What To Do After a Recital

I just finished my work with my senior recital on Saturday, and it was a fun performance! I am trying to take some time to evaluate how it went, listen to a recording, and enjoy a few days off from practicing before I make any judgments about the quality of the performance. I’ll also ask my teacher for his feedback in my next lesson. ​

I have to be honest, beyond all the nerves and practicing and feeling frantic, I’m a little sad it’s over. Performing is so special, and I think the unique energy that comes from a performance makes each moment of music-making a gift to the audience. It’s also really humbling to see so many loved ones out there listening. And there’s something vulnerable about it too. I love the first smile a performer gives to the audience that says: “Hello, welcome, I am human just like you. Let’s hear this experience together.” But after all those moments have passed and the performance is done, what should we do next? A lot of musicians go through a lull when they realize the show is over and there isn’t much to prepare for until the next performance. But our artform is never finished, and there is momentum to be gained off of the recital high. Here’s what I have chosen to do - 

1. Listen to a recording! I have learned so much from hearing myself play.
   
2. ​Take a few days off from practicing, but not too many!
3. Start practicing again. When we have fun with a performance it leads us to want to start preparation for the next one. 
4. Return and recollect all borrowed items. For me, this was the Zoom camera from Music Properties, a dress I borrowed from a studiomate, and music I loaned out to my pianist. 
5. Pay your pianist and collaborators! 

All of these to-dos are important and are easy to slip through the cracks, so I chose to take care of them as soon as I could (except for listening to a recording, since I haven’t worked up the nerve). I try to remind myself that practicing is just as special as performing, too. Go back to basics. Pick up the tone exercises that made you first love the instrument. Sing a scale or two and hear some solfege. Play a duet or an etude. For me, it can be fun not to have any strict practicing goals, and the days after a recital are the days to have fun!
Sarah Castle