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Author Topic: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????  (Read 8741 times)

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Graham Spencer

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #20 on: January 13, 2013, 06:39:31 AM »

The worst thing you can do is to draw attention to any mistakes by stopping or hesitating.

Bottom line: Relax and don't worry about it. Have fun.

Excellent advice - couldn't agree more.
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Pat.

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #21 on: January 13, 2013, 08:18:48 AM »

When I was  an apprentice in the constuction industry ,I was told  that the man who never made a mistake never made anything,this saying equaly applies to musicians.I also think that sometimes making a mistake can sometimes add something to the tune [providing that the mistake is in the same key ;D].It is the ability to recover that is important as most people will not even know ,this might well explain different versions of the same tune.
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Nick Collis Bird

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #22 on: January 13, 2013, 08:41:59 AM »

When I was  an apprentice in the constuction industry ,I was told  that the man who never made a mistake never made anything,this saying equaly applies to musicians.I also think that sometimes making a mistake can sometimes add something to the tune [providing that the mistake is in the same key ;D].It is the ability to recover that is important as most people will not even know ,this might well explain different versions of the same tune.

I refer you all to my previous post.
" Keep calm and carry on"
Unless you have a complete blunder, no one will notice if you carry on as if nothing had happened.
I recall several times in a folk club, starting off in one key and realising it's the wrong one and recovering with a few twiddly bits.
 I should point out that Cecil Sharpe or Lionel Bacon were not present!!
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FlowingTide

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #23 on: January 13, 2013, 09:46:30 AM »

Relax and enjoy - that's the key I think. If I can keep the rhythm going mistakes are just variations anyway....  Being tense and anticipating mistakes makes them happen.
If it's the same mistake over and over again I have two strategies: Insert something new elsewhere in the tune (an ornament, say) that attracts all my "worries" and muscle  memory takes over for the bit that I got wrong before. Problem solved plus a nice ornament added!
The second strategy is to work on building that muscle memory correctly. Learning something on an instrument is done in a "modern" part of the brain. And when "mastered" it is moved to an older part and becomes what I think of as muscle memory. It's like walking over a meadow. If you use the same route every day you will tread a path. And that will lead you in the future - you will choose that route unthinkingly. If you choose a wrong route over and over and over again: That will become a path and the original one will grow over. So I take the bits that I "always" play wrong and practice them extra slow. Only gradually adding neighbouring phrases and increasing speed.

Oh and there is a third strategy: Don't play the  worrying bit. If it's just too hard to do I change it. A long note instead of an arpeggio or ornamentation - something like that. I usually figure out lots of possible variations that sound good, that I CAN play (and enjoy) and that I can throw in at will. That's a great skill gained and the fun brought back!

If your question is about different mistakes all over the place: Relax and enjoy!
It took me some time to accept that this is what I can play NOW. I am not going to wait, sweat and struggle for enjoyment in the future. I will never get perfect, I might never even be "good" by other peoples standards but that's not why I play music.

(My music buddies and I had a band once - we played very well on stage but we were so tense and didn't really enjoy it. And neither did the audience I think. Now we just play a session in a pub for our own entertainment and people are reserving tables for the night.)

Irina
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hubert

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #24 on: January 13, 2013, 10:16:48 AM »

sounds like good advice...Hubert
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Thrupenny Bit

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #25 on: January 13, 2013, 10:32:51 AM »

There's a lot of sensible comments in this thread that confirm what I'm starting to realise.
Having just returned to a week's work after the Christmas break, therefore early starts in the madhouse that is a modern school, I get home and am tired in the evenings. Some nights this week I've really messed up some normally reliable tunes. On these nights I've just practised lightly and not pursued any hard practice as I find it counter productive. Rather than beat myself up I've come to realise I'm tired and so it's daft trying to get stuff into my head, better go and relax and get an early night.
To highlight this, on friday I came home early, everyone was out, so I grabbed the box and had a good practise. I felt relaxed as it was the start of the weekend, and not too tired, and I played the best I'd done all week.
I'm starting to realise and recognise tiredness is the curse for good practice and playing, and relaxing also improves my playing immeasurably.
Q
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Thrupenny Bit

I think I'm starting to get most of the notes in roughly the right order...... sometimes!

IanD

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #26 on: January 13, 2013, 11:36:05 AM »

Because you are human!  We all do it.

Indeed we are and we do. What I find more galling is my tendency to repeat the mistake next time through the tune - not always, but too often......
That's because you make the mistake of thinking about it too much :-)

Same issue in the old days of recording onto tape when if you fluffed something you had to replay that section again and drop it into the recording in real time. Practice the bad bit several times perfect every time, then "rolling...", then think "here we go, coming up, I mustn't make that mistake agai... ** BOLLOCKS *** ". Repeat several times with exactly the same outcome.
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Howard Jones

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #27 on: January 13, 2013, 12:22:04 PM »

Same issue in the old days of recording onto tape when if you fluffed something you had to replay that section again and drop it into the recording in real time

Thank god for digital recording! 

It does seem to the the case that the more aware you are of making a mistake at a particular point the more likely you are to repeat it.  Either that, or you are thinking so hard about not making it that you fluff something else. 

I find it's necessary to achieve a mental state where I'm concentrating on what I'm doing, but not too hard. I notice it more when playing guitar, where the fingerboard is more easily visible than a melodeon keyboard - I watch my fingers with a sense of detachment, they seem to be working on their own without conscious thought from me.  As soon as I start to think about what I'm doing, it all falls apart.

Sage Herb

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #28 on: January 13, 2013, 12:41:40 PM »

Because you are human!  We all do it.

Indeed we are and we do. What I find more galling is my tendency to repeat the mistake next time through the tune - not always, but too often......
That's because you make the mistake of thinking about it too much :-)

Same issue in the old days of recording onto tape when if you fluffed something you had to replay that section again and drop it into the recording in real time. Practice the bad bit several times perfect every time, then "rolling...", then think "here we go, coming up, I mustn't make that mistake agai... ** BOLLOCKS *** ". Repeat several times with exactly the same outcome.

Been thinking about this a bit more and I suspect it differs with how I've learned the tune in the first place. Mostly I learn by ear without paying any attention to what my fingers should be doing - they just do it. In that case, I think Ian is right about how to avoid repeating mistakes, ie relax and let my fingers get it right. But there is a minority of tunes that I have learned with more conscious thought (which is not necessarily to say from the dots). When I make a mistake in these, I have to *think* my way out of the mistake next time through the tune. Of course I make no claims that this applies to anyone else.....
Steve
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Thrupenny Bit

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #29 on: January 13, 2013, 12:44:44 PM »

' concentrating on what I'm doing, but not too hard.....'
Yes that's the secret!
I find if I can somehow relax and let my mind almost wander, but somehow keep the 'background' part of it subconsciously focussed on the tune then it's my ideal state and tunes seem to flow.
I'm sure there's a strange psychological name for this altered state, but it is nevertheless the point at which I can play best. I suppose the trick is to learn to get into that frame of mind quickly, whereupon you unlock your inate ability without thinking about it.

That's ok for playing tunes, but learning them is another totally different matter...... and another thread entirely!
Q
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Thrupenny Bit

I think I'm starting to get most of the notes in roughly the right order...... sometimes!

Will Allen

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #30 on: January 13, 2013, 01:12:49 PM »

'Don't think of it as practice, just playing' Andy Cutting, and I agree with him, the moment you call it practice it becomes strict and a chore, just play for the enjoyment of it and you will just do the things you like creating your own style and variations on tunes. Also every time I make a mistake I think about how I could do It again in slightly different ways to make the tune more exciting and/or add to my collection of techniques.
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Accordion Dave

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #31 on: January 13, 2013, 03:32:33 PM »

I keep making mistakes when people completely derail my playing by talking to me whilst I am playing by ear.

The best way I can describe the way I play is that my mind is like a phonograph record playing back melodies that I have learned.

When someone bumps into a gramophone, the needle goes skidding across the disc and the tune is lost. 

If I was a true machine, I could totally ignore the person speaking, but they want an immediate response to their question about sports, politics, or religion.

Sometimes they just want to tell me to stop playing so an announcement can be made. I wish they would let me finish the verse of the song.
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Keithypete.

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #32 on: January 13, 2013, 03:44:44 PM »

The problem I have, is because I play B/C there is a very good chance that the the bum note ISN'T in the right key.
I think it would be fair to say my playing is better than this time last year, & I make fewer mistakes, but I still get frustrated by those that I do make.
I'm sure the desire to be better is a good starting point on the journey to being better.
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boxer

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #33 on: January 13, 2013, 04:23:59 PM »

good point

tune for tune, the odds of hitting a howlingly inappropriate note are far higher on B/C than on D/G

semitone boxes are harsh mistresses
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boxcall

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #34 on: January 13, 2013, 06:00:57 PM »

As a carpenter there are always mistakes ( cut it three times and it's still to short ) but it's how you fix it or work your way out of the problem that
shows the good from the not so good.  (this is when you send the apprentice to the truck to get the board stretcher )

I was at a session this past Fri. and noticed that when I was concentrating on what was being play and not focusing on what I was doing that the tunes where just flowing on there own and I was playing better. Until it was my turn start a tune and the nerves kick in I could still play but it felt more forced.

I also find if I play with some passion or gusto things go better ( this is a tip my teacher gave me)
As the Bobby Mcfarland  tune goes   "don't worry be happy" words to play music and to live by. 

Michael
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Graham Spencer

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #35 on: January 13, 2013, 06:18:19 PM »

Bobby McFerrin.....but we know what you mean!!  ;) :|glug

Graham
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boxcall

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #36 on: January 13, 2013, 06:32:30 PM »

Bobby McFerrin.....but we know what you mean!!  ;) :|glug

Graham
Thanks Graham
I thought that was wrong but didn't check
Michael
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Chris Ryall

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #37 on: January 13, 2013, 09:00:27 PM »

Indeed we are and we do. What I find more galling is my tendency to repeat the mistake next time through the tune - not always, but too often......

Concur.  But if you were an improviser, Steve ... they actually teach you on Stage Impro:  "And if you strike a bum note - make sure you repeat the same note next time through. They'll think you did it on purpose, and are cool!

NB This does not apply to eg hitting major 3rd C# against an Am chord  :-\
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langleymick

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #38 on: January 13, 2013, 09:36:00 PM »

The more you whittle about it the more mistakes you'll make.
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Martyn

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #39 on: January 13, 2013, 11:27:28 PM »

If you find you keep making the mistake in the same place you could try just repeating that section of the tune over and over again until it's gone into your muscle memory. Sometimes a few days or a weeks break from playing will really help, it seems to freshen up your playing and your enthusiasm.

Martyn
« Last Edit: January 13, 2013, 11:36:26 PM by Martyn »
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