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

[Greywoulf]

Oh, three... or four.

Oh that nasty nasty wabbit! -But I still miss him so....

 

[bassicmike]

Enough.

 

[alack]

Of the noticeable kind?

 

[bikeplate]

A couple a night at most

 

[burgerdj]

A joke I’ve heard: Play it wrong once it’s a mistake. Repeat the mistake over and over and it’s jazz.

 

[Greywoulf]

Getting lost way out there on a wild solo run, then catching it, scrambling back to connect with your mates' rhythm again, to come back hitting on the "one" like nothing was ever amiss while most people are probably thinking you're so talented to create such a good different solo like that, -is that a mistake??

Actually I've not advanced far enough (yet?) for that to happen with a bass.. -But with a djembe? ~~Forgetabouddit!

 

[stigbeve]

I don't call them mistakes. I'm either "jazzin' it up" or it's my "independent timing".

Seriously though, I strive for perfection but don't beat myself up if I do flub something.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

I use a detuner for drop D, and my screw up of choice is forgetting to flip it back up to E for the next song.

The guy who I play for is a capo freak. He will be 3 frets up playing G position. You glance over and see G chord being played without thinking you will be playing 3 frets off!

 

[MikePlaysBass]

I wince when I listen to myself of the recordings we make at every gig. I hear every mistake and so many things I could have done better, but the other players and people in the audience tell me I sounded great. We’re so much more critical of ourselves and most of those small mistakes not only go unnoticed, but when they are get positive feedback on them. The craziest thing that I’ve noticed myself is that when I occasionally get lost on a song, the treading water that I’m doing before I find my place again often sounds better than the parts when I’m spot on. I make a lot less mistakes than I did many years back, but I still make some now and then, and they somehow come off still sounding musical. The trick is to never loose the groove or panic when you do make a mistake just keep playing and make it sound intentional and never let the audience see you sweat (figuratively, not literally).
Also, professional players don’t look or point out mistakes or make it obvious when other players make a mistake when performing. They just go with it and make it sound right. Don’t ever give the audience the look or impression that somebody screwed up. They may bring it up between sets or after the gig, but not during it.

 

[zubrycky]

I commit a lot of mistakes during rehearsals to avoid committing them onstage.

 

[dave hope]

Ive never heard a player live, who played every lick textbook perfect. .
But there are two mistakes you should never make.
1) not being on the root on the one
2) dropping the groove.

(3 - date the drummers wife)

 

[LBS-bass]

Ive never heard a player live, who played every lick textbook perfect. .
But there are two mistakes you should never make.
1) not being on the root on the one
2) dropping the groove.

(3 - date the drummers wife)

What if I am the drummer's wife?

 

[J-Mags]

The longer you play, the....OK, it's not fewer mistakes that characterizes a better player. The thing that changes is what you consider a "mistake". When you start, you play half the song in the wrong key. Many years later, you don't like the attack on a certain note here and there, but...the audience doesn't notice.

Recently, almost all my gigs are on Youtube (church gigs). A few days after, I'll pull the video up, and watch/listen. Most of my "mistakes" (having had a couple days to forget exactly where and how I "screwed up") are not at all apparent - even to me.

I can't even tell you how many times I've been recording, and I've been mortified by a mistake only to listen to playback and be unable to find it. In a recording studio. With the track soloed.

 

[Ostie]

I never play the wrong note, but sometimes I play jazz notes…..

 

[laristotle]

The number of mistakes that we make on stage is proportional to the amount of drinks sent up from 'that table of ladies over there'. lol

 

[BtaylorTheRogue]

if you make a real faux pas, do it again a few times.

They say that repetition legitimizes.

They say that repetition legitimizes.

 

[DwaynieAD]

A few per set. Getting a kick out of All the full of crap people in here claiming perfection tho.

 

[GeneralElectric]

In one of my bands the guitarist and drummer have been playing shows together for almost 50 years professionally.

Playing with these guys has obviously been a boon to me musically but the biggest lesson I got was in mistakes. How to recognize them as they happen (so they’re now smaller and less noticeable) and how to recover from them so that they won’t mess you, and by consequence the band, up.

 

[sxaxsx]

There are different types of mistakes. There are times you "fat finger" the wrong note. There are times you go back to the verse but you were supposed to go to a bridge. Then there are times that your notes just don't fall exactly on the beat. I imagine all of us have made each one of these mistakes once or twice.

 

[StatesideRambler]

I have no idea but I subscribe to Victor Wooten’s advice included in my signature, below. We make far fewer mistakes when we don’t dwell on them.