Piano Mistakes NOT to Correct !

Mistakes at the Piano are Inevitable but not All Mistakes are Worth Correcting

Many folks are perfectionists by nature, and the adult piano students I teach seem to be part of this group. They all hate to make mistakes at the piano, especially in front of their piano teacher at their piano lesson. It frustrates them no end, and I've written extensively about this "problems at the piano lesson" situation. However, unless they are all "secret Mozarts" these pianists also make mistakes at home and when practicing or performing for others. I know I do, after over 40 years as a professional pianist.The difference is that such mistakes do NOT cause me upset. This essay, then is about what to do about mistakes made, mistakes which are inevitable.

To understand this properly, first we must be clear that a mistake, for a pianist, is when the reality of the sound you make doesn't match your desire. For example:

You wanted a G, but you got an A.

You wanted to use the second finger, but the third played instead.

You wanted a quarter note, but you held it a bit too long.

You wanted it forte (loud) but it came out mezzo forte (medium loud.)

You wanted a bit more of a phrase break, but you played too legato.

Your accelerando was a tad sluggish.

That sforzando chord could have been a bit more emphasized.

The certain sense of agitation needed for proper development was missing in the left hand, third measure, that F#minor arpeggio...

You can see how detailed things can get and thus how many opportunities there are for "piano mistakes." I purposely started with an example of what most piano students consider to THE mistake and moved towards subtle failures that many students never get to considering. For the professional pianist, however, the last few situations could be VERY upsetting. My point, obviously, was that some mistakes are bigger and significant than others. Not all piano mistakes are created equal.

Thus, your first decision is where to draw the line at mistakes you want to correct and mistakes you simply ignore or save for another day.. A good piano teacher does this automatically. When the student plays their piece, the teacher must choose what to correct and what to ignore. The piano student may have finally gotten the rhythm right but still has is still playing too softly. The teacher can either congratulate the student on their success or shift the focus to this new "mistake." I believe a caring teacher will "give the student a win" and move on, keeping in the back of their mind the need to soon approach this volume situation, but in due course.

Many of you are taking online piano lessons. Without a piano teacher to point out the things you do correctly and incorrectly, you likely wonder what mistakes should you worry about, and which should be left for another day.

Here's my “PRIORITY OF MISTAKES”

1. The fundamental mistake is learning music you dislike.

2. Right below that is playing with an UNEVEN tempo.

3. Finally we get to every piano student's favorite mistake - hitting wrong notes. Notice that this is only the third most important. Almost every piano student gets this one wrong and thinks there is no worse mistake than hitting a wrong note.

4. Using the wrong fingering, which includes playing with a really bad technique. If your fingering gets the note played but results in your hand not being in position to play the rest of the piece, what have you gained? What if you learn your music but also learn a new bad habit which will prevent you from playing other pieces of music?

Now there are LOTS of other things that could be called mistakes but I suggest that these are the realm of the professional pianist, or at least of the advanced intermediate played and above. Many of you reading this would be perfectly happy and your music sound perfectly wonderful if you only were able to correct those four types of mistakes listed above.