Why do I stuck live?

[klattman]

You will hear 95% of your mistakes. Your band mates will notice 50%. The audience may notice as much as 2% of them.

The advantage of live vs recording is that the mistakes fly by and are gone, never to be heard again. Unless it stops the entire groove or song, almost nobody will notice and fewer than that will remember or care.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

When you nail the songs at home are you controlling the tempo? If so, try practicing with a metronome or try the app JamZone.

 

[buldog5151bass]

It takes time, and it gets easier. There is no stress in the bedroom (for music).

Remember, the audience probably misses a lot of your errors. Don't ever let them know.

 

[BismarckHerring]

Paradoxically, one way to make fewer mistakes is to stop caring about them as much. Realize that most people won’t even notice, and even if they do, they don’t really care, as long as it doesn’t derail the song.

In order to keep the song going you need to forget your mistakes as soon as you make them. If you keep thinking about them, you will only get distracted and make more mistakes. Your attention should be with the music, what you’re currently playing and what you’ll play next. Not with what you’ve just played.

The best way to deal with a mistake is almost always to pretend it didn’t happen. Keep playing and don’t let your body language show that you realize you made a mistake. This will not only make you look more confident (which is important too), but it will also actually help you feel and sound more confident.

That’s easier said than done, but you can practice this in rehearsals. Don’t dwell on your mistakes, focus on picking up as soon as possible, as if nothing happened. Instead of scolding yourself for making mistakes, take pride in your ability to recover from them. In time, you will feel more confident and relaxed, and that will help you make fewer mistakes.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I've been playing bass on stages for almost 40 years. Never have played a perfect, error-free set. Came darn close a few times though.

It's natural to be harshly critical on yourself, and disappointing to not play up to your potential. Playing for an audience takes practice too... relax and enjoy the experience. Then go back to the woodshed.

 

[wafu_vasco]

I have so much sympathy for this post. It's been years since I played live and it generally went ok. Where it always descended into two hands composed entirely of thumbs with zero dexterity was:

1 - When anybody visited me at home, saw my basses, and said: 'Go on, play me something!'
2 - When going to a guitar shop and getting plugged into an amp for a potential purchase, with a reasonable number of people within earshot.

Both of these scenarios, which still crop up relatively frequently, instantly result in every year I've played the bass being surgically removed from my memory. So, you are not alone! Hang in there! The other posts here have already nailed it: we're less likely to notice how many times we make little mistakes and repeat sections to get them right when we are alone. When people are staring at you, it has to be right first time. Or, at least, we have to think we got it right. Most people won't notice the mistakes.

 

[denton57]

I have played live less than some pros play in one year so I can’t say I am any expert but my humble advice is block out the visual and focus on your ears. Bass to me is a breathing entity that needs to lock into the drums yet swing. I have closed my eyes more than I’d like to admit so that I can get locked in. Also, just like anything in life, you have to have confidence in yourself.

Mistakes will happen, but how fast you recover determines if anyone else noticed. The song doesn’t stop, so the bass cannot hide out for even a sec like guitar can. Close out the visual and lock in…be prepared for others making mistakes too and keep the song moving

I don’t sing…that would be scary.

 

[mcnach]

At home, practicing, I nail every song.
At rehearsal, I’m OK
live, I make more mistakes than I can count
Then I go to practice the songs at home and everything is perfect again
Why is this and how can I overcome my curse?

practice practice practice... that's all. The more you do it the better it gets. When you play at home everything is just right, you hear everything, you're comfortable, no pressure... Then live... well, it's suboptimal, let's say. You just need to keep at it.

 

[jthisdell]

Why are you making those mistakes? Are you able to identify the reason?

Are your fingers sluggish, or is your focus gone?

Focus is the most likely cause, easier to think of nothing but playing by yourself, lots going on at a gig

 

[BassBrass]

Self-consciousness. Live, or when the red light goes on making a recording, or playing live on air, causes a division inside yourself where you are watching yourself which robs you of the resources available when in a comfortable, known space. Only cure I know of (other than beta blockers) is experience, getting used to being watched. It might help if you learn to enjoy being watched, aka, performing. Some people never get there and that's ok.

 

[Number179]

Wow - what a supportive community. Seriously awesome. Guitarists ain't like that.

Beyond practice:
1) simplify
2) its going to be what its going to be; playing is hard, let alone performing. Own it
3) if you're perfect, you're not growing/learning. perfect isn't the goal because it is impossible. Golf analogy: no one will ever shoot an 18 hole score of 18.
4) take or leave this one: you're not the main character, you're supporting. No one cares. Support your tail off and pay attention to how you can be more supportive for next time. And yes, you are able to be supportive of yourself and your playing.

 

[NocoLaw]

The comments about knowing the material are obviously spot on, as are the ones about nerves and caring or worrying too much about your playing - one pro put it that it’s ego, but not in arrogant way people usually mean. When I was playing a lot of bluegrass and adjacent mandolin and banjo, I had times I could play melodies while carrying on a conversation, and then would play a live performance or large jam, and my hands would shake so badly I couldn’t possibly play well. A multi-time IBMA Banjo Player of the Year told me that she used beta blockers when necessary - not often, but she keeps them in her case. My father suffered from “intention tremor” later in life, which is basically an overproduction of adrenaline - the same thing is happening with shaky hands playing. I consulted my doc, borrowed a few Propranalol pills from my dad, and played a couple of shows. Effortless Mastery is a great book and has great tools for getting to the same place, but if you need to be able to play immediately, and you have the physical problem I had, beta blockers might be worth checking out - hopefully, just to get some good reps in and positive live performances under your belt. I don’t use them anymore, but I see them as like training wheels or someone holding you seat while you are learning to ride a bike - I wouldn’t want to rely on them long term (if I could avoid it - everyone’s chemistry is different), but I found them useful.

 

[mambo4]

I've gotten to the point of being able to cover up my mistakes better than I can prevent them.

THIS. High level players are not mistake free: they recover from mistakes with appropriate style and taste.

Nailing the material while distraction free and alone, or in the familiarity of a rehearsal, is easy. But at a gig there are a thousand tiny things that are going sideways at all times, begging to distract you from what was easy in the bedroom or rehearsal space.

Some say "do not practice until you get it right: practice until you can't get it wrong." That's a very high bar in my experience, but a good direction to aim in. What you want is an ingrained level of familiarity both with the material and the stylistic/ musical context of the piece. So that if you wander off of "correct" you at least fall into the right style / key / arpeggio

When I feel prepared sufficiently It is almost like the song exists in a prefect form outside (inside?) of me. If I can get my mental and physical habits out of the way it comes through effortlessly. Not perfectly, but in a way that has a kind of natural pull towards a good and proper feel and execution. Like Twinkle , Twinkle, Little Star, I know exactly how it goes, I can sing it easily and correct quickly if I mess up.

The one practical thing I have done is "naked metronome" practice. Just the bass, maybe a chart, and a metronome. No band, no backing track, and no stopping for mistakes. I try to play the bass line all the way through an make it sound good with no help. I find it really solidifies my understanding of a piece. The make it sound good part is important. Not merely playing correctly, but playing something with honest emotional intent behind it. I don't want to understand how it goes I want to understand how it feels.

And when I'm onstage and the acoustics are F'ing with me, and the sound guy isn't respecting my tone , and the smell of the deep fryer is pumping through the fans behind me, and the fire engine is driving by out front, and my ex is sitting at a side table because "we're still friends", simply remembering how it goes is not enough: what I want to give my attention to is how the song feels.

 

[Danny C]

Record your live performances with a Zoom etc. Listen back. I did it for rehearsals and gigs for years and it helped me find both my weak and strong points. And of course, everything else that has been said before me is all good stuff. It will all come together. Enjoy the ride!

 

[Father Gino]

It’s a whole different trip playing with real people. You’re not just playing a line, you’re making a song. All the parts must strive to make a whole. There are bands that play songs note for note ,but in my experience, most of them fail to some extent. In my mind, grove is king and trumps “the part”. Everyone in the band is going to play their parts slightly different than any recording and everyone must therefore adjust to what’s going on. Better to nail the feel/groove of your band’s playing then to worry obsessively about parts.

Don’t sweat mistakes unless they cause a train wreck. Sometimes mistakes teach you something useful.

 

[dave64o]

I was already in my 50s when I first started playing with other people - I was an older beginner. My first experience was playing in a couple of no pressure basement jams. One was very infrequent, but that wasn’t a bad way to start. Then I joined a weekly group.

I felt like that was a great way to make mistakes in a no pressure environment, learn to recover from mistakes, develop my ear, and build confidence. By the time I joined a gigging band and played my first gig at age 55 (well, two weeks shy of my 55th birthday), I had already developed some confidence in my abilities without the pressure of a live audience and was surprisingly comfortable finally being in front of a crowd.

I don’t know how far along you are as a player or if you’ve been gigging for a while. But, regardless how long you’ve been at it, I think a basement jam is a great way to build up confidence and address “stage fright” issues and/or focus issues.

And, as has been said already, if you’ve got a groove going, don’t sweat mistakes. Just keep playing and hold onto the groove. I’m often surprised listening to recordings or videos of our shows and listening for what I remember as particularly embarrassing mistakes. As long as kept a solid bass line going without making it obvious I made a mistake they really are barely noticeable. And you might also be surprised at how often a mistake can show you something cool you could play instead. Not all mistakes are cringeworthy.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

When I blow a note I smile. Sometimes I smile a LOT. Do you record your practices? I know for myself I often don't realize how easy it is to forget that I often start and stop several times and never really play a tune all the way through. I know all the parts but forget to work on the transitions. That may not apply to you.

BBB

 

[mr80htz]

Based on your thread title, maybe it's a details thing

 

[wjcstp]

Unless you’re playing super sparse music chances are the audience (and even your band) aren’t hearing 1/10th the clams you are.

In my current band our lead singer said “we’re aiming for hitting the right notes about 85% of the time”, and if you think about the number of notes in a set even the worst night of clams are probably nowhere near 15%.

When (not if) you miss a note it’s far more important to have fun and keep the song going. The worst thing is to let a bad note throw off the rest of a song or the gig. Stay in the groove and the occasional clam will disappear in the mix.

 

[Dincrest]

When you're practicing by yourself, rehearsing with your band, or recording in the studio, those are controlled environments with plenty of "do over" safety nets. When you're live, it's trapeze without a safety net. You only get that one chance to make a good first impression. Plus, there's the stress of getting to the venue (hoping you don't get lost or get a flat tire), sound checking, making sure you're equipment doesn't fail, hoping you didn't forget anything, engaging the crowd... all that stuff stresses and/or adrenalizes you so you're naturally a little more tense or jittery. Even if it's your 100th live show, no two live shows are the same.

So, yeah, I think that's why some people who can nail everything perfect in practice sometimes flub live. Live is a whole 'nother set of circumstances. Playing live is... a lot. I love it and find it exciting (I prefer playing live to recording in the studio; being on stage energizing the crowd is one of my happy places), but it's plenty stressful too. So your state of mind is not the same as during rehearsal or in your room.

One thing that helped me a lot was repeatedly practicing setting up and breaking down my gig rig (including rolling up my cables). Seriously, being able to set up and break down quickly takes away a good chunk of live show stress. I can easily say that in the last 3 or 4 bands I've been in, nobody could set up and break down their rigs faster than me. I'd be all packed up and my bandmates'd still be dicking around with unplugging.