A successful and enjoyable recital experience is the goal! For me, prep starts about 6-8 weeks before the big day with piece selection. During “recital piece picking week” I obsessively analyze 2 or 3 songs for each music student. They can’t be too easy or too challenging. Most importantly, they should be fun to play and crowd pleasers! For some students, it’s a great time to let them play something fun like Disney songs or popular music and for some I like to pick a flashy piece so they can show off. After I pick a few pieces, I lead my students to beleive they have total control over the final decision which gives them a sense of pride and ownership in their song. I try to make the spring recital an event they will look forward to each year (and hopefully not dread!) and I know I’m at least successful with one little girl because last week my student, Abby, greeted me at the door with “are we picking my recital song today?!?!”