Conjuring up a positive and productive approach to practice and performance by leaving negative focus behind
Musicians feel cursed by mistakes. Why else would they devote much of their practice to the elimination of wrong notes? Yet, despite time spent and effort expended, slipups occur under pressure. Personal repertoires of post-concert responses then range from mentally flogging oneself for the “offence,” to drowning out negative thoughts with alcohol, falling into a state of helplessness, or even retreating into denial. Yet, the spell can be broken – if one is open to change.
Embracing mistakes
There’s a field called “ergonomics,” in which the errors that cause accidents or near misses aren’t taboo for discussion – they are studied, even embraced as essential elements in the process of improvement. Both individuals and societies learn from mistakes, not by disavowing them, but by accepting them as part of the human condition.
Musicians don’t often share this attitude or have compassion with themselves. They defy the proverb: “to err is human, to forgive is divine,” instead, returning to the instrument with a sunken head and dread of the next public event. No one is propagating a laissez faire “I’m OK, you’re OK” attitude. It’s simply obvious that past approaches aren’t allowing musicians to find the magic needed to dispel ineffective, mistake-focused methods from the practice room.
How to enjoy performing
To enjoy sharing your music with others through performance, you need to break out of this cycle of anxiety-producing expectations and personal disappointment. This doesn’t require hours spent on the therapist’s couch. When you depart from the same-old, same-old mantra of “practise, practise, practise” and discard pre-performance rituals based upon superstition, there’s opportunity for improvement.
Start with small steps, such as intentionally playing wrong notes so that the right ones feel more comfortable. Or examine a section where you often miss a jump, botch a chord change, or lose a steady tempo, and ask, why is this happening, what is causing my brain to misfire, how can I reconceptualise the passage. Approach mistakes as your clue to progress, rather than avoiding any thought of them, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a musical sorcerer!
If you’d like to learn more about how to reframe the past and confront experiences that hold you back from a rewarding experience of playing the piano, you might be interested in Adina Mornell’s upcoming online workshop on Weds 25th September:
“I played it better at home!” – Why practice doesn’t always make perfect
In this introductory workshop, Adina Mornell takes you behind the scenes to look at how practice channels brain, body, and emotion to store music. Adina will give you fact-based solutions and exercises to help you practise more effectively, avoid surprises in performance and most importantly, enjoy sharing your playing with others! Click here to find out more and to book your place.