Tips on ignoring bum notes?

[Kautilya]

Practise, practise, practise - yes, I know, so let's get that out of the way first.

 

The problem:

Even meisters hit bum notes. Watching John Kirkpatrick (and other Meister/Mätressen) at Swaledale during a work-session he masterfully zipped on with his Anglo with no more than a grunt when he produced a falsie, as he demoed a piece for the class. This raises an important issue for a beginner. He and others have a real skill in bypassing the mistake - an art in itself. How to develop that?

 

Can the expertini suggest a trick/tactic/psychomove which they have developed and use to ignore the mistake and forge ahead? This is not to do with playing something different from the dots in front of you -- indeed, John made the point that he rarely plays the way he wrote (his own) dots anyway! It is about the bum note blocker.

 

For the illiteratini the bad note is like a hole in the road, hit by the front wheel of your bike - it not only throws you, it panics you, you grab the brakes or u just come off and everything falls apart....

 

Part of the problem after the bum note is hitting the correct suqsequent note of course, so holding the tune in the head has its part to play... but that is not enough methinks...

 

any advice welcome! Tks

Edited June 1, 2010 by Kautilya

[catty]

- Music is time; continue playing at all cost...even if all your notes are "bum" (or alternatively, don't play at all )

 

- resolve "bum" notes in new and exciting ways (you're always only 1/2-step away )

[Bill N]

 

any advice welcome! Tks

 

 

Well, I'm no expertini, but what has helped me is playing for dancers. They care more about the rythym than the tune, so once we have a good sympatico groove going, the rythym seems to keep my fingers moving in time, sometimes through a string of bum notes, until they start hitting the right notes again. I think that splitting my attention between the dancers' movements and my own playing keeps me from "over thinking" what my fingers are doing. For me, when decisions about which buttons to push rise to the level of conscious decisions, everything falls apart.

 

Trust the Force (of practice), young Skywalker!

[Mikefule]

Absolutely, most music is first and foremost about rhythm. It starts with the simple beat, then the pulse of each bar, then the more complex pulses of the 2, 4 or 8 bar phrases (other lengths are available), and then there is the harmonic rhythm: the rate at which chord changes occur and the way they work towards a resolution. The actually melody is then the distinctive thread that links these various aspects of rhythm together.

 

So if the melody line falters, or you play a bum note, just keep going. Most people in the audience will notice a hesitation more than a dissonant note. And if they do notice, a dissonant note is gone as soon as it's been played, but if the rhythm breaks down, the piece of music has crashed.

 

Play for dancing and you have to keep going.

[Woody]

Play for dancing and you have to keep going.

And another vote for this. After playing a bit for dancers it's amazing how your fingers can seem to recover and get back to the tune at the same time as your head is going "oh bugger! I've really screwed this up this time" Keeping the rhythm going seems to pull everything back together again.

[hjcjones]

It's mostly to do with confidence. It helps to have the technical ability to be able to express a musical idea without having to think too much how to do it - that way it's easier to get back on track than if you're mentally locked in to a particular sequence of notes and fingerings. Players like John K are at least partially improvising the whole time, so it's less of a problem if it goes a bit awry.

 

The other thing is not to worry about it. So you made a mistake. The chances are half the audience didn't even notice, and the other half are probably sympathetic (if they're not, then cut your losses and wrap up quickly). Above all, keep going, keep the rhythm - if you're singing and you forget the words then make them up, or just mumble through that bit. It's surprising what you can get away with - to quote the late Fred Wedlock (to the tune of Paul Simon's The Boxer):

 

In Sir Patrick Spens I clean forgot the 42nd verse

So I sang the 27th, twice as loud and in reverse

And no one noticed

 

If it's really noticeable then just shrug it off (with a laugh and a joke, perhaps). Whatever you do, try to carry on. If it really does come crashing to a horrible stop, engage with the audience to get them on your side. Then either start again, or move on to something else. Don't dwell on it, at least not while you're on stage.

 

It's more about stagecraft than musicianship. Mostly it comes with performing experience, which means making plenty of mistakes in front of an audience. The point is, everyone makes mistakes, and the experts make more than you realise, they're just better at covering them up.

Edited June 1, 2010 by hjcjones

[Dana Johnson]

Practise, practise, practise - yes, I know, so let's get that out of the way first.

 

any advice welcome! Tks

If you practice by stopping every time you make a mistake to try to correct it, That is what you teach yourself to do. If you practice from the beginning playing the next note, that is what you learn to do. When I play, I always "notice" both the bad and the good and keep going unless I am working on a particular note series I am trying to train my fingers to do. It is really all brain training. If you are stuck in the "stop when you make a mistake" mode, Start slowly and practice keeping your focus on the tune not the order of the notes you play. It might also be good to think of your "mistakes" as variations, subject to later editing. I do find that finding musically creative ways out of a goof takes a relatively high level of musical development, as fun as that route may be and has as a prerequisite the ability to hold a tune or phrase in your head as you are inventing it on the fly.

Don't worry, It is easier to get on the right track than it may initially feel like.

Dana

[catty]

Above all, keep going, keep the rhythm - if you're singing and you forget the words then make them up, or just mumble through that bit. It's surprising what you can get away with - to quote the late Fred Wedlock (to the tune of Paul Simon's The Boxer):

 

It's more about stagecraft than musicianship. Mostly it comes with performing experience, which means making plenty of mistakes in front of an audience. The point is, everyone makes mistakes, and the experts make more than you realise, they're just better at covering them up.

 

 

I always say that being a performer is roughly 50% "faking it"... with as much as 100%, at times..

[Randy Stein]

It was Miles Davis who said "Do not fear mistakes...there are none"

He was also fond of saying "Don't play whats there, play whats not there"

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[TonyRussell]

You have many replies here that all say the same thing. And they're all absolutly right. You must keep on the beat, and that's not just for dancing. Even if you completely fall off the tune, pick up where the tune should have got to - not where you left off! Coming to concertina from a piping background, I remember Billy Pigg saying, when I was struggling to fit all the notes in a difficult piece, "play what you can, they'll hear the rest anyway"! T.

Edited June 2, 2010 by TonyRussell

[Randy Stein]

I will tell you a true story:

I had the gift of being a musician on stage for the Broadway show Carmelina written by Alan J Lerner and Jules Stein,directed by Jose Ferrer, starring Georgia Brown and Cesare Siepi. It was a real clunker and closed after 7 weeks.

I opened and closed the show playing solo the theme song "Its Time for a Love Song" then the orchestra would strike up as I walked into the wings. On the third performance of the show I had a brain glitch and as I walked onto the stage forgot the music. I played whatever note my fingers touched. I am not even sure it was the same key as written. However, on que, the orchestra came in and the audience was none the wiser to my mistake.

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[Boney]

Most people in the audience will notice a hesitation more than a dissonant note. And if they do notice, a dissonant note is gone as soon as it's been played, but if the rhythm breaks down, the piece of music has crashed.

This is my biggest problem, and something I've started working seriously on. I know all that's been said here is true, but how do I apply the idea? Just believing it is not enough.

 

It's more about stagecraft than musicianship. Mostly it comes with performing experience, which means making plenty of mistakes in front of an audience.

#1: Play in front of people more. I've started doing a little informal busking, and playing in front of friends. It helps a lot. I feel so different playing in front of people, it's a feeling I need to get used to, and that means practicing it.

 

If you practice by stopping every time you make a mistake to try to correct it, That is what you teach yourself to do.

#2: Practice "playing through" errors. Set aside time for playing through tunes, and try to keep going no matter what!

 

ven if you completely fall off the tune, pick up where the tune should have got to - not where you left off!

#3: Keep the tune going in your head. Keeping a beat going by tapping my foot helps, I think. Playing with other people helps too, they'll keep the tune going for you if you crash.

 

An "exercise" I've just started trying is this: when I fall off the right notes, I just keep pressing whatever buttons are under my fingers in the correct rhythm. And not tentatively -- I try to play as if those were the correct notes. It's an interesting feeling, not what I'm used to! I think it will help a lot, I'd like to hear of other folks' experience if they try this idea. As noted earlier, it's sometimes surprisingly easy to get back on track, especially if you don't panic.

[Steve Mansfield]

All good advice above, so I won't repeat any of it, other than to agree that there's nothing like a set or a floor-full of dancers to make you get over yourself and climb straight back on to the tune.

 

There's a great book by Barry Green called The Inner Game of Music, which addresses this and other issues around learning, practicing and performing music.

 

You may not agree with all of it, you may not find all of it useful, but I've recommended this book to several people down the years and no-one has ever come back to me and told me it was a waste of their time reading it. I have no financial interest, just admiration for the clarity of thought and the benefit of the way of thinking that the book sets out.

[Kautilya]

An "exercise" I've just started trying is this: when I fall off the right notes, I just keep pressing whatever buttons are under my fingers in the correct rhythm. And not tentatively -- I try to play as if those were the correct notes. It's an interesting feeling, not what I'm used to! I think it will help a lot, I'd like to hear of other folks' experience if they try this idea. As noted earlier, it's sometimes surprisingly easy to get back on track, especially if you don't panic.

Ta - trying this too, by playing along to a CD.. I daren't record the CO-cophony it as it would make the CD player sound so bad!

Sooooo many interesting tips. tks again.

[catty]

when I fall off the right notes, I just keep pressing whatever buttons are under my fingers in the correct rhythm. And not tentatively...

 

I tend to do this when playing...normally . As they say, speak with authority to be persuasive..

[Boney]

when I fall off the right notes, I just keep pressing whatever buttons are under my fingers in the correct rhythm. And not tentatively...

I tend to do this when playing...normally

Exactly...that's why I put "exercise" in quotes. I feel it's less an exercise than what I should be doing, but it feels like an exercise because it's not an approach I'm used to. Although silence can work in a group setting, I think.

[Kautilya]

There's a great book by Barry Green called The Inner Game of Music, which addresses this and other issues around learning, practicing and performing music.

Lots of direct cheap ones on Amazon - just ordered one! tks for the tip

[Roger Gawley]

One thing to add to the pile of good advice already here: try not to signal "mistakes". Do not grimace. If you feel you must mark the excursion, smile. This has two effects. It confirms to the rest of the band and the 50% of the audience that did notice that all was not quite as intended (with luck the other 50% will think that you simply smiled). And it gives yourself permission to be human and carry on. ("Well, that was interesting but now we are going to play the rest of the tune.")