Pit band work, iPad for charts, and Roscoe posing as an upright

[davecheng]

So I've been AWOL for a while... too much work, which I suppose is really a good thing. This is just me checking with a little report on how my LG managed to fake its way through some upright work.

I just finished a stint in a pit band for Cole Porter's "Anything Goes". I don't play upright—at least, not well enough to sightread in keys like A-flat minor. And picking up a Rob Allen for the show wasn't in the cards. So the best I could muster was my LG with TI Jazz Flats.

With the highs rolled off, panned to the neck, muting and plucking way up on the neck, I managed to get a bloomy plunky sound that was good enough for the MD. (The arco bits were a bit of a stretch, but whatever.)

I've done a fair number of musicals, but this was the first that really called for a traditional upright sound. I guess you could say the LG worked out!


Me in the orchestra pit.


My trusty Markbass/Epifani rig, tilted back at me for monitoring.


Charts scanned to PDF and loaded onto an iPad.

And just in case you're curious, a little more about the iPad thing:

This was my first full show with charts on an iPad.

The iPad's a little on the small side compared to traditional 9.5x12.5" charts, so you have to have good eyes. (I figure it's about the size of a choral octavo.) And unless you have two iPads, you can only see one sheet at once.

But oh, the benefits! I was using forScore with PDF scans I made myself. Annotations were quick, clean, and easy to follow—especially when entire bars were removed. I could use a white "marker" and completely remove the measures from the music, so there is absolutely no confusion when playing. Page turns were fast enough (supposedly even faster on an iPad 2). Repeats and jumps were ridiculously easy to follow with forScore's "hot zones". Battery life was fantastic—I could do two shows a day on a full charge and still be left with 65% battery.

I don't think I'm ever going back to paper!

[Bipslapper]

Well Done! Looks like you had all the "basses" covered for the gig.

I bought my wife an iPad for Christmas last year and the whole family digs it. As for the Roscoe, I'm not surprised it sounded great. Thanks for the cool story.

[jebmd]

Nicely done indeed!

TI flats were the strings I kept on my LG. It had a unique jazz tone I loved. I bet yours sounds great as well. Thanks for the Ipad info.

[Gard]

I've been eyeing an iPad just for that exact situation...however, as THAT EXACT SITUATION has not presented itself, I haven't pulled the trigger...yet....



I will eventually: Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance

Need to get it, and get comfy with it, BEFORE that situation arises, yes?





...oh, and arco sections, if they are fairly straightforward:



You can't do fast, intricate passages for it, for for long sustained lines, it's really cool, once you get used to it.

[gscroggin]

+1 on forScore for the iPad! I've been using it for a few months now and loving it. The only thing I'd wish they'd add is blank charts. I imported a few of my own, but the problem is that as soon as you start editing them, they are no longer blank! I really need a re-useable template of some kind. 80% or more of the time I'm typically writing my own on the spot, so downloading other people's music isn't really what I leverage the app for.

I emailed them about it, and someone responded with a good idea for now. I created a bunch of different blank sheets, stuck them on a website, and I can download fresh copies when I need them. Not the ideal situation (I don't always have wireless available), but it still works out pretty well. I've spent some time scanning in all my sheet music and notes from various bands/gigs so I've always got the lined up in case I sit in anywhere on short notice. So cool, and so much better than carrying around a bunch of folders and shuffling through stuff.

Anyway, it's cool to see other people using it!

[sobie18]

Damn, see that key signature? I think that covers them all...

[Gard]

Originally Posted by sobie18

Damn, see that key signature? I think that covers them all...

...naw, just Db major/Bb minor!

[davecheng]

Originally Posted by jebmd

TI flats were the strings I kept on my LG. It had a unique jazz tone I loved. I bet yours sounds great as well. Thanks for the Ipad info.

I didn't think I'd love the sound of flats on a Roscoe. To me, the "Roscoe tone" has always been in the warm, round mids and I was afraid flats would dull the sound, making it too round and muddy.

In fact, quite the opposite. To my ear, the tone with flats was more representative (at my amp) of what the bass would be mixed like anyway FOH. I'm going to keep the flats on it for a little while longer...

Originally Posted by Gard

You can't do fast, intricate passages for it, for for long sustained lines, it's really cool, once you get used to it.

Never thought to use an e-bow! I did a lot of pinky-finger-on-volume to kill the attack on slow, long, sustained notes. But, actually, if you look at the score in the iPad photo above, parts like that called for bowed staccato quarters. Oh well. One day, I will be competent enough on the upright to take on work...

Originally Posted by Gard

...naw, just Db major/Bb minor!

Actually, the first 17 bars of that was in A-flat minor/C-flat major. With a B-double flat accidental.

[Gard]

Dave, with a LITTLE work, you can figure out how to get the bowed staccato thing to happen with the eBow, but man, it's a real trick to get consistent with it.

I would have looked at that chart and immediately thought "Man, I'm really glad I have the NSD EUB and a decent bow!"



(...in other words, that gig would have been all NS CR5M...)

[LilRay]

Originally Posted by Gard

Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance

Sigging this.



God Bless, Ray

[sobie18]

Originally Posted by Gard

...naw, just Db major/Bb minor!

Key of Cb

[Gard]

Originally Posted by sobie18

Key of Cb

Whoops, only counted 5 b's, mea culpa!

[davecheng]

Originally Posted by Gard

I would have looked at that chart and immediately thought "Man, I'm really glad I have the NSD EUB and a decent bow!"

I thought about buying an NXT for the gig. With the dots on the fingerboard, I probably would have been able to do it (vs my inexperience with a double bass anywhere beyond 1st or 2nd position). However, I've been trying to end the nasty cycle of GAS and I've been good for the last year or so...

[CrashClint]

Originally Posted by Gard

...naw, just Db major/Bb minor!

I had a Tire Bb major the other day, I am glad I had insurance otherwise it would have set me back $410.

[VroomVroom]

Love this...thanks for sharing with us! I've been looking for exactly that kind of app for the iPad...looks like I'll be spending $5 later today.

Love the key sig....ahhh, the sacrifices we make for horns, vox, etc. I once asked an arranger why he pushed out EW&F's "September" in G. Was it because of a singer's request? Nope...he did it by default, in order to create "the fewest ups and downs" for the horns. Ordinarily it's just a shrug and a smile, but as many of you know, that tune calls for an open A pedal, with a cool riff played up high. Not possible in G. Argh...but I digress.

Anyway, I appreciate the good read, and I hope you're getting a lot out of the experience. Two unsolicited comments...so please take them as such. First, pit gigs. Every bassist should do one, if not more, for the experience. Tons of stuff to learn. That said, I can't imagine signing on for another one...the grief, the long hours, and generally the horrendous pay, all wear on you, especially once all those great lessons have been learned once or twice. Second, and no disrespect to the cats that play and love them, but I've yet to hear an electric upright that sounds anything like an upright. Kudos to you for getting there with the Roscoe, and IME/IMO, in any kind of live setting you're much better off making adjustments to your sound & style. To me it's like that ages-old Fender argument. If you truly have to have the real thing, there is no substitute. But if your leader/producer/whatever just needs you to fit in the neighborhood, some solutions are much, much better than others. Again, just my opinion. Thanks again for sharing this with us!

[davecheng]

Originally Posted by VroomVroom

Anyway, I appreciate the good read, and I hope you're getting a lot out of the experience. Two unsolicited comments...so please take them as such. First, pit gigs. Every bassist should do one, if not more, for the experience. Tons of stuff to learn. That said, I can't imagine signing on for another one...the grief, the long hours, and generally the horrendous pay, all wear on you, especially once all those great lessons have been learned once or twice. Second, and no disrespect to the cats that play and love them, but I've yet to hear an electric upright that sounds anything like an upright. Kudos to you for getting there with the Roscoe, and IME/IMO, in any kind of live setting you're much better off making adjustments to your sound & style. To me it's like that ages-old Fender argument. If you truly have to have the real thing, there is no substitute. But if your leader/producer/whatever just needs you to fit in the neighborhood, some solutions are much, much better than others. Again, just my opinion. Thanks again for sharing this with us!

I agree on the pit gig sentiment. The pay sucks. And if playing EWF day in and day on wedding and corps can get repetitive and mundane, it's even worse in an orchestral pit where the music actually is exactly the same every night.

But that's not why I do them. I'm not usually a sappy, emotional guy, but if there's one thing in life that can bring me to the verge of tears, it's musical music. Especially if it's really well arranged. Dropping a low D in at the start of a second verse swell, actress emoting like crazy on stage... man that's powerful stuff.

[Pacman]

Man, I have to admit. Pit gigs are seriously fun for me. One of my two idea career paths would be subbing through 4-6 Broadway shows a year. Not long enough to want to kill myself, but long enough to enjoy each one. Playing pit keeps me sharper than any other musical activity.

When I was in GA, I made pretty good coin for about 6 weeks every spring. Schools would do their musicals, but would hire pro rhythm sections to hold it down for their horns. 1 week each show - rehearsals Sun-Thurs, show on friday and saturday. A grand a week, and I could string 5-6 of them back to back every spring. I'd love to get that happening again....

[davecheng]

Originally Posted by Pacman

When I was in GA, I made pretty good coin for about 6 weeks every spring. Schools would do their musicals, but would hire pro rhythm sections to hold it down for their horns. 1 week each show - rehearsals Sun-Thurs, show on friday and saturday. A grand a week, and I could string 5-6 of them back to back every spring. I'd love to get that happening again....

And that's the difference between schools in Canada and the US.

Wow. $1k/wk per player for hired gun rhythm sections in high school. Combined with the fact that it's more common to find paid church players too... almost makes me want to abandon ship here...

[VroomVroom]

Heck, I think that's the difference between schools in Atlanta and the rest of the U.S. Awesome stuff, Jon - glad you got in on that action.

Dave, you definitely touched on the high points. When those magical moments happen, it really is something special. I hope you guys know I'm not trying to disparage the experience. On the contrary, the take-aways from pit gigs are amazing, and invaluable. I was serious when I said that every bassist should do at least one. Reading chops, adapting to instantaneous change, stretching your attention span, playing consistently good throughout...you undoubtedly leave as a better musician.

[nostatic]

I haven't done a pit gig in a long time, but loved the last one. 14 piece band for an outdoor production of Sondheim's "Company." I want to find another short run for the summer...yeah, in my spare time.

My iPad is on every gig, between iRealBook and unRealBook. I'll check out the forScore app, as unRealBook doesn't have great annotation capabilities. As for page turns, at NAMM I saw a footpedal solution that uses bluetooth. Very slick. For now I do the quick tap during a rest or while holding a long note.