How to stop making stupid mistakes?

ShiroKuro

Well, my recital, which I thought was still several weeks away, is now only a few days away.

How did that happen?

Anyway, I’m playing two pieces, the first one is supposed to be the “easy piece,” but as it happens, that’s the piece that I still keep making stupid mistakes with. The second piece, the “harder” piece, is in pretty good shape, I’m happy with how it’s come along in terms of musicality, and it’s pretty solid in terms of “note-perfect” playing.

So, I only have days of practice left (the recital is on Sunday). And most of those days, I won’t have a lot of practice time (since it’s the busy season at work right now).

So what should I do between now and recital day to try to get rid of some of those stupid mistakes?

I guess I should say what I mean first. By stupid mistakes, or sloppy mistakes, I just mean I’m playing the wrong notes, for no particular reason.

Maybe it’s just easier to show the score…

The parts with red are the parts where I am making stupid mistakes. IOW, I’m just literally playing the wrong notes. Not every time, so it’s just like sloppiness, as opposed to reading wrong etc. Actually, I think maybe part of the problem is not reading/looking at the score in that spot, like maybe I’m looking too far ahead.

So for example, where I wrote in G (measure 23), I often (but not always) play an F instead.

And where the A switches between being flat or natural, I often mix that up in this passage (but not in other passages in this piece). So when it’s marked natural, I’ll play it flatted or when it’s not marked (i.e., should be flatted) I’ll play it natural.

If I just zero in and play these few measures, or just this passage (which starts on the previous pages and ends at the bottom of this screengrab) then I consistently play it correctly. It’s when I’m playing the whole piece that I make these sloppy mistakes.

And when I make those mistakes, I pause or the tempo drops, so it ends up being doubly obvious that I played the wrong notes.

I feel like I need to just full-on MG it, but I’m not feeling very disciplined … l maybe that’s one thing I can do though.

So any other suggestions for practice activities I can do over the next few days?

TIA!

keystring

ShiroKuro Anyway, I’m playing two pieces, the first one is supposed to be the “easy piece,” but as it happens, that’s the piece that I still keep making stupid mistakes with.

I'm thinking that the stupid mistakes happened because it's the easy piece. It all came out automatically, esp. since you read easily with the music flowing from the page to your fingertips. You didn't have to focus overly much on anything, or work with these parts from multiple angles as you do with harder music.

Do you ever do anything like "backward practice"? Here you would start at m. 23. Practise it mindfully; be aware of your Eb chord and how that G fits into the Eb chord. See that G on the piano - hear it. Then go back to m. 22 and play into that, staying connected with the experience. I might even go beat 3, beat 2 & 3, beat 1, 2, 3 always into m. 23. ----- m. 22 forms a Bb7 chord, which is V7 of Eb. If you play those two chords (that cadence) back and forth - Bb7 Eb, Bb7 Eb, then that G might impregnate itself in your ear and mind, since F wouldn't fit.

Then start earlier, and play toward, into, and past that section and finally maybe from the start of the piece. Practice with breaks, in sorter sessions, allowing it to gel in the manner of Molly (a thing I learned before Molly, but as a reference).

Might this help?

thepianoplayer416

Part of the equation is relaxation. This includes hand relaxation & body tension. The other part is how well you know the piece. You read over the score to find different patterns including intervals, chord, arpeggios, note runs.

I play with a music group. I listen to other musicians during practice. Playing piano solo I’d record myself and play along with the soundtrack. You get used to not stopping even if you have a slight hesitation. Listen to the recording playback a few times you get the tune in your head.

ShiroKuro

thepianoplayer416 Part of the equation is relaxation. This includes hand relaxation & body tension.

I appreciate your willingness to help, but I'm gonna push back on this, especially since you've never sat beside me while I play. I agree that playing relaxed and without tension is important, but I don't think anyone can comment on another's tension problems without really knowing their playing. And I think calling out "too much tension" is almost a fad for how often it comes up here and on the other site.

thepianoplayer416 The other part is how well you know the piece. You read over the score to find different patterns including intervals, chord, arpeggios, note runs.

I think it's this, the bolded part moreso than the other (since I've been reading the score for several weeks now).
And also....

thepianoplayer416 You get used to not stopping even if you have a slight hesitation.

This is the other big issue. In this recital, I'm playing by myself, but in May I'll be playing with a violinist, and in practicing that piece (we haven't practiced together yet) I am really trying to play through mistakes, make sure if my LH falls out, I can bring it in again without dropping the beat etc.

So for this recital piece too, I really want to just play through...

ShiroKuro

keystring I'm thinking that the stupid mistakes happened because it's the easy piece. It all came out automatically, esp. since you read easily with the music flowing from the page to your fingertips. You didn't have to focus overly much on anything, or work with these parts from multiple angles as you do with harder music.

OMG yes, I'm sure this is part of it! The dang piece is so easy to read/sightread.... After all, the whole reason I chose it was because it's super easy and I wanted an easy piece as my first piece of two for the recital.

Maybe I underestimated what I need to do to prepare for it, because of that.

keystring Do you ever do anything like "backward practice"?

So, ironically, I do this kind of thing all the time, but I've not done it with this piece, because it's so "easy." But because I've noticed these sloppy mistakes, I started to do a little bit more section practice. So I'll add that in a little more intentionally over the next few days, and do more of that backwards chaining etc....

Also, I noticed this morning that one of my mistakes (going to the F instead of the G) is probably happening because there's another section where it does go to the F. Because it's so easy to sightread, I wasn't really paying attention to the spots where there are slight changes. But just noticing that, and maybe I'll label them or something, not the note names, but more like theme 1, variation 1, should also help.

keystring Might this help?

Yes, massively, thank you!

Actually, this morning after i started this thread

BartK

ShiroKuro So for this recital piece too, I really want to just play through...

What helps a lot it to record yourself and then play along your own recording. You have to get a perfect take first so if that's a problem or you have hesitations try playing with the metronome first.

pianoloverus

ShiroKuro And I think calling out "too much tension" is almost a fad for how often it comes up here and on the other site.

I agree completely. And I think that if there is tension it is the result of incorrect technique, and the issue causing it could be many different things. So it is not useful just say someone is playing with too much tension(even if true) because that doesn't solve the technical problem.

keystring

ShiroKuro OMG yes, I'm sure this is part of it! The dang piece is so easy to read/sightread.... After all, the whole reason I chose it was because it's super easy and I wanted an easy piece as my first piece of two for the recital.

I've got the t-shirt which is why I thought of it. 🙂

ShiroKuro lso, I noticed this morning that one of my mistakes (going to the F instead of the G) is probably happening because there's another section where it does go to the F.

You may do this already but didn't because it was an easy piece: when I first study a score, I look especially for passages that are almost similar but deviate. If it's m. 4-5, and m. 24-25, I might practise these separately back and forth, because this is where I'm likely to mess up.

The good thing is that you've caught these things, you've probably devised some strategies by now, and on the day of the recital you'll be all set and ready! 🙂

twocats

I tend to make mistakes with easy pieces, too, because I take for granted that I can just read them but then I don't properly learn the piece/section.

I would recommend using the highlighter in forScore so that you pay attention when it comes up. I used to circle the notes but the highlighter is a much better option. And despite it being easy, really slow down and study it and try to internalize it as much as you can!

Good luck!!

ShiroKuro

twocats I would recommend using the highlighter in forScore so that you pay attention when it comes up.

Thanks, I'll add that!

pianoloverus meaning you've made mistakes there more than once or twice. In other words, it doesn't seem like those mistakes are completely random.

Yes, that's correct. Sometimes I play it correctly, so it's not a "technical" or "mechanical" problem...

I think it's an attention problem, at least partially.

pianoloverus it seems to me you need to practice those specific places carefully and with a certain amount of repetition.

Yes, I definitely need to do this. I think my practice of this piece has maybe been too casual up to now.

pianoloverus

You called the mistakes stupid mistakes, but then you indicated specific places where you tend to make mistakes meaning you've made mistakes there more than once or twice. In other words, it doesn't seem like those mistakes are completely random. So it seems to me you need to practice those specific places carefully and with a certain amount of repetition. And sometimes if you're making mistakes at a certain place it's possible to figure out why and make a change that will eliminate the mistake.

If you're playing from the score, then you should have those places marked the way you show the score in this thread to alert you to be particularly careful on those notes.

twocats

ShiroKuro Yes, I definitely need to do this. I think my practice of this piece has maybe been too casual up to now.

I have been through this exact problem before (actually the process of attempting to memorize and focusing very hard has resolved these places for me!), and it's exactly this. It's easy, so you have been neglecting it and working on other stuff instead.

Maybe these places should be bites of vegetable for you! 🙂

Stub

Throwing this out as purely something different to try as you practice: When you get to the G, say "G" out loud; when you get to the A and B, say "nat A, nat B". Perhaps this will get you to think explicitly about these notes as you are about to play them.

twocats

Has anyone suggested writing the letter name next to the notes? Sometimes I get "stuck" and that helps!

I realized I kept playing the wrong notes for B-sharp and D-double sharp so I just wrote C and E next to them. Haven't hit it wrong since!

pseudonym58

Here's one more suggestion:
Start at random places before the error-prone spot. Really random; the more awkward the better. That way you approach the difficulty from all different angles, so to speak. Make sure you always use a consistent fingering, even if it doesn't really make sense from the point at which you start.

ShiroKuro

pseudonym58 Start at random places before the error-prone spot. Really random; the more awkward the better.

This is a good idea, thanks! I generally always start at a logical (musical) point, like the start of a phrase or theme. So for example, I could try starting on the second note of a random measure....

ShiroKuro

In other news, yesterday I incorporated a lot of the suggestions in this thread. It's too soon to say whether (or how much) it's helping.

And I also decided that I'll practice for 10 minutes every morning until the recital. What I'm doing is zeroing in on the sloppy spots for a few reps and then zooming out and playing the whole piece once through. (This is in addition to my regular evening practice session). And then I am running out the door to go to work.

I did that yesterday and today. We'll see how it goes, whether it helps.

Oh, and I have my first lesson with my new teacher today.

I have to say, I'm kinda cranky about being made to change teachers literally one lesson before the recital. -_-

I like my previous teacher a lot but I can't help but wonder whether this was a problem with him or a problem with the school... Because quitting in the middle of the month is kinda odd... Anyway, I didn't ask about it at our last lesson, so I'll never know why. But from the standpoint of the student, well, let's just say it's not great...

Player1

Many times "stupid mistakes" are the result of not knowing the piece well enough. Because the one piece is so "easy" you're not concentrating on it enough to focus where you need to be concentrating.

You can do 2 things in this case. You can practice like a crazy man for the time you have left and hope it's enough to force you to remember the correct notes; or, you can embrace the mistakes when they happen.

ShiroKuro

Player1 You can practice like a crazy man for the time you have left and hope it's enough to force you to remember the correct notes; or, you can embrace the mistakes when they happen.

I think my goal right now is both of these. 😃

Actually, one of my goals when performing is always to embrace the mistakes, play through them, play with them (when I can), and prevent them from becoming a derailment.

But back to this specific piece: I have four practice days left, so I definitely want to use that time to sort of "drill" the right notes into my brain and into my fingers.

And then enjoy the performance, regardless of the presence or absence of wrong notes.

twocats

thepianoplayer416 Before I can point out your problems and make suggestions on how to fix them

Hey, um, SK has been playing piano for like, 25 years, and is a far more advanced pianist than you. Repeatedly giving advice to people who have a lot more experience than you and talking to them as if they were beginners is... odd... to say the least.

keystring

thepianoplayer416 The first spot you with the red "G": after repeating the line many times, didn't land on F once. Part of the reason is because I have small hands.

To help someone with a problem, it's good to first find the nature of the problem (and then whether you can, in fact help). The reason for the F instead of the G is because there is another passage previously which is extremely similar but has an F. So the problem is not one of large and small hands, or how many times to repeat it. The problem is related to passages that are similar, creating a kind of automatism. SK explained that somewhere in this thread.