forgetting a song

[munkonthehill]

Hope this has happened to some of my brothers and sisters in BC and not just me, about 1month ago whilst gigging i totally forgot how to play a song.


We always use a set list for our 2x45min sets. So at the start of the gig im feeling good, confident and like a rock star. about 4 songs in we come to ziggy stardust. Now as you all know this is A: a very good song and B: easy as pie to play.


Just as my guitarist starts the song I realise I have forgotten it and have no idea how to play it, I know it starts in G so im hoping i go into autopilot and kick right into it.


Hhahahahaha that didnt happen folks, what happened was that I remembered small parts(chorus) but apart from that I sounded like a starter on guitar hero hitting bum notes like a mo'fo

It was torture and for some reason this 3min song felt like a 4hour epic hahahaha

any similar stories out there?

[WalMan]

Not drawn a blank recently thank goodness, I normally manage to remember [i]just[/i] as a section I have been thinking WTF comes next arrives.

Our last gig for this year a week ago was a long one where [i]everything [/i]gets played, so we had White Wedding as well as Rebel Yell in the sets. Started the former and vocalist came in with the latter, got a couple of lines in, realised we were all laughing, stopped - well he did we carried on - we composed ourselves, drummer cued us and we did the intro again, got to the verse and he drew a complete blank this time........so the crowd sang the first verse at him

I love that venue. The crowd are always so up for a good time and joining in

[ahpook]

many years ago i took the stage at the darlington arts centre and managed to play the chorus bassline over the verse, and the verse part over the chorus.

[i]luckily[/i] the song had a drone-based military feel, both parts worked...in a odd way.


drugs are baaad, hmmm...ok ?

[garethox]

I haven't personally BUT in our band we all take turns to write the setlist (democracy in action folks!), so sometimes for giggles I put 'All Day And All Of The Night'; 'American Idiot' and 'I Hate To Say I Told You So' all after each other. It is mildly amusing watching our guitarist mentally reassuring himself of the opening riffs before he starts playing! There is something about those three on the bounce that causes a 'riff tongue twister' type situation......
And remember... 'you were probably playing the right notes... just not necessarily in the right order'!

Edited December 14, 2009 by garethox

[JTUK]

I just play the changes as I hear them... so providing you can hear the intervals, you can cope if you are pretty quick on your feet.

It isn't so much notes I'll get wrong, just the format of the song, but the nature of most of the gigs I tend to do, format is never the same anyway..

[Low End Bee]

Too frequently I have "how the **** does this one go" moments and have fluffed up at the start or at a chorus, etc..
This is all on songs I've written too. Normally because I've been distracted or had a "have I left the gas on" random moment.
I think the time a girls 18th birthday party with the theme 'space sluts' was being held upstairs at a venue I was playing and 30 nubile teenagers in a state of undress filed past is excusable.
I just pass them off as experimental jazz solos. Nice.

[eude]

I suffered from this at a gig about a week ago.
The first song in the set was just guitar and vocals, giving me a whole 4 minutes to panic about the fact I'd forgotten the bass line to the following song, which handily starts out with just drums and bass, no room for mucking about...
Thankfully, I just remembered it, but only just, pure sh*t me breeks!

Cheers,
Eude

[Earbrass]

Not had this problem when playing bass, but many years ago I played in a duo as pianist accompanying a singer - and felt very exposed; no matter how well I played, I was only the accompanist so prospects for glory were very limited, but I could easily be the villain by cocking up. Don't remember ever completely losing it but it was certainly touch and go on occassion. Playing bass in a band seems so SAFE by comparison - I don't get nervous the way I used to in the duo, where one comment I received was "so, where does all the blood go from your face when you're playing?"

[thepurpleblob]

All the time.... you give an interesting example as Ziggy is clearly an example of a song that isn't just playing eighths on the root (therefore I refute your "easy as pie" assertion, but I know what you mean!). So songs like that I always remember. It's all the mundane stuff that trips me up though. All Snow Patrol songs sound the same and I very often can't remember which is which and that's led to some embarrassing starts until I pick it up.

[bobpalt]

[quote name='Earbrass' post='683727' date='Dec 14 2009, 09:53 AM']Not had this problem when playing bass, but many years ago I played in a duo as pianist accompanying a singer - and felt very exposed; no matter how well I played, I was only the accompanist so prospects for glory were very limited, but I could easily be the villain by cocking up. Don't remember ever completely losing it but it was certainly touch and go on occassion. Playing bass in a band seems so SAFE by comparison - I don't get nervous the way I used to in the duo, where one comment I received was "so, where does all the blood go from your face when you're playing?" [/quote]

I have to say it has happenned to me, and is amongst my worst nightmares, so I have a ring binder with notes for every song we do (over 40 per gig) which I keep in front of me on a stand at all times, and to be honest, whilst I used to worry about how uncool this looked, I really dont give a toss anymore. Everyone in the band (except the drummer) wanders over to my side of the stage at some time during the night to take a quick peek at my book (which I try to keep hidden just off stage or behind something) when they forget a word or a chord, so they never complain at me. I just blame it on old age!

Bob

[Spider-dan]

I get this, quite often - it's bizarre, it's like I can't get my brain in the right gear. Thankfully - It's always happened at rehearsal and never live. What's the solution, if any?????

[Commando Jack]

Have had it many times, but the most prominent one was my last solo gig at hte local pub (don't worry I did get booked again!).

It's just me and my guitar for these gigs, so I also feel a lot more exposed than normal. So I get to the end of a pretty good night, and as always, someone has requested the gambler. So I rail into the song and everythings going fine, then at the very end, I forget the second line in the chorus (having already sung the chorus 3 times previously)!! I don't know how it happened, but everytime I wrapped around to the beginning of the chorus, I forgot it in the middle. Eventually the crowd (who thought I was trying to get them to sing along) sang it for me and reminded me, allowing me to finish the song.

I'd have been completely embarrassed save for the fact that the crowd thought it was part of the show!

[Cat Burrito]

I used to get this more when changing between different instruments i.e. going to the mandolin etc. Thankfully it happens a lot less but just through experience you learn to be a master blagger and I have got away with some horrendous howlers!

[Clarky]

I keep seeing this thread each time I refresh. Please stop as you will jinx my gig tonight!

[peted]

I played a gig last Friday with an originals band I joined a couple of months ago. It was my first gig with them. Quickly ran through the intro riff of the first song during the sound check - no problem. Got to the first change in the song when we started and my mind went totally blank. Spent a bar or two just fumbling around playing a little softer while I found the notes again. Fortunately I picked it up and cursed myself for forgetting a simple song. The rest of the gig went very well indeed and I was very relaxed.

[bobpalt]

Whenever we do cock up, the band leader calls it "playing jazz"!

[RockfordStone]

i havent forgotten a song, but sometimes ive forgotten what note im going to next, usually i just hide it with a slide or something

[spinynorman]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='683815' date='Dec 14 2009, 11:37 AM']All Snow Patrol songs sound the same and I very often can't remember which is which and that's led to some embarrassing starts until I pick it up.[/quote]

I have a fantasy hate band - ColdGreenRazorPatrol - lots of monotonous strummy songs where the bass doesn't come in till somewhere near the end, by which time I've died of boredom.

[Low End Bee]

[quote name='spinynorman' post='684247' date='Dec 14 2009, 05:54 PM']I have a fantasy hate band - ColdGreenRazorPatrol - lots of monotonous strummy songs where the bass doesn't come in till somewhere near the end, by which time I've died of boredom.[/quote]
I've seen them with their shoe gazing, floppy fringed performances at lots of gigs recently.

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='bobpalt' post='683817' date='Dec 14 2009, 11:40 AM']I have to say it has happenned to me, and is amongst my worst nightmares, so I have a ring binder with notes for every song we do (over 40 per gig) which I keep in front of me on a stand at all times, and to be honest, whilst I used to worry about how uncool this looked, I really dont give a toss anymore. Everyone in the band (except the drummer) wanders over to my side of the stage at some time during the night to take a quick peek at my book (which I try to keep hidden just off stage or behind something) when they forget a word or a chord, so they never complain at me. I just blame it on old age!

Bob[/quote]

Strange to relate, Bob, I see it exactly the other way around.

If I have the words/music/structure on a piece of paper then I have to check it, and then look at it again, then check it just one more time and it becomes a horrible distraction. It also actively [b][i]prevents [/i][/b]me from learning the song properly.

Whenever we bring in a new song to the set, I'm always completely focused on getting rid of the paper as soon as possible in the process.

[thinman]

Oh dear yes. I put it down to age. My head seems to be working in a "one in, one out" mode with songs now.

[Geddys nose]

Last gig we did I bollocked up most of the first set and had a shocker remembering any songs went outside drunk a Red Bull and played an absolute blinding second set- Next gig I'm going to experiment with a combination of Red Bull Drinks & Red Bull Tablets

[kneal6]

I have more of a problem with knowing the song too well - my mind starts to wander then suddenly I'm thinking "IS THIS THE FIRST CHORUS OR THE SECOND? DO I GO INTO THE MIDDLE 8? GAAAAH!"

[LeftyBiskit]

[quote name='kneal6' post='684691' date='Dec 14 2009, 11:39 PM']I have more of a problem with knowing the song too well - my mind starts to wander then suddenly I'm thinking "IS THIS THE FIRST CHORUS OR THE SECOND? DO I GO INTO THE MIDDLE 8? GAAAAH!"[/quote]
You are not on your own there bud,bin there ,got the T shirt.....especially on the simpler songs when there is less concentration needed .When that happens its time to learn a new song

[Clarky]

Fortunately this thread did not jinx my gig this evening! But I struggled in one song when I was too busy posing and not concentrating and immediately thought of this ....