Be Careful What You Wish For (First "Gig"!)

[Late Boomer]

I've been playing for a whopping 2 months (check my prior posts: got my bass for Christmas). I'd sent an e-mail to my church's worship pastor about a month ago saying "I'm a newbie bass player, and I'd love to play in one of the worship bands if you ever need me." He sent a nice, friendly response saying "Thanks, we're set for bassists right now, but I'll keep you in mind if we ever need a sub."

He called today. He needs a sub. In 18 hours.

I just got the lead sheets for the 9 (!?) songs we're doing. Of them, I know 6, and three I've never heard before. We meet tomorrow at 7:30 for about 90 minutes of rehearsal. I've got about 3 hours this afternoon to try to sort a few of these out, and maybe another hour later tonight. It figures that this would come up after a night with only 4 hours sleep, and a committment tonight.

Any tips on getting ready, other than working through the lead sheets?

Wish me luck. This is something I'd set as a goal "in the next 12 months" and here it is! Glad I've been practicing.

[theshadow2001]

I suppose some advice would be to keep your lines as simple as possible. Concentrate on keeping your timing solid. If the lines are pre written I might leave any complicated parts out. Substitute simpler lines in. Maybe let your fellow musicians know your experience or lack there of. Tell them your just going to keep things simple and supportive and they will appreciate that more than doing anything fancy shmancy and screwing it up. Try and get as much practice in as you possibly can between now and the gig. Concentrate on the 3 songs you don't know but make sure to go over the others a few times as well.

However this is a good thing to do. Its one of those character building jobs. It might seem intimidating going in. Hellish through out. But by the end of it you'll be a better musician for it.

Some more advice get the hell of talk bass and go practice!!!!!

[vindy500]

eventually youll be given a sheet of chords never seen the song before (heck if you turn out like me you wont even understand the language of the song...) and youll be able to play it straight off

[ibnzneksrul]

The only thing I'd add to theshadow's excellent advice is to listen to what the drummer is doing in rehearsal and try to sync up with him. He is your rhythm partner.

[seanm]

The Shadow knows. I would simplify the lines if possible. Also if there are any repeating sections, play the same line each time even if it shows a variation each time.

The most important thing is to get the rhythm right. If your timing is off, you will throw the whole band off. Next, get the changes right. Once you have these down, concentrate on the actual lines.

As a beginner, if you can get the changes and hang with the band, you will be fine.

But the most important thing to remember is: they want you to succeed!

[BetterBottomEnd]

I don't know what kind of worship stuff your church plays and what your teams are like. In worship music I find generally less is more and keeping a good rhythm is your number one goal. Playing worship music isn't a performance its about leading the congregation in worship so you want to be solid and not get in the way.

Out of curiosity whats your set list this week? I like to know what other churches are playing.

[Late Boomer]

Originally Posted by BetterBottomEnd

Out of curiosity whats your set list this week? I like to know what other churches are playing.

Let's see here:

All Over the World
Forever
Holy is the Lord
You Never Let Go
Enough
Everlasting God
Uncreated One
More Than a Friend

[BetterBottomEnd]

Only two I don't know not bad. How did it go?