Reckless behaviour is often the domain of those with nothing to lose. However, when it comes to pupils making recordings for this blog, the reverse appears to be true. Pupils generally play very cautiously, striving to avoid error in the hope of a perfect recording. This is perfectly understandable. Nobody wants a permanent record of an under par performance hanging around for eternity and this thought can stalk pupils throughout a recording. Only when they have a good one in the can that they can be persuaded to go for a more relaxed, abandoned and, where appropriate, up-tempo version. I find the psychology of this interesting. It’s as though the confidence required for the more spirited performance has been generated solely by the existence of a successful recording, now tucked out of harm’s way. Perhaps, in addition to the buzz provided by an audience, live performances owe their increased vitality to escaping the tyranny of posterity.