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> Let's be realistic though, even experts fail sometime Is that truly so? I think many concert pianists will live their entire life without a single noticeabl

> Let's be realistic though, even experts fail sometime Is that truly so? I think many concert pianists will live their entire life without a single noticeable mistake at a live performance. The unlikeliness of this event is what qualifies them for this vocation. > Many pianists make mistakes look like improv, and the audience won't notice the difference. I think this is very much wrong, — hitting either the wrong note, or accidentally striking in between two keys, will not sound as though it be improvation, but as a clear, false note and it certainly does not take an expert to notice this. > Same goes for anything really. Figure skating is very hard and the ones competing in the Olympics are the best of the best. But still, push yourself hard enough and eventually you'll fuck up somewhere, even if it's just a tiny bit. Even the pros does that, and some would argue you're not pushing yourself hard enough if you're not on the brink of failure. Figure skaters fail because they would not win if they only did what they knew they would never fail. It is a matter of a risk–reward strategy needed to take first place, — this is not needed for concert pianists who do not compete against one another.

capableweb 6y ago
> I think many concert pianists will live their entire life without a single noticeable mistake at a live performance. I don't know what concerts you've gone to, but to the ones I've gone to, I've definitely heard mistakes from the pianists sometimes and a quick search on Google reveals it's a lot more common that you think, especially since you think that these masters (because I do think they are masters, don't get me wrong) never ever make any mistakes in their entire life. And no, playing the wrong note is not the only mistake you can make as a pianist. Most mistakes are simple mistakes that can happen to anyone. The reason you haven't noticed them so far, is that most professionals are very good at hiding their mistakes on the fly and not draw attention to it, so you think everything is well. But if you have a keen ear and you're familiar with the piece they are playing, you'll definitively notice some mistakes sometimes. It's not the end of the world though, and I personally think it brings a more personal touch to the performance.
- WalterBright 6y ago
  I took some dance training long ago, and pro dancers make mistakes all the time. They're very good at covering them with an "I meant that" attitude. I remember a nationally ranked pro couple once doing an exhibition dance where the woman had a wardrobe malfunction. Her expression and style never wavered, and she altered her movements slightly to fix it. It all happened so quickly and smoothly hardly anyone noticed. I've never heard a pro singer sing a song the same way twice. That's why recording studios take many takes, picking the best of the lot. They'll even splice together cuts from multiple takes. Autotune revolutionized this, too.

capableweb 6y ago

> I think many concert pianists will live their entire life without a single noticeable mistake at a live performance. I don't know what concerts you've gone to, but to the ones I've gone to, I've definitely heard mistakes from the pianists sometimes and a quick search on Google reveals it's a lot more common that you think, especially since you think that these masters (because I do think they are masters, don't get me wrong) never ever make any mistakes in their entire life. And no, playing the wrong note is not the only mistake you can make as a pianist. Most mistakes are simple mistakes that can happen to anyone. The reason you haven't noticed them so far, is that most professionals are very good at hiding their mistakes on the fly and not draw attention to it, so you think everything is well. But if you have a keen ear and you're familiar with the piece they are playing, you'll definitively notice some mistakes sometimes. It's not the end of the world though, and I personally think it brings a more personal touch to the performance.

WalterBright 6y ago
I took some dance training long ago, and pro dancers make mistakes all the time. They're very good at covering them with an "I meant that" attitude. I remember a nationally ranked pro couple once doing an exhibition dance where the woman had a wardrobe malfunction. Her expression and style never wavered, and she altered her movements slightly to fix it. It all happened so quickly and smoothly hardly anyone noticed. I've never heard a pro singer sing a song the same way twice. That's why recording studios take many takes, picking the best of the lot. They'll even splice together cuts from multiple takes. Autotune revolutionized this, too.