Introduction
Our seventh annual Halloween Piano Party was small, but meaningful. Five students, three in costume, gathered on Saturday, October 18th, to share their piano pieces and candy with each other. I introduced a new interval game as part of the games portion of the party. I combined this with the Hasbro game Don’t Break the Ice.
It turns out that whether or not they got the answer correct, each kid wanted a chance to break the ice without sinking the penguin!
Playing
Four of the five participants played their memorized pieces for the upcoming Sonata/Sonatina Celebration. Every playing opportunity is valuable since you often don’t know where the weak spots are until you’re under pressure.
Riaan, who is not participating in sonatina this year, not only won the costume contest, but also played the scariest pieces. He started with Creepy Carousel, from the new batch of Rote Repertoire of Samantha Coates that I introduced to the studio this year. He also played Monsters on the Run from Piano Safari Book 2. Everyone else’s playing was decidedly less scary.
Costume Contest
Only three students wore a costume this year, but I asked one fellow teacher and one friend to do the judging. Pennywise, the clown from Stephen King’s It, was the unanimous winner. The other two students tied for second.
Drawing
I added a drawing a couple of years ago since I found that the costume contest tended to go to either the youngest, cutest kid or sometimes an older kid with a handmade costume. This year, Henry won the drawing and the bag of candy. The second prize and pumpkin went to Ryan. No sooner than the photo op was over, Ryan offered the pumpkin to anyone who wanted it. Thanks, Ryan!
Final Thoughts
I enjoy offering piano parties as a bonus to weekly lessons. The only downside is that families seem busier than ever, so attendance seems to decrease each year. Still, those who participate always seem to get something from the experience.
