A couple of things this week reminded me how important mistakes are when learning something new.
One was performer, song leader and composer Brendan Taaffe’s substack: The most important thing you can do is fail”, and the other was a workshop I attended on Voice, Body and Rhythm with Helen Chadwick and Tania Bosak.
don’t be good when you start something new
Brendan reminds us that
“the best thing you can do is to allow yourself to not be good at something the first time you try it. And the second. Again: the best thing that can happen to you when you’re learning something new is to not be good at it.”
That was certainly the case in the workshop I attended!
The stepping patterns, rhythms and clapping (all whilst singing) were complex and unfamiliar. Even though we started slow and simple, pretty much everyone got it wrong at first.
There were even times when we got completely lost. It wasn’t that we were just getting things wrong or not being very good — there were moments when we had no idea where we were or what we were supposed to be doing.
what to do when you go wrong
When you inevitably go wrong when trying something new, it’s important that you don’t beat yourself up (or say “Sorry!”). Simply note what happened and move on.
If it’s something simple like the next note was up, but you went down, then by noticing what you did, there’s a good chance that you won’t repeat the mistake.
If you get completely lost or overwhelmed, step back from what’s going on (both literally and metaphorically) until you become aware again of what’s going on, and then slip back in.
Telling yourself off, or apologising when you make a mistake is all about your ego. Your ego wants always to be in control (so hates getting lost) and wants to be good at everything (“Look at me, aren’t I wonderful?”).
But you will learn faster and more effectively if you can put your ego to one side and give yourself up to the process. Which means not being good at first, getting things wrong, and sometimes being lost.
But you’ll get there in the end.
You might also like: Singers, don’t be afraid to make mistakes – it’s the only way to learn
Chris Rowbury
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