23.)Recovering from mistakes.

[jersey_mike]

i'd like some input from others on ways to effectively do this. hopefully it'll be a topic that will help many of us here.

 

[Pete Thomas]

A) Repeat it so they don't think its a mistake
B) Look angrily at the bass player
C) Look angrily at your articulated G# mechanism or reed

 

[Bobby G]

There are no mistakes, only explorations.

Actually, Pete's point about repeating it is something I've seen before, it can work and also lead you off in an unexpected direction.

Somewhat different, I think, would be what do you do if you got totally lost?

Cheers, Bob

 

[spike]

Somewhat different, I think, would be what do you do if you got totally lost?

Play chromatic very fast, parallel Diminished arpeggios are also good and a flourish of Harmolodics shows you know exactly what's going on. Then you stop, shout "take it from the bridge" count four and off you go.

 

[Bobby G]

spike wrote:

Somewhat different, I think, would be what do you do if you got totally lost?

Play chromatic very fast, parallel Diminished arpeggios are also good and a flourish of Harmolodics shows you know exactly what's going on. Then you stop, shout "take it from the bridge" count four and off you go.

The only part of that I can do convincinglys the shouting part. Does "shall we hit it and quit" work?

Zoot in your avatar looks like he's trying to recover from a mistake.

I reckon if you're brash or confident enough about it, most people won't even realise you've made a mistake anyway. It's close enough for rock'n'roll is a phrase I've heard many times.

Cheers, Bob

 

[bubbie_king]

Pete Thomas wrote:
A) Repeat it so they don't think its a mistake
B) Look angrily at the bass player
C) Look angrily at your articulated G# mechanism or reed

This is funny, but the most effective way to do it. lol

Thanks Pete.



Randy

 

[Linky Lee]

I was playing a gig a few weeks back and fogot that my improvised solo was supposed to be repeated so I ended being 8 bars ahead and there was a climax building up and I played a ridiculous run that made a complete hash of it.

The trumpet player gave a me a wierd look, so I looked back and winked then improvised a bit until I was back with the music - The audience loved it!
They all said how great it was to have an un expected solo that linked to the melody, they thought it ran really smoothly.

I was lucky that the same chord was being played when I started my mistake.

-Brilliant!

 

[jersey_mike]

i had read a few months ago in this forum that repeating a 'mistake' makes it appear that you originally knew what you were doing. at the time i thought it was a joke!

it kind of sounds like one mans mistake is another mans genious, sort of like one mans trash being another mans treasure. it helps this newbie realize that you don't have to be 'perfect' to play. i think i tend to look at playing music as too much of a science.

 

[lee_]

In all seriousness, I think one of the main things to learn in regard to recovering from mistakes on stage is to move on with it quickly, keep smiling and never let on to the audience that you may have blown it.

Most of them aren't gonna know unless you inform them by scowling or gesturing (like putting your finger to your head and "pulling the trigger").

Sure, some of the other players may know. But you're playing WITH them, not FOR them. It's a balancing act, but if you're too concerned about what your bandmates think during a performance, you may need to check your priorities.