Music Selection Ideas

Ask: What would it take to challenge myself musically?

• Learn new music (or a new genre of music).

• Learn a rhythmically challenging piece of music

• Learn a long(er) piece of music. Perhaps the full score from a movie soundtrack.

• Learn a greater quantity of easy music (15 easy songs instead of 3 hard ones).

• Sing while playing the piano.

• Take a piece they already know and write lyrics to it and sing them while playing.

• Perform a duet or trio with another friend/sibling who plays an instrument. (only the pianist is eligible for the scholarship opportunity).

• Accompany a vocalist, dancer, or solo musician - This is an incredibly valuable skill that is exceedingly challenging to learn. (only the pianist is eligible for the scholarship opportunity).

• Memorize a piece of music they already know.

• Sight read a new piece of music in front of a group of people.

• Take requests from the people who rsvp and learn the music for the performance.

• Write your own music and debut it to your friends

• Learn Jazz Improvisation and perform some Jazz Standards. (Only the pianist is eligible for the scholarship).
  
  … be creative. Do something amazing
  

Performance Ideas

Ask: How do I want to share my musical art with others?

• Host a ‘music party’ for peers (keep inviting people until you are outside your comfort zone)

• Host a ‘music party’ for other musicians. Nothing is more challenging than playing for people who know when you are making a mistake. At the same time nothing is more encouraging because everyone has been there before. It is about pushing yourself to new limits and sharing your musical are with others.

• Play on a public piano and give a short mini concert on a Saturday morning

• Play a song from memory in front of friends & family

• Play X # of hours of background music for a restaurant or party. Be prepared to take requests.

• Go for perfection and take a piece of music you know to a new level (#ShowMePianoProject does not require perfection but this is a great way to challenge yourself)

• Sight read new music in front of a group of friends. Tell everyone to bring a song so you can try to sight read it.

• Emcee an event and incorporate piano playing into the event (Learning how to present information to an audience is a critical life skill. )

• Go for impact. Find a public piano and keep playing until you make 100 people smile :)

• Find a way to serve disadvantaged people with your music. Teach lessons, perform at a senior care facility to give an afternoon of music while engaging the audience that forms. Take requests and be prepared to perform popular music form decades past.
  
  … be creative. Do something amazing
  

Timeframe Ideas

Ask: What date over the next 12 weeks is best to do my project??

Doing something simple in a shorter timeframe can be equally as challenging as doing something difficult over a longer time frame. We created short 3 month award cycles so pianists can build up to larger and larger projects with each one they do. There is no limit to how many times a student can qualify so the incentive is there for you to choose a project that is both challenging & attainable within the current quarter.

Amazing things happen when people show up for an event and an artist stands up and says, “I challenged myself to do X within X # of weeks and this is the results…”

Examples of Timeframe Challenges:

• Put a concert together in the next 5 weeks

• Learn a new piece of music and memorize it within the next X weeks

• Write a new song within the next X weeks

• Learn a difficult piece of music at an acceptable level within the next X weeks.

… be creative. Do something amazing!

Adding the “You Factor”

The best #ShowMePianoProjects combine different elements of stepping outside our comfort-zone into a single event. But there is usually a dominate theme (IE - playing in front of people is the BIG challenge being addressed). Projects will be judged on their creativity, execution, and the extent to which the pianist pushed themselves to new levels. We simply want to inspire pianists of all ages to step outside their comfort zone and share their musical art with others.

By combining piano + your life’s passion …it makes things more fun and you end up mixing two things that don’t naturally mix. This in and of itself is a form of art and is encouraged. Be creative, do something amazing.

Incorporating Facebook Live & Social Media

#ShowMePianoProject is about real people, gathering around a real piano, and creating a memorable moment. If you decide to use social media in any aspect of your project it should be ‘in addition too’ the local live component and have a ‘specific purpose’.

Examples:

• Invite your extended family who live out of town to join you in your live performance as one of the audience members.

• Pick up the phone, talk to people in person, send a written invitation in the mail (and then use Social Media to remind everyone of their RSVP + build anticipation as the even approaches)

• Use Facebook Live as an easy way to record your event + share it with others in the community.

• Use discretion. Doing things in front of a camera is almost second nature in the Internet / Social Media age, so only using it as an element of “look I challenged myself to do a live sociall media performance” isn’t going to be enough to qualify. However, saying “Look, I wanted to do ________, and I knew I could reach 5 people locally + 15 extra local family members online…” is a more appropriate use of Social Media Live. We encourage you to be creative, but also use discretion.