Have you ever messed up at a gig?

[pbagley]

One thing I like is when a band actually admits a mistake... Usually a massive mistake since no one notices the little ones. One old friend, a musician since the '70's, has stopped after the intro and said "That was not good. You deserve this to be better. Let's try that again." Everyone loves it, and it happens very rarely.

In my mind I can imagine a band member stopping everyone, telling the crowd "we(the band) have made a massive mistake and we'll try again and do better this time" while looking at the band with a fierce expression. Then he'll put his hand up to shield his face from the band and tell the crowd "actually it was me that messed up" as if the band can't hear him. Always best to address problems with a little humor.

[Joel S.]

Who doesn't?

I can't think of a gig or a band where at least one band member didn't make a mistake. It's your ability to recover that keeps people from noticing. If you start freaking out and dwell on it it'll come through more in your playing and people will notice. I usually laugh and shrug it off, so if I'm on stage laughing my ass off I might be hosing the song up.

[svtb15]

Michael Jordan quote.. i will paraphrase....

" I missed more than 9000 shots in my career, I lost 300 games, 26 times I was trusted to take the game winning shot and missed, I failed over and over and over again in my life.... and that is why i succeed.".......

Great Quote.. I keep it with me at all times as a reminder..

[Fassa Albrecht]

I was doing a performance once ad I was being run through the PA. I got halfway through a song and realised I hadn't turned my volume knob up.....>.<

[PaulMacCnj]

I've done that and once the singer said, "You played that a little different. It sounded great!"

Originally Posted by Dave Muscato

If you hit a sour note, on the next pass, do it again. If you're lucky, people might think you did it on purpose the first time

[jeffbrown]

+1! "Seriously, the difference between a pro and an amateur is how well you cover up mistakes. A pro guitarist hits a wrong note, holds it for two beats THEN bends it up to the right note. An amateur pulls his finger off the note and the stumbles into the next right note. A pro bass player hits a wrong note and immediately recognizes it and plays a little walk up to the right one. If you're off by a half step, walk around it then hit the one on the next strong beat. Do it really well and your bandmates will smile because they think you just played the coolest part on earth. THEY won't even know you screwed up."

I've gotta remember this! Let's face it, we're human, and we WILL make mistakes.... I practice and study as much as I can, so they will happen with less frequency; too bad there are so few hours in a day.

Someone once told me, "You're only as good as your last show." If you sucked the last time, resolve to make the next one better. I do this after every gig. =8-/

[chrisp2g]

yup I mess up, it happens. The worst is when you get those real dark stages and you cant see anything, but whatever.