I was asked recently about the benefits for pupils of being recorded – and those recordings being posted on this blog. Normally the answers would be fairly straightforward:it allows people who don’t normally access our lessons a chance to hear them play – peers, family, distant relatives, class teachers, management, the general public etc.

• it provides a deadline by which pupils are meant to have arrived at a polished performance
• it allows more performance opportunities than the normal diet of concerts could allow
• it provides a record of work

However, as this question followed hot on the heels of a recording session, some benefits of the recording session itself (as opposed to the broadcast) sprang to mind:

• the pressure of being recorded promotes a focus and concentration not easily summoned up in weekly lesson
• although the option of a second take exists (unlike concerts) nobody really wants to do this and the red light always feels special
• the moment of truth allows pupils to experience the difference between thinking a performance was ready and realising that, under pressure, it is not quite as ready as it seemed – this all happens in a friendly atmosphere and no recordings are posted without the agreement of all concerned – pupils are invited to suggest a date when a replacement recording might be made
• when a pupil in a group lesson is recording a solo, the others learn that part of teamwork sometimes means simply taking a back seat