Members crisis Posted October 6, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 6, 2005 Well this was not the only f/up but it threw me for a bit. I play a Strat for cleaner sounds and older style rock and roll and a Washburn A20 for everything else with medium to heavy o/d. To keep the same levels between the A20 and the lower output of the Strat I have a Boss eq pedal next to the amp which I switch on and off when appropriate. I have only started to play with the two guitars so I knew there may be a potential for some problems. I wrote EQ over all of my set lists so I would remember. So we finish the second song and I have to change guitars and get ready to sing The Bad Touch. The drummer, bless him, is ready so he sets off. Our lead vocalist who assumes back up duties advises the crowd "I'd appreciate your input" as per required by the lyrics and off we go. Well off they go anyway. I am still plugging in my guitar and frantically kicking the {censored} out of my pedal board to bring up the flange patch to enable me to join them. Thinking the numbers are all right I turn up the volume. And up it goes! Feedback city. "WTF is going on?" he asks rhetorically. Already shaken by the impromtu start I am now thoroughly stirred by an apparrent equiptment malfunction. No time for that now as I have to discharge the stream of verbal spew that is the lyrics to this song. With barely a chance to breath, let alone think, I am trying to work out what went wrong. Ahh , the fukin EQ pedal. Out of reach while I am stuck to the mike I await for a break in proceedings then rush to stomp angrily on the innocent electronic device. Shattered I grab for the notes to the insipid solo fill my 9 year old son could do blind fold and mangle it beyond recognition. Luckily the next verse went without a hitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shellpink Posted October 6, 2005 Members Share Posted October 6, 2005 1.) the next song starts, when every bandmember is good and ready. 2.) a pedal, that is out of reach when you're on the mike, is useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KeysBear Posted October 6, 2005 Members Share Posted October 6, 2005 Originally posted by ss454 There have only been a few times when we REALLY caved in on a song and the best thing to do is STOP... We've done that once (guitarist playing in a different key) so we we just stopped and the singer said "sorry, we had some technical difficulties - all better now." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members doubleR Posted October 6, 2005 Members Share Posted October 6, 2005 Originally posted by GCDEF Everyone makes mistakes gigging. A couple of tips. If you're lost in the song but the band is still going strong, cut your volume way back or pretend to play till you catch up. Not playing anything will sound better than playing wrong. It'll also prevent the rest of band from getting distracted. Watch the "Stevie Ray Vaughn Live At Montreux" DVD. Stevie brings up Johnny Copeland to join him on "Cold Shot." At one point the camera catches Johnny CLEARLY air-guitaring it--he's obviously lost. However, Johnny is smiling away the entire time, and at the people at the concert probably never caught it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rangerkarlos Posted October 6, 2005 Members Share Posted October 6, 2005 After an obvious train wreck ending... "Thank you music lovers. Just like we rehearsed it" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vanlatte Posted October 6, 2005 Members Share Posted October 6, 2005 Originally posted by ulank Indeed. If you get all pissy on stage and draw attention to the fact that you made a mistake, then people will notice it. The nice thing about live music is the audience can't go back and rewind to hear what you just played. So just plug ahead, forget about it and it will undoubtedly be forgotten. Yep, and its a good indication of how seasoned the players are. I remember watching a band one time that transitiond into the drum solo. The solo was very, very well done. At one point, I saw the drummer reach the end of a fill and he raised his stick and for a split second I wondered if maybe he got lost or froze up or something. Before it even had time to register, he did it again and made a pattern out of it. Afterwards we got to talking and I complimented him on the solo and ever so gently approached the subject because I was dying to know; was it a mistake or part of the solo? He laughed and was surprised I caught it because it was indeed a mistake. I congratulated him for the excellent recovery because that's pretty much what it comes down to; if he would have grimaced or shook his head or something it would have stood out and everybody would have caught it, but he just played through it and improvised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AGreaterHope Posted October 6, 2005 Members Share Posted October 6, 2005 42. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crisis Posted October 7, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 7, 2005 Originally posted by Shellpink 1.) the next song starts, when every bandmember is good and ready. Thats what I thought. Originally posted by Shellpink 2.) a pedal, that is out of reach when you're on the mike, is useless. Its about cable issues but I think I proved your point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Go-Mur Posted October 7, 2005 Members Share Posted October 7, 2005 If you ask me making mistakes is the funnest part of playing, unless of coarse the band train wrecks, that ain't cool. When we make mistakes and recover, we all kinda look at each other and then laugh our asses off. When I look out at the audience, I have yet to see any sign that anyone noticed anything wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bilbo71070 Posted October 7, 2005 Members Share Posted October 7, 2005 I used to be in a band with a smoking lead guitar player that had a great voice. Every once in a while he would screw the lyrics to a song up and it used to crack me up. The funny thing about it was he would always find some way to sing the word "demon" if he forgot the lyric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ripping Rudy Posted October 11, 2005 Members Share Posted October 11, 2005 When in doubt, pick slide!! Or, stomp on whammy pedal to make martian sound until you figure out what the {censored} happened to your years of training. hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sideswipedv Posted October 11, 2005 Members Share Posted October 11, 2005 i just thought i would share this one with you. My very first time playing and singing in front of anyone but my wife was about 6 years ago, i was teaching guitar at a local music school basically lessons to children. Three times a year they have performances for the families of the students so they can see their childrens progress (the recital) well anyway after all the students preform , the teachers usually take turns, two or three songs each and then everyone eats and goes home. well as i was saying it was my own personal debut singing and playing my guitar and wouldnt you know it that every single parent and grandparent and aunt and sister and cousin ....well you get the point. To the tune of over three hundred people showed up for this thing . Needless to say i was a wreck. first song went off without a hitch but the second one , i started on the second verse and then when i got around to the second verse i didnt know what to do. as a natural reaction i dropped my head and went errr, well when i dropped my head i hit the mic with my forhead, causing myself further embarrassment and to beat all the "ERRR" was picked up by the mic. I finished my train wreck and left the stage the claps and whistles. ???? wtf didnt they see that i had just ruined my part of the performance??? Afterwards a mother of one of students came up to me and she says "wow im so glad you are giving my son lessons, i only hope that he is as passionate about his playing as you are" !!! Thats when i learned that if you dont admit it or acknowledge it they probably wont notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tucktronix Posted October 11, 2005 Members Share Posted October 11, 2005 Man, I must have the worst habit whenever I screw up, the habit of hitting myself in the forehead, kinda' like "I wish I had a V8" sort of thing. I actually do conceal mistakes fairly well, tho. But, I just need to stop hitting my forehead!!Damn, just did it again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crisis Posted October 11, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 11, 2005 Originally posted by sideswipedv Thats when i learned that if you dont admit it or acknowledge it they probably wont notice. Perhaps she meant that she hoped her son would feel so bad when he stuffed up that he would physically abuse himself?It is obvious from the replies and my limited experience that confidence in the face of adversity is the answer. The ignorant will remain so and you even might bluff experienced players into at least considering, "well was it or wasnt it?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cherri Posted October 11, 2005 Members Share Posted October 11, 2005 Last Saturday one of us got off count and the usually tight ending to a song went south. I got on the mic and said, "Wow, guys, way to nail that false ending!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paragraph51 Posted October 14, 2005 Members Share Posted October 14, 2005 If you are making mistakes then you aren't practicing enough, or paying enough attention to what you are doing when you are practicing. Practice any troublesome passages 100 times in a row, until you can't play them wrong, even if you tried to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members progguitar Posted October 14, 2005 Members Share Posted October 14, 2005 Actually I think most people DO notice when mistakes are made, they usually don't have a reaction to it. What do you expect them to do, pull out a gun and start blazing away? They've probably heard the songs as many times as you have, so they'll know when a mistake is made. The key element is that they don't care near as much as you do. And whoever said it is right, don't make the "who farted?" face when you make or hear a mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vanlatte Posted October 14, 2005 Members Share Posted October 14, 2005 Originally posted by Paragraph51 If you are making mistakes then you aren't practicing enough, or paying enough attention to what you are doing when you are practicing. Practice any troublesome passages 100 times in a row, until you can't play them wrong, even if you tried to. This statement is a bit hard to swallow...even the most seasoned, experienced and commited veteran is bound to slip up now and then. It's a fact of life since we are far from perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zekmoe Posted October 14, 2005 Members Share Posted October 14, 2005 Exactly 7 for a 3hr gig. Any more, or less for that matter, then the player commiting said mistakes should be fired. (Musicians Union Rules) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Headbanger Posted October 16, 2005 Members Share Posted October 16, 2005 You're not flying a plane ! Though you should be able to finish the songs.How about that: I play in a AC/DC tribute band. You know the song "Live wire" ? It's the opener for us. The bass player started in C. Yes, you have to know the song to understand the problem you are facing then. Does anyone ?And: 1/3 of notes are right, 1/3 fit in though, 1/3 sound really bad. That's fair enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crisis Posted October 16, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 16, 2005 Originally posted by zekmoe Exactly 7 for a 3hr gig. Any more, or less for that matter, then the player commiting said mistakes should be fired. (Musicians Union Rules) Now thats what was looking for. A benchmark! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thisboyshouts Posted October 17, 2005 Members Share Posted October 17, 2005 Even though our songs aren't particularly complex, my band rehearse repeatedly, solidly for hours on every tune if necessary, until we can virtually play them, tightly, in our sleep. That way, mistakes just don't happen - as long as you stay focussed and don't get distracted by the singer falling over on the drumkit, or somesuch.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EVERTON Posted October 19, 2005 Members Share Posted October 19, 2005 mistakes always seem worse than what they are, lord knows I've made a few! about a year ago we were performing a new tune for the first time, me and the drummer had bad hangovers. The break in the tune has a bit of tricky run in it that I play in octaves, I totally messed it up, I sounded like a mongolian string bender! My most common mistakes are usually make on my pedal board, hitting the wrong and loudest pedal at an important moment, etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dblair Posted October 21, 2005 Members Share Posted October 21, 2005 Mistakes often seem worse when you are in the moment, cuz you get that, "oh {censored}", adrenaline rush. But if you listen back to the tape its often was just a slide up to the right chord. Don't go by how it felt at the time, tape the gigs, tape don't lie. Good or bad. 2 strategies when you make a mistake. Either plug on with no reaction, or make it obvious and humorous that you made a mistake. Use the mistake as part of the performance. I like to make a silly face to one of the girls in the band or the audience. Like "Oh well" no biggie. As long as its done with confidence and you appear in control. Experience helps a lot with the. Also remember, whatever scale you are in, you are never more that 1/2 away from a right note. So just make the clam a passing tone, then do it again. Now your doin some cool fusion lick. hehe. When I have a phrase I'm playing and the fingers get hung up and play something rhythmically different, I go with it and the next phrase plays off the previous one, melodically or rhythmically. Some of the collest passages come from this. Just always feel the music and flow in a musical way. Tension and fear is your worst enemy. No matter what mistakes you will make, they will be worse and more often if you are tense. Playing loose and confident is a skill that I had to work on just like practicing scales. Its the Zen of performing if you will. What pulls it all together. Oh yea and make sure you know your {censored} Before you hit the stage. Make sure you did your homework and any mistakes are not because you don't know your part cold, but cuz you were distracted at the hot girl at the bar. Thats a legitamite reason. Make sure you know your parts cold, your equipment is working properly and set up correctly, tuned up, on stage warmed up and ready to start on time, etc. Thats part of being a pro. The playing is the fun part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AJ6stringsting Posted October 23, 2005 Members Share Posted October 23, 2005 If you make a mistake use a chromatic scale,slide in to the right chord or the next note some people will think it's just an embellishment and do it in sync with the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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