First Performance

I woke up this morning remembering my first performance some 50 years ago. It was a state wide contest for strings; piano, violin and guitar. I was 10 with one year of classical guitar lesson under my belt and the ages of the contestants ranged up to 18 years old. My teacher told me that just learning a piece was just the start of the preparations for this performance, practice and repetition were the keys to a good showing at the contest. Well I learned the piece, Tempest, and I still play it today, I practiced over and over but I still remember feeling it was just not good enough for the contest. One day while practicing in my living room I began to imagine I was performing in front of a large group of people in a concert hall and a feeling came over me that I never felt before. All of a sudden I felt it very important the the song was played just right; the notes were correct, the phrasing was as I wanted, the intonations were all there and my technique was as it should be. I knew my concentration and effort needed to be at their peak and I had to be in control of the performance of the song. I have never forgotten that feeling and constantly strive for it in my performances today. My performance went well at the contest and I took 2nd place, I remember that performance as one of the best experiences of my childhood.
I hope you will get a chance to have a First Performance for yourself someday.

Six String Music is Good for the Soul