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Author Topic: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????  (Read 8737 times)

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Howard Jones

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #40 on: January 14, 2013, 12:22:13 AM »

I'm sure there's a strange psychological name for this altered state,

Drunk?  :|glug  :D

Andrew Shead

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #41 on: January 14, 2013, 02:08:14 AM »

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.

Yes, in his book Swann's Way Donald Swann said that he played in a style that is easy for him. Once a friend was watching while I played piano with the dots on the stand and commented that I wasn't playing what was written; I said no, it's just a recommendation.

A calm, internal mental state focused on the present moment helps.

I suppose a musical free-for-all is OK for individual players, but more problematic when something like Knees-up Mother Brown makes an uncalled for appearance in the middle of Morris evolutions.
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Sage Herb

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #42 on: January 14, 2013, 06:17:03 AM »

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  :-\

Well I do improvise quite a bit (though much more radically on gob-harp than melodeon) but it's more instinctive than the conscious choice of notes that Chris's post implies. My mistakes aren't usually a wrong note, but rather a clumsily executed passage. Everything that's been said about making mistakes with aplomb is of course correct, as the audience rarely notices and certainly doesn't remember. And yes, Martyn, playing every day isn't necessarily the best practice strategy (once you've played for some years).
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Chris Brimley

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #43 on: January 14, 2013, 08:13:57 AM »

One thing about playing the box for me is that it does require pretty much total and uninterrupted attention - I was playing in a session last night and totally lost it when playing a set I can normally play without any trouble, simply because I realised that I was going to have to tell everyone else to move onto the next tune, but because of the unfamiliar seat I was on, I couldn't easily wave a leg.  So I said 'Next!' instead, and my fingers immediately completely forgot where they were.  With playing guitar, somehow it's less demanding of your total attention (presumably because you're not trying to do so many things at once rather than because it's in any way easier technically), and I'm sure I wouldn't have had that trouble.  I've never really looked at it that way before, but I think this must be the reason that I find performing on the box has more pitfalls than performing on the guitar.
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IanD

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #44 on: January 14, 2013, 01:48:04 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  :-\
Unless you're Ralph Jordan or playing free jazz...
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Chris Ryall

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #45 on: January 14, 2013, 02:35:22 PM »

 ::) I think the 'sudden death' rule about playing major 3rds when you are over a minor even applied to God Coltrane, Davis, Hancock etc. Certainly when we had a whole morning of 'free impro' over Am/Am6 back in 2010 (Brubeck's Take Five is another good example of playing over a single minor chord) .. all notes apart from *C#  :o happened at some stage - but you are welcome to try it  ;)

But we digress: The issue (as Steve says) is that should you make a mistake in play, to repeat it in any AABB structure of a tune.  Audiences are enormously flexible in such matters, and actually seem to prefer to think you did it on purpose!  :|glug


Incidentally the reverse does not apply - playing a minor third when the chord is major is perfectly OK - indeed much of Blues is grounded on doing exactly that!
« Last Edit: January 14, 2013, 02:38:35 PM by Chris Ryall »
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Stiamh

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #46 on: January 14, 2013, 03:17:52 PM »

Pete - how many of your mistakes involve using the r-h little finger?

Only half winding you up.  >:E

Practising when you're totally knackered is often counter-productive not to mention demoralizing.

Graham Spencer

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #47 on: January 14, 2013, 03:23:48 PM »

The issue (as Steve says) is that should you make a mistake in play, to repeat it in any AABB structure of a tune.  Audiences are enormously flexible in such matters, and actually seem to prefer to think you did it on purpose!

Assuming, of course, that in the heat of the moment you can analyse what you did wrong, anticipate the point when it comes round again, and reconstruct the offending phrase exactly!  >:E >:E ;D

Graham
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Keithypete.

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #48 on: January 14, 2013, 10:05:37 PM »

Steve - just seen your post! I don't know, but obviously now I am going to be very conscious of what Sammy Small is doing, aren't I. The point I made, & the point you also rightly make is about practicing when fatigued. I've had a rest since the O P, and seem to have got my mojo back, somewhat.

As for bum notes being, or more importantly NOT being in the right key, hitting D# when aiming for F# is very jarring! (Sad face)
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Chris Ryall

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #49 on: January 14, 2013, 11:44:35 PM »

Assuming, of course, that in the heat of the moment you can analyse what you did wrong, anticipate the point when it comes round again, and reconstruct the offending phrase exactly!  >:E >:E ;D Graham

I know where you are coming from, but generally it's 2, commonly one button wrong, and second time round .. well there are options but we're exploring doing the same thing again. Not really all that hard as you only took that path seconds ago.   I guess that's also to say that 'practising making mistakes' is also a good thing  ::)  Funny old world, isn't it?
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Rob2Hook

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #50 on: January 19, 2013, 12:57:18 AM »

Not exactly practicing, but playing when knackered I often fall asleep.  You get a whole new crop of aches and pains when you wake up still strapped into a box!

We all keep making mistakes because we're human and our minds wander from the task at hand.  The most perfect performances are always at home with no distractions and ideally eyes closed.  That's why I practice with the TV on so there are distractions - so get used to it.  Apart from those crash and burn moments when starting a tune in a session, my most common train crash is when playing in company and I stop listening to myself and take a close interest in how someone else is playing.

Rob.
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Thrupenny Bit

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #51 on: January 19, 2013, 10:17:32 AM »

This distratction idea is quite interesting.
I too sometimes play whilst watching the tv on mute - football or something mindless like it, not often but sometimes - and at times seem to play quite well.
Whether it's because something is taking my mind away from concentrating or worrying  too much, so I relax and play more fluently?
Dunno what's the reason but it is an interesting phenomenon and one I've noticed over the years.
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I think I'm starting to get most of the notes in roughly the right order...... sometimes!

Anahata

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #52 on: January 19, 2013, 01:35:32 PM »

I too sometimes play whilst watching the tv on mute - football or something mindless like it, not often but sometimes - and at times seem to play quite well.

Possibly, but I think what Rob2Hook is referring to is something that's been mentioned on melnet (or somewhere similar) before, which is that if you always practice at home in the same room, you'll get put off when you get in front of an audience just because everything you see and hear around you is different, therefore you should spend some time playing in every room of the house, maybe outdoors, facing in different directions, with or without other people around (or the TV on, perhaps) so you aren't phased by different surroundings.

In particular, I remember times when I've been put off by playing in a different acoustic from the one I'm used to.
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Rob2Hook

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #53 on: January 19, 2013, 02:46:33 PM »

Well yes, anything can be distracting though my preference is a lovely girl dancing well...  At least with that one I can just play to her alone, safe in the knowledge that she'll never know.  As for accoustics, it isn't unusual for the foldback to be less effective once the dance starts than it was on setting-up.  That generally results in a more lively performance as I have to play with more gusto so I can hear the echo coming back off the far wall!

Rob.
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malcolmbebb

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #54 on: January 19, 2013, 03:04:54 PM »


Possibly, but I think what Rob2Hook is referring to is something that's been mentioned on melnet (or somewhere similar) before, which is that if you always practice at home in the same room, you'll get put off when you get in front of an audience just because everything you see and hear around you is different [snip]
Agreed, the first time I played a concertina in a hall instead of a small room I completely lost it. Initially I thought the concertina was broken!
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Thrupenny Bit

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Re: Why do I KEEP making mistakes???????
« Reply #55 on: January 19, 2013, 03:47:45 PM »

ahhhh yes I understand......
When it's possible I do move around a bit and even have been known to venture outside to play though not last 'summer' obviously  ;D
I am reminded of this the other day when I sat in the conservatory to play ( not my usual haunt ) and the accoustics were amazing, lack of carpets and soft fusrnishings made the box sound quite different and bright and I actually tlhought about this different effect it had as it happens.
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Thrupenny Bit

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