Auditions - Band doing originals

deepbluesuk · #1 08-11-2008, 05:50 PM

Im looking to audition for an originals band - how many songs do you think is reasonable to be asked to learn? Ive been sent a CD of theirs with 12 tracks on - I dont want to appear dumb and ask if they want all of them down......how many do you normally do in this situation?

smakbass · #2 08-11-2008, 05:53 PM

About 3....if there are different tempos...1 slow 1 fast 1 med....type of thing.

MyUsernameHere · #3 08-11-2008, 05:54 PM

How long do you have and are they hard songs to learn?

Personally, I'd just learn them all (or most of them) and not ask them about it at all.

Chasarms · #4 08-11-2008, 05:55 PM

I would pick two or three that represent the most diversity of style, including the most technically difficult tune, and learn those.

It won't take long before they know whether or not they are interested. If they audition players with 12 tunes, it'll take them forever to find a bass player.

Depth_Charge · #5 08-13-2008, 07:07 AM

Assuming I'm really into the music and could see myself making a proper go of being in the band I agree with MyUsernameHere. I'd learn as much as possible. Doing that shows your commitment and reduces the time the band needs to prepare you to gig with them.

It's hard to answer your question because we have no insight into the expectations of the band in question.

rappa29 · #6 08-13-2008, 07:16 AM

Learn as much as you can to the best of your ability depending on what timeframe you're looking at.

If possible, learn them all.

Dave Rosenthall (keyboardist for Billy Joel) spoke at one of my classes in college. He said he learned every Bill Joel song he could, including programming exact synth patches\program changes that were used on specific songs, sequenced parts, etc. Showed up at the audition with his entire live keyboard rig (which was pretty large and in charge at the time circa 1994). Nailed everything Billy threw at him and landed the gig!

I know it's completely different than joining local rock band, but point is learn as much as you can to the best of your ability! So even if they say, "You're in!" after 3 songs, you can further impress by saying, "Let's try this one I learned also."

Break a leg!

Joel S. · #7 08-13-2008, 09:36 AM

I tried out for a tribute band an an original band. With the first I was told to learn 4 songs, the latter 3. However, I worked on a 4th song and played it as well.

I'd focus on learning 3-4 inside and out then add others if you have time.

Also, you might want to bring some "original" material. Some little bass riffs you play, or chord progressions you like to jam over that fit in with the context of the band.

BillyRay · #8 08-13-2008, 09:51 AM

I'd personally stay away from a local band that specifically asks you to learn more than 5 songs for an audition, especially if they don't give you any charts or standard notation to go with them.

This means that:
a) These guys have nothing better to do and expect you to be the same.
b) They probably like to rush as much material as possible, meaning they might not be as tight as possible (wich is a cardinal sin with originals).

I went to too many auditions having learned upwards of 10 songs and have the band suck on me (while their myspace was fine): so two weeks of learning songs for nothing. Well, not exactly nothing since it's good ear training, but I could've trained my ears transcribing incredible basslines by masters instead... Other problems with bands wanting you to nail 10 songs is that they're usually dillusional: took them 2 years to get it written and tight and they expect you to do the same in 2 weeks by yourself. Mister, it ain't gonna happen, unless I'm a full time pro, and then I wouldn't be joining a two bits local band would I ?

mutedeity · #9 08-13-2008, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepbluesuk

Im looking to audition for an originals band - how many songs do you think is reasonable to be asked to learn? Ive been sent a CD of theirs with 12 tracks on - I dont want to appear dumb and ask if they want all of them down......how many do you normally do in this situation?

This is something you should be discussing with the people auditioning you, but realistically if you are auditioning then 2 or 3 is ideal for both of you since they would probably be auditioning more people than just you and you don't want to spend all of your time learning material for no reason in case you don't get the gig. A band should be able to get a good idea whether you are a good addition to their line-up in a musical sense after playing 2 or 3 songs with you and they should give you material that is varied enough to know what your capabilities are. If they can't decide in that time then they are probably wasting their own time and yours as well.

Also I would ask them for charts for the material if they have them.

Audiophage · #10 08-13-2008, 08:52 PM

****, I'd learn them all.

Mr. Lovejoy · #11 08-13-2008, 09:01 PM

I would just ask them what exactly they want. How is that an issue of pride?

You guys just confuse me sometimes.

Martin Bormann · #12 08-13-2008, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mutedeity

This is something you should be discussing with the people auditioning you but, realistically if you are auditioning then 2 or 3 is ideal for both of you since they would probably be auditioning more people that just you and you don't want to spend all of your time learning material for no reason in case you don't get the gig. A band should be able to get a good idea whether you are a good addition to their lineup in a musical sense after playing 2 or 3 songs with you and they should give you material that is varied enough to know what your capabilities are. If they can't decide in that time then they are probably wasting their own time and yours as well.

Also I would ask them for charts or the material if they have them.

Yeah, but if you're like some people on here, it should only take you no more than an hour to learn 17 of them.

BillyRay · #13 08-13-2008, 10:03 PM

Some bands get ticked off if you ask for charts or notation (or ask for anything really): they want a bassist who can learn everything by ear and is completly autonomous. While this is great and all, it is a colossal waste of time to learn everything by ear, especially if they usually want a bassist that cooks more than the one they fired. I had that happen to me once. When I asked for charts, the guitarist said it would be too long for him to note them for me and that he wanted a complete overhaul of the basslines anyway.

Well, man, good luck. If you can't spend 15 minutes writing chords for 5 songs in an e-mail, I sure as hell won't try to pick up your crazy downtuned, full of changes material in order to THEN proceed to write my own lines over the changes (he wanted me to audition with the past bassists material). Sad, because the material was actually very good, but they were mainly a 1 set showcase band that made money by pay to play (they had a great draw).

mutedeity · #14 08-13-2008, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillyRay

Some bands get ticked off if you ask for charts or notation (or ask for anything really): they want a bassist who can learn everything by ear and is completly autonomous.

The way I see it they either have charts or they don't. Doesn't hurt to ask and if they have them it makes life easier for you initially in going to audition. If this offends them it's probably not a great sign that they are professional in my opinion.

Mr. Lovejoy · #15 08-13-2008, 11:06 PM

I make sure to have all my music tabbed out in Guitar Pro files.

It makes things soo much easier for everyone.

BillyRay · #16 08-14-2008, 11:57 AM

Also, original bands that have nothing charted out usually have only a couple of songs to their names (wich is fine for a BOTB type of thing, but if you want to gig regularly, look elsewhere).

Plus, once you get into the 15-20 songs written territory and your music is somewhat complex (modulation, rythmn changes, etc.) a sheet of paper with the lyrics and some cues are damn necessary, especially if you're losing a member and want to audition others.

What are you going to do when you want to show the new guy the material ? Have him listen to the song 30 times to drill it into his head or just show him the piece of paper while the song plays in the background ? Some people really need to realize that:

- The less hassle your audition is, the more people will respond to it. You need to be specific about what you want and not make it ridiculously hard to actually learn the material if you want to weed out the hacks. A quick 15 minutes chat on the phone about shop talk usually also helps weeding out ridiculous applications.
- The more bassist that comes to your audition, the more choice you have.
- The more choice you have, the best you can choose and not "settle".
- The less you have to settle, the better the band will be in the long run.

OtterOnBass · #17 08-14-2008, 12:10 PM

I auditioned (and got) a spot in an originals band. The leader/singer/guitarist/songwriter had a lot of experience with it and didn't ask me to learn anything. He gave me a chord sheet and had me listen to the songs. He gave me an outline of what kind of basslines he imagined and we jammed, just the two of us. He watched what I did, though it seemed like he was focusing on his singing and guitar playing. Then he said, I liked this, try doing this.

We ended up going through a ton of music, and he saw not only my technical ability, but my learning ability and attitude. According to him, I had a much better attitude than the other guys, was more flexible and just as capable as any of them.

So for you, pick out your favorite songs from the disc, get excited about their music, and try to make up some parts that add to the music. They'll see someone who cares about the music, can create lines that fit, as well as being technically proficient.

mambo4 · #18 08-14-2008, 02:36 PM

May experience auditioning for originals bands:

first, I ask them whats expected. usually it's been 3-4 tunes which I chart and learn ahead of time and then 2-3 more have been thrown at me in the auditions.

deepbluesuk · #19 08-15-2008, 12:11 PM

Asked them - first 4 off of the cd, so no big shakes, and due to holidays 2 weeks to work through them and as many others as poss (that'll be all of them i think) Somew good advice here as usual - thanks!!

Diddii · #20 08-15-2008, 01:57 PM

learn 3-4 songs perfect.. and learn the rest by just chords if they want to play more you can groove around the chords of the song. Show them your improvision