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Do you ever mess up?

milkman-27

milkman-27

Jul 4, 2009
320
22
#1
Just wonder if any of you guys have ever messed up during rehearsal or even a gig. It seems that I can't get through one band rehearsal without botching some part of a song. The thing is that the rest of the band members do it equally as much, but last night after everyone else had made there fair share of flubs, I make one mistake and I think that the drummer got ticked off at me. I have even told these guys in the past that if they don't think that I am the right guy that we could mutually agree to split ways and I would not have any hard feelings but they always talk me out of it. There previous bass player was apparently really good and I guess I have big footsteps to follow in and I feel like I am being compared to him. Just wondering if I am putting too much pressure on myself or if everybody messes up occasionally?
 
#3
Everybody makes mistakes. The difference between beginners and players with more experience is how quickly you can recover from them. I screw up at gigs and rehearsals all the time. Not big mistakes, of course, but little clams here and there. Fast recovery time means the band seldom notices and the audience never notices. The most important thing is to just keep going.

I'm sure there are musicians who never make mistakes, but I haven't met one yet.
 
#4
Don't feel bad. We've all messed up. Everyone in our band has messed up good at one point or another. Even the greats have messed up. Here's what you do:

1. If you mess up infrequently and at random, then shrug it off. They're called clams, and since we're only human, everyone is guilty of them.

2. If you mess up at specific points in a song, then you need to rehearse it more. Some songs are tougher than others, and need more work.

3. If you mess up a lot all the time, then you are probably in over your head. Time to do some serious woodshedding before continuing on.

Hope this helps.
 
#5
stratovani said:
Don't feel bad. We've all messed up. Everyone in our band has messed up good at one point or another. Even the greats have messed up. Here's what you do:

1. If you mess up infrequently and at random, then shrug it off. They're called clams, and since we're only human, everyone is guilty of them.

2. If you mess up at specific points in a song, then you need to rehearse it more. Some songs are tougher than others, and need more work.

3. If you mess up a lot all the time, then you are probably in over your head. Time to do some serious woodshedding before continuing on.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

+1 - Perfect summation!
 
#6
Usually play 5 string EUB strung E-C;

Picked up my BG strung B-G during a concert (450 in audience) and played in intro to a jazz tune 4 steps off with just piano, bass, drums. No wonder the piano player was giving me dirty looks.

At the 8th bar of the intro, I realize I was the reason for the "way out jazz sound", I hit the correct key at measure 9, just as the trumpet entered. We all smiled to eachother and carried on----- all pros.

By the end of the song, the audience either forgot what happened or didn't have a clue. Song ends, big applause.

On with the show. We all had a laugh when packing up.
 
#8
stratovani said:
Don't feel bad. We've all messed up. Everyone in our band has messed up good at one point or another. Even the greats have messed up. Here's what you do:

1. If you mess up infrequently and at random, then shrug it off. They're called clams, and since we're only human, everyone is guilty of them.

2. If you mess up at specific points in a song, then you need to rehearse it more. Some songs are tougher than others, and need more work.

3. If you mess up a lot all the time, then you are probably in over your head. Time to do some serious woodshedding before continuing on.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

I believe that I fit into category 1. Most songs go off without a hitch and I have become pretty good at recovering from mistakes.Actually, the first half of our rehearsal time I don't think any mistakes were made, it was after our break and going into the second half of rehearsal that everyone started flubbing. The mistake that I made last night was one that only the drummer would have knew that I made, not even the guitar players would have picked up on it. All I know is after it happened he started beating the crap out of his drums and you could see anger on his face. The other guys in the band have an excuse when they mess up because they are drinking the whole time we rehearse, but I don't drink so I really don't have an excuse other than being human.
 
#9
As the keyboard, acoustic guitar, bass, harmonica and rhthym instrument player, as well as lead singer, I have messed up a lot, at a lot of shows. In my case, it comes from lack of practice, and overthinking.

Sometimes I forget the first note of the song. Someone on this very forum posted that they will write the first note on the set list. This is brilliant, and I am going to start doing it.

I forgot the first note of "Oh! Darling" playing D instead of G (we play it tuned down a full step,) at our last show, but that was my ONLY mistake!

I was excited. We only played two hours, so I only had half as many opportunities for fatigue to cause me problems, but I have learned one trick that has helped me lately.

When you panic, and are trying to think of how a part goes that is coming up, you are going to mess it up. LET GO. (be the ball, danny) Seriously. Just trust your fingers to go to the right notes, if you've practiced it, or played it awhile, and you have a lot better chance of playing it right than if you think about it.

I made the least errors of anyone in the band in the last couple of shows, and believe me, that is a first. You can do it.
 
#12
milkman-27 said:
I believe that I fit into category 1. Most songs go off without a hitch and I have become pretty good at recovering from mistakes.Actually, the first half of our rehearsal time I don't think any mistakes were made, it was after our break and going into the second half of rehearsal that everyone started flubbing. The mistake that I made last night was one that only the drummer would have knew that I made, not even the guitar players would have picked up on it. All I know is after it happened he started beating the crap out of his drums and you could see anger on his face. The other guys in the band have an excuse when they mess up because they are drinking the whole time we rehearse, but I don't drink so I really don't have an excuse other than being human.
Click to expand...

I might have a solution for that, other than not drinking at rehearsals, of course. When you come back to your second set after a break you tend to come back cold. What we do is structure our set list so that we begin with an easy song. It get our juices flowing and gets us back into the game smoothly and seamlessly. Kind of like a baseball pitcher throwing some warmup pitches when he gets back on the mound after sitting in the dugout for a while.

Also, your drummer needs to cut you some slack. After all, I'm sure he's fukked up once or twice in his career!
 
#19
Lo-E said:
Everybody makes mistakes. The difference between beginners and players with more experience is how quickly you can recover from them. I screw up at gigs and rehearsals all the time. Not big mistakes, of course, but little clams here and there. Fast recovery time means the band seldom notices and the audience never notices. The most important thing is to just keep going.

I'm sure there are musicians who never make mistakes, but I haven't met one yet.
Click to expand...

In general if the rhythm is going people will rarely notice the odd bum note.

To link it with your sign, Don't Shrug.
 

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