Mistakes during performance
I have this problem....when I perform or record. I have, over the years, playing fingerstyle, developed this bad habit of going back and fixing a mistake instead of just playing through it. Its like I get lost when I make a mistake and don't know how to pick up the thread again until I fix the mistake. Anyone struggling with this?...Any tips?
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Try to play through if you're in front of an audience. In most cases they won't notice the mistake anyway.
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When you walk down the street and trip over a crack in the sidewalk, do you go back and take that footstep again? If you do, it only accents your error. Play to the beat (rather than the note) when you falter and you won't be as tempted to make repairs as you go.
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This is what I learnt long ago and tell my students , when I get them.
1. We all make mistakes. 2. The majority of your audience won't notice a mistake (unless you stop and point it out to them) 3. Those that do spot an errors with think "oh did he ...? hmm, beer!" and they have forgotten. 4. Poker face - don't show your error in your expression, unless something is radically wrong - string breaks, capo springs off, trousers fall down etc.. in which case entertain them with a joke. 5. when you play in front of an audience , you are there to entertain them, not to compete in a competition - you don't have to be the fastest, the loudest, the anything but a good )i.e. it isn't a sport) just be a sincere entertainer/storyteller, and they will like you. |
Playing out, I don't think anyone notices when I muff a chord, really. What was astonishing, though, was the first time I messed up the words of an original and I heard a lady in front singing along, but correctly.
For amazement, that ranks up there with the first time I saw my young child do something that was smarter than the dog could do. |
I attend quite a few smaller venue shows with mostly solo guitarists performing.
Audio wise, I'm not usually aware of mistakes, but I know instantly when a performer knows they made a mistake by their facial expressions. |
In our Praise Band when one of us makes a mistake we just look at the drummer. :D
David |
Let it go and let if flow. Play through it and keep going. For myself mistakes occur when I get distracted by paying attention to someone in the audience or letting my head wander when playing a song I've done a thousand times or rushing. Either way, relax, keep your head in what you're doing and relax. Then relax, breathe and, oh yeah, relax.
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I'd have to say that the only time you should stop and fix, is if you're trying to get the muscle memory right for a complex passage or chord change.
If it's a performance play on, stay on beat, (try to not GRIMMACE or make a face like you just smelled a ripe fart..) Stay cool pretend like nothing happened no one will know unless it's a major clam, and even then, maybe not. Depends on the setting, a Concert, or solo performance like recital or what ever just forget about it, the moment is gone.. In a noisy bar, or coffee house,, no one's gonna know what happened. And, you're the only one that will care. Recording, depends on what you use. many things are very easy to do punch ins to fix mistakes. (Pro Tools for example..) |
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Unless you are horrendously out of tune, there are no mistakes during performance. You just keep on going. Unless . . . the mistake wasn't too bad. Then you intentionally repeat it if it comes around again in the song.
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You say you're playing fingerstyle pieces...do you know the tunes as melody and chords as well, or just as an arrangement?
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Some background info, I've been performing as a professional juggler for about 25 years. When you make mistakes juggling, it's REAALLYY obvious. As such, we've developed 'drop lines', things we say or do when we drop that ends up enhancing the show.
I'm now transitioning into solo musical performing. At my one and only gig so far, my wife's most constructive comment was that this was not a juggling show and I needed to handle my mistakes better. Instinctively, I was drawing on my 'drop line' tendencies when I should have just breezed through the errors. She knows all of the songs I play and said even she would not have noticed 75% of my mistakes if I hadn't done something to point them out. So back to the OP, I mostly play fingerstyle and sing. For guitar mistakes, it's easy for me to fall into a simple pattern that somewhat fits the song. No one notices that and I'm getting better at handling it. My biggest issue is screwing up lyrics. I'm still working on how to handle that. I go to a couple open mics a month specifically to get more time in front of an audience. |
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