Generating Performance Experience : Local Schools - what to play?

[invisible]

I am currently working toward gaining as much performance experience as possible and have decided to play for public schools.

I am wondering what types of things I should play for them?

I am wanting to prepare a program that will be appealing to the kids within elementary schools, middle-schools and highschools.  I feel like doing this will serve as a way to help bring more music to the schools, as well as give me needed experience performing.  I do want to choose music that the kids may enjoy as well as some stuff that might push them a little.  (I think there is a thread like this somewhere, but I certainly could not find it  )

Music I am thinking of so far :

Fur Elise
Something very flashy (??) - what is flashy to kids loud/fast? (same as adults  )
??

Any suggestions? 

Also, do you think I should keep talking to a minimum in places like this, or would more talking be better?

Do you think I could successfully convince a student volunteer to come up on stage (or in front of the class or whatever) and have them learn something small but really fun and then accompany them?  (any ideas on what that could be?)

sincerely,
invisible

[bernhard]

There are basically two kinds of performance you can do in schools:

1. For the children during school time (and possibly with an educational aim).

2. For the children and parents as part of the "end of term recital" - usually after school hours and mostly for entertainement purposes.

I suggest you contact the school and discuss your project with the headmaster/music teacher (if they have one). They will be able to tell you a lot about the children, but also about what they are learning at the moment so that id you decide to do an "educational concert" they can inform you what subjects they are exploring at the moment (this can be very useful in creting a program based upon a theme).

Whatever the program, go for one of two extremes (possibly mixing them both): either very melodic and tuneful pieces, or outrageous pieces full of noise and wierd moves (playing with your forearms and so on).

Also it will depend on the age groups.

Good luck.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[invisible]

Thank you this is very helpful for me.

sincerely,
invisible

[m1469]

I have decided I would like to do something like this also  .  I am particularly interested in playing "outrageous pieces full of noise and wierd moves (playing with your forearms and so on)". 

Do people have any suggestions of *pieces* I can look for that fit this description (I mean, how do I go about even hunting for this kind of music ?) ? 

Thanks,
m1469 

[allthumbs]

Greetings

I have decided I would like to do something like this also  .  I am particularly interested in playing "outrageous pieces full of noise and wierd moves (playing with your forearms and so on)". 

Do people have any suggestions of *pieces* I can look for that fit this description (I mean, how do I go about even hunting for this kind of music ?) ? 

Thanks,
m1469 

I came across this site of Jon Schmidt recently. He has some interesting music such as "All of me" There's a few forarms involved in this piece. Fairly simple piece to look at but it moves pretty good. The sheet music is available along with the mp3 files.

https://www.soundclick.com/pro/?BandID=273657

Cheers

[m1469]

Greetings

I came across this site of Jon Schmidt recently. He has some interesting music such as "All of me" There's a few forarms involved in this piece. Fairly simple piece to look at but it moves pretty good. The sheet music is available along with the mp3 files.

https://www.soundclick.com/pro/?BandID=273657

Cheers

Thanks a lot, allthumbs.  I appreciate your having provided this link. 

Perhaps there are just not too many pieces out there which fall under the category of what I am looking for here  :-.


m1469

[iratehamster]

I think most kids would get a kick out of ragtime.  There's one ragtime piece, "Grandpa's Spells", by Jelly Roll Morton, which directs you to hit a bunch of lower keys with your elbow to simulate the "thud" of grandpa fainting and hitting the floor. 

Listen to it here:  https://www.perfessorbill.com/midi/grandpa.mid

There's also "novelty ragtime," mostly encompassing the works of Zez Confrey, who wrote Kitten on the Keys (you can hear the cat walking up and down the keyboard when you play it) and Dizzy Fingers:

https://www.perfessorbill.com/midi/kitten.mid

https://www.perfessorbill.com/midi/dzzyfngr.mid

I was in elementary school when I heard Scott Joplin for the first time and I've been addicted to ragtime ever since.  Stoptime Rag requires you to stomp your foot every other beat:

https://www.perfessorbill.com/midi/stoptime.mid

[m1469]

OOOO  very cool ideas iratehamster.  I will have my ragtime debut  .  Thanks for the suggestion and for these links, this is a great idea and I will definitely include something like this in my program, I can really see kids enjoying this.


m1469 

[quantum]

A frind of mine recently proposed something similar. 

I once a long while ago remember this TV interview with a concert pianist who did the same thing in elementary schools.  He played a variety of pieces, but this one piece caught my attention and I'm sure the kids loved it too.  It was this crazy concert paraphrase of the Simpsons TV theme - fingers flying everywhere.  Something along the lines of what Volodos might do.  It sounded really fun.  Now there's an idea - take some tune kids are familiar with and do a really pianistic arrangement of it.  It would give them a lot of appreciation of what can be achieved when one learns an insturment, and the work the goes into performing a tune they are familiar with. 

[whynot]

Yes, I have a friend who plays fantastically well and has this wow-wow resume, but actually, his most popular piece is a set of very difficult variations on some television theme.  I don't know whether he wrote it or not.  It's crazy, but kids love it, it definitely holds their attention, and it goes through several style periods, so any one of the sections could be a sort of springboard to a real piece. 

I love Dizzy Fingers!  I played it as a kid.  I've never met anyone else who knew it until now. 

As others have suggested, I would try to be physically/visually interesting.  Hand crossings always look spectacular to people who don't play.  Maybe bring in a dancer?  I don't think you need to say much.  Just enough to help them enjoy (and keep their attention on) the pieces more than if they heard it "cold."  Maybe play a motif and ask them to count how many times it comes up in a movement-- not as a test, just as something to listen for.  You could bring in some (cheap!) auxiliary percussion (or the school might have some) and have a few kids play along in a rhythmical piece.  Ask if there are any birthdays, play a big loud rendition of the song and have the kids sing with you.  Take something in a major key that they all know (a camp song, or a pop song) and play it for them in minor, see how long it takes them to recognize it, and if they can tell what's different about it. 

What a great project!  Good luck.   

   

[jehangircama]

play the liszt Hungarian Rhapsody 2 

[thorn]

when i was at school, around the age of 10-11, someone played Liszt's Mazeppa- leaving a lasting effect on me to want to reach that standard