Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Why do I always hit the wrong notes, when does it get better

Amy it is great that you have pieces that are "challenging enough" for you. There are times when simple pieces just make us feel babyish, but the material we'd like to play is still way beyond our skills - finding something enjoyable that is playable and just enough of a challenge is a delicate balance!

Glad you have some good ideas to work with from this thread!
Good luck

You are too rigid about that. Not everyone wants to be on stage, neither should they frankly.. I hate amateur recitals.. Why bother when you can hear the music played a million times better?? Now for those (and their teachers)who get a kick or a sense of achievement out of it, that is fine..
It does not necessarily imply that non-performers cannot develop their musicianship ..

This subject irritates me to no end. I know we have exchanged some thoughts about it before but I still don't get your rationale. And it does touch a nerve for me, because my own teacher is in constant nagging mode about this. I figure if I can convince you, I might have a chance with him.

Sorry if this is detracting from the topic of this thread. Obviously here is a situation where Amy really wants to perform, in which case your advice is well taken..

I have had different opinions on this and will probably continue to waffle. I always encourage my adults to participate in recitals, and will always encourage them. The reason being is that having a specific goal and deadline really is great for milestones. If they are embarrassed to play in front of a large group, then they can play at adult group lessons (which consists of 3-4 adults) and participate in music festivals where it's just them and the judge in the room. Having such milestones really allows students to see their accomplishments and to feel like they are progressing. Having that goal and going for it does wonders to increase their self-confidence.

However, I don't push. Sometimes I know that there are those who have no desire to perform. They are driven internally and simply want to work on pieces and enjoy them alone or along family and friends in informal gatherings. I can respect that.

There is a saying about the difference between student and professional musicians. Students practising until they get it right. Professionals practise until they can never get it wrong.

This makes me think of altering the way I practise. Places where I tend to hit the wrong notes, I'll need to find a way to practise it to the point that I cannot get it wrong. It also makes me think of the way I memorize a piece, to find a way that I won't have "blackouts" when nervous. I tend to relay a lot on "muscle memory". So when I'm nervous it affects my playing. perhaps I need to go further and understand the piece more.

Hmmm... I might talk to my teacher about this in the next lesson and see what tips he can offer.

You may want to consider what we are all trying to do when playing the piano relative to what the human hand is meant to do. For the first 99.99+ percent of human existence, there was no such thing as a keyboard instrument. Our hands were designed to grasp objects, gather food, and carry children. None of this required independent hand movement. Now along comes the piano, and we want to not only move our fingers independently, we want the right and left hands to do this simultaneously while doing two different motions - and this all needs to happen in a precise rhythm, with a precise acceleration and stroke, and to happen fairly quickly. When you think about all that, the surprising part is not that we make mistakes, but that any of us can do this at all.

Any teacher can tell you the average rate that a student will progress, and can also tell you that there is an enormous variation between individuals. Some students will be playing early intermediate music in six months, others in three years. I have a daughter who started lessons shortly before I did, and she is somewhat amused by my slow progress, since she is able to progress more quickly than I do with about a third as much practice time. One of the reasons that I'm an adult beginner is that I have a talented sister, and as a child when I compared my rate of progress to hers, I determined that I was hopeless and gave up. If it makes you feel any better, you're progressing more quickly than I am. I started a little later than you did, and am just finishing up Piano Adventures level 2A, while it sounds like you are about done with 2B.


We all get frustrated, and this is a good place to vent. Just realize what you are going through is normal for someone of average talent. There are some out there who just have a gift for piano and will progress more rapidly, but not all of us do.

The answer's easy - stop playing other people's music and you won't hit any wrong notes.

This part has a solution. It is not "getting to the point" where you don't get it wrong, but simply never getting it wrong in the first place. That may sound like a terrible burden, but it isn't. Just play your first few tries slowly enough that you can very easily play everything correctly. That may mean a snail's pace, but who cares? Even if it takes you forty minutes to play a page, that doesn't matter.

Developing your musicianship is pointless. You can hear it a million times better on recordings. The only reason any of us do this anymore is other people.

I do it for my own pleasure. So do all the rest of you.. Some need the pleasure (or adulation) of others too.

The key, I believe, is simple but difficult: preparation of the fingers over the right notes, and slow, FOCUSED (key word!)practice. As mentioned above, if your fingers are above the right keys, you cannot miss.

david_a, could you explain why developing musicianship is pointless? If you are a piano teacher, are you teaching your students to simply strike keys in a mechanical fashion, with no understanding of the musical context and why what they are playing sounds, or should sound, as it does? Please let me know, I am a bit confused!

EDIT: Nevermind, I read your other posts and see that it was said in sarcasm....

sarcasm of the highly useful variety too...

Cathy

Hi Amy...
Another point of view to perhaps help you.

Yes pro's goof up. Just go look at utube: Diana Kroll doing Temptation at a Jazz Festival. As one commenter put it: What a pro. She stuck her fist in it and recovered like a pro.
If you want to see it done perfect. Another copy of the same thing there.

Also... I'll never forget when I was a kid. Went to school band contest. Did a solo. Kid after kid came out saying "no"... she's really tough (the judge). I got all anxious and thought I had to play perfect. Doh! (bad mistake) I went in there. Started all anxious. Then fell apart 4 bars into the piece. Stopped. Then started again at that point playing the way I knew how. Just played music. Even ended it witha little toot toot. Figured I didn't have anything to loose? I had already goofed it up completely. Went outside and sat on the grass waiting for it all to end so I could go home on the bus. Little while later my band director came by and told me I had won a first rating!? I looked at him funny. Told me to go the the table and get my medal. I was bewildered. Went to the table. The lady handed me a medal and my judging sheet. I opened the sheet and...written across it in big letters was: "I enjoyed it". Was still bewildered. Couldn't believe it. Went over and sat under a tree and thought about it.
Now kid after kid went in there and got "gonged". They were trying to copy perfect and she killed them. I went in there and stopped and played music. And she gave me the only first rating on a solo in my school. (perhaps the only first rating on a solo in the entire contest) Quartets and such got some first ratings. But no other solo that I knew of.
I really had to think. It quickly became obvious to me that she wanted music. She did not want perfect copy that wasn't music. Thought about my band director who loved music. I began to realize that what "they" want is music. They don't give a didily about mistakes. They want music.

I think perhaps we try to keep using the wrong part of our mind when trying to learn. We just try to copy. When we forget to just make music. We patronize that piano expecting it to result in music. It won't! We must take it to heart. Make love to that keyboard. Play it. Command that instrument. Creat music. The instrument ain't gonna make music if we just sit there and ask it to. When we get into the frame of mind of making music. The anxiety leaves and we are freed to remember, to hit the right keys, to perform. What we are doing is much much more than just hitting the right keys at the right time.

+ a million, Ron! Nice post -

Cathy

hey, as in jazz, a "wrong" note is only a half-step away from a right note!! Just consider it a "passing tone".

I read a comment somewhere about Chet Baker's trumpet playing, the thing that was so amazing was that he'd hit a wrong note, but then he'd somehow make the rest of the solo fit so that by the time he got to the end, he'd turned it into a right note. (& I would SO love to be able to make that happen on piano when I hit a wrong note!)

Thanks Ron, I enjoyed reading that. Made me think about my son in his last recital. He played an advanced piece. I thought he was wonderful and I could hardly keep from crying I was just fit to bust. He said later "I really messed that up." Huh? I didn't hear it, I don't think anyone else did.

However, my pieces are still pretty simple so it's hard to do much with them at my level.That's one reason why I am anxious to get more advanced.

The main reason I'd like to get over my fear of playing for others is I'd love to be able to play at church and/or the nursing homes some day when I can play for people to sing along to. Long way down the road but thought I should start conquering my fears now.

Happy New Year,
Amy

Hi Amy & everyone,

There is much good advice here and makes very interesting reading.

I was in your situation for some time.

I'm unable to give you any technical advice but I'll tell you what I did. I went and played piano in some nursing homes for about 3 years before I did any serious (classical music) contest or recital playing. I didn't play classical pieces at the nursing homes, I played songs from the 30's, 40's, 50's & 60's. After 3 years of playing at the nursing homes, my confidence really hit the roof because everyone there is either talking, yelling out, watching tv, the staff are walking round handing out coffee and anyone listening is usually strapped to their chairs anyway so they're not going anywhere and you have an instant audience.

Of course I still get nervous and concerned before hand but I'm able to control it so much that when I get up to play my nerves and wrong notes are almost none-existent.

Best,

Anthony.

It gets a lot easier as you practice. As others suggested it should be slow practice and also hands separate. Do not play the piece hands together until you feel confident and you learned the notes in both hands. Eventually you will face more problems that are far more important than hitting the right notes and you'll see that hitting the notes was the easiest part