Church Music

Minimizing Musical Mistakes

Mistakes Happen -- Just deal with it

I don't mean to sound harsh here.  Everyone who plays musical instruments be it piano, organ, guitar or even singing makes mistakes. There are ways to deal with your errors and minimize their impact so your playing is still sounding good. Learning these techniques can make the difference between a complete disaster and a little rough spot. Depending on the error, many people might not even know there was a problem. So take some time to develop your musical "safety net".

Keep going

If you make a mistake while practicing, you may want to stop and work the problem out but during a performance just keep going. Its to late to change it now so the best you can do is get back on track and finish well. Focus on what is left to play, it's the only thing you can control.  Besides, if the error was just a single wrong note or a slight timing error many listeners won't even know. How many people in your audience were paying close attention? Yes, the number is smaller than you wished (sorry ego) so if you do not draw attention to your mistake few will notice or care.

Ways to Attract Attention to Mistakes 1. Stop playing 2. Apologize 3. Restart 4. Repeat the note or phrase

Turn your mistake into an embellishment

Many styles of music do not require you to follow the score exactly, if you are performing this kind of music then cover your mistake by turning it into a feature.  Remember the mistake and then repeat it at the next appropriate opportunity. It will sound like that is what you intended to do all along. For example, lets say I played a 'f' note instead of the 'e' note in the score. I could correct it in rhythm then the next time this phrase or a similar phrase occurred I would play the same wrong note with correction. You will have to decide at the time if this will work.

Less is More

Imagine this scenario: your performance is underway and going well but then you remember how much work the next phrase took to learn. You tighten a little and lose your focus, the feelings begin to snowball and then panic sets in. You know where that trouble spot is and it is coming up soon. Your confidence is gone and you are focusing on what you can't do. At this point you are right about not being able to play the passage; you will need to do something to make it through. As a last resort you can omit a few notes. Just simplify an accompaniment part or fast section if you are playing a solo instrument and convey the essence of the music by keeping the expression, tempo and overall feel intact. People are less likely to notice what they do not hear (dropped notes) than what they do hear (wrong notes).

Mind Over Error

After the mistake, you need to regain your composure. Even if you manage to not show your frustration, it will affect you mentally.  If you can concentrate on the rest of the piece, getting involved in conveying the musical message and interpretation, the problem will not have time to steal your mental abilities opening the door for even more errors. Playing a musical instrument is an worthy accomplishment so play with pride knowing that an occasional mistake is only human.

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