Visualizing growth leading up to the recital: Why we share practice videos

Piano lessons are
basically one-on-one between the teacher and the student.

Being able to progress at each individual's pace and
according to their personality is,
I believe, a major benefit of private lessons.

On the other hand,
-what pieces other students are practicing-

-how hard they are working?-

are things that you surprisingly rarely have the opportunity to know.

Especially before a recital.

Even if you attend the same school and

are practicing for the same recital,

"everyone else is working hard right now too"

is something that
is hard to see through regular lessons alone.

So, in the past,

I took short videos of students practicing for the recital and
shared them within the school.

Recording "things they've become able to do" in videos

During a lesson,

when a student reaches a point where I can say,
"This has gotten much better"

"You've become able to play up to here today",

I take a short video. Especially for
students who are feeling a bit negative about practicing,

I sometimes suggest,

"Shall we take a video once you can play up to here?"

Then,
the expression of a student who had been playing somewhat aimlessly
sometimes changes a little.


When it comes to recording,
they fix their posture or try playing it again.

By having a small goal of "having someone watch me," their awareness of their performance also improves a little.

I feel that videos have that kind of effect too!

And

With positive words for the parents

When I send videos to parents,
there is something I value.

That is,
rather than what they haven't achieved,
to communicate "what they have become able to do."

"They've become able to do this!"
"They've progressed this far today♪"
"Next, they'll work hard toward this."


I send them with such positive words added.



During periods when they don't feel like practicing, at home,

"Did you practice?"
"Haven't you done it yet?"

tend to be phrases that get used more often.

At such times,
if a video arrives from the teacher saying "they've become able to do this much,"
parents can also more easily say,

"You worked hard"
"You've gotten better."

From teacher to parent,

and from parent to student.


I believe that having positive words connect
is one of the meanings of sharing videos.

Horizontal connections because it's a private lesson

In the past, I even
stitched together short videos of each student,
made a one-minute reel, and shared it on a group LINE.

I film each person,
and then connect them, so
honestly, it takes a bit of effort.

Even so,
I feel it was a very effective initiative.



Of course,
the goal is not to compete with anyone.

It's not to compare
who is better or
who is practicing more.

"That child is working hard too"
"They're practicing a piece like that"
"Maybe I'll try a little harder too"

In that way,
it's to help them feel the horizontal connections
that are hard to see in private lessons.

Even if they feel like they are practicing alone,
in the same school,
there are peers who are facing their own pieces.


Just by being able to see that,
I think their feelings toward the recital change a little.

Letting them see the "process" of completion

And another thing, I feel that sharing videos is beneficial because

it allows parents to see their child's progress during practice.

Even if they can see the finished performance on the day of the recital, the process of how they practiced and how the piece gradually came together is something that is rarely seen.
There are times when they still stop in the middle or have parts they can't play as they'd like.
Even so, there are individual changes, such as "I can play up to here now compared to last week."

I believe that such moments during practice are also important growth.

And then, in the subsequent rehearsals, they get to hear an even more polished performance.
By having that initial video, it becomes easier to understand the change, thinking, "They could only play up to here back then, but now they can play this much."

From practice videos to rehearsals, and then to the actual performance.

By having them see not just the finished performance, but also the process leading up to it, I think it becomes easier for parents to appreciate the effort and growth the students have accumulated.

Moving toward the recital together as a studio

At the recital, each student stands on stage alone.

However, the time leading up to that is also a time when everyone in the studio is working toward the same goal in their own way.
Because these are private lessons, sometimes by using the power of video,

"Everyone else is working hard too"




can be made visible.By recording, the students' own awareness increases a little.Parents can also feel the small daily growth.

And by knowing about the hard work of other students,


it leads to a sense of unity as a studio.


It takes a little extra effort, but it is one of the initiatives I am glad I tried.


While cherishing the benefits of private lessons, when heading toward the recital, one can also feel the presence of everyone in the studio.
And I hope to continue creating that kind of time leading up to the recital, valuing not just the final performance, but also the process of working hard to get there.