How Are the “Life Lessons” Going? What Festivals/Exams Teach Students (Beyond the Rating)
Last weekend, while I was volunteering at our NFMC Solo Festival, my husband sent me a text:
“How are the life lessons going?”
I knew exactly what he meant.
Because in the weeks leading up to the festival, he had heard plenty of my stories…
Students procrastinating on practice.
Pieces left unfinished until the last minute.
The same errors showing up again and again in their practice videos — even after I’d mentioned them multiple times.
Students memorizing those errors, making them even harder to fix later.
But he had also heard the other stories.
Students who prepared their pieces weeks early.
Students refining expression, articulation, and pedaling.
Students walking into the adjudication room confident and ready.
Festival day smiles — celebrating weeks of hard work and preparation.
The Reality of Festival Preparation
This year, 44 of my students entered the Solo Festival, each performing two memorized solos for two judges’ feedback and ratings.
And as always, the results reflected the preparation choices students had made.
One student had to withdraw because their pieces weren’t finished in time.
Some students received lower ratings because they had just finished memorizing their pieces the day before.
Others earned high ratings — including the coveted Superior with Honors medal.
But here’s what I remind my students every year:
The most important lesson isn’t the rating.
The real lesson is this:
Preparation matters.
Prepare Perfectly. Perform Bravely.
Before the festival, I explained something important to my students.
Prepare perfectly.
Perform bravely.
When I say “prepare perfectly,” I mean:
correct notes
steady counting
accurate rhythms
proper fingerings
dynamics, articulation, and pedaling in place
In other words…
All the details are finished.
Because when students step into the adjudication room, nerves are real.
Even well-prepared students will make mistakes sometimes.
But when a piece is prepared thoroughly, students have the best chance of recovering and continuing with confidence.
And I make sure they understand this distinction:
I am asking them to prepare perfectly —
I am not expecting them to perform perfectly.
Even professional musicians don’t perform perfectly every time.
Preparation simply gives students the best chance to succeed under pressure.
A Simple Timeline That Changes Everything
One of the biggest factors in student success is clear expectations.
Here’s the timeline I use in my studio leading up to festival:
4 weeks before festival
Both pieces fully learned.
3 weeks before festival
Fine-tuning begins
(expression, articulation, dynamics, pedaling).
2 weeks before festival
Pieces memorized and secure.
This kind of structure removes guesswork for students — and dramatically improves outcomes.
To reinforce these goals, I also use a Piano Punch Board incentive system.
Students who:
practiced consistently (5 days per week)
met each preparation deadline
earned a punch on the board once their pieces were performance-ready.
A little motivation goes a long way.
A Quiet Win That Meant the Most
Nine students in my studio chose not to participate in the festival this year.
But they still followed the same preparation timeline and learned two performance-ready solos anyway.
No adjudicator.
No rating.
No medal waiting.
Just the satisfaction of finishing something well.
And honestly…
That might be the most important life lesson of all.
The Real Lesson Behind the Music
Because long after the ratings are forgotten, the life lessons students learn through music will stay with them forever.
And those are the very same life lessons we, as teachers, are helping them build every day:
discipline
persistence
attention to detail
resilience under pressure
pride in doing something well
Keep doing the good work you’re doing.
