Festivals: Preparation and Participation
by Shannon Kennedy
Festivals offer a wide variety of resources to the young musician if they are
willing to take advantage of what is available to them. The most obvious
thing about festivals is all the other students who are performing. The
hundreds of other kids walking around are great to make connections with
and begin establishing yourself with other future musicians. It also provides
you with other young musicians to listen to - to find out the different levels
of musicianship and where you place with your peers as far as ability.
Most festivals also offer clinics - which are usually very beneficial and I
recommend taking advantage of these opportunities. You never know when
you might run across someone who will inspire you or motivate you or help
you.
Another thing about festivals is that they give you more experience
performing. It never hurts to get out on stage in front of people to play.
The judges also can be very helpful because they tell you what you can
improve on and what you do well. It helps you grow aware of areas you
need to work on that you might not have known about before.
As far as preparing for a festival, it is important that you have good
programming (good pieces) - you usually pick three pieces, one should be a
ballad, and your set should be under 30 minutes.
To prepare on an individual level - prepare your part of the music, and if
you have a solo, work on the changes, or the written solo - whichever you
play. When you do solo, play with confidence and with a full sound and
make sure your body language is also confident.
To prepare with your group, make sure you rehearse your pieces regularly.
Strive to have good intonation and to play together with good time and
good pocket.
Most the time you do festivals with your school, but there are some out
there that you can form your own groups and participate in. Festivals are a
really great experience for the student musician because they are designed
as an educational experience for the students participating.
