Lesson 86: Performance Preparation, Part 1 — Programme Building

• Build a 40–45 minute recital from pieces you know well.
• Choose an order with clear changes of pace and sound.

Let each piece prepare the ear for the next.

A programme is the list and order of pieces in a recital. Start with music you can already play well, then test how the pieces sound together.

Choose and time

1. List three or four known pieces with different moods, speeds or styles.
2. Time each at your chosen pace, including repeats.
3. Add tuning, spoken remarks and pauses; adjust the list to fit 40–45 minutes.

Try an order

• Open with a secure piece that helps you settle.
• Follow a demanding work with a useful change of pace.
• Try the last phrase of each piece followed by the first phrase of the next; listen for the change of key and mood.
• Choose an ending you can play with energy after the rest of the programme.

Build a draft

Try Van Eyck’s Doen Daphne, Handel HWV 360 and a familiar Telemann sonata; add or remove music after timing it.

Include any partners and accompaniment in the plan; a solo part alone may not give the intended recital sound.

Now play these

Test your draft in two shorter runs, then one full run; note where a pause or change of order would help.