We’ve been practicing for a few weeks now for a gig we’re playing at the Old Stagecoach Inn on Friday, October 13 (from 5-7pm if you’re interested). Aside from playing through our sets, our intros and outros, working on dynamics, and practicing all the stuff bands practice, I’ve been focused on two things; playing through mistakes, and learning to have fun while performing.
Playing Through the Mistakes
Let’s first talk about playing through mistakes. In the past, when learning or practicing a tune, I’d play until I made a mistake and then I’d immediately stop and start the tune over. Maybe I’d spend some time on the trouble spot and run through just that section a few times on its own. This is a great way to practice and get better at your instrument. However, practicing to get better and practicing to perform is a whole different ball game.
When you’re on stage or playing in front of an audience and you play a wrong note, you can’t really stop the tune and start over, though I have done this (and I have seen other musicians do this) in the past. It breaks the flow and ruins the moment. Not to mention if you’re playing for a dance, you lose the dancers. If you make a mistake, the trick is, to just keep going like nothing happened. Chances are nobody noticed anyway, and if they did, so what? As long as you keep up with the rhythm and get back on the train, no harm, no foul. I mean, we’re human after-all. We’re going to make mistakes. I think that’s one of the great things about live music, it’s raw and it’s vulnerable. Let’s embrace it. But don’t wait until the performance to practice this. Make it a habit in your practice sessions.
It has become one of our rules as a band now, that when you make a mistake just keep playing through it, no matter how big. There is plenty of time to work on it after. This way of practicing has helped my performing tremendously.
Play for Fun
The second thing I’ve been practicing is having fun. I know that sounds ridiculous because I’m playing music, everything about it is fun. But in past gigs, I have noticed that I’ve spent so much time worrying about how I sound, or if I’m playing in tune, or if I can get through all the hard parts, that I actually forget that I’m doing this for fun. The bands I love watching the most are the bands who are clearly enjoying themselves. It’s almost impossible not to enjoy it when the band is having a blast. And honestly, the whole reason I play music is because it feels good. I enjoy listening to it, I enjoy performing it, I enjoy being on stage with my fellow bandmates, and I enjoy sharing the music with anyone willing to listen.
I think the key to enjoying the performance is to trust that you’ve practiced enough. Trust that your band mates have your back, trust that the audience wants you to succeed. Trust that you’ve already done the work and the performance is the fruit of your labor. Everything else will fall into place.
And if you want to see us “enjoying ourselves,” join us this Friday, October 13 from 5-7pm at the Old Stagecoach Inn on Main Street, in Waterbury. We’ll be playing some of our favorite tunes. Come see if you can spot our mistakes ;).
Happy practicing!
Session Obsession 
If I was a musician, I think that making fun the highest priority and playing through mistakes are things I would need to work on too. My passion is creative writing. As different as it is from music, the psychological hurdles are similar. And stumbling through a line in a poem is a bit like botching part of the lyrics in a musical performance. I tend to feel like starting again when I do that.