Adapting military hand signals for a gig :D

[JansenW]

I was looking for a set of hand signals our music team could use and came across this set. With some substitutions (listed below) a band can adapt them for gigs without having to wear the combat gear.

They might come in handy if a bar fight breaks out!

Standardized Hand Signals for Close Range Engagement (C.R.E.) Operations

http://www.airsoftgent.be/dbase/hands.htm

You
Me
Come
Listen, I hear
Watch, I see
Hurry up
Stop
Freeze
Cover this area
Go here, move up
Enemy = competing band
Hostage = vocalist
Sniper = heckler
Obstacle = heckler
Cell leader
Column formation
Fire formation
Line abreast formation
Wedge formation
Rally point
Pistol = keyboard
Rifle = guitar
Shotgun = bass
Ammunition = songs
Vehicle = van
I understand
I don’t understand
Crouch or prone position
Door
Window
Point of entry

[Coeball]

amazing idea.

[Valerus]

Haha that might work fairly well, actually.

[CDuff]

Haha, it'd be so painfully embarrassing to watch a band using signals like that to each other on stage.

[Fassa Albrecht]

We use a lot of handsignals in my band...I still don't know what half of them mean.

[Jazzdogg]

I'm waiting for PacMan to chime in on this thread

Forty years ago, my Dad taught me to use my fingers to signal key signatures: The number of fingers pointing up indicate the number of sharps in the key signature (1 = G; 2 = D...); fingers pointing down indicate the number of flats in the key signature (1 = F; 2 = Bb...).

Although fast & simple, I'm amazed at how many of the rock musicians I've played with over the years have compained that these signals are "too difficult."

[Pacman]

Originally Posted by Jazzdogg

I'm waiting for PacMan to chime in on this thread

Wait no longer!

[/quote]

Forty years ago, my Dad taught me to use my fingers to signal key signatures: The number of fingers pointing up indicate the number of sharps in the key signature (1 = G; 2 = D...); fingers pointing down indicate the number of flats in the key signature (1 = F; 2 = Bb...).

Although fast & simple, I'm amazed at how many of the rock musicians I've played with over the years have compained that these signals are "too difficult."[/quote]


That's a great system, unless you're in Boston, where sharps point down and flats point up....not sure where that came from.

I've used a ton of hand signals in bands, but mostly not based on the .mil ones.

[Jazzdogg]

Originally Posted by Pacman

Wait no longer!

That's a great system, unless you're in Boston, where sharps point down and flats point up....not sure where that came from.

I've used a ton of hand signals in bands, but mostly not based on the .mil ones.

Any unique or interesting musical hand signals endemic to military bands?

[ZonGuy]

Originally Posted by Jazzdogg

I'm waiting for PacMan to chime in on this thread

Forty years ago, my Dad taught me to use my fingers to signal key signatures: The number of fingers pointing up indicate the number of sharps in the key signature (1 = G; 2 = D...); fingers pointing down indicate the number of flats in the key signature (1 = F; 2 = Bb...).

Although fast & simple, I'm amazed at how many of the rock musicians I've played with over the years have compained that these signals are "too difficult."

+1

Jazz musicians and singers use this system all the time esp. at jam sessions, plus 1-IV-V hand signals. Very Handy.

And yes, rock musicians (including one with several CD's)seem to find this system too hard. Go Figure

[Pacman]

Originally Posted by Jazzdogg

Any unique or interesting musical hand signals endemic to military bands?

Unique ones - more musical management in nature: vamp, next song, that sort of thing...

[Low Main]

I noticed that the first three hand signals on the list are: "you", "me", and "come".

A few years ago, I figured out how to combine those three signals into one easy to use hand gesture.

True story: I once saw two people who were friends catch sight of each other on opposite sides of a busy street.

They waved and shouted at each other but they couldn't hear each other because the traffic was so loud.

Turned out they both were fluent in American Sign Language. So they just stuck their arms way up in the air and talked to each other in ASL.

The part I liked was that they both used wild, exaggerated sign gestures because they thought they needed to do that to overcome the traffic noise. I also enjoyed the fact that they kept shouting at each other the whole time they were signing.

[Fine Cut]

i look at whoever handles the bands refreshments, and give them the "hang 10" thumb and pinky sign...that means "bring me a Mountain Dew!"

[MoD_Scotty]

This one works well in my band:



and of course this one:

[BullHorn]

Haha, this is a cool idea.

[Deacon_Blues]

It's pretty common to give hand signals to show when the song, a solo or something is ending. One big band leader I had used also 1, 2 or 4 fingers to say how many bars there were still left of a solo to cue in the others afterwards. It worked pretty well.

Maybe the whole concept could be developed a bit further to give specific signals for e.g.:

- one chorus more (rotate hand)
- last phrase again (two fingers up)
- song ending (hand up)
- ritardando before end (hand up and sinking slowly)

This could actually be very helpful for communicating on-stage. The only bad thing is if both your hands are occupied by playing...

[Anscari]

You can always get one hand off for a little while...

[Bassamatic]

Yes - Hand signals are a GREAT idea. We have been discussing a set of signs to indicate slower, faster, louder, softer, etc. that are not confusing. The others indicating one more chorus , etc. are a great idea.

[Thursday]

Originally Posted by JansenW

I was looking for a set of hand signals our music team could use and came across this set. With some substitutions (listed below) a band can adapt them for gigs without having to wear the combat gear.

They might come in handy if a bar fight breaks out!

Standardized Hand Signals for Close Range Engagement (C.R.E.) Operations

http://www.airsoftgent.be/dbase/hands.htm

You
Me
Come
Listen, I hear
Watch, I see
Hurry up
Stop
Freeze
Cover this area
Go here, move up
Enemy = competing band
Hostage = vocalist
Sniper = heckler
Obstacle = heckler
Cell leader
Column formation
Fire formation
Line abreast formation
Wedge formation
Rally point
Pistol = keyboard
Rifle = guitar
Shotgun = bass
Ammunition = songs
Vehicle = van
I understand
I don’t understand
Crouch or prone position
Door
Window
Point of entry

When I read this I started thinking about Call Of Duty 4

[bass349]

Yeah the keys player in my covers gig uses hand signals for a bunch of things. All the obvious things like stops, rit endings, tempo changes etc. They're all pretty standard and easy to understand even if you'd never seen them before, ie, fist in the air for stops etc.

One thing he does which i think is great is that he calls tunes on the gig using hand signals. This is something that seems to have developed over time. We never use set lists anymore and pull from a 150 or so repertoire. That way we can jump on the next tune asap with no stopping, either straight in medly style, or a quick count-in from the drummer if its a big tempo change. Usually he'll send me the signal at some point throughout the tune and i'll let the guitarist and drummer know whats coming up. It works great in that we can create medleys on the fly, lets you read the crowd and see what they're responding to, and also simply cause it keeps the band on their toes!

[JansenW]

Thanks for your helpful comments on hand signals.

Keep them up.