Getting it right

As a musician, I hear mistakes all the time. Not just the ones I make, but the ones that others make. Some of these mistakes are wrong notes hit with a voice or instrument, timing problems, or poor playing. Then there are weak musical arrangements and production. In vocal groups I hear poorly done harmonies, and it drives me crazy when I hear singing groups that have no harmonies on songs that could and should have them.

Isn't it funny with what detail we notice mistakes? But there is something people do even more often than flubbing it. Yes, even more frequently than erring, I see people getting it right. Think about it - day in and day out, how many people have you seen stop for a red light, land a plane without incident, prepare your Subway sub exactly the way you asked for it, or stoop and scoop for their dogs? People get it right all the time.

And I suppose the sad part of it all is how infrequently I tell them so.