Coyle notes that, “Most of us are allergic to mistakes. . . Brain scan studies reveal a vital instant, .025 seconds after a mistake is made, in which people do one of two things—they look hard at the mistake or they ignore it. People who pay deeper attention to an error learn significantly more than those who ignore it.”
This reminds me of the practice in many British choirs (and many influenced by the practice here in the US) where the choir member raises their hand immediately after they make a mistake. I’ve always thought of this as a way for the chorister to let the conductor know they acknowledge the mistake, meaning it’ll be corrected and no need to stop the rehearsal.
But this makes me think that perhaps there’s another reason for this practice: it could literally help the singer learn more quickly from their mistake—and repeat a mistake fewer times (or not at all).
If some of you use this practice regularly in your choir, let us know in a comment if it’s made a difference in the number of times a mistake is made before it’s corrected.
An intriguing idea! And perhaps a good reason for me to ask my singers to do this, too!
Alan Davis says
Since 2011, I have employed the same method with all my choirs, church and public high school/middle school, and it has always been quite effective. I often have students, after months of doing this, come up to me saying that they are more aware of the types of mistakes they make, so now they can prevent most of those mistakes before they are to ever happen.
Alan Davis
william copper says