Benefits and Pitfalls of Performances/Recitals
We need to discuss the benefits and pitfalls of performing because this knowledge determines how we design our daily piano learning program. For the amateur pianist, the benefits of performances, even casual ones, are immeasurable. The most important benefit is that technique is never really demonstrated until you can demonstrate it in a performance. That is, music and technique are inseparable, so that if you perform successfully, it means that you practiced correctly. This works both ways: if you practice correctly, performing shouldn't be a problem. This point draws a clear line between practicing musically, relaxed, on the one hand and, on the other, repeating mindlessly just to be able to play a difficult passage, working like a dog, mistaking piano for some type of calisthenics.
For young students, the benefits are even more fundamental. They learn what it means to complete a real task, and they learn what "making music" means. Most youngsters don't learn these skills until they go to college; piano students must learn them at their first recital, regardless of age. Students are never as self-motivated as when preparing for a recital. Teachers who have held recitals know the enormous benefits. Their students become focused, self-motivated, and results oriented; they listen intently to the teacher and really try to understand the meaning of the teachers' instructions. The students become deadly serious about eliminating all errors and learning everything correctly -- it is capitalism at its best, because it is their recital. Teachers without recitals often end up with students who practice maybe a few times just before lesson day -- the difference is like night and day.
Because the psychology and sociology of piano playing is not well developed, there are pitfalls that we must seriously consider. The most important one is nervousness and its impact on the mind, especially for the young. Nervousness can make recitals a frightful experience that requires careful attention in order to avoid not only unhappy experiences but also lasting psychological damage. At the very least, reducing nervousness will alleviate stress and fright. There is not enough attention paid to making recitals a pleasant experience and reducing the tension and stress, especially for piano competitions. This whole subject will be treated more completely in the section on nervousness. The point here is that any treatment on performing must include a discussion of stage fright. Even great artists have stopped performing for long periods of time for one reason or another. Therefore, although good piano teachers always hold recitals of their students and enter them into competitions, it is the job of the parents to look out for the social and psychological welfare of their children, since piano teachers are not necessarily good sociologists or psychologists. It is important for any person guiding youngsters through recitals and competitions to learn the fundamentals of what causes nervousness, how to deal with it, and its psychological consequences. Therefore, the following section (section 15) on nervousness is a necessary companion to this section.
There are numerous other psychological and sociological implications of recitals and competitions. The judging systems in music competitions are notoriously unfair, and judging is a difficult and thankless job. Thus students entered into competition must be informed of these shortcomings of the "system" so that they do not suffer mental damage from perceived unfairness and disappointment. It is difficult, but possible, for students to understand that the most important element of competitions is that they participate, not that they win. There is too much emphasis on technical difficulty and not enough on musicality. The system does not encourage communication among teachers to improve teaching methods. It is no wonder that there is a school of thought that favors eliminating competitions. There is no question that recitals and competitions are necessary; but the present situation can certainly be improved.