Music Forum

Find answers, ask questions, and connect with our music community around the world.

Home Forums Music Teacher Forum Student Performances (All Teachers)

  • Eliza Fyfe

    Member
    November 20, 2024 at 10:32 am

    Hey Beckie

    – Open mics are great as long as they are not too intimidating – the one I take students to is in the downstairs area of a bar so that the general public aren’t walking straight into a performance! It’s also a fairly new open mic and therefore nice and quiet. Try and bring other students so she doesn’t feel like the only student and it should hopefully ease her nerves. Or even duet with her so she can relax into it!
    – Good idea about covers on the iPod, as long as the venue don’t mind it not being a real instrument! The above place I take my students too are cool with backing tracks
    – Good idea at this age to be active with competitions if there aren’t many pubs she can go to!

    In addition to this, have you thought about hosting Student Showcases? I run these seasonally, so every quarter there’s one to prepare the students for! It’s a great way to keep regular clients too

    Also, this may be controversial, but as I have all my lessons back-to-back, I encourage the students to perform to each other, so one student will perform/play a recording of where they’ve got to in the lesson to the next person waiting to start their lesson. Usually they know the person which helps, as my students have the same slots so always meet each other which is nice!

    Hope this helps!

  • Kat Hunter

    Member
    November 20, 2024 at 10:32 am

    If you’re trying to find ways of dealing with performance anxiety specifically, I always find the Bulletproof Musician has some great advice. Trawl through the blog section and you’re sure to find something that helps: http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/start/

  • Beckie Tunnicliffe

    Member
    November 20, 2024 at 10:32 am

    Thank you – I do two showcases a year, my next one is on the 20th! She does find them useful but just wants a bit more experience. I also like the idea of the students performing to each other, I will suggest that to some of them!

  • Guest Teacher

    Member
    November 20, 2024 at 10:32 am

    The only thing I can think of is looking at some of the Community Youth Events that are going on. Some of them do open mics and they re typically for people between the ages of 13 and 18. I know we did them in Leicester 2 or 3 times a year. I’m sure there must be someone in Nottingham that does the same kind of thing.

Log in to reply.