Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum potential recital scenario: please advise

Hi,
Have you ever had the scenario where a new young student has his first recital, and his older sibling (an adult, no longer studying and didn't study with you) sits down afterwards at the piano and plays his repertoire? (during refreshment time).
My goal is, of course, to spotlight the students.

I close the fallboard after recitals, and "herd" everyone out of the piano room toward the cookies. If people start playing afterwards, I make every effort to stop them.

I try to teach my students that it is bad manners to play someone else's piano without permission. Everyone who has ever played after the recital has asked me first.

Our refreshments are in another room, so even if someone hung back to play, he'd do so without much of an audience. It is normal for one or two people to want to replay their recital piece because mom's video camera didn't work the first time or something. I let them. There is also often a line of people wanting their picture taken at the piano.

Perhaps you could explain to him that your students are needing the piano for pictures, and ask him to leave it alone for that purpose. Or simply say, "I need to ask you to stop playing. I'm sorry." And not give a reason. If you're feeling generous, you could include a compliment to soften it.

I did have this happen. Most of the people were gone, and I looked to see who was playing. He was probably just enjoying the chance to play on a nice grand piano. It was actually a voice student's father who was playing, but he was very antisocial, so I just let him play and no harm was done.

I like the idea of closing the fallboard and "herding" people to the refreshment area. You could also interrupt him and let him know you have some openings if he'd like some lessons.

I had a high school student do this last spring. He played his nice classical selection for the recital, and during refreshments, he played Pirates of the Caribbean, which thrilled all the younger boys who were clustered around him. It wasn't a problem. But he was a student. I might not be so pleased if a non-student did it.

This is, of course, extremely bad manners. The recital is to spotlight the students, not the guests. If your recital is in a venue where there is no lock on the fall board, then make every effort to cover the instrument just as soon as you can do so gracefully. I allow students to be photographed at the piano, so stand near by and shoo away non-performers. Then I douse the stage lights, cover the piano, etc., while my wife manages the refreshments in the hallway.

I had a parent play "Linus and Lucy" at last year's piano party. We all enjoyed it. If somone wants to provide incidental music free of charge for the reception following a recital, I think it just adds to the party atmosphere. And there is plenty of praise to go around...for both students and volunteer IMO.

I don't think a volunteer playing piano is likely to steal the students' thunder. Instead it may inspire kids to see piano performing as something enjoyable that adults do too (not just kids stuff).

It does "steal the students' thunder" if somebody comes up and plays the same piece, which was part of the original question.

I believe that anybody who wants to play should request to be in the recital, or else not play at all.

Yes, I agree it's bad manners to assume one can just sit at someone else's instrument and start playing too. One really should ask if they're not a student. I don't have a lock on mine, but putting on the cover is a great idea! I'll definitely do that in the future after pictures have been taken.

Oh, I see it's how you interpret "plays his repertoire". I took it to mean the adult played his (own) repertoire. But now I think the OP meant the adult played the child's repertoire.

The adult who played at one of my piano parties did ask if he could play my piano. (And I didn't mind.)

I just don't see that playing background music is claiming the spotlight. The spotlight is off in the sense that the listeners are no longer gathered together listening. By this time they're enjoying refreshments. I just think the more music the better. It may also depend on the spirit of the volunteer performer.

Come to think of it, I believe we tangentially discussed this issue several years ago. No one would think of picking up a violinist's instrument, brass or woodwind, and start playing, but there is for some reason a mentality that pianos are somehow "common property" free for all to use. As a child, I was taught, very sternly in fact, not to touch that which didn't belong to me, unless I had received permission. Lack of respect for the property of others seems pervasive these days.

I'm nearly certain that this part comes from the fact that pianos aren't portable, so the ownership is not "visible" in the same way.

David, I'd say that's a pretty good guess!

While not "common property" the simple fact is that very few students perform on "their" piano, so pianist are quite used to playing on others instruments without explicitly asking permission (most often the permission is implicit in the activity). Not condoning what the person did, just saying that you can't compare pianos to most other instruments in that regard.

Of course, when you go to the teacher's studio, you don't ask permission to play each time, but if the teacher has a grand in another room, for example, you do ask. Ditto going to friends house. Most of us, I hope, don't just sit down and presumptuously feel we're entitled to play the instrument. The person in question, the perp, was not a student, but an invited audience member. More than presumptuous, in my book.

I am bothered by the same thing as David. This was a student's very first recital. It takes a lot of nerve and is special. A beginner does not play as finely as an advanced musician, but whatever that beginner produces is a real achievement. For an adult who has finished his/her studies and is, to boot, a much older sibling, to sit down and play the same piece - what a horrible thing to do! If this adult played so much better, it diminishes the sense of accomplishment of the beginner who worked so hard.

Performing your younger sibling's beginner repertoire is mean. Teacher's work hard to make the performance of "Lightly Row" a special contribution, nothing worse than an older sibling playing it faster/better afterwards.

But I'm not completely certain that this is what Barb meant (hope you enlighten us Barb). If the piano is left open and inviting then students seem to gather around a play a bit to each other, it wouldn't seem strange if a non-performer contributes to this part of the event.

If the venue is very formal with piano up on a high stage, anyone who sits down to play afterwards would beg those present to lapse into an embarrassed silence and listen, because the gesture is too large to be background one. But if the situation is less formal so that those who want to listen gather around the piano, but those who want to chat and eat and drink are comfortable to do so further away I wouldn't have a problem.

Dilution of the spotlight... I don't know. One of my goals is to create musical families, so this behaviour would be a success not a failure. Hard to say because I don't know more details of what it felt like at Barb's event. It's funny, but if I imagine a parent impromtu performing, I feel delighted !?

I do my best to create a culture of performance as an act of generosity to your family and friends. So in this culture playing afterwards is like bringing a plate of food. But we all know performance is exciting and memorable for the performer too. Was is that this person was only "showing off"?

I would be concerned that one player might incite a whole bunch of me-toos, and the evening would eventually end with a painful rendition of heart and soul - not the note I'd want to end on (so to speak.)

The alternative is that I would be put in a position of allowing some and not others. What do I do, hold auditions?

Concerning the "ownership" of the piano - my recitals are in a church. I'm actually rather protective of who plays it, because the church doesn't have to let me be there (they don't charge me) and I want to be a good steward. I guess that depends on where the recital is being held.

But Heart and Soul is a very good piece* I like to look at this in the context of the music and performance culture you want to create. A question to consider is "How many people who took piano lessons as a child no longer play a note?" I've forgotten the answer but it's a high percentage. Performance culture and "play" at the piano with others may be part of the answer. The positive energy that bursts forth after a concert can be a good opportunity. I have no evidence for this, just a hunch.

Respect for instrument and it's owners is a separate issue which has been dealt with very well by others here, so I'm not adding anything to that part of the question.

*not to listen too of course

(I teach)

If something is to get played, it should be part of the recital. Or... it shouldn't get played. If two friends really wanted to play Heart & Soul on a recital, I would probably let them. Once.