I was just practising piano, and I was trying to get this difficult bar sorted out. I wasn't frustrated or anything, because it was the first time I was trying to get it right. If that makes sense.

So then, I took a sip from my cup of tea, and tried it again instinctively and not really thinking about what I was doing and voila! it came out perfectly. But the moment i did start thinking about what I was playing when i tried it a second time (just to be sure), it went all messed up again!

This has happened to me a couple of times before as well, even with scales!

so what do i do next time? think about it and get frustrated eventually or don't think about it which means that i won't 'solve' it properly?

nish.

I often have the same breakthroughs with Araucaria's Cryptic Crosswords. You stare at a clue for a few minutes, give up, go away and have a cup of coffee, come back and violin! There you are. I think you might be trying to use too much cerebration to solve an essentiall non-intellectual problem. What probably happened is that the relevant part of your brain has the message - what is called "muscle memory" IINM, and in my experience you can rely on that.

Just my 02p.

Edward

I thought you were practising piano

See "The Inner Game of Music"

or better still, the original on which it is based, "The Inner Game of Tennis".


All will be explained

i get this a lot. I find that if i think about it and it doesn't work, then i get annoyed it won't work, so then it goes wrong again, so i think it won't work next time, so it doesn't. But then if i'm too positive and expect it to work (this will work and i'll play it perfectly...!!), it almost certainly won't. You have to get it somewhere in the middle without too much emotional attachment (if you don't care whether or not it will go wrong, it's less likely to), or in your words, just dont thin about it too much

hi there!
It seems to me what you're talking about is the distinction between "automatic responses" from the brain and a skill acquired through "conscious practice". The former will let you play things correctly in a rather unpredictable way while the second (which takes ages and lots of concentration) provides a solid foundation that allows you to play in almost any circumstances and almost at any time. Read about how the synopsis works in our nervous systems and you'll get the answer. Another point is the silent period of learning, during which the brain does the "remedial work" and corrects errors (this works best if you work on am particular passage during the last hours before going to bed, as your memory consolidates a lot during the night. Hope this helps,
Bye,
John

i never think about what im playing when im plain it, i know it will make me mess up, especially with scales.

Thanks for the advice everyone! It's all really helpful!