THE ART OF MUSICAL MISTAKES.

 

Turn awkward musical moments into learning experiences.

Accidents are all part of the creative process. 

The embarrassment of a mistake is very often hard to deal with and sometimes one mistake creates in us negative feelings; the thought that we can’t do something even though we really want to. Mistakes can likewise, produce in us anticipatory tension, a thing called stage fright, that paralyzes us when we least expect it.

We need to accept that as humans, being imperfect, we mess things up from time to time.

 

“While everything goes perfectly sometimes

 nothing goes perfectly all the time.” 

 

 How we deal with those little mishaps, is what will determine whether we follow our dreams or give up because we are afraid to make a mistake. So, why not turn each awkward moment into a learning experience or even a skill, if we can? So, here's my best music mistake fix-it idea.

As any experienced musician will tell you, we all have our share of embarrassing musical moments, and in the world of music, making a mistake isn’t always a bad thing.

I’m going to tell you why.

Mistakes can create composers

In my article "How to Conquer Stage Fright", I mentioned a rather large blunder where during one performance I left out a complete line of music. I mentioned how from the chatter around me, I realized that some in the audience hadn’t noticed anything wrong and those who did said it was an “out of the ordinary” arrangement of the music. So, the next night I left out the same line of music again… this time on purpose!

What I didn’t mention then was; that the experience piqued
 my interest in arranging music and composing my own tunes.

I could always listen to a song and write down the music to it once I played it back a few times. I didn’t think much about it and I certainly didn’t make use of it; but after this experience, I decided to try my hand at arranging my own versions of popular music or even writing my own music.

I started with the trial-and-error method; using what I knew from the world of music theory. But as with all things trial and error, there is only so little you can accomplish. Besides, in this twenty-first Century music has changed so much that there are newer and easier ways of accomplishing something good.

I needed something more… a firmer foundation; and I found everything I needed at the local music bookstore.

Headed home with an armload of books to start what I titled “Operation Write My Own Tunes”; there started my love for composing and arranging music.

After a few months of careful reading, study; and experimenting with extracts, I began arranging my version to popular tunes, eventually composing my own music, to add to my life as a musician and teacher.

That was ten years ago. Today I can take any piece of music and turn it into my own little nugget of gold. In fact, if you ever have the opportunity of listening to me play; what you will hear is my arrangement of popular music or an original work.

Mistakes can change the character of the music.

This I call the "art of Musical Mistakes". Good musicians view mistakes as a way of refining their skills, of readjustment, improvement, and development. Interestingly, mistakes are important to the composer and the improviser, and as in my story, the performer.

While some accidents have no value, some can give a piece of music a little more color and character than it originally had. 

A wrong chord or note in a popular song might send the music into an exciting new key or change its texture thereby giving a musician their unique style. 

With the right attitude of acceptance and resourcefulness toward these accidents we can turn our mistakes into our most powerful musical asset. How?

How to turn mistakes into music 

The composer makes his or her mistake and then realizes the mistake created a better composition than he (or she) intended. He then takes time to plan around his melodic or harmonic mistakes and then write them into the music. 

The improviser makes a mistake, discovers that they like it (or not), and replays the same mistaken excerpt again tweaking it to make it their own. 

The performer makes their mistake and might change the notes or time or chords around it to make it acceptable. 

Whatever way we do it, it all contributes to our skills as musicians.

A very good example is... 

For centuries, parallel fifths in a musical composition were considered wrong, until Debussy, Grieg, and other composers used parallel fifths to convey sensation in their music. 

Today these chords are known as "power chords" and their perfect consonance melts together perfectly; creating what seems like gaps in the music even though they are complete chords. 

A lot of modern music uses the mistakes of the past as musical devices; the "power chords" (parallel fifths) of pop and rock music are a good example.

What about you?

Yes, making mistakes can be embarrassing. Learning to turn musical mistakes into your own style or arrangement is a skill I have developed and learned to appreciate; it gives me the wings to fly. It makes the hours I spend practicing and my performances more enjoyable.

 So, don’t be afraid to experiment with your “new melodic ideas” (mistakes). Learn the art of turning your accidents into music and you might discover the composer in you.

Please feel free to leave a comment below if you feel that this new approach to musical mistakes is something you would try.

In my next article, I will share a few tips on how we can motivate our children to practice.

See you next time and as always, let the music move you!