How to Choose a Performance Piece (and stay “performance ready”)

You’ve been practicing, progressing, and developing new skills all year long. Yet when the next performance date is announced, your first thought is “but I have nothing prepared.” 

Despite a full year of working on your instrument, recitals can often feel like a mad dash to the finish line. The question of “will I get through my piece?” creates anxiety and adds to performance nerves and even dread, making an overall less enjoyable experience. 

But it doesn’t need to be this way! We recommend choosing a piece you already know well! 

So how do we get in the habit of always being “performance ready”?

Review! One of the major benefits to reviewing and polishing old pieces is that you always have something prepared to perform.

However, there are SO many more benefits to reviewing former pieces than just always being “performance ready”! 

Reviewing pieces allows you to reinforce foundational skills and technique, while also adding in new techniques. When the notes are already learned, you can go back and really focus on skills, and start adding in all the details that make the piece interesting and fun to play and listen to! 

If you get in the habit of reviewing old pieces, you’ll not only become a stronger musician, but you’ll also have a whole repertoire of pieces to choose from when performance season rolls around!  

By choosing a piece you can already play well, the performance preparation focus can turn to elevating and perfecting your piece, not just getting through it!

And you can feel confident walking on stage, since you know you are prepared! 

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t challenge yourself, but it’s important to remember some of the main purposes of performing: to share our music and celebrate our hard work. You don’t need the newest, most difficult piece that you’ll *hopefully* get through to accomplish this! In fact, a review piece that you’ve fully prepared is a better showcase of your hard work and music-making! 

Begin adding review pieces to your practice sessions today, so that the next time a performance is announced, your first thought won’t be that you’re not prepared, and instead “But I have too many pieces to choose from!”