Musicians & Stage Bloopers: 4 Big Fixes

Where there are humans, there are also mistakes, simply because making mistakes is exactly what makes us all human. Even seasoned musicians will, without fail, make at least one mid-gig mistake – whether they like it or not. The big difference between an experienced musician and one that’s still a little green isn’t necessarily the number of mistakes, but how they respond to them. As long you don’t panic or make weird faces, maintain your focus and control and keep listening to the rest of the band, you can still save the show. To make on-stage bloopers more bearable, here are four expert tips.

It’s the Mistakes That Make You Human

In an ideal world, you’re always 100% prepared before every gig and there’s absolutely no chance of anything going wrong. However, reality is a very different beast, so mistakes are inevitable no matter how many hours you’ve put in, whether it’s a wonky riff, mistimed chord, a tight fill that ends just a fraction of a second too late, or the sudden horror when you really and truly can’t remember the words. It happens to every guitarist, every keyboardist, every bassist and every vocalist on the planet, no matter which level, so if you make a mistake on stage, remember: you’re not alone, it happens to everybody and it’s really not worth making a fuss about it. Even Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin admits to making mistakes: “If I’ve made a mistake on stage in the middle of a solo, I just play the same mistake again to make it sound like that’s how I planned it.” Naturally, this incredibly cool approach won’t work for everything and does demand a really deep knowledge of your instrument, but it does go to show that even musical legends make mistakes and are actually really relaxed about it. One of my favourite quotes on the subject comes from the brilliant mind of the American TV painter Bob Ross, who famously stated that “We don’t make mistakes. We just have happy accidents.” During the Nobel Prize ceremony for Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, overcome with emotion, suffered a mental ‘black out’ mid-performance. After a moment, she stopped, gave her apologies and then simply started again. Meanwhile, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Her ‘mistake’ encapsulated the intensity of the moment. Naturally, we’re talking about Patti Smith here, who brings her own gravitas to the situation so can definitely get away with it. But again, it illustrates the fact that making a mistake doesn’t spell the end of the world.

#1. Keep Listening

Any mistake that makes you lose your place or lose track of the beat can actually be avoided, because they indicate that you haven’t been paying attention to what’s going on onstage, or you haven’t done your homework well enough and really learnt the structure of the song. Of course, it might be one of those dreaded moments when your mind just goes completely blank, or it’s a combination. In any case, you can’t do anything about it until you’ve figured out where the rest of the band is in the song, so it’s best to just stop playing and wait until things start feeling familiar again before falling back in. This also means that the whole band needs to be well trained in the art of just carrying on when any mishaps occur.

So you’re certain that you’ll always be able to find your place again, you need to learn the structure of every song you play through and through, so you know exactly how each section sounds and what everyone in your band is playing at any given moment. Basically, every musician involved needs to be prepared. If you don’t know how the chorus is supposed to sound or when the bridge starts, then you’re going to be in trouble. Having the ability to simply listen to each other and pay attention to what every other band member is playing might sound obvious, but it’s incredible how many amateur bands lack this skill. If you have made a mistake and, let’s face it, at one point or another you will, then the best thing to do is stop, figure out what went wrong musically (and do it quickly), pin-point where the rest of the band is at and then slip back into the song as if nothing happened. Don’t panic and keep calm. Stress will only lead to more stress and will only make you more confused. If you know you’ve messed up, just keep listening to the rest of your band and re-focus on what you’re playing.

#2. Maintain Comms

How often do you look at the other members of your band? How often do they look at you? If the answer is rarely or never, then you’ve probably found another likely cause of any onstage faults. The key to tight sound is communication, and the ability to communicate with each other becomes even more critical when things start falling apart mid-song. Maybe the lead singer has started the chorus a bar too early so the rest of the band needs to (via nothing more than a quick glance) make the decision to try to re-sync up with the singer. Maybe the guitarist tripped up and missed a transition so they need to be given a clear sign during the next bar. Even saying the words ‘bridge’ or ‘chorus’ is totally fine (not into the microphone, of course), so that the whole band knows exactly where you’re at. If your band communication is good, then you can help each other out and solve any errors together.

In an ideal situation, you should be able to look to your fellow band members in any time of need. This level of communication takes some skill and some time to build, so that you can communicate something in a mere nod or a glance. It also means that you can’t get away with just staring at your instrument. If you can’t play perfectly without looking at your fretboard or keyboard, then you might want to spend time rehearsing blind. Really knowing your instrument and being able to reach for the right chord unconsciously and without looking is one of the best ways to prevent any mistakes from happening.

#3. Don’t Show Any Frustration

While mistakes are inevitable, they can still be anywhere from annoying to absolutely devastating. But, no matter how frustrated you are about missing a chord, you can never ever show it to the audience. That’s a golden rule. When people go to see a live gig, they expect to at least be entertained. Watching someone throw a tantrum or crumble away on stage just isn’t what you want to see on a night out. So, you need to learn to save your emotions for after the show or just eat them, and the best way to do that is to put a positive spin on the situation. It’s often the case that the most fun happens because of a mistake, so the best response to all of those ‘happy accidents’ is to laugh. It’s actually a very compelling theatrical technique, because the ability to laugh it off is actually what will make the people on stage seem more human – just like Patti Smith. During the he next rehearsal after a gig, of course you need to go over every error and see where you can improve – that’s part of the job. But what you should never ever do is apologise to the audience for a mistake you made during a song when you’re actually on stage – or if you’re talking to someone afterwards. Complaining about how badly you think you played can really bring down the mood and mess with an audience member’s experience. Nine out of ten times, people won’t even have noticed that you did anything wrong. Lean on that fact and don’t call out your own errors to your own fans. It makes you look insecure. Instead, park it and carry on, otherwise you risk darkening the mood in the venue, backstage, with your band and with yourself.

#4. Know Your Gear

Sometimes, you see musicians blaming their instrument or equipment, but the blame always ultimately lies with you. As well as knowing the songs inside and out, you need to know exactly how your instrument and your gear works so that, if any disasters do occur you know exactly what to do to fix them. Knowing your gear involves some time, some studying and some preparation – especially when you see how much gear some bands load in every night. When any kind of tech is involved, there are a billion and one things that can go wrong, so if something happens and you’re still faffing around five minutes later while everyone waits, it doesn’t exactly give you and your band a professional look. The more time you spend on stage solving technical issues, the more time the audience has to lose interest in listening to your music. If you’re going to use a piece of equipment then learn and understand everything that can go wrong with it. If something goes wrong during a gig, having some kind of backup on hand is the quickest fix going so, rather than making everyone wait while you change a string, just pick up the spare guitar that you had the presence of mind to bring with you. Basically, always have some spare jack leads, some spare patch leads handy and, if you can, some spare everything.

The Ten Biggest Mistakes a Musician Can Make

Besides missing notes, entire verses and other musical mistakes, there are plenty of other errors and blunders that beginner bands can make on stage. Some of these might sound obvious, but if you follow these few tips you can’t go wrong.

Taking Too Much Time Between Songs

Even if you’re chatting with your audience, tuning up your guitar or introducing the next number, you should keep the break between each song as short as possible. If you wait too long then you risk losing the attention of your audience. They’re there to hear your music, not to find out why you broke up with your first love and how this next track is all about it.

Tuning Up While Your Amp is Still On

No one will ever ask to hear you loudly tuning up your instrument over a PA system, so don’t do it on stage. Get a tuner pedal and use the mute function so you can tune up in discreet silence and without messing with the vibe. Invest in a really good tuner and it’ll serve you for decades to come.

Not Respecting Other People’s Gear

The bass amplifier that the other band has lent you for the night, or that the venue has kindly provided as part of the backline is not your personal coffee table, so don’t leave your beer or anything else wet on top of it. Avoid throwing a sweaty T-shirt or towel on the stage monitors, don’t climb on top of the PA speakers, try to resist swinging the microphone around, kicking over any stands or spilling any drinks across the stage floor. Basically, be polite and respect other people’s gear.

Starting Late or Playing Too Long

If you start playing too late, you give the audience more time to decide that they don’t want to see your band. It’s also a pretty rude move, since you’re not just insulting the audience but the venue, the organisers and the other bands that need to play that night. The same applies to playing any longer than the set-time you’ve been given since you’re basically taking the time away from other bands and messing up the schedule. Make sure that you know exactly how long your set is, always start on time and always leave the stage on time.

Moaning to the Crowd

It might seem like it’s all part of the rockstar-in-training lifestyle, but the audience really doesn’t need to know if you’re too drunk, have no money or you’re feeling a bit poorly. They’re there to see a show. So don’t go on about how many beers you’ve had or that you need money, it just looks a bit pathetic and will only damage the image of your band.

Asking the Audience if You Sound Good

Your audience is unlikely to know much about live mixing, so don’t ask them if your sound is good. Instead, trust the experience of the live engineers and let them do their job. Otherwise, they’ll only get annoyed with you and stop caring about whether you sound good or not, which will only have a negative impact on your show.

Insulting the Venue, the Town, the Other Bands… Or Anyone Else

You are a guest at the venue that’s given you the opportunity to play so you should conduct yourself as such. Be polite and remember that there are ears everywhere so, even if you do have some kind of grievance with the sound engineer or bar staff, shut up about it. You might risk losing future bookings or even losing your existing fans. No one wants to hear it.

Sharing the Band Drama Over the Microphone

Maybe the singer is in an off-mood and has already offended the bassist, or maybe the guitarist managed to scrape the side of the van while trying to park, and/or the drummer mysteriously disappeared while you were loading the gear in. Whatever personal dramas are playing out between band members offstage should always be left backstage.

Not Thanking the Venue, the Crowd or the Other Acts

Always thank the venue for giving you the space, the time, the effort and the opportunity to play. Thank all of the other acts, because, at the very least, they also brought in their friends and fans to the show. Also, thank the audience for giving up their time to watch you play. Let them all know that you appreciate it and they will appreciate you in return. Good manners will always take you further than bluntness and arrogance.

Getting Too Drunk to Play

There’s nothing wrong with making a party out of a show, but leave the drinking until you’ve played your set. Even when you’ve finished playing, there’s merch to be sold, fans to talk to and gear to be cleared up and packed into a van – none of which goes all that smoothly when you’re already tanked. You wouldn’t go to work drunk, so why is it ok for musicians to do it? And why would you ruin it for yourself? You worked hard to learn to play your instrument, write your material and rehearse again and again and again, all to put on a good show. If you play a drunk show and think it went well, just think how well it would have gone if you were completely clear headed.