1. When you're playing something in sonata form, you don't pay attention at the recap and you end up going back to the bridge at the exposition. But by the time you realize you made that mistake it's too late.
2. When there's that one spot in a piece you're practicing that needs just a little bit of work, so you practice it. But then it starts getting worse and worse and WORSE. Like WHYYYYYYYYY???
3. When you just simply zone out while you're playing and then when you remember that you're playing you don't know where the heck you are. So you just end up depending on muscle memory, which sometimes doesn't last very long
4. When you just can't remember how many times you did some repeat. Like you could already have repeated something five times and on the sixth time around you're like: Did I do that repeat or no? I'll just do it just in case I didn't.
5. (maybe this is just me) When you listen to a recording of yourself playing and it's the crappiest thing you've ever heard (I'm pretty sure I'm not actually THAT HORRIBLE cause I went to a festival and got second place, which wasn't as horrible as I thought I'd get)
6. If you play in a wind ensemble or orchestra: you weren't sure when to come in so you looked at one of your section mates to check if you were right. But then they come in and you miss your entry. Or they came in the wrong place (and dragged you with them) and you two make fools of yourselves because sometimes the conductor has to stop everyone because of it. Or they were also looking at you to see where the entry was and now you're both lost
7. If you and someone else play the same piece, it somehow ALWAYS sounds better when they play it. For me, I thought I just sucked at piano until I realized all my friends felt the same way.
8. If you're in lessons: You've practically perfected a piece after practicing it and practicing it and PRACTICING IT at home. You run it through a few times without any mistakes. Then you play it at your lesson in front of your teacher and screw up EVERYTHING. And he/she gives you that disappointed look and tells you that you should practice more. And you're just like "okay", but inside you're like "WHY, I PRACTICED SO MUCH! IT WAS PERFECT!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! " But of course you don't tell your teacher that because you're way too embarrassed to let them know you spent so long on a piece and the final product was the crap you presented to them
9. When you tell yourself you're going to be productive when you practice that day but you end up just screwing around and playing random stuff because you're too lazy to actually practice
10. When you hear a new piece you're going to be playing for the first time and it's so fast that you're positive it's impossible to even get near that speed. Next thing you know: you're 50 beats over the tempo limit for the piece
11. When someone talks to you while you're playing but you don't want to stop, so you try to talk and play at the same time. It never works, yet you keep trying to do it.
12. When someone wants to talk to you but you're playing so they just stand there awkwardly waiting for you to finish. You didn't want to stop in the first place, but now you're forced to because it's just getting too awkward.
13. When you're playing and you feel a sneeze coming. So you you try to play and sneeze at the same time. Like trying to talk and play at the same time, it never works, yet you never learn your lesson.
14. When you cram so much practice in that the next day your whole arm is sore and you can't even hold a pencil (if you've never had this then try playing the first and third movements of Beethoven's Pathetique sonata for three hours straight).
15. When you try to play with cold fingers. It's like they're sticks that are frozen solid, and everything you play just sounds SO BAD (especially fast parts)
For wind players, 11 and 13 may not apply to you. Though I've had those moments multiple times while playing the piano, I don't think I've ever had to sneeze while playing my clarinet and I DEFINITELY haven't tried to talk and play at the same time.
Also, please comment on how relatable this list was. I come up with these by myself (I don't get them from anywhere). It's just that when I ask my friends about these things they can all relate, so I'd thought it would be fun to share them with you guys as well so we can all have a good laugh.