Recital season is upon us. With my own kids playing in concerts and recitals here and there with their school and private teachers, ( I still get butterflies for them, right before they get up there) plus preparing my own ukulele students for this annual spring ritual, recitals, and the need for them at all, have been taking up a lot of my thoughts, time and energy during these past weeks. Last night, I was at my first formal recital, as the teacher, and I will admit that I was more than a bit nervous. Not all of my students from the 3 schools were able to come, but most were there. Some filled with courage and excitement, some feeling a little apprehensive and scared, but all those present were ready. The moment I saw all their faces coming into the warm-up room and I started tuning ukuleles, pep-talking and rehearsing, everything fell into place and I honestly enjoyed every moment.

It’s important to do things that scare us a little; to step out of our protective sphere and allow ourselves to be vulnerable. So parents, yes, the recital is important but not in the way we often think it is. It really doesn’t matter if there are wrong notes or things don’t go exactly as they did in the practice room. In fact, the less said about that, the better. It’s all about getting up there, doing it and having someone there to witness and support you. There’ll always be another recital around the corner and you’ll probably do better next time. The more we do them, the more we get to know ourselves.