Some music students will get nervous and some will happily run up on stage and relish in the glory of showing off their hard work and being the center of attention. For all students, especially the ones with nervous tendencies, I think talking about every last detail is helpful. Talk about the other students will be there, what kinds of songs they are playing, how many people will be watching, what the room looks like, what happens if you make a mistake, what happens if you make 10 mistakes, what happens when you get nervous, how you play with shaky hands, and most importantly what will be in the goodie bags!
