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Train wreck on stage

nick1977nick1977 Posts: 327
edited December 2005 in Musicians and Gearheads
I played "Greensleeves" on my guitar, fingerstyle, in church yesterday. It is a really pretty arrangement that I wrote. Well, I made it through verse 1 without a hitch. I got half way through verse two.

I was supposed to hit a G chord with my first finger on the seventh fret. Well, I hit a G# with my first finger on the eight fret instead. :eek: It through me for a loop and got me off track. I stopped, took my hand on off the fretboard, and then found my G and continued.

It was hideous. A buddy of mine said he thought "Go Nick....modulate!..........Noooooo.....you are too far gone to pull out of that one!" lol

Oh well.....life goes on.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • one way needleone way needle Posts: 196
    Man, messing up live and not recovering at all would suck so bad! The theory i work by is that ill never play on stage, something that i don't know inside out. Unadventurous maybe.... but hey.....
    (
    =) wah wah waaaah!!! ..........viking banjo hits of the 70's!
    (
  • Oh, JimmyOh, Jimmy Posts: 957
    Messing up live does suck. You can only hope, that it is during a point that can be covered pretty easily. My band fucked up Zero(Smashing Pumpkins) b/c the singer didn't come in on time and it threw us all into a cluster fuck. We fell flat on our faces. We caught it but for some reason nobody could remember where we were in the song so we just wrapped it up real quick.
  • nick1977nick1977 Posts: 327
    one way needle wrote:
    Man, messing up live and not recovering at all would suck so bad! The theory i work by is that ill never play on stage, something that i don't know inside out. Unadventurous maybe.... but hey.....

    That is the crazy thing. I know this piece backwards and forwards. I can practice it perfectly. I just screwed it up. I don't know what came over me.

    People say I did good. So, either I covered up my mistake pretty well, or they are lying in church to my face! lol

    I'm contemplating whether I should ask the sound guy for a copy of the recording to see how bad it sounded. But....I really don't want to relive that moment!
  • justamjustam Posts: 21,408
    Don't worry about it. The only way to learn how to pull yourself out of a mistake is to make a few. It's a bit more painful when there are people who can hear it, but how else do you learn to do it? :)
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
  • House53House53 Posts: 1,276
    Trainwreck on stage... no my gig isn't until Friday. lol

    The best learning tool for me playing live was to have a big mistake... you learn that it doesn't matter. What matters is rolling with it and keeping things together.

    It sounds like you did a good job... next time you play you will probably nail it.

    Everyone screws up... the pros are just better at covering up.
    There's No Code.
  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    you'll get there, everyone screws up all the time, you just can't let it rattle you. You are your own worst critique. Most people wouldn't even know you messed up.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • nailz100nailz100 Posts: 1,176
    My suggestion is to just laugh it off....thats what I do, and that way the audience see's that the band is having fun and that really comes across to the audience.
    Only with our eyes closed can we truly see
  • one way needleone way needle Posts: 196
    both really good points, the 2 above.

    i think you can feel much more critical of yourself though when its a solo performance and you shouldnt let that get to you. i guess the best way would be to take it as a learning experience!
    (
    =) wah wah waaaah!!! ..........viking banjo hits of the 70's!
    (
  • nick1977nick1977 Posts: 327
    Thanks all! I'm over being mad at myself. Learning guitar and learning to perform guitar are two entirely differen monsters! I've learned the guitar pretty well, and I'd consider myself and intermediate to advanced player. BUT....as far as performing goes...I'm a wee begininer! I've performed a few times, but not enough just yet to be completely comfortable with it.
  • enharmonicenharmonic Posts: 1,917
    Man, you missed an opportunity. You should have stopped, looked at everyone with a dead serious face, and then shouted "Jesus said smash my guitar!"...and then had at it Pete Townsend style :)
    new music: http://www.myspace.com/blackbirdsymphonique

    old music: http://www.myspace.com/slowloader
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