# Muscle Memory vs Brain: Claire De Lune



## caters

Claire De Lune is a piece I am learning and yesterday I noticed, when I played it hands together, I could play the first Db Major section beautifully but when I got to the E major section here is what happened:

My muscles were like "We want to keep playing in Db Major, it is in our muscle memory"

But my brain was like "It is in E major now so play it in E major."

And this leads to what I call problem notes. Those are notes that come up that shouldn't come up. This can even happen with separate pieces. 1 note that is very often a problem note is Bb. I play a piece or section of a piece with Bb in it and then I go to play a B natural in another section or piece and my muscle memory causes me to play a Bb instead. I don't know why, because if I learn another piece, I start out with just inevitable wrong note mistakes but I correct them. Then once I learn that piece fully and I play another piece before it, I get problem notes. I don't know why, maybe it has to do with me using flats way more often than sharps?

Some typical pieces where I get these would be like Claire De Lune, sometimes Bb even pops up when I play Canon in D(which is really odd because I learned that piece years back and made no wrong note mistakes and I play it at least a few times a year to make sure I have the muscle memory still).


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## Jeanette Townsend

My muscles were like "We want to keep playing in Db Major, it is in our muscle memory"
But my brain was like "It is in E major now so play it in E major."
Lol. The internal struggle no one sees between the hand and brain.
I have to admit, I haven't yet done Clair de Lune, though I plan to once I'm finished with a recital coming up.
I don't have many issues with switching keys except for in the bass clef, but I make really stupid mistakes like repeating the previous measure.
Anyway, you could try marking the key signature on your sheet music? And underline the notes in the new key (like the B Natural) when they appear. 
Hope it resolves


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