MADE A MISTAKE?? MOVE ON!!!

[Will C]

There is of course a world of difference between a bum note and completely losing one's place in the song - a temporary but total memory wipe for a few minutes. You can *not* recover from that in the way that has been suggested so airily... but Ken is right, repetition, repetition, the only way to prepare well enough. If you are fortunate enough to be able to do it at the right sound levels so you can hear where you are etc. I'm starting to experiment with headphones because I get yelled at if I try to turn it up above a whisper.

[mick hearn]

It's the best way Will. Whilst my shed is fairly well sound insulated I sometimes have to resort to the headphones especially during the evening and into the night otherwise my next door neighbour will bang on the house wall or leave snotty notes through the letter box.

I think I heard Kay tell you that her childhood memories were of dad keep going over the same phrases until he had mastered them which sometimes took all day. Oh the joys of modern technology.

[Ken Byng]

The problem with using tracks is that getting lost is not helped if there are no little 'landmarks' or identifiers in the music. If you get completely lost the best way is to cut one's losses and either start again from the beginning or move on to the next track. Quite probably getting lost is a result of lack of quality repetitious practise. Also tracks are completely unforgiving, as opposed to playing with live musicians who if they are worth their salt can bring a singer or instrumentalist back in quickly by using musical identifiers to do so.

I spent all of last week going over the same track in my soundproofed detached studio at the same sound level that I would play in a live situation last weekend. This was because it was a new piece of music, and I wanted to get my ears attuned to picking up key positional identifiers in the track so that I knew where I was in the track at all times.

A great example of how pressure can affect the brain is the live YouTube clip of Mike Johnson playing Night Life in front of his idol Buddy Emmons. Like Derek Thurlby related in a previous post, Mike just momentarily but completely lost the intro in his head. Knowing Mike, he will have practised that intro over and over until he could do it in his sleep. However practising it indoors is vastly different to looking up and seeing Buddy watching you do it live.

Tom Brumley used to tell a story of the first time he met Buddy Emmons while playing with the Buckaroos. Buddy buttonholed Tom backstage and said "Hoss - I don't know if you can play anything else, but that solo in Together Again is fantastic!". Well Tom went on stage with Buck Owens and the band, and when it was time for his magic solo in Together Again, in his words he completely 'flubbed it'. Go figure.

[Paul Brennan]

I normally don't suffer from nerves. I've played all kinds of shows with big and small audiences with never a flutter. However, there's something about a steel show that makes me quake. To be honest I don't experience actual quaking or butterflies in the stomach but something happens my brain and my fingers and they don't work the way they do at home or if I'm backing up a singer. It's probably just due to lack of experience of playing steel in these kind of situations. I only play a steel show once a year and rarely perform solo pieces in between times.

I play solo tunes on the fiddle in public two or three times a week with not a twinge of nerves even though I make lots of slips. This is definitely down to experience and perseverance.

I think part of the problem is expecting perfection when sharing the stage with other players much more experienced in these situations. Relax! Everyone is on your side. Get on with it and try to enjoy it.

I suppose the lesson is to get out there and put yourself under a bit of pressure as much as possible by getting along to your nearest steel meeting.

[Bill McKillop]

Quite right Ken! I remember being chastened by an American Forum member (who has since died) when I said thai in our band, if someone made a mistake, we all had a good chuckle.. You're right we are all human but the only thing that makes our art different from say: painting, or writing, we can't take it back and correct it once the mistake has been made as we play in real time and unlike a recording, we cant go over it again. So, just get over it and enjoy the music.