This morning I competed at the Santa Cruz Scottish Festival and placed quite well. This despite what I felt to be grave problems with my performances, which goes a long way in support of the advice, “No matter what happens, keep playing!”
My mind and fingers went completely blank midway into my first tune but I flapped around for a bar and came back in. Piobaireachd to the rescue! In my second tune I was so focused on being in the moment that I don’t have a clear memory of the performance. At the time I was convinced that I’d made a complete hash of the first two parts but the judge didn’t seem to think so (and she’s heard me play that tune several times).
I kept playing and kept the beat and tried to maintain steady pressure, conceding nothing. It paid off!