Mistakes during band practise: what to do?

Xdinary Heroes is an accomplished K-Pop band with a prolific and entertaining YouTube channel. Through their short videos, they share glimpses of their life as a band, make comedy skits and show appreciation for their fans.

One of these shorts, which you can watch by clicking this link, pokes fun at the different ways people can react to a bandmate's mistake during group practise. From the one who assures that it's alright while cursing inwards, to the one who's so focused on their own thing that they don't notice something went wrong, their skit gives a humorous twist to something that, unfortunately, can snowball into big issues in real life.

Mistakes are bound to happen because we are human. There's no way to completely prevent them, so there's no point in holding yourself or your bandmates to impossible standards. If someone's skill level isn't enough to flawlessly perform a piece, or it is, but their focus slips for whatever reason and there's a mistake, that doesn't mean that this person is a bad musician, or that they don't care for the band, and of course, it doesn't mean that they have no future in the industry. It just means they need more practise, which is exactly what they're doing in this scenario. Give constructive feedback and help when you can, and space when you cannot. Communicate and make adjustments where needed, so everybody in the group can step on a stage or a recording studio feeling confident and supported.

Another thing to consider is that, just as it's impossible to prevent mistakes and accidents from happening during rehearsals, there's also no guarantee they won't happen during actual shows. For this reason, it's good to take mistakes during practise as opportunities to train your reaction skills. Many times, a mistake that's glaringly obvious to you will be imperceptible to the audience, but if they see you making faces, or suddenly stopping in panic, they'll notice that something went awry. Practise is the perfect chance to learn how to correct or overcome your mistake to rejoin your bandmates, or how to ask for help without interrupting the music. Bands are teams that work together, and learning how to rely on each other is a key for success.

Finally, keep in mind that what we see in social media isn’t the day-to-day reality of the bands that inspire us. We must not compare our practise to these spotless performances labelled as "rehearsal" that are so common online. They are most likely one good take of many that went wrong, or they're edited. Nobody wakes up one day being a perfect musician, but rather walks a long journey where mistakes are stepping stones!