Charts (or not)?

[paulpos]

I'd like to relay an experience using charts on stage. I was recently asked to back up a talented singer/songwriter on tour who was traveling without her band; I was given about 2 weeks notice to learn about 2 dozen originals. While I spent as much time as I could charting the songs and absorbing her music, a full-time job and family prevented me having the time to fully memorize the music. Her songs aren't complicated but the changes weren't always obvious; missing the changes though would be VERY obvious. I decided to rely on my intuition and her chord positions on guitar to lead me through the songs, but I had the charts on a music stand on stage as a backup. The gigs went very well and she was impressed with the rhythm section, but at one of the gigs a bar patron yelled 'Get rid of the music!'. While don't usually put too much stock in drunk comments, it did make me question my use of the charts onstage.

Do you think it's better to look 'more professional' and run the risk of getting lost, or have a music stand on stage and give the impression that you're a greenhorn? I know there's no right answer, but I'd be interested in your opinion.

[Billnc]

Use the chart. Your boss liked your job. The idiot I doubt, could read or write music or a chord chart. Drunks are always idiots, never forget that. No one has ever gotten smarter drinking, Other people just get better looking.

[JDJen]

I've used basic charts with song keys and maybe modulations or key changes on them (usually a full night on 1 sheet of paper) when filling in but I never put anything on a music stand. I either put it on the floor or find some place inconspicuous to put it.

I literally hate it when there is a music stand on stage with a binder on it. Whether it be chord changes, or lyrics, I think it looks unprofessional in the bar/showcase situations.

[J-B'ass]

It's always good to get away from charts if you can, but sometimes that's a luxury. The aim is to make good music, and whatever you need to do that is fine. While charts are sometimes necessary, as I suspect in your case they were, they can sometimes take your focus away from the other musicians and the performance itself.
If you do need charts, it's best to be discrete.

[Phil Smith]

Originally Posted by paulpos

Do you think it's better to look 'more professional' and run the risk of getting lost, or have a music stand on stage and give the impression that you're a greenhorn? I know there's no right answer, but I'd be interested in your opinion.

People playing at the highest level of the game use charts and the ability to read notation, interpret charts for harmony and song form is a skill that allows a person to show up cold to a gig and deliver a performance like they've played the tune forever. People that play well and make the music happen can never be mistaken for being "green" no matter what they have in front of them.

Oh, forgot to mention, sounding professional counts a lot more than looking professional. Memorize, read from a chart, do whatever you have to do to sound the best that you can.

[TL5]

Originally Posted by paulpos

..at one of the gigs a bar patron yelled 'Get rid of the music!'.

That really happened?

I've seen bands at all levels have music on stage to play from, and since the mid seventies I've never heard anyone yell from the audience that they needed to get rid of the music.
I have seen the topic come up often in musician circles (such as an online forum) and there's always a contingent who make the claim that using music is "unprofessional".

Bowie uses a stand to hold his lyric book, even if he doesn't us it. It's not unusual to see many sidemen using stands with the charts/music.


If it was OK for Johnny at Folsom, then it's OK by me.

{EDIT TO ADD:}
Here's a Youtube where Bowie's stand is clearly visible:
Is that a music stand?

[JTE]

Hmm.... Johnny Cash, Davie Bowie, The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Billy Joel, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra vs. drunks in bars...

John

[ahc]

Maybe the drunk wanted the whole band to stop?

[Bruce Lindfield]

At virtually every Jazz gig I have attended over the last few years, there have been charts on music stands - although it hasn't always been like that and Jazz musicians do memorise thousands of standards - but there's always the odd, new tune that comes up.

I remember being at a gig by Bobby Wellins (UK Tenor Sax) who was leading a quartet without any music and at the interval he put out a call for a music stand, as the bass player in the band had just arranged a piece of Classical Music for the quartet and it was quite a difficult melody line! Somebody in the audience lived nearby and went to get a music stand, so they could play the piece - which was very nice!

But there is a case of the whole audience, going out of their way to help the band to use charts!!!

[Classickbass]

When one attends the Symphony or Chamber Orchestra's all the musician's onstage are using stands for their sheet music. Not only do I not see anything wrong with this, I find it VERY impressive that they have the ability to sight read at such a furious pace. Perhaps when the drunk in the audience started yelling you should have yelled back at this clod. Better still, someone employed by the venue should have shown him the door.

[wake & Bass]

I have gone back and forth on this myself. I have been playing with a female singer/songwriter for a while now...(well it's a sub gig really) and I just use charts as a crutch (note to self: I really need to learn her tunes one of these days!) I have charts in a binder with those clear sheet inserts, and have the font big enough to see from the floor. I try and hide it behind a monitor or my pedalboard or whatever else is around, and try and NOT use a music stand if possible. The charts are protected, you can cheat when you need to, it's 'hidden' from the audience and if you need to flip a page (between songs) it just looks like your adjusting your pedal or cable or whatever. Works for me

[BassChuck]

There are some styles of music that require music on stage. Sometimes the level of music and is complex enough that you need it. I saw Pat Methany, Ornette Coleman and Charlie Hayden in concert and they music, or at least had something on their music stands that they felt they needed.

Reading music doesn't mean you are not playing with heart and soul. You can memorize music and still play like a robot.

[SurferJoe46]

Originally Posted by TL5

If it was OK for Johnny at Folsom, then it's OK by me.

Johnny Cash couldn't carry a tune in a peach basket - he needed all the help he could get. Repeatedly - even in "A Boy Named Sue", he's off meter, loses lyrics, changes the words and generally keeps the band swapping places and trying to figure where he's at at the moment.

Not too sure that he could even read - 'cause if he could've , he'd not have made all the mistakes he did.

Take 'Ring Of Fire'. Ya think he was humming that first note for effect? He was trying to find the starting note.

[Jim Nazium]

Originally Posted by ahc

Maybe the drunk wanted the whole band to stop?

LOL

[Jim Nazium]

For some reason it's much more acceptable to have charts in front of you in a jazz context than a rock context. Same goes for sitting on a chair or a stool.

I agree with the others who have said that sounding good is #1, so do whatever you need to do to play the songs correctly. I don't think there is anything unprofessional about reading charts. But with that said, there's an experience the audience expects to have when they go to a rock show: it will be loud, the players will be standing up (and probably moving about energetically), and they won't be reading. I try to give the audience what they want, because they're the ones paying.

[Chasarms]

Originally Posted by paulpos

. . . Do you think it's better to look 'more professional' and run the risk of getting lost, or have a music stand on stage and give the impression that you're a greenhorn? . . .

There's nothing "greenhorn" about having music on the stage. There are pros who backup other artists on a day's notice with one rehearsal. It's no big deal.

It'd rather sound "professional" than look it any day of the week. I play off lead sheets and/or charts all the time.

[James Simonson]

If it's a pop/profile type of job and I need a chart, I'll try to get crafty about what's visually happening. I don't think most people mind charts as long as you don't have a music stand set all high and right in front of everybody. That cheap, chrome, high school crap that leans to one side, is totally wrong. So is fiddling around with page turns. To be smooth can take some planning and ultimately, it's the effort people appreciate. Sometimes, I've spent so much time on a cheat sheet that I wind up learning the tune that way. I cut down a nice stand and it sits a few feet off the ground just above the wedges. The iPhone Realbook app is real handy way to sneak a chart too.

[scotch]

It all depends on the environment you are performing in, right? If you're in a symphonic situation- obviously written music & a music stand are standard operating procedure. If you're backing up a top-40 act on Letterman for 1 song, not so much!


I regularly am learning 6-20 song sets for a myriad of signed and independent artists. Genres range from country to pop to rock. Generally speaking, for "national" touring acts, having a music stand & obvious reading from a chart are frowned upon. However, given the volume of work I have, frequency of "subbing-in", and unwillingness to memorize an entire set for what is sometimes a single gig- I often use charts. This August, for instance, I picked up 2 "sub" gigs (about 30 songs total) and started working semi-regularly for 2 new artists as well (another 30-40 songs total). With regular session work (and a regular life to live) I can't be expected to learn all of that material by heart. Charts to the rescue!

I keep my charts in clear sleeves in a 3-ring binder. I've attached a small LED light for illumination & keep the charts somewhat hidden. Either on the drum riser, monitors, or some other convenient location. I don't keep my nose in the chart but look ahead for things I've 'starred', key changes, repeats, etc. It's always most important to listen & be aware of any visual cues on stage, so you must be able to digest the "gist" of a chart in a matter of seconds (comes with practice).


A colleague of mine once answered an artists' critique of his using charts this way: "No one will remember if I had charts onstage, but they will remember if I totally f@#$ up the song!"

[scotch]

Originally Posted by James Simonson

If it's a pop/profile type of job and I need a chart, I'll try to get crafty about what's visually happening. I don't think most people mind charts as long as you don't have a music stand set all high and right in front of everybody. That cheap, chrome, high school crap that leans to one side, is totally wrong. So is fiddling around with page turns. To be smooth can take some planning and ultimately, it's the effort people appreciate. Sometimes, I've spent so much time on a cheat sheet that I wind up learning the tune that way. I cut down a nice stand and it sits a few feet off the ground just above the wedges. The iPhone Realbook app is real handy way to sneak a chart too.

+1

Just making the charts in the first place teaches you the song!

I like the cut-off stand idea! Hmm,... maybe a little metal shop project for me...

RealBook is on Android now as well, fyi.

[James Simonson]

Hey Scotch, where you @ when I need a sub?