Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner How to deal with 'random' errors?

As I've begun trying to record myself, I've noticed I have trouble with what I'll call random errors.

I'm not talking about problem areas, like when you have difficulty with a passage or a measure. THat I know how to fix - you isolate it, play it slowly, in rythms, or whatever, and eventually get it right. It may not be easy, but its straightforward.

What I'm talking about is when you can play a piece well, but in the course of 5-10 minutes you hit a wrong note somewhere, maybe even a couple of times.

Its the kind of thing I wouldn't notice if I were playing live for some friends - ok, i may notice it but I'd immediately forgive it.

But recording is a different story. Its very frustrating to record a 10m piece only to have it 'ruined' by a dropped note somewhere.

Am I the only one with this problem? Is it because I'm lazy, don't "really" know the pieces, or just am not concentrating? Any advice?

Edit your recordings, just like everybody else in the last 50 or so years.

PS. A dropped note or two in the course of a ten minute piece is amazingly few...

You are definitely NOT the only person with that problem. When I am practicing by myself, I find it frustrating to make random errors in a part of a piece that I KNOW I can play well, but I deal with it by reassuring myself that I DO know how to play that part and that it's just a fluke. But I have not yet gotten to the point where you're at when playing in front of other people...no way can I "notice but immediately forgive it." Instead it rattles me to no end.

A while ago, on another forum, I posted a question "Why do things fall apart?" This is exactly the thing that I'm talking about. The thing that really gets me is contrapuntal music. I'll have it "nailed" and then, a week or two later, it falls apart when I play it. This happens less often with classical or romantic music - probably because it's less involved and less interdependent on the hands.

I bought a cheapo Casio keyboard that interfaces with my Macintosh - trying to record a fugue takes about 5 takes. By then, I'm so involved with not dropping a note, or tangling things up that interpretation and musicality is out the window!

Nevertheless, I find it annoying and frustrating!

Just wanted to chime in and let you know, as Monica said, you're definitely not the only person with that problem. Count me in!

George

I'm doing a research project towards a technology that will help to eliminate this problem with a very interesting solution. I wish I could say more, but suffice it to say that help will be on the way in a few years time

I find that a note here or there isn't the problem if I don't dwell on the mistake and just keep going. If I start to ponder about what I did wrong, or let the stupid slip irk me, the rest of the piece starts to unravel like a ball of yarn or a piece of cloth because I'm not focussed on the current spot.

The best cure for the random errors is to learn a piece slowly and firmly making sure that the fingers are going where they are supposed to and time is right on. Generally this works for the majority of the music.

There really are many causes, but these few came to mind:

If the same section always causes a problem, you have to work hard at that section by disecting it to find out what the issue is. It maybe a fingering issue that has put your hand in the wrong position way before the troublespot.

It could be an unsure leap. This may require the exaggeration exercise, or even a look at the keys. I find that usually going over the trouble-spot a quite few times pushes the problem off to another spot in the piece.

The other thing to could be just plain panic because you're not really sure of the music. It happens to be that sketchy spot in the piece that's not quite comfortable yet, and being nervous in front to the microphone magnifies the unsureness of the music. The cure for this is a good rehersal and practice of the music.

Eventually the trouble spots are pushed completely out like ironing out the ripples in a cloth, and things go generally well afterward.

Even with all this work, we have to remember we are not robots or computers performing the music. If we were, we wouldn't be able to put expression into music, and we would only be playing note-for-note all the time like a robot just as George K found out.

John

If these are really "random" errors, what one might call "fingerfehler" (German - 'finger mistakes,' i.e., not caused by your brain*) then I don't know what to do about them. I think they do tend to become less with added practice, but there is a diminishing returns aspect of this, and, with too much practice, one can develop an overuse syndrome, wearing out one's hands for good. I've seen that happen. Glenn Gould used to complain about such errors.

I recollect reading that it took Rachmaninoff over 40 takes before he got one of his Midsummer Night's Dream transcription that he was willing to release.

The modern pianist/recordist buys editing software.

*Don't believe it. They're still caused by your brain.

Everyone edits their recordings. Everyone. Missing a few notes in the recording studio is par for the course.

If it still bothers me, I listen to a live recording of a pianist I really admire and I marvel at how well she plays despite the wrong notes.

I return to the studio and take heart that I too can play wrong notes as well as her. After several takes, I have enough material to cut and paste an artificially perfect performance.

We have to remember that most every form of recorded entertainment is highly processed. Studio recordings hardly represent reality any more than the movies at your local cineplex.

Many, many years ago I had the opportunity to see Rudolph Serkin in performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. There were more than a few "random errors" during the performance, but the musicality was all there, and that's what we were hearing.

It was a special performance - Beethoven Emperor concerto...

George

It's not the wrong notes that should be remembered, it's what is between them; Cortot for example....his interpretations were so fresh & musical, wrong notes are forgiven. If his interpretations weren't so wonderful, he would be just like the rest of us...

Mat D.

We must keep in mind that we are only human. We get so accustomed to hearing "perfect" professional recordings that we become overly hard on ourselves when we miss a note or two. Those professionals get a lot of takes until they get that "perfect" recording.

Once after a recital I had played in someone overheard me expressing my frustration because I had gotten a couple of notes wrong. He said to me "but look at all the thousands of notes you played right!"
I felt much better after that.

My most horrifying student recital moment was when I had a major memory slip in Berg's Opus 1, and I spent what seemed like an eternity trying to find some semblance of tonality. Afterwards, I asked a friend if he noticed the slip, and he honestly didn't. Often our perception of errors is grossly out of out of line with what the audience perceives.

Remember, most people can't play piano at all. They should be happy to play wrong notes as well as we do.