Capture Humanity over Perfection

[Larry124]

I like to psyche myself with the thought below before I practice or perform (guitar & vocal).

"Capture Humanity over Perfection
…Now Frank [Sinatra] sometimes sang out of tune and he did things which he maybe he could have improved. But though he sang out of tune he sounded great; some people sing in tune and sound bloody awful. I like a little mistake, I like a bit of humanity and you got that with the Beatles. Ringo never played to a quartz controlled beat ever in his life."
-- Sir George Martin as told to Paul Williams in Music Week Magazine July 22, 2008.

It also strikes me as a worthwhile thought to have in mind when deciding if a kilt outfit looks “good enough”.

[beloitpiper]

Once I met Ron Carter, Miles Davis' bassist. He told me that even Miles made mistakes once in awhile. Miles maybe hit a flat once in awhile, but he just adjusted his whole scale so that you'd never even know it. He'd work it into the solo, and people would call it brilliance.

[Southern Breeze]

Great thought to have while playing. Thanks for posting it.

I've always relied on the Buglers Prayer- Dear Lord, please don't let me screw up and miss a note.

[GDub]

My band just finished our 3rd album--"mistakes" and all. As is our wont, we recorded to 2" tape then mixed down to 1/4" before mastering. No Pro Tools, no tweaking, we stay as close to a "live" sound as possible. To the individual player (like me, for instance), the little mistakes are annoying as hell, but it's really the overall that matters--how the mix works with the overall sound of the band. The little "flaws" slip by so fast that the VAST majority of listeners will never notice.

As for playing live... mistakes? NEVER happens!

[george7]

I ne'er make mistakes, I just make renditions.