Let's say a ten-year-old bombs a recital performance. Wrong notes, confusing rhythm, memory slips, the works.
An audience member's gut reaction is to think something like:
That's unfortunate.
He probably could have prepared better.
These things happen.
This suddenly got interesting. How's he going to survive?
But...
What if the point of the performance was just to get on stage?
What if the point was purely to overcome severe performance anxiety?
Then, does it matter how well the piece was actually played?
There are so many more aspects to performing than the music itself. It's different for everyone. The purpose of a performance could be...
to overcome performance anxiety.
to test drive some pieces in public before an exam or competition.
to share music with friends and family as a bonding experience.
And so, the important question to ask is not, "Did the performance go well?"
But instead, "Did the performance do what it was supposed to do?"
Lead with this question, and a world of performing possibilities open up.
Then, performing music becomes not just artistic.
But truly meaningful.