you’re not alone. It seems that in our over-booked world, people are always rushing off to the next event before the first one is even done. But people should stay until the end. And below we’ve included 7 helpful tips to ensure they do.
How To Keep People in Their Seats
Book Recitals WAY in Advance: Consider this… Obvious Point #1! No matter how far in advance you book your piano recital there are always going to be conflicts! However, your chances of maintaining a full house are always better if you let your families know the recital date months in advance.
Put it in Writing: Obvious Point Number 2: Send a polite, well-worded email about the importance of staying at a recital until the last performance. This shouldn’t sound like a reprimand, nor should it make people feel guilty in advance. Rather, it should be an honest and informative article about how important it is for the confidence and the development of your piano students that they all have an appreciative and full audience.
Throw a Party: If your studio size permits, throw a fun little meet and greet after your piano recital. Personally extend a written and verbal invitation to each of your students so that they are pumped about the party and the opportunity to mingle with their piano playing peers. Making your recital an all-out event increases the likelihood that people will clear their calendars.
Parting Party Gifts: At the end of your recital, have a draw for a month of free lessons. Be sure your entire audience knows that the winner has to be in attendance to accept the award. Or, ask a local business to donate a prize or gift basket in exchange for some serious word-of-mouth advertising (or just create a gift basket yourself). A bit of expense and some extra work… but a full audience makes for a successful recital and a successful recital makes for a successful studio.
Ask in Your Introduction: During your opening introductions, simply ask people to stick around until the very end. Be sure they know how important it is for the very last student to feel as appreciated as the very first student. If there are people who would have left just for the sake of leaving this will keep them in their seats.
Pick Your Recital Time Wisely: Some recital times make leaving easier than others. For instance, any weekend recital held before 3:00 in the afternoon will have more piano families vacating than a recital held in the evening or on a weeknight. But since we’re talking about weeknights… don’t make it too late, or families with little ones will have to rush them off to bed. At our studio, we have to hold four different recitals (3 on Saturday and 1 on Monday night) and the recital on Saturday at 6pm is always has the most people see it through until the end. With that said, we’ve been implementing most of the strategies above for some time now and all of our recitals have tremendous attendance from start to finish!
Or… Go To The Extreme: Put the building in lockdown! I kid, I kid… or do I? 😉
Your Recital’s Over… Now What?
Celebrate with your students after the recital by having some piano theory fun! Nothing is more fun to look forward to than the first lesson after a recital… where the pressure’s off and you can get down and have some fun with piano games! PianoGameClub sends members 4 brand new games every month to ensure they have the perfect game, with the most loveable theme for every concept imaginable! Build an amazing library for just $8 a month.
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Tu recital de piano de primavera ha terminado… ¿Y ahora qué? ¡Un resumen de nuestros mejores planes posteriores al recital!
