Learning Songs Quickly -- In over my head

[thewanderer24]

I agreed to do a pickup gig this Friday. I got the setlist/recordings Sunday evening. I have 28 new songs to learn in 4 days til rehearsal Thursday. I wasn't given any charts.

I haven't even heard most of these songs before. Probably more than half the recordings don't even have a bass part in them -- nice, it gives me freedom right?? wrong, cause it makes it so I have to figure out strange guitar chords to chart out the songs, almost none of which seem to follow familiar progressions. A lot of the ones with bass in em are fairly tricky tunes.

I am getting my ass kicked bad by this.

I am desperately trying to get the songs into my head by listening to them and playing them as much as possible. It's taking me hours and hours that I don't really have just to chart these tunes out. I am trying to make really big charts that I can leave on the floor and read while I play. I still have about 10 songs left to chart out, many of which I haven't even heard yet.

Any advice??

I am gonna be totally exposed in this gig. It's gonna be only me, a drummer I play with fairly regularly who doesn't know the songs either, and a singer, guitarist that I was hoping to make a decent impression on.

I am sitting at my day job typing this, listening to the stuff on my headphones.

[tZer]

oof - keep on charting! I was in a similar situation - an all original band (so you know I have never heard these songs before) a gig in a week and a list of over 30 tunes to cram in my head. What did I do?

1. Relentlessly listened to the crappy recording they handed me of another live show they did month's before with another bass player. I listened at work, in the car, at home, in bed, in the shower, you get the idea.
2. I charted every song on big pieces of paper that I could lay on the floor in front of me and read while standing.
3. I got the set list in advance and made sure my charts were in order.
4. I listened relentlessly to the recording - When I needed a break, I listened to it on my break...

Really, man. that is the best you can do in this kind of situation. Don't think you don't have enough time to chart - you will be very happy with yourself if you take the small amount of time to give yourself good general reference points to read.

And did I mention listening to the songs relentlessly? If not, listen to the songs relentlessly.

You can do it! I have confidence in you! These are the gigs that make you really rise to the occasion. If you can hack this, you can hack a lot!

Hack it, man!
--tz

[thewanderer24]

thanks man. Appreciate it. Sounds like I am on the right track. I am stressing in a very big way. I have never stressed this much about a gig or any music stuff in my life.

[Kronos]

28 songs in 4 days is a lot to learn. But, if you work hard, it can be done. That's 7 songs a day. Concentrate on those first 7 the first night. On the second night, warm up by playing those 7, then work on the next 7. Next night, play through the songs you have trouble with for warm up, then hit the next 7. Do the same thing the next day.

You'll never want to hear those songs again after this, and I'm sure you'll be exhausted, but if you really think this show's gonna go through, then don't be the one to hold everything up.

Are you sure your drummer is up for learning all those songs on such short notice?

Plus, how many sets are you playing for this show? If it's only 1, you might not have to be extremely proficient in all 28. Maybe it's possible to let everyone know what song's you're proficient in, and alter the set accordingly.

[DougD]

You can do it! You are on the right track already. just try to keep it as simple as posible untill the rehearsal, once you see how you gell with the band then let em have it.

[thewanderer24]

yeah, I'm expecting the drummer to get there. He did a sub gig for me before in similar conditions, and did great. Granted those were more straightforward songs.

I've been basically using the method you said of breaking it into smaller groups.

It's 3 hours of time, so we're probably playing them all. I'm kinda pissed cause the list was longer, and I had already spent a lot of time on 2 or 3 songs that got snipped. anyway...

I think I care about this for a few reasons. One, nailing this will open up other sub possibilities through the drummer -- I know the drummer gets this stuff fairly regularly -- hopefully with less schedule pressure. Two, the guy I am playing with is someone that can probably give me regular work if I nail this gig. He actually seems like someone that could go somewhere if he got the right breaks. He has a marketable sound, IMO.

Anyway... off to lunch...

[Roundwound]

First of all, I feel for you man and calm down! In March I learned 50 songs in 2 1/2 weeks, but they were songs I already heard with defined bass parts. What got me through it with near-flying colors was using a piece of shareware called Guitar and Drum Trainer 2:
http://www.popularshareware.com/Guit...oad-16201.html

I put it on my home computer along with the mp3 files of the songs I needed to learn. Then I plugged my bass into the mic input on the computer (using a 1/8 adaptor), put on the headphones, and played each song through the software. I was able to slow things down and change keys. It helped me to get a better feel what the bass was doing and, in your case, it would allow you hear the mix of your bass vs. the song much better.

Aside from the tech tip, I suggest that you don't try to eat the whole elephant at once. Root notes and timing come first. Know your place in each song. A mistake on a simple root (usually caught by the audience) costs much more than a missed opportunity to wank out (possibly perceived by the musicians).

I don't know the type of music you are playing or your skill level, but hopefully the drummer and guitarist understand the spot you are in and will be able to cut you some slack. So keep it simple and solid and find some new cats if they don't appreciate it. Less can be more, this time around.

Originally Posted by thewanderer24

I agreed to do a pickup gig this Friday. I got the setlist/recordings Sunday evening. I have 28 new songs to learn in 4 days til rehearsal Thursday. I wasn't given any charts.

I haven't even heard most of these songs before. Probably more than half the recordings don't even have a bass part in them -- nice, it gives me freedom right?? wrong, cause it makes it so I have to figure out strange guitar chords to chart out the songs, almost none of which seem to follow familiar progressions. A lot of the ones with bass in em are fairly tricky tunes.

I am getting my ass kicked bad by this.

I am desperately trying to get the songs into my head by listening to them and playing them as much as possible. It's taking me hours and hours that I don't really have just to chart these tunes out. I am trying to make really big charts that I can leave on the floor and read while I play. I still have about 10 songs left to chart out, many of which I haven't even heard yet.

Any advice??

I am gonna be totally exposed in this gig. It's gonna be only me, a drummer I play with fairly regularly who doesn't know the songs either, and a singer, guitarist that I was hoping to make a decent impression on.

I am sitting at my day job typing this, listening to the stuff on my headphones.

[stedtale]

i've done this lots. I've even had to jump on the bass without even hearing the song or the group before. I was told, "It's in D major, starts on G, chorus is I IV iv iii... 2, 3, 4" <downbeat>

Yep, listen, listen, listen. Break it up into sections, chart it out (writting it down helps me to rememeber), listen, play, play, play, listen.

See if you can get a set list from them, It may only be 15 songs, 10 songs....

You are on the right track. Keep it simple, focus on being solid and tight, not flashy. Flashy on new stuff always gets me in trouble.

[pocket_groover]

I've been in a similar situation before...all I gotta say is keep at it. In my situation, the music was in a totally different genre than I was used to playing and hearing....Boy, was I nervous! But, if you're prepared, you'll have the confidence when you show up and then it's fun!

Make sure you get the chord charts and any notes about special sections down so you have the song structure clear. It helps to chart out the song structure (AABA kind of thing). As you know, the rhythm section can't stop!

Good luck! You can do it!

[LeftyLB70P]

Way to step up man!

Like all that has been said - which you are already doing - work, work, work.

Couple other things; relax as much as you possibly can. Jitters will get in the way of you being the bass player that you really are.
You are really doing something here so be forgiving even if the others aren't.
At the practice/gig make sure you watch what the others are doing, using your ears and your eyes will allow you to catch things and potentially rescue yourself from mistakes. Also, use dynamics to strengthen your strengths and hide your weaknesses (not in a deceitful way but use that brain you got )

I love/hate these type things. I am new to the situation as well but by doing exactly what you are doing and the things I mentioned, my couple of times in the last couple months have really gone spectacularly. Tomorrow night I will be practicing with a band that I will gig with on Sunday so it seems to be paying off.

Best of luck!

[thewanderer24]

well, gig is in a few hours. I am not going to know the stuff any better than I do already. Oh well. We'll see how it goes. There should be a couple hundred people there, but in theory we are not the center of attention a lot of the time. So, we'll see.

I am a little frustrated. The guy who hired the drummer and I has been totally disorganized and caused me a lot of extra pain. He's talented, but obviously not used to handling this kind of situation. Made a lot of extra work for me, and at this point I feel like anywhere I come up short is as much his responsibility as mine. So, now that I got my little bitching out, time to be positive and hope for a good gig.

[EricF]

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[pocket_groover]

As they say, "Break a leg"... Good luck!

Got a gig tonite as well; out of about 12 songs, I've never played 2-3 of them...we'll see how that goes..

[SBassman]

We're pulling for you.

When it's all over, you'll conclude that you're better off having taken on this challenge. You probably grew more in this past week than you ever did before.

When the prep came to an end, I hope you were able to put your head in a state to - just enjoy the ride. It won't be perfect, but if you worked hard - and you did - you'll be able to exit this with a smile on your face.

Let us know how it went.

[thewanderer24]

thanks for the support guys. Actually, I feel pretty positive about it. It will be fun. And this whole process was great experience. That's the bottom line.

I'll give a report back!!

I have to leave for the gig in a few minutes.

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by thewanderer24

thanks for the support guys. Actually, I feel pretty positive about it. It will be fun. And this whole process was great experience. That's the bottom line.

I'll give a report back!!

I have to leave for the gig in a few minutes.

Ooo Ooo Ooo Ooo
Ooo Ooo Ooo Ooo

[chanting as he leaves to go kick some butt]

[thewanderer24]

well...

I survived the gig. Not the best gig i ever did, but I hung in and their weren't any trainwrecks, despite a few suprises...

The audience seemed to like us, I got paid, and got many many laughs through the evening with my drummer. It's a little frustrating knowing I could play a lot better, but oh well.

I learned a lot from this experience. If anyone wants to hire me under these circumstances again, I will be a hell of a lot more picky about what I expect out of them.

BTW, did I mention how frustrating it is working with an acoustic guitarist that is used to playing by themselves?? I can just picture what goes through their heads: Time, what's that? uhh, why do they look at me funny when I put in random stops, change the chords (cause I can't remember how I played it last time), or blankly stare at my facial gesture/instructions? I don't understand why they can't intuitively just know that I'm gonna change from 4/4 after 2 bars to 6/8 for 3 bars to 3/8 for 1 bar, back to 4/4 for 7 bars etc. Why do you think they have trouble with me changing the structure (chords, rhythm, arrangement) of all these intricate originals on the fly??

I swear there's one original this guy had where the drummer and I were absolutely convinced that the one was half a beat earlier than the singer/songwriter. This is no big deal if it's straight ahead rock or something, but it was a totally strange synchopated rhythm and he was insistent about doing it this weird way, instead of the intuitive way which I thought sounded a hell of a lot better. Anyway, moving on...

[SBassman]

Great to hear you're alive and smiling about it.

And, great quote:

> If anyone wants to hire me under these circumstances
> again, I will be a hell of a lot more picky about what I
> expect out of them.

[vic_6]

Originally Posted by thewanderer24

BTW, did I mention how frustrating it is working with an acoustic guitarist that is used to playing by themselves?? I can just picture what goes through their heads: Time, what's that? uhh, why do they look at me funny when I put in random stops, change the chords (cause I can't remember how I played it last time), or blankly stare at my facial gesture/instructions? I don't understand why they can't intuitively just know that I'm gonna change from 4/4 after 2 bars to 6/8 for 3 bars to 3/8 for 1 bar, back to 4/4 for 7 bars etc. Why do you think they have trouble with me changing the structure (chords, rhythm, arrangement) of all these intricate originals on the fly??

I swear there's one original this guy had where the drummer and I were absolutely convinced that the one was half a beat earlier than the singer/songwriter. This is no big deal if it's straight ahead rock or something, but it was a totally strange synchopated rhythm and he was insistent about doing it this weird way, instead of the intuitive way which I thought sounded a hell of a lot better. Anyway, moving on...

oh maaannn!!! i really hate this too! i did some session work with a guy who used to be a solo acoustic player then got a band. worked with him on a few acoustic gigs and that really got me pissed cuz he really didnt know the proper time for each song and would just shift tempos whenever he felt like it! very very annoying!

oh well... i guess in a way, as long as i get paid and i did enjoy some of it.

glad the gig went well though!! we all learn from stuff like this. and there's quite a bit to learn from experiences like this.

vic

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by vic_6

oh maaannn!!! i really hate this too!

Unfortunately, there are far too many players on the planet that just never got that Time is a crucial part of the musical equation. Much of this is fostered by teachers who also never learned what a metronome was, and teach people up to advanced levels without every spending a minute on Time.

It just blows my mind when I then come across players who think it's almost Radical thinking to talk about use of a click or drum machine, as if it's *impossible* or impractical.

I have had one time challenged player say, in response to discussions of improving the time of the band:
"I didn't get into music to be Neil Peart. I'm just playing in a bar band."

If a player can't play very comfortably for many minutes to a well timed track, metronome, or drum machine, without muffing the time, that player should put down their Advanced Solo Noodling Tips book and start over.