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When the Show Must Go On: Hilarious (and Harrowing) Chinese Orchestra Mishaps
By Eason Music | Coffee Chat Podcast, Episode 5
Every musician has a story. You know the one — the performance that didn’t go quite as planned, the moment where everything that could go wrong, did.
In Episode 5 of our Coffee Chat podcast, Anson and Sung Wah sat down to share some of the funniest, most cringe-worthy, and occasionally heartwarming mishaps from the world of Chinese orchestra performances.
From wrong reeds to nature’s most inconvenient calls, here’s a roundup of the best stories from the episode.
The Suona Player Who Played on Hard Mode (Without Knowing It)
Our first story comes from a seasoned professional suona musician performing at River Angbao — the beloved annual Chinese New Year outdoor concert series along the Singapore River.
Throughout the entire show, this performer noticed he had to blow significantly harder than usual just to stay in tune. He chalked it up to fatigue from teaching.
It was only after the final note that he discovered the real culprit: he had accidentally fitted a C-key reed onto a D-key suona. Because the reed was larger than intended, it required far more air pressure to play.
He had essentially been performing on “hard mode” the entire show — and the audience never knew a thing.
The lesson? Sometimes the biggest mishaps are the ones only you can feel.
The Violently Shaking Guzheng
Sung Wah shared a memory from around 2015 — a diploma-level Guzheng solo performance.
Being extra cautious before going on stage, the performer carefully checked that the instrument stand was stable. And yet, the moment the tremolo kicked in, the Guzheng began rocking back and forth violently.
Mind blank. Panic. The performance suffered, though he did manage to finish.
What’s particularly amusing (in hindsight) is that Anson was playing accompaniment at that very performance and didn’t notice a thing.
As Anson reflected, performers tend to magnify the smallest details in their own minds, especially when adrenaline is involved.
A similar shaking-Guzheng scenario unfolded at a student recital, where a young musician performed the technically demanding piece 战台风 (Typhoon) on a visibly rocking instrument.
The audience’s eyes were reportedly glued not to her fingers, but to the swaying Guzheng.
The Pipa Peg That Fell Out — And the Kid Who Handled It Like a Pro
At a school concerto performance, a secondary school student was about to perform a pipa concerto with a full orchestra backing him up.
As he checked his instrument before starting — as all good soloists do — a tuning peg simply loosened and fell out, strings dangling.
(A good reminder that regular instrument maintenance goes a long way — if your instrument is due for a check-up, you can browse our range of Chinese instruments and accessories at our store.)
What happened next was a masterclass in composure.
He stood up, smiled, waved at the audience, sat back down, and calmly re-tuned.
No fumbling. No visible panic. No drama.
The orchestra waited. The audience waited.
And then the music began as if nothing had happened.
Sometimes the youngest musicians have the steadiest nerves.
The Zhongruan String That Snapped — Backstage Monitor Edition
In 2023, at Esplanade Concert Hall, a Zhongruan soloist launched into a high-energy opening of 云南回忆 No. 3 — one of the most celebrated concertos in the Chinese orchestra repertoire — when a string snapped.
Sung Wah witnessed the whole thing from backstage.
The conductor made the bold call to restart the entire piece from the top, reasoning that a mid-performance restart would disrupt the video recording.
It was the right decision — the soloist had prepared intensely for every note of that piece, and restarting meant she could deliver the performance she had worked so hard for.
It wasn’t salvageable in the conventional sense. But a fresh start? That, they could do.
And for those who play Zhongruan, having a spare set of strings (or even a backup instrument) on hand is one of the simplest ways to avoid a similar fate.
The Anti-Slip Mat Incident: A Concerto, a Forgotten Accessory, and a Surpising Mindset Hack
This one comes from a first-ever concerto performance in 2022.
Due to the material of her dress, an Erhu soloist needed an anti-slip mat under her instrument — something she wasn’t normally accustomed to using. She practised with one during the dress rehearsal and felt settled.
On concert night, she walked onstage. The orchestra was already waiting. She sat down, started tuning — and the Erhu immediately slid.
She had forgotten the mat backstage.
In a moment of courage, she told the conductor. He told her to go back and get it.
So she exited the stage — a thing she had never heard of anyone doing — retrieved the mat, walked back on, and performed.
Here’s the remarkable part:
Rather than crumbling under the pressure of such a public blunder, she told herself:
“There’s only one big mess-up that can happen, and I’ve already used up my quota. My performance will go well.”
Strange logic? Maybe.
But it worked.
She said it was her best run of all her practice sessions.
The Gust of Wind, the Puddle of Water, and the Accompanist Who Didn’t Care
Anson shared a story from an outdoor RC event early in his performance career.
He had arranged for a Guzheng player to accompany him, provided the song list in advance, and even wrote out the chord charts when the accompanist arrived underprepared.
Then, before the performance, a gust of wind swept through — and the loose paper scores flew straight into a puddle of water.
Anson braced himself and asked what they should do.
The accompanist’s response?
“就这样.” (Just leave it.)
Let’s just go up.
And so they did.
The accompanist played a rough approximation of the melody rather than proper accompaniment, stumbling through songs he didn’t really know.
It was, in Anson’s words, “such a washout.”
He never worked with that accompanist again.
When the iPad Goes White
Technology was supposed to solve the “papers flying in the wind” problem.
But during a small ensemble concert, a cellist’s iPad (loaded with forScore) went completely blank mid-performance.
The stand partner improvised a bass line while the other cellist frantically restarted the app.
The audience could see the screen flashing white.
Everyone knew something had gone sideways.
The convenience of digital scores is worth it — but backups matter.
Lost in a Loop: When Memory Fails
Several submissions touched on the terrifying experience of blanking out mid-performance.
One musician got stuck inside a repeat bar and kept playing fragments while her partner moved ahead.
Anson shared his own version from a Yangqin concerto of Yellow River.
He could hum the melody — but couldn’t find the notes.
He waved his mallets in musical limbo…
Then suddenly, the phrase returned.
He finished the concerto.
Movements three and four were the best he had ever played.
A professional musician backstage told him:
“Don’t be too sad. This happens to professionals.”
He found that incredibly comforting.
The Conductor Who Refused to Start Until It Was Right
At a school orchestra concert, the percussion opening was messy.
The conductor stopped.
Again.
And again.
Only when it was clean did he continue.
Authority. Conviction. No compromise.
Nobody dared argue.
The Most Uncomfortable Hour of Any Musician’s Life
Right at the start of a concert, one orchestra musician felt an urgent need to use the bathroom.
The intermission was a full hour away.
He played the entire first half in a cold sweat…
Maintaining posture, facial expression, and intonation.
He made it to intermission.
We respect him deeply.
What Can We Learn From All This?
Some mishaps are unavoidable.
Strings break. Apps crash. Wind blows. Bodies have needs.
But the performers who came out best were those who:
✔ stayed calm
✔ communicated clearly
✔ had backup plans
✔ kept the music going
As the old Chinese saying goes:
台上十分钟，台下十年功
“Ten minutes on stage is worth ten years of practice offstage.”
And when things go wrong?
You finish the show.
And one day, you laugh about it.
Feeling Inspired?
If these stories sparked a long-lost curiosity about the pipa, or a quiet wish that you’d kept up with the erhu — it’s never too late.
👉 https://www.easonmusicschool.com/music-lessons/private/trial-lesson-registration/
Who knows — you might even gain a great mishap story of your own someday.
Explore & Get Started
🎵 Browse instruments → https://www.easonmusicstore.com
🎓 Book a trial lesson → https://www.easonmusicschool.com/music-lessons/private/trial-lesson-registration/
Have your own performance mishap story?
Share it in the comments — or slide into our DMs if you’d rather keep it anonymous.
Eason Music has been serving Singapore’s Chinese music community since 1978, offering instruments, lessons, repairs, and live performances.
