If there’s one thing I’m an expert at, it’s making mistakes.
I’ve made about every kind of mistake possible — some big, some small.
Just speaking about music (lest we be here all day), I’ve done all of these boneheaded moves — and most of them recently:
- I’ve forgotten chord progressions in the middle of a song.
- I’ve failed to plug in my in-ear monitors before a set and wondered why I can’t hear the click track.
- I’ve plugged my amp into a dimmer switch for stage lighting and wondered why it was buzzing so badly.
- I’ve knocked over my instrument during the prayer time at church.
- I’ve bombed more solos and riffs than I can count.
I think this establishes my bona fides as a mistake-maker extraordinaire.
But over time I’ve used those experiences to learn how to navigate them.
As a guitarist who plays in live settings, I’ve discovered what to do — and not do — when I do inevitably screw up on stage. And so in this article, I want to share my accumulated wisdom with you.
So if you get frazzled by mistakes or are afraid to get in front of people with your guitar because you might mess up, read on — this one’s for you.
Have the right mindset
Anytime you play in front of people, you want to do a good job.
Playing in front of an audience can be a great motivator, pushing you to grow as a musician and entertainer. This is a good thing, and it can help you learn a ton.
But while striving for a solid performance is appropriate, striving for perfection is not. Simply put, anytime you play live you will make mistakes.
The last time I played at church, I bombed the first song. I learned and practiced it, attended two rehearsals, and was all set to go. But then when the service started, everything went out the window!
I screwed up the opening riff. I lost my place in the song (even though the chords and lyrics are on a giant screen in the back!). I was stumbling around on my instrument like an idiot until about halfway through when it finally came back to me.
The rest of the service went off without a hitch.
But you know what? That stuff happens. TO EVERYONE. Every musician from beginner to professional has stories about how they screwed up on stage. It’s all part of the experience of making music.
And because of that, no one expects you to be perfect either. So why would you expect it from yourself?
Think about the audience’s point of view
Why do people attend concerts?
While there may be a few jerks out there who go to point out all the mistakes they see (and who cares about them?), the vast majority of the crowd is there to have a good time.
Furthermore, most of them don’t play the guitar. They can’t tell a Strat from a Les Paul or a Mixolydian scale from an Aeolian one. They certainly can’t tell if you hit a wrong note during a solo.
And more importantly, they don’t care. As long as they are having fun, it’s “mission accomplished” as far as they are concerned.
I have lost count of the number of times I felt like I played terribly, only to have people compliment me afterward. I used to even ask, “Didn’t you hear me mess up on the first song?” One hundred percent of the time the answer was, “No, you sounded great to me!”
The bottom line is that the average audience member literally cannot tell when you make a mistake, so it’s just not worth stressing out over.
Get through it and get back on track
Now that you’ve got the proper mindset, how do you handle on-stage mistakes when they do happen?
First and foremost, just get through it.
Most mistakes aren’t anywhere as major as we make them out to be. A couple of wrong notes aren’t going to ruin most songs. A flubbed chord change is just a passing element of a song, even if it feels like an hour when you’re the one doing the flubbing.
So when you find yourself in the middle of a mistake, just power through it like you own the place and get back to the right notes when you can.
You can even stop for a moment to recalibrate and center yourself if need be. It’s better to have an unplanned beat or two of rest than get completely flustered and prolong the issue. Just take that extra second or two to relax and find the song again. Your mistake will soon fade into oblivion.
Don’t acknowledge it
The corollary to the above point is this: you must pretend like everything is fine.
Normally ignoring a problem is not a great strategy, but in a live band setting, it’s definitely the way to go.
Remember how I said most audience members can’t tell when you make a mistake? Well, if you grimace, curse, or look around sheepishly, you will blow your cover. They will know you messed up because you’re broadcasting it to them with your body language.
So rather than react, don’t acknowledge it. Act like as far as anyone else is concerned, you played exactly what you meant to play.
Later, in private, you can acknowledge and work on any parts that gave you trouble — just not during the show.
Come prepared
I hope at this point I’ve helped you realize that making mistakes while playing live music is a) going to happen and b) not a big deal.
But, of course, we all still want to minimize the impact of mistakes on our playing. And it turns out the absolute best way to handle mistakes is not to make them in the first place.
This means practicing. And practicing. And then practicing some more.
The more you can learn your setlist and parts ahead of time, the better off you will be. When you do make the inevitable mistake, knowing the song well will help you jump back on the horse quickly.
There is just no substitute for practice and preparation.
Have fun
At the end of the day, we make and listen to music for the sheer enjoyment of it. How is stressing out or fearing mistakes enjoyable? It’s not, that’s how.
So more than anything else, the biggest takeaway from this article should be “enjoy yourself.” And when you make a mistake? Don’t worry about it. Move on. Have fun! (We’re not curing cancer, after all.)
The next time you find yourself in the middle of a mistake, follow the above process and let me know how it goes. And if you have other tips on how to navigate mistakes during a live performance, let us know in the comments!
Leave a Reply