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Playing live and making mistakes
- Thread starter Mata Leao
- Start date
Depends on the night, the band I'm with, how familiar I am with their setlist. There are times I play enough clams to make a decent chowder. With my regular band(s) I'm good for a gaffe or two during the night. But a wise friend told me years ago, "No one knows what you intended to play". Keep on keepin' on, and don't make the "stink face" when you (or your band mates) screw up.
Unless you're in a situation like the E Street Band where you go out and play 3-4 hours of live audience music every night, it's pretty hard to play a typical bar or club 4-hour show a few times a month and not hit a couple of clams or forget a couple of lyrics.
As BL/MD in my band, I don't sweat the small stuff, a few unique and isolated mistakes can't be helped, and everyone is pretty good about moving through a mistake quickly and keeping it minimally invasive.
My bigger concern is the same mistake(s), either individually or collectively, every time we play a song or in the same spot. That's just plain lazy and unprofessional. Woodshed that phrase or section until you get it right with a high percentage.
And trainwrecking an entire song (or even a big chunk of it) should never happen. If you were that unprepared, you shouldn't have attempted it in front of a live audience.
As BL/MD in my band, I don't sweat the small stuff, a few unique and isolated mistakes can't be helped, and everyone is pretty good about moving through a mistake quickly and keeping it minimally invasive.
My bigger concern is the same mistake(s), either individually or collectively, every time we play a song or in the same spot. That's just plain lazy and unprofessional. Woodshed that phrase or section until you get it right with a high percentage.
And trainwrecking an entire song (or even a big chunk of it) should never happen. If you were that unprepared, you shouldn't have attempted it in front of a live audience.
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"Misteaks" happen....that right there is funny!
Yep, mistakes are going to happen, you just have to learn to recover gracefully. But my favorite feeling is when the drummer is counting off a tune & I'm thinking to myself, "I have absolutely no idea how this song starts..."
OK, that's not really my favorite, my absolute favorite is when the drummer is counting off a tune & I'm thinking to myself, "That song title means nothing to me, I have never heard it before and I have no idea how it starts or what key it is in...". Yet miraculously, in the last millisecond before the first note, it all comes back & I nail that sucker.
OK, that's not really my favorite, my absolute favorite is when the drummer is counting off a tune & I'm thinking to myself, "That song title means nothing to me, I have never heard it before and I have no idea how it starts or what key it is in...". Yet miraculously, in the last millisecond before the first note, it all comes back & I nail that sucker.
I play lead guitar in my originals band. I make mistakes here and there, but I tend to improvise a lot, so it might not be noticeable.
Recently started using the Axe-FXII and my most consistent mistake is being bad at using the footswitch properly. Accidentally switched to a clean tone during a ripping lead.
It happens to the best of them.
Recently started using the Axe-FXII and my most consistent mistake is being bad at using the footswitch properly. Accidentally switched to a clean tone during a ripping lead.
It happens to the best of them.
We are doing about 10 shows a month so I know the material quite well. For awhile it seemed like I was making a couple mistakes in the first set for some reason. But, the last few months it is usually just a couple of millisecond wrong notes that I correct so quick knowone notices. It is like hitting the lower 5th and then the root note.
One of the guitarists I used to play with (rest his soul) used to grin and say, “Little less shambolic next time, yeah?”
Usually during rehearsals, but not always.
Usually during rehearsals, but not always.
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When I do make a mistake, I can cover them instantly because it's usually just being off by a half step of a split second. This has probably happened less than 5% of the time.
My lead singer is also an excellent bass player. On several occasions, he has commented that he notices my mistakes because he plays bass so he unconsciously focuses on the bass even when he is just singing and not playing. He also mentioned that since I rarely make mistakes, that when I do, they stand out to him. There have been 2 times in my 40 years of playing when I have completely forgotten part of a song on stage. Both times, the keyboard player was able to cover for me until I found my place.
I don't think there has ever been a performance by any band where at least one person didn't hit at least one bad note. If you handle them correctly, most people won't notice.
My lead singer is also an excellent bass player. On several occasions, he has commented that he notices my mistakes because he plays bass so he unconsciously focuses on the bass even when he is just singing and not playing. He also mentioned that since I rarely make mistakes, that when I do, they stand out to him. There have been 2 times in my 40 years of playing when I have completely forgotten part of a song on stage. Both times, the keyboard player was able to cover for me until I found my place.
I don't think there has ever been a performance by any band where at least one person didn't hit at least one bad note. If you handle them correctly, most people won't notice.
My goal is perfection, but mistakes are inevitable. More important is how you recover (try to smile instead of making a stink face)
You are playing bass, so a momentary wrong note in correct rhythm won’t really be heard.
If you’re lucky, you play with folks that adjust and adapt to each other’s mistakes.
You are playing bass, so a momentary wrong note in correct rhythm won’t really be heard.
If you’re lucky, you play with folks that adjust and adapt to each other’s mistakes.
Had a major groove going. Felt good, deep, and danceable. Went to the bridge, came back, and had no freakin' clue what the original groove was. It's like we started a new song.
Ductapeman
Ringmaster and Resident Geriatric
Not often, but occasionally I'll get lost and flub a wrong note but I'll quickly get back on track without making too much of a fuss. Besides if the band you're playing in is on fire most people in the crowd will be having a good time probably drunk and wont even notice.
We (my band) usually have fun with each other on stage when someone makes a mistake.
This is a great thread. I have been working for a few years now on not letting mistakes derail my entire performance, and I am getting better at it. Ironically caring a bit less after the fact has actually reduced the overall number of mistakes I make.
I average one to three minor errors per set. Unfortunately sometimes it is worse, and sometimes they are not minor. In those rare instances it does hurt the band’s performance and energy. Even if it was not necessarily audible a sizeable enough disturbance in the force is felt by people in the audience as a confusing dissipation if energy. The minor ones do mostly go by unnoticed, especially if you can save it with a slide or quick adjustment.
Also the “play it again and call it jazz” approach works more often than I thought it would, but it doesn’t always work! Be careful there. Some clams are clammy every time.
One thing I have been noticing is how many touring pro acts also committ minor mistakes. They definitely seem to either ignore it or laugh it off for the most part.
And I once saw, long ago, Billy Squier and his band completely trainwreck on his big hit “Stroke” or whatever it is actually called. Half of the band went to the bridge correctly, half, of including Billy, did not! There was shock, surprise, and staring at each other on stage. It was surprising to see on stage at Merriwether Post Pavilion.
I average one to three minor errors per set. Unfortunately sometimes it is worse, and sometimes they are not minor. In those rare instances it does hurt the band’s performance and energy. Even if it was not necessarily audible a sizeable enough disturbance in the force is felt by people in the audience as a confusing dissipation if energy. The minor ones do mostly go by unnoticed, especially if you can save it with a slide or quick adjustment.
Also the “play it again and call it jazz” approach works more often than I thought it would, but it doesn’t always work! Be careful there. Some clams are clammy every time.
One thing I have been noticing is how many touring pro acts also committ minor mistakes. They definitely seem to either ignore it or laugh it off for the most part.
And I once saw, long ago, Billy Squier and his band completely trainwreck on his big hit “Stroke” or whatever it is actually called. Half of the band went to the bridge correctly, half, of including Billy, did not! There was shock, surprise, and staring at each other on stage. It was surprising to see on stage at Merriwether Post Pavilion.
This is why the world needs more jam bands. If a note that falls outside the realm of good taste is played...big deal. A mistake is when the band is playing in three different keys, at two tempos, nobody remembers the words, and the drummer has fallen thru the emergency exit, and is locked outside. THEN it is up to the bass player to get everyone back on track, let the drummer back in, and go into the next verse.
1) Practice, so as to avoid mistakes
2) Make mistakes anyway
3) Practice recovering from mistakes with least damage to remainder of show
4) Feel like crap and beat yourself up on the way home because of those (few) mistakes you made
5) ???????
2) Make mistakes anyway
3) Practice recovering from mistakes with least damage to remainder of show
4) Feel like crap and beat yourself up on the way home because of those (few) mistakes you made
5) ???????
This...
And, to add to the theme of the OP, it happens and I am getting less, shall we say neurotic, about it. I am a perfectionist and want it to be right. When I played in blues cover bands with lots of walking lines I felt like I could hide if I just kept going and maybe muted a bit. Much of the music I play now is more open with a fair amount of quiet passages where the bass line is whole notes or diamonds on changes, so I feel the mistakes show up more. I do feel its a concentration deal. I find that I make more mistakes when I start thinking instead of just playing. To be clear, I feel there is a difference on concentrating on the song and concentrating on which notes are next. When I think song I'm fine, notes... well that goes both ways.
Whatever happens, my toes are still tappin'
