Coping with mistakes live

[tauzero]

I've just remembered something I meant to say earlier.

 

Yes, mistakes are transient. All these moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. However, I do try and make a mental note of them, as one-off mistakes can be indicators that something needs some extra work (notably endings), and if they get repeated gig after gig they're definitely indicators of a problem.

[Franticsmurf]

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

In one former band, the singer would do verses and choruses at random, and was quite likely to start a verse before the end of the guitar solo.

Yes, I've had this experience and the singer told the band 'if you don't follow me, you'll be the ones looking bad.' He was right, of course, and is now on his own trying to make it as a solo artist.

 

But the experience taught me (and the others in the band) how to quickly adapt to random changes to arrangements, keys and even moving from one song to another unexpectedly and although I hated it at the time, I have to accept that it made me a better musician.

[snorkie635]

19 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

Yes, I've had this experience and the singer told the band 'if you don't follow me, you'll be the ones looking bad.' He was right, of course, and is now on his own trying to make it as a solo artist.

 

But the experience taught me (and the others in the band) how to quickly adapt to random changes to arrangements, keys and even moving from one song to another unexpectedly and although I hated it at the time, I have to accept that it made me a better musician.

I had no idea that you'd played with Tom Jones - he'll never amount to much. Better off without him. 💁🏻‍♂️

[White Cloud]

I've seen some of the best in the business make howlers and they just get on with it. Who cares? Its only rock n roll!

[Franticsmurf]

3 hours ago, snorkie635 said:

I had no idea that you'd played with Tom Jones - he'll never amount to much. Better off without him. 💁🏻‍♂️

Yeah, exactly. And where is he now, eh? 🤣

[GoodShowSir]

Heck I make mistakes all the time... no one ever follows the bass Maybe I need to sing too.

[Franticsmurf]

1 hour ago, White Cloud said:

I've seen some of the best in the business make howlers and they just get on with it. Who cares? Its only rock n roll!

I saw/heard David Gilmour make a mistake on one of the opening four guitar notes to 'Shine On'. (You had one job, David). It got  huge round of applause and the only reason I remember it is because when I got the Pulse album (I was at the night they recorded it), it has been edited out. But you can still hear remnants of the crowd cheering. As you say, who cares. 😃

[martthebass]

We always go with the singer, that way the mistake is less obvious to the punters.

Analysis comes later to see how not to repeat if it wasn't just a standard brain fart.

[snorkie635]

36 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

Yeah, exactly. And where is he now, eh? 🤣

Probably playing the Dog and Duck next Tuesday night for £15

[Franticsmurf]

2 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

Probably playing the Dog and Duck next Tuesday night for £15

When it turned out the the band I was auditioning for had him on guitar and vocals, I walked away. Didn't look back. Don't think I missed out on much there... 🤣

[snorkie635]

Just now, Franticsmurf said:

When it turned out the the band I was auditioning for had him on guitar and vocals, I walked away. Didn't look back. Don't think I missed out on much there... 🤣

Agree entirely. Is he still going out with that Delilah character? For someone like him, it's not unusual to chop and change.

[TimR]

Always follow the singer.

 

Caveat: if the guitarist starts the wrong song, the rest of the band should immediately recognise which song he has picked from the setlist and go for it.

 

Or at least find the right sheet of music before the singer comes in. 

Edited June 13, 2023 by TimR

[NoRhino]

We suffered for a whole year with a singer/harmonica player who despite using a tablet for lyrics and arrangement couldn't or wouldn't follow what was written in front of him.  I sang a lot of definite harmonies but stopped when I'd had enough of looking like I was getting it wrong. Sucked all the fun out of a good  band.  He's now ex of this parish and the new man sings the right words in the right places and we're all smiling again.   We still make a mistake occasionally but nothing too noticeable.   

[chris_b]

Bad notes are debatable, but a bad groove is unforgivable.

 

Musicians hear all the bad notes and audiences hear all the good notes.

[EssexBuccaneer]

If I couldn’t cope with mistakes, I’d have had a breakdown at rehearsal last night. Was all over the shop! One of those nights! 🫣

[Owen]

The one mistake it is impossible to correct on the stage on the gig is "why did I think having ******* to play would work?".

[SteveK]

I'm not sure "always follow the singer" is always the best policy. In my experience, following a singer who's screwed up can make a bad situation worse. Once he realises he's messed up he'll be all over the shop - trying to follow him might result in total, unimaginable carnage🤯 There's usually someone else in the band better who can step forward and attempt to "take the bull by the horns" (there is a slim chance that it could actually be the singer😉).

If the cockup occurs early enough in the song, there's no shame in stopping and starting again. The most important thing is... don't panic, smile and make light of it while on stage - Save the verbals and fisticuffs for the dressing room😎

The worst mistake I've ever been a part of was when the keyboard player had a different setlist: Count in, "1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - WHAT THE...🤯"

[tauzero]

12 hours ago, chris_b said:

Bad notes are debatable, but a bad groove is unforgivable.

 

Musicians hear all the bad notes and audiences hear all the good notes.

 

Audiences hear the record playing in their heads. If there isn't too much of a collision between that and reality, it's not a problem.

[paddy109]

If its the bass mistake then don't stop - I try to just noodle on root notes until Im back in. If you stop everyone notices!

 

If its someone else in the band then I just give a wry smile and not give them the evil eye. 

 

As SteveK said if its early in the song then no harm in starting again and it will give the audience a laugh!

[Franticsmurf]

48 minutes ago, SteveK said:

I'm not sure "always follow the singer" is always the best policy. In my experience, following a singer who's screwed up can make a bad situation worse. Once he realises he's messed up he'll be all over the shop - trying to follow him might result in total, unimaginable carnage🤯 There's usually someone else in the band better who can step forward and attempt to "take the bull by the horns" (there is a slim chance that it could actually be the singer😉).

If the cockup occurs early enough in the song, there's no shame in stopping and starting again. The most important thing is... don't panic, smile and make light of it while on stage - Save the verbals and fisticuffs for the dressing room😎

The worst mistake I've ever been a part of was when the keyboard player had a different setlist: Count in, "1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - WHAT THE...🤯"

I guess that applies to whoever you choose to follow and as you say, sometimes stopping and making light of it can be the best way out. I've had to do both, and they both work. It's great if you can make a joke out of it. But I think it's also good to have some plan about what to do if there is a arrangement faux pas because in most of the cases I've experienced, we've got away with it without the audience noticing by following the singer, despite it being his mistake. 

 

Absolutely no recriminations on stage and I'd even say none in the dressing room, because potentially you're still on show to the guys that book you.

 

I was the lead singer for one song and for some reason, against the arrangement we'd rehearsed, the main singer chose to sing with me,. But he ended up singing exactly half a verse behind me. Which singer do we follow? 😃 Fortunately the band knew the singer well enough to guess that he either didn't know he was wrong, or didn't care, so I stopped singing, made sure the others knew, and we followed him. Oh how we laughed on stage. 😬 He's working on his solo act now.   

 

 

[BreadBin]

We are a four piece doing (almost) all originals. Usually it's only one of us that drops the ball at a time so we have a mutual agreement that we carry on and you have to join back in. Unless it's a complete car crash and then I guess we'll stop and reset. That hasn't happened (yet!)

[ricksterphil]

I was at a KT Tunstall gig a while ago and they got 4 bars into a song before KT stops playing and announces for all to hear that they'd properly fubar'd the start and would be starting again.

 

So I guess that means....always follow the singer

 

Ms Tunstall puts on a damn good show btw so would recommend popping along next time she's in your town

[Muzz]

Happens to the very best, too... 

 

[petebassist]

42 minutes ago, Muzz said:

Happens to the very best, too... 

 

Bass sounds awesome on there, Yamaha Attitude by the looks of it...

[Norris]

At the last gig we played the guitarist started a song in A instead of E. It was a little bit obvious when I came in a few bars later. Total car crash, stop and start again. Our audience have come to expect a bit of humour and banter from us, so it was just part of the entertainment. Oh, and it was an instrumental so no singer to follow either 😂