Rondo Mistakes during Performance

[beginner0]

Hi, I was just wondering what should be done if I make a mistake in a Rondo and goes into another part. Should I repeat/skip or restart from where I went into the wrong part?

[abell88]

Well, if you could play A C A B A smoothly, you might be able to carry it off so that only those who are familiar with the piece would know something was wrong.  Or, if you ended up doing A C A C A, it's not ideal but you could probably get away with it.

[beginner0]

Thanks, but how about for an exam?

[abell88]

I may be mistaken here, but I believe examiners prefer you to play as if giving a performance; the more seamless the better. In other words, don't stop and re-start, but rather carry on as convincingly as possible. 

You are more likely to make a mistake like that if you have been just trusting your fingers  to do the right thing; if you study the score and find some way to memorize (with intellect, not fingers) the order of the sections you will probably be able to play it right. For example, I remember reading an analysis of a piece that had two similar sections, but the first one started with E D G in the LH, so the writer thought of that as the "Edgar" section. ( I don't remember what he did for the second section, but you can get the idea. )