During the school year. I host 3 recitals. Most of my students are kids, and I have about 6 adult students. I understandably find that the adults are uncomfortable performing in these recitals. I came across an idea a few years ago online for getting some performance experience for adults. The idea was to create a casual music night at your house (or someone else’s.) The idea is to create a casual, non-judgmental get together where each adult gets to perform one song for the group. I was thinking about also organizing a group jam session that everyone would be able to participate in. I’ve only mentioned this to one of my adult students, and she’s really excited (and relieved about not performing in the kiddie recital.) Of course there will be drinks and food, and it will be just like a party. Students can bring their spouses, and we would all have a good time. I would also play a song on my new instrument: The mandolin. Since I’m new (and I’m not very good), it would be a good opurtunity to see the teacher learning something new.
Do you have any creative ideas for including adults in the performance part of their education? If so, what do you do? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated by all of the teachers here at Music Teacher’s Helper.
