How Piano Students Can Manage Stress When Making Mistakes
- Eric Ching
- Jun 22
- 2 min read
Printable Handout:
We've all been there where you make a mistake, try it again, make another mistake, and then you get increasingly more frustrated. The tempo gets faster and the mistakes begin to compound. Then you get it right once and you get a moment of relief.
What ends up happening is that you're stressed 75% of the time while you're hitting wrong notes and relieved the other 25% of the time. This results in a stressful relationship with music and you start viewing the piano as a straining activity.
Here are some devices that you can use to help manage that stress:
Flatten out your feet so that they're level with the ground. I often see folks up on their toes, curling their toes, on the sides of their feet, or in some other awkward position. The feet are just one more point of tension which can indirectly contribute towards making mistakes. You may as well have them flat and in the most relaxed state possible. Little kids who have their feet dangling will need a stool so that they can be stable.
After a mistake, pause and breathe normally. Let your heart return to a resting rate so that your next attempt isn't at a heightened state.
Without playing, acknowledge what needs to be changed and edit one thing at a time. That might mean hitting the correct notes in which case you can double check your notes with a grand staff diagram. If the rhythms aren't correct, you can listen to the recording for how the rhythms ought to be played (but sometimes a teacher is necessary).
Some other possible things: hitting the keys squarely and none of the nearby keys, hitting chords in perfect unison
Go back and forth between playing the notes in the correct order out of time and just going for it in time.
Folks often attempt playing pieces in time too soon and at a pace that's faster than their bodies and brains can process it. Then they get disappointed that what their playing doesn't sound completely put together.
By treating the initial learning phase as more like a puzzle (similar to a sudoku) or a note finding activity, you allow yourself all the time you need to find the right notes. You could be just playing a note, holding it out, relishing in the sound that the instrument makes, and then finding the next one.
Accept that this is the best and fastest that your hands and body will allow you to play today. You are both complete as you currently are and also a work in progress.
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