You’ll Need More Chairs At Your Piano Recital After Sending Parents This

We’ve said this time and time again on our blog, but it’s worth mentioning once more… a piano recital is a teacher’s most important studio growth strategy.

We could all break the bank on online and offline advertising and still not reap the benefits that arise from a piano recital venue that is busting at the seams.

But recitals are not always busting at the seams.

Kids miss recitals because of sports conflicts, school commitments, lack of interest, lack of confidence, and nerves. And while some of these absences simply cannot be avoided, many recital excuses are simply choices made by students and their families.

So, given that we cannot miss out on the marketing power of piano recitals, we need to make the choice to attend an easy one.

And this begins with our students’ parents.

If parents have an active role in our students’ recital preparations, great attendance is a slam dunk. Few parents would deny a well-prepared piano student an opportunity to perform.

So in today’s post, we’re sharing an email you can send to piano parents to get them on board with their children’s recital preparations.

How To Involve Piano Parents in Recitals

Here’s the email that I send out to involve piano parents in recitals. Feel free to modify it as necessary…

Dear Susan,

I’m so excited to announce that our Spring Recital has been booked for Saturday, May 17th. We have already selected the piece that Amy is going to perform and she’s really looking forward to sharing it with everyone.

The weeks leading up to a recital can provide some of the most valuable learning opportunities in a young piano student’s education. Because of this, I wanted to share some tips on how you can be involved in Amy’s recital preparations. I know she’d love for you to be a part of the process and to experience her excitement in learning to be a musician.

In the weeks leading up to our recital, you can…

1. be her “pretend audience”. Sit down regularly and enjoy some practice performances. Make sure Amy announces her piece and the composer’s name. It’s excellent performance practice to play for even just one set of undistracted eyes.

2. remind her to visit the piano frequently throughout the week to practice her recital piece. Regular practice is the most effective way of ensuring a successful recital performance.

3. offer lots of encouragement as she practices. Let her know how excited you are to watch her share her music. 

4. ask her to play for friends and family who stop by your home, or set up opportunities for others to hear her play (invite grandparents over, have her play at her auntie’s dinner party, etc). Not only does this provide great performance practice, but it also shows her how much you value her hard work.

5. find a way to mark this event as something special. Selecting a special outfit to wear to the recital, inviting family and friends to attend, or buying her flowers show that the performance is meaningful, important, and valued. It doesn’t have to be anything grand… often simply a heartfelt note left on the piano is all it takes.

Amy is a wonderful child and gifted musician whose upcoming performance will inspire many other students at our studio. If at any point in the coming weeks you notice a change in her “musical” behavior, increased trepidation toward the recital, or a reluctance to practice, please let me know so that I can help her through these challenges. They are not uncommon and are often part of the process.

Thank you in advance,

Andrea

Finding Post-Recital Piano Repertoire

The lessons that follow a piano recital are at risk of being unproductive. When a recital ends, kids tend to mentally end piano lessons as well.

But with summer approaching, it is essential that any remaining lessons are focused on keeping kids motivated to practice piano during the holidays.

And the best way to keep kids motivated is to give them an exciting new piano book that can also serve as a summer project!

Andrea and Trevor Dow’s Very Useful Piano Library is full of books that can serve this very purpose. Click here to view the entire library or on a cover below to learn about specific titles.