What a pro! A great recovery...

[Dylan King]

Check out this clip of the London Symphony principal oboe player, Olivier Stankiewicz, switching horns with his second chair in the middle of an exposed solo. He barely even blinked when his reed broke.

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-musi ... eed-snaps/

Have any of you had to think fast due to an equipment failure or other disaster during a performance?

[The Brute Squad]

I don't remember the piece offhand (might've been when we did Háry János last year), but I had my main tuning slide fall out on a big fermata in the last movement. Thankfully, I had enough time to retrieve it and come back in at my next entrance.

The biggest mishap that didn't happen to me was when I was playing de Meij's Lord of the Rings symphony with a local community band. There's a big English horn solo in the fourth movement, and our soloist passed out in the middle of playing it!

[MN_TimTuba]

My guitar pic snapped in half on the first chord of our bluegrass number just yesterday for offertory, does that count?

[bort]

College -- our pep band was traveling with top-ranked in the country basketball team for the NCAA tournament. Unbeknownst to me, the Sousaphones were loaded in wooden cases in cargo hold of the airplane (from DC to Los Angeles), with no extra padding.

Upon arrival, we had a few run-out gigs, plus a full weekend of playing commitments. I opened the case to discover that the 3rd valve was smashed during transit, so I only had 2 functioning valves. So, I just did the best I could for the weekend -- take things up an octave, drop notes when I couldn't possibly play... maybe play a 5th during a chord?... but really I thought I did a pretty good job of adapting and making the best of it.

The director, who was a tuba player himself, and always hounded us about professionalism, was not impressed. He said exactly one thing to me at the end of the trip: "Bet you're glad only one valve was broken."

Gee, thanks...

[iiipopes]

Mostly electric guitars, basses, etc. Here are the highlights that I can quickly recall as to why my tackle box/tool kit with all sorts of tools, spares, parts, supplies, etc., is more famous at local and regional gigs, and has been for the last 40 years, than I am:
1) nut broke on the lead guitar player's Strat guitar. Five minute break while I repositioned it, clamped it down on the neck with a capo so it wouldn't move, and finished the gig.
2) drummer hi-hat chain broke, again, five minute break while I took a used bass guitar string and my slip joint pliers and made a hi-hat chain out of it, and finished the gig.
3) insufficient PA cabinet cords, became apparent 1/2 hour before the gig. Sent a person to the nearest Wal-Mart for 100 feet of heavier gauge lamp cord; had my soldering iron, solder, tools, and spare plugs I always keep for such emergencies. Only 15 minutes late starting the gig after I assembled new speaker cords.
4) completely re-wired another Strat with 20 minutes to go for sound check at another gig with another guitar player who is notorious on his equipment - not abusive, per se, but corrosive perspiration, assertive playing style, etc.
5) lead singer's ear buds separated leaving the plastic end in his ear. Five minute break while a doctor who plays sax in the band uses my needle nosed pliers to extract it, I fixed it, and finished the gig.
6) another band with the band leader, who was the lead guitar player and lead singer, broke three of the same string in a set. Five minute break, I took a small rattail file, burnished the saddle, finished the gig with no further string breakage.
7) And this doesn't count broken strings, shorted cords (easy - always keep multiple spares handy), dead batteries, etc., in short (pun intended) just about everything that can kill a gig.

[Snake Charmer]

Years back, when playing trombone in school orchestra, my Bach failed me on the last concert of a tour abroad. I was playing 1st horn (we had too many trombones and only one beginner horn player), and the last piece for me to play was the Romance for violin by Beethoven. It ends with the solo violin playing c-a-f and the first horn echoes this. Of course in pp and c"-a'-f' completely solo. Immediatly before this moment the valve trigger fell of, leaving the F valve half way open. Fortunately I was able to grab it the right way and play my notes as intended. Adrenaline rush!
When playing the Berlioz Requiem in St. Eustache in Paris on a B&S rotary C we had to sit on stage while the audience came (100 persons orchestra and 150 choir...). Only minutes before start I blew air through the horn and moved the valves, when one of the solderings holding the paddle assembly snapped and the valve paddles moved away. Sitting in the back row I was able to slip from the podium and looked for something to repair. Behind a door I found a huge carpet roll secured with a thin rope. When I removed the rope I was able to jump out of the door when the carpet unfolded and smashed it close behind me. I don't know if someone was able to open the door afterwards, but I had something to tie my valve paddles back in place and were able to play the Requiem.
I would never go to a gig without my Leatherman: it can cut ropes, strings and breadrolls, fix reading glasses and saxophone keys and open unruly music stand screws...