1,000 Days of Piano - Day 72: Ignoring Mistakes

Playing through and ignoring mistakes is a good way to prepare for a performance. When the music has been thoroughly learned and any stumbles are random, the pianist needs to be comfortable letting go of mistakes instead of correcting them. Even when correcting mistakes during practice, the student can go back four to eight measures and try again to get it right. This helps train the brain and fingers in muscle memory. It’s also a good way to practice staying focused.

When I’m teaching, I like to describe playing music as being like riding a train. When the train pulls out of the station and builds up speed, the engineer doesn’t pull the breaks and stop the train for a small mistakes. The train just keeps chugging along down the track and never mind any mistakes.
In this clip, I have a few “lost” measures, but taking the repeat gives me a second chance to get it right. I love this minuet, but I’ll be happy when I get a new focus piece on the next page.