Hello,
I've been playing the piano (I've only got a keyboard) for a few years now, but I can't seem to play pieces accurately. I know quite a lot of songs, and the notes involved, but I always make so many mistakes - just my finger pressing the wrong key, for example. There is no song I can play without making a mistake - not even a really easy one. I've tried playing really really slowly, note by note, but it doesn't really help. I can't afford a proper piano, or a piano teacher. I do keep trying but it really gets me down that I make all these mistakes, after so many years as well. I'd like to enjoy playing the piano but my inaccuracy prevents me from doing so.
Does anyone have any advice?
Thanks for reading.
How can I play the piano more accurately?
Moderators: Feg, Gill the Piano
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Gill the Piano
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There's no way of telling what the problem is without seeing you play, BUT...the most probable answer is that you've entered a state of auto-hypnosis, subconciously telling yourself every time you sit at the piano that 'I'm going to get this wrong.' Read your post and see how negative it was..."I can't...I always get it wrong...." etc. You're too hard on yourself!
Read 'The Inner Game of Music' and 'The Silva Mind Control Method', both of which cover this syndrome. The second one is an american self-help thing, but teaches you how to get out of your self-induced rut! The example he gives is of a waitress who drops a tray, then reinforces it by saying 'God, I'm so clumsy...' thus perpetuating the problem. Sounds weird, but makes sense. Get them from the library and have a look.
However, if you saved up for a one-off consultation lesson, you'd get (as long as you chose the teacher carefully) some positive help and encouragement. I know it seems expensive, but I'm sure it'd be worth it.
Read 'The Inner Game of Music' and 'The Silva Mind Control Method', both of which cover this syndrome. The second one is an american self-help thing, but teaches you how to get out of your self-induced rut! The example he gives is of a waitress who drops a tray, then reinforces it by saying 'God, I'm so clumsy...' thus perpetuating the problem. Sounds weird, but makes sense. Get them from the library and have a look.
However, if you saved up for a one-off consultation lesson, you'd get (as long as you chose the teacher carefully) some positive help and encouragement. I know it seems expensive, but I'm sure it'd be worth it.
agree with everything said above.
you convince yourself that you cant play. you try playing slowly note by note - but do you try the whole piece at once like this? What you should do is perfect tiny chunks at a time. The little phrases within a piece. Spend a day just on one component. Then move on to the next. Within a couple of weeks you will be able to play a whole piece without mistakes, and don't worry, the learning process will become faster naturally, without you forcing it. Good luck, chin up!
you convince yourself that you cant play. you try playing slowly note by note - but do you try the whole piece at once like this? What you should do is perfect tiny chunks at a time. The little phrases within a piece. Spend a day just on one component. Then move on to the next. Within a couple of weeks you will be able to play a whole piece without mistakes, and don't worry, the learning process will become faster naturally, without you forcing it. Good luck, chin up!
Hello,
Thank you for all your comments and advice.
I have the negativity thing in everything I do, not just playing the piano!
To answer your question, Joseph, I start playing it slowly, then make a mistake and get upset, which I know isn't very productive!
The first step I'll take is playing without my headphones on. I never used to use them, but then became unconfident about my playing and now I use the headphones every time, even if I'm alone in the house, because I don't want anyone being able to hear it (neighbours, people outside).
By the way, I have a Yamaha DGX-200 Portable Grand, which I've had for a few years now.
Thank you for all your comments and advice.
I have the negativity thing in everything I do, not just playing the piano!
To answer your question, Joseph, I start playing it slowly, then make a mistake and get upset, which I know isn't very productive!
The first step I'll take is playing without my headphones on. I never used to use them, but then became unconfident about my playing and now I use the headphones every time, even if I'm alone in the house, because I don't want anyone being able to hear it (neighbours, people outside).
By the way, I have a Yamaha DGX-200 Portable Grand, which I've had for a few years now.
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Gill the Piano
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No, you USED to make a mistake and get upset - you don't now!!! THINK POSITIVE! 
An interesting part in 'The Inner Game' is about letting yourself make mistakes. i tried it on my sister-in-law who was making the same mistake and getting crosser and crosser. 'Show me what you do when you make the mistake,' i said.
And she couldn't play it wrong!
An interesting part in 'The Inner Game' is about letting yourself make mistakes. i tried it on my sister-in-law who was making the same mistake and getting crosser and crosser. 'Show me what you do when you make the mistake,' i said.
And she couldn't play it wrong!
Booseph - Gill, Dave and Joseph are right, it's all about mindset.
Have you ever thought about all the notes you get right? I bet they greatly outnumber the "wrong" ones?
Why then become fixated on the few? I'm not sure I would treat them as mistakes - why not see them as learning opportunities from which you can gain valuable insight into your technique? By not treating them as positive indicators you could be missing out on a wothwhile insight.
The point is, you have far more to gain from being positive.
I once remember hearing how Thomas Edison had made over 3000 experiments before eventually being successful in inventing the electric bulb.
An enthusiastic reporter asked him what he thought of his 3000 failures.
Edison looked at him with genuine surprise.
"What do you mean by 'FAILURES'?", Edison asked, and then added "Not only have I discovered the one way the electric bulb WILL work, I've also discovered 3000 ways in which it WON'T work."
Negativity is a useless burden. Carrying it reminds me of the man walking down the road with two heavy buckest of slop water. He is bent under the strain, arms aching and his brow sweating.
All he has to do is let go and be free to do the worthwhile things in life.
Be easy, relax, enjoy - and be positive!
Have you ever thought about all the notes you get right? I bet they greatly outnumber the "wrong" ones?
Why then become fixated on the few? I'm not sure I would treat them as mistakes - why not see them as learning opportunities from which you can gain valuable insight into your technique? By not treating them as positive indicators you could be missing out on a wothwhile insight.
The point is, you have far more to gain from being positive.
I once remember hearing how Thomas Edison had made over 3000 experiments before eventually being successful in inventing the electric bulb.
An enthusiastic reporter asked him what he thought of his 3000 failures.
Edison looked at him with genuine surprise.
"What do you mean by 'FAILURES'?", Edison asked, and then added "Not only have I discovered the one way the electric bulb WILL work, I've also discovered 3000 ways in which it WON'T work."
Negativity is a useless burden. Carrying it reminds me of the man walking down the road with two heavy buckest of slop water. He is bent under the strain, arms aching and his brow sweating.
All he has to do is let go and be free to do the worthwhile things in life.
Be easy, relax, enjoy - and be positive!
Hello,
Thanks again for your comments.
Just an update, if anyone cares!
The piece I've been practising is "We Can Do It" from the Producers. I've not learnt anything new, just attempting to play what I did know with no mistakes (up to the end of Max's bit for anyone that knows the song).
I know about 40-50 seconds of the song and I recorded myself playing it (on the keyboard) when I first made this topic and again about a week ago. I slowed them down to the slowest possible tempo on my keyboard and counted the mistakes. The first one had about 55 mistakes, the second 31 mistakes. I recorded one today but it had 27 mistakes, but I did play without recording and counted about 18 mistakes. So, I suppose that means I'm improving.
I might post audio files, but only when I've managed to record it with absolutely no mistakes!
Thanks again for your comments.
Just an update, if anyone cares!
The piece I've been practising is "We Can Do It" from the Producers. I've not learnt anything new, just attempting to play what I did know with no mistakes (up to the end of Max's bit for anyone that knows the song).
I know about 40-50 seconds of the song and I recorded myself playing it (on the keyboard) when I first made this topic and again about a week ago. I slowed them down to the slowest possible tempo on my keyboard and counted the mistakes. The first one had about 55 mistakes, the second 31 mistakes. I recorded one today but it had 27 mistakes, but I did play without recording and counted about 18 mistakes. So, I suppose that means I'm improving.
I might post audio files, but only when I've managed to record it with absolutely no mistakes!
There is no "supposing" about it - you ARE improving.
But you must break the habit of reinterpreting something which is clearly positive, as being something less than positive. In doing so you are undermining the subliminal thought processes taking place in your brain. In effect, you are telling your brain that it is being foolish - that its thought processing is somehow faulty. What you should be doing is reinforcing those thought processes. In other words, be intellectually honest with yourself!
Remember, it is your brain which is controlling your hands. And it is your brain which tells you whether you have made a mistake or not. The line of communication between brain and hands must never be interrupted or undermined by other thought processes. Mistakes indicate interruptions are taking place.
The clearer you keep the line of communication open between brain and hands, the greater will be your success.
When reaching for that next note on the keyboard, do not let another thought intrude, keep that line of communication between brain and hands W-I-D-E open.
The goal of good practice is to form good habits. Our brains are fantastic at learning, processing and remembering habitual processes. You may not have used a bicycle since learing to ride as a child, but I bet you can still do so no matter your age?
One huge advantage children have over we adults is: the line of communication between brain and body operates at maximum efficiency. They don't have the inhibitions, self-doubts, self-consciousness, hangups, worries, neurosis - all that useless baggage which so often comes with being an adult and is such an intrusion in our everyday reasoning.
Is it any wonder popular opinion says learning the piano should begin in childhood?
Yet, once an adult recognises all those intrusions for what they really are - useless baggage - the lines of communication between brain and body suddenly become far more efficient.
The very fact that you came to a public forum to reveal your negativity means that you, somewhere deep down, know that it is beatable.
And yes. It is! But as in the mastering of anything, it will take practice, concentration and self-discipline.
Carry those three with you always - become best friends with them - and you will never look back.
Here is a simple adage to keep in mind:
Amateurs practise until they get it right,
professionals practise until they can't get it wrong!
But you must break the habit of reinterpreting something which is clearly positive, as being something less than positive. In doing so you are undermining the subliminal thought processes taking place in your brain. In effect, you are telling your brain that it is being foolish - that its thought processing is somehow faulty. What you should be doing is reinforcing those thought processes. In other words, be intellectually honest with yourself!
Remember, it is your brain which is controlling your hands. And it is your brain which tells you whether you have made a mistake or not. The line of communication between brain and hands must never be interrupted or undermined by other thought processes. Mistakes indicate interruptions are taking place.
The clearer you keep the line of communication open between brain and hands, the greater will be your success.
When reaching for that next note on the keyboard, do not let another thought intrude, keep that line of communication between brain and hands W-I-D-E open.
The goal of good practice is to form good habits. Our brains are fantastic at learning, processing and remembering habitual processes. You may not have used a bicycle since learing to ride as a child, but I bet you can still do so no matter your age?
One huge advantage children have over we adults is: the line of communication between brain and body operates at maximum efficiency. They don't have the inhibitions, self-doubts, self-consciousness, hangups, worries, neurosis - all that useless baggage which so often comes with being an adult and is such an intrusion in our everyday reasoning.
Is it any wonder popular opinion says learning the piano should begin in childhood?
Yet, once an adult recognises all those intrusions for what they really are - useless baggage - the lines of communication between brain and body suddenly become far more efficient.
The very fact that you came to a public forum to reveal your negativity means that you, somewhere deep down, know that it is beatable.
And yes. It is! But as in the mastering of anything, it will take practice, concentration and self-discipline.
Carry those three with you always - become best friends with them - and you will never look back.
Here is a simple adage to keep in mind:
Amateurs practise until they get it right,
professionals practise until they can't get it wrong!
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Gill the Piano
- Moderator
- Posts: 4032
- Joined: 25 Oct 2003, 19:39
- Location: Thames Valley
I might have to come round and smack your legs, Boo...'...if anyone cares'?????? You KNOW we do!
And as for counting your mistakes - NO! Just shrug, get up from the piano stool, turn round three times, touch your toes, then sit down and have another go. That breaks the mental hangup about a repeated error. DON'T count mistakes, that's reinforcing the negative, as you're focusing on the bits you DON'T want to focus on.
Somewhere along the line, yoyu've acquired a very negative mindset which needs adjusting. Did you have an exacting teacher or parent at some time - not necessarily about music? That can shape your outlook such a lot, particularly when you're young. I strongly advise that you get 'The Inner Game of Music' and maybe the 'Silva Mind Control' book from the library. Once you read them, you'll understand about focusing on the positive. Honest, Boo, playing the piano is supposed to be FUN!
You KNOW we do!And as for counting your mistakes - NO! Just shrug, get up from the piano stool, turn round three times, touch your toes, then sit down and have another go. That breaks the mental hangup about a repeated error. DON'T count mistakes, that's reinforcing the negative, as you're focusing on the bits you DON'T want to focus on.
Somewhere along the line, yoyu've acquired a very negative mindset which needs adjusting. Did you have an exacting teacher or parent at some time - not necessarily about music? That can shape your outlook such a lot, particularly when you're young. I strongly advise that you get 'The Inner Game of Music' and maybe the 'Silva Mind Control' book from the library. Once you read them, you'll understand about focusing on the positive. Honest, Boo, playing the piano is supposed to be FUN!
Booseph - Gill is right! Listen to her.
There are only two possible ways you can be counting your mistakes:
1) Recording yourself first and then counting the mistakes on playback.
2) Actually counting your mistakes as you play.
Either method indicates a fixation, an unhealthy concern, you have with regard to making mistakes.
If 1), then my guess is that when you sit down at your piano, you do so with a huge mental tension - where your brain is divided between the music you want to play and the anticipation of mistakes you expect to make. Consciously you may be concentrating on the notes but, unconsciously, you are in a world of uncertainty where you're not sure whether it is actually possible for you not to make a mistake.
If 2), then you are certainly on the road to disasster, because you are not concentrating, FULLY and ONLY, on the notes you should be playing. You are consciously concentrating on both the COUNTING of mistakes and the PLAYING of notes. At worst, you will not continue to improve - at best, improvement will take place at a snails place, leading to frustration and you eventually ditching the piano. And what a shame that would be! And who's to blame? - ONLY YOURSELF - and all because you chose to put yourself before the music!
There are only two possible ways you can be counting your mistakes:
1) Recording yourself first and then counting the mistakes on playback.
2) Actually counting your mistakes as you play.
Either method indicates a fixation, an unhealthy concern, you have with regard to making mistakes.
If 1), then my guess is that when you sit down at your piano, you do so with a huge mental tension - where your brain is divided between the music you want to play and the anticipation of mistakes you expect to make. Consciously you may be concentrating on the notes but, unconsciously, you are in a world of uncertainty where you're not sure whether it is actually possible for you not to make a mistake.
If 2), then you are certainly on the road to disasster, because you are not concentrating, FULLY and ONLY, on the notes you should be playing. You are consciously concentrating on both the COUNTING of mistakes and the PLAYING of notes. At worst, you will not continue to improve - at best, improvement will take place at a snails place, leading to frustration and you eventually ditching the piano. And what a shame that would be! And who's to blame? - ONLY YOURSELF - and all because you chose to put yourself before the music!
I feel your pain, and I can think of a couple of things that might help. Firstly, don't think about it too much. Let it go, and get into the zone. Also, be sure to make the keys as accessible as possible. Spend some time reworking your fingering, minding efficiency. Clarity is also very helpful for this. You'll tend to play easier when your mind has a crisp vision of the keys. Playing hands separately helps with this. If you have trouble isolating the hands, play with each hand while only performing the motions of the other without touching the keys with it. Eventually you'll be able to play the hands on their own. And how many times have you played those pieces? I have to play something a few hundred to a few thousand times before being able to say I probably won't make any mistakes. Are you being harder on yourself than you ought to be?
Pianos are such dignified instruments - they're either upright or grand!
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