Puppets and piano practice 7

J performed in his first piano recital in early May. He played "City Sounds" by Helen Marlais, then together we played "Alles neu macht der Mai" as a duet.  

After weeks of practice with these two short pieces, they were very polished, so J played them very well and enjoyed himself immensely, mostly because he knew he played them well and the audience responded accordingly. The first thing he said after he sat down was "When are we going to do this again?" 

Ever since the recital, his attitude toward practicing at home has been transformed. He now freely sits down more at the piano, practices on his own initiative, lets me sit next to him and help him, and enjoys playing his pieces as duets with me.

So, even though I've felt guilty and questioned myself on the many occasions when J has burst into tears at the keyboard, I do feel vindicated in pushing him rather hard over the last months. With music, as with many things, there's a positive-feedback loop: If one doesn't practice, then the first recitals can be unpleasant or even traumatic, leading one to want to practice even less, leading to ever worse recital experiences. If one practices, one plays well, enjoys oneself, and wants to practice more. For this reason, I felt it was crucial that his first recital experience be positive. 

One upshot of this is that Friedel and Thusnelda don't have to intervene anymore in the practice sessions and reprimand me for my strictness. Or that's how it was for awhile, anyway. Recently there have been a couple of minor rough patches, and J has summoned them once again to mediate. 

It's more lighthearted now though. J's recent thing is to have Thusnelda help him with the practice and dance along to the music while Friedel holds my mouth shut.