How many mistakes do you make on average per set, song ?

[Dynacord]

Which is true, but some of those half-steps can be really sour.

Depends how long you stay on them. Passing tones/chromatics.

 

[Gustopher]

Had a gig last night, I know I had about 3 clams for the 3 hour show. Only on songs we hadn’t played together before that I also had to sing. It’s not unusual to have a couple missed notes, the key is to keep rolling right past it and pretend it didn’t happen.

 

[FrenchBassQC]

Oh, three... or four.

That’s the equivalent of getting fired…

 

[GreyBeard]

The more you practice, the fewer mistakes you will make.

 

[BassGH]

You’re never more than a half step away from a note that works.

That’s good!

 

[SJan3]

I am practicing a lot and seem to hit a wrong note about 2 or 3 times in a song is this normal or should I strive for perfection

Beware of "over playing" which often leads to mistakes. And "perfection"? That's for machines.

 

[JakobT]

In my case, it’s much like the analogy of the talking dog. People won’t be suprised at how well I play, the wonder is that I play at all.

 

[fhm555]

Perfection is possible, but near impossible. Work hard to be as good as you can possibly get and if that’s good enough you’ll get opportunities to play with other imperfect musicians.

 

[Neil Folkard]

I've found that some nights I can just about ace it, and others there are a couple of clammages here and there. The most noticeable mistakes I ever have, is when I do something ridiculous, like accidentally pull my cable out of my pedal board! My worst one was when I did it twice in one minute! That is not something that people WON'T notice, haha. I smartened up after that.

Generally I practice a lot before a gig. Preparation is the key, in my opinion.

 

[Methaneman]

I am practicing a lot and seem to hit a wrong note about 2 or 3 times in a song is this normal or should I strive for perfection

Just keep practicing. Here's a tip, join a band with a guitar player that gets drunk and makes a lot mistakes. The crowd won't notice yours.

 

[bolophonic]

I usually (used to) play ~30 minute sets with my originals band. I occasionally made a mistake once in a while, but I knew the material well enough that it is extremely rare.

Now, if I were attempting to navigate new material on stage, it would be Clam City. I am absolutely terrible at learning on the fly.

 

[electracoyote]

Some of the most famous and impressive recorded bass tracks feature "mistakes." And the recorded bass lines you think are flawless may have taken dozens of attempts and involved studio technology like punch-in's to achieve.

Don't sweat it. Strive for perfection, and you'll be doing pretty darned good. You will eventually reach a point where you are nailing it the majority of the time. And in the process you will learn the art of instantly covering up a mistake to the point 99.9% of listeners (including your band mates) won't even know you hit a clam.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

If I counted I would probably become very depressed! I think the important thing is to put on a good show and not get hung up on little mistakes here and there. Obviously you want to avoid anything that causes a trainwreck or massive disruption, but that is part of skills of quality musicians.

 

[TexasHeat]

I find that I tend to make more flubs and mistakes during rehearsals than I do during a gig. It's all good; most times no one else notices but yourself.

If/when I do make a mistake during a gig, I look over at the guitar player and chuckle, like he made the mistake.

 

[Trailertrash74]

If I hit some wrong notes...I just say Oh! I thought we were playing a jazz set!!!

 

[Hevy T]

Besides from getting the song structure down I can honestly say I make TONS of mistakes per every song I play. There's not one song that I know note for note

 

[Slevage]

The goal is to reach a point where you know the material so well, both note for note, and in terms of the underlying theory and style, that your mistakes are swallowed up by The depths of your mastery.
Learning the instrument minimizes (but doesn’t eliminate) the need to play the song a lot.

I often get one rehearsal before the show date. If I make a mistake, I don’t dwell on it.

• Playing the tune a lot
• Learning many similar tunes
• Practicing the basics

 

[fretlessman71]

I installed a "Mistake-O-Meter" between my bass and my amp; whenever it thinks I made a mistake, it sends a few amps of current back through the cable and to my strings. I've gotten be6tter OWW! over time; I added one to my computer keyboatrd OUCH! DAMN! as well...

 

[gln1955]

Don't start a song in the wrong key. People will notice (ask me how I know ).

Otherwise a bad note here or there is a fleeting moment that no one will care about. Your audience is there to be entertained. Have fun playing and draw them into it. They are not looking for a machine.

 

[themickster]

I still make mistakes after more than 30 years and made a right mess of a song at the weekend. Nobody else knew. Forget the mistakes as soon as you make them. You'll get it right another time.

When you feel frustrated at a song going wrong, do something else. I used to play the same one over and over, trying to get it right. Now I do them once a day only, no matter how many mistakes. I don't get it right any the slower for it.