Another gig where I've got three days to learn a load of new stuff

**bassybill** · #1 09-28-2011, 01:09 AM

Where the hell am I going to find time this week to get all of these down? There's at least half of them I don't know.

Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae
Somewhere Only We Know - Natalie Williams version (in A)
This Love (in D) - Maroon Five
Mercy (in F#) - Duffy
American Boy - Estelle
Beggin' - Madcon
Do It Like A Dude - Jessie J
Hedonism - Skunk Anansie
Grenade - Bruno Mars
Forget You - Cee Lo Greene
Crazy - Gnarles Barkley
Love Foolosophy - Jamiroquai
Valerie - Amy Winehouse version?
Superstition (in E) - Stevie Wonder
Aint Nobody (in Ebm) - Chaka Khan
Mr Brightside - Killers
Sex On Fire - Kings of Leon
Poker Face - Lady Gaga
You Ought To Know - Alanis Morissette
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
Dakota - Stereophonics
Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz
Man In The Mirror - Michael Jackson
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Highway to Hell - AC/DC
I Believe In A Thing Called Love - Darkness

Any help very welcome!

Spaldo · #2 09-28-2011, 01:22 AM

Get 'shedding!

lowfreq33 · #3 09-28-2011, 01:26 AM

3 days, 24 tunes = 8 a day. Not that bad really. At least half of those you can fake by just following the changes. Not a lot of really specific memorable lines in there. just stay off here and you'll be fine.

lowfreq33 · #4 09-28-2011, 01:26 AM

Oh yeah, tackle the hardest ones first, then it's all downhill.

I'll help you out. "Use Somebody" is C E F, A C F. Bridge is D Gb.

1 down, 23 to go.

**bassybill** · #5 09-28-2011, 01:41 AM

First job done - made a playlist of all the ones I don't know and will listen to them in the car all day while I'm out and about for work. I find that once I actually know how the tunes go, learning to play them is pretty straightforward.

jive1 · #6 09-28-2011, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassybill

First job done - made a playlist of all the ones I don't know and will listen to them in the car all day while I'm out and about for work. I find that once I actually know how the tunes go, learning to play them is pretty straightforward.

I seem to do jobs like this almost every month, and this is what I do. I actively listen to the songs at every opportunity I can, and then it becomes easier to learn the tune later (especially if the song is catchy). I'm in the process now of learning about 20 Country tunes for gig this Saturday, and that's what I'm listening to in the car.

Downside is when you're a middle-aged guy listening to "Like a Virgin" while going through the drive-thru window, you get some odd looks.

bassbully · #7 09-28-2011, 07:08 AM

Thats a weird setlist. I agree listen to the songs, get off here and get on them songs.

onosson · #8 09-28-2011, 09:06 AM

I feel so happy to know that I'm not the only one this happens to (frequently)!

Last time this happened to me, I spent most of my time considering whether I wanted to keep working with this particular "bandleader".

WalWarrior · #9 09-28-2011, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jive1

Downside is when you're a middle-aged guy listening to "Like a Virgin" while going through the drive-thru window, you get some odd looks.

ha ha -You Kill me Jong - Great stuff. Just listen over and over and over. Like cramming for an exam. You'll nail these tunes. Don't sweat it! Now get to sheddin' -

Session1969 · #10 09-28-2011, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jive1

I seem to do jobs like this almost every month, and this is what I do. I actively listen to the songs at every opportunity I can, and then it becomes easier to learn the tune later (especially if the song is catchy). I'm in the process now of learning about 20 Country tunes for gig this Saturday, and that's what I'm listening to in the car.

Downside is when you're a middle-aged guy listening to "Like a Virgin" while going through the drive-thru window, you get some odd looks.

Bumpin' Maddona , huh ? That's what a friend of mine asked me when I picked her up one day.

tbirddad · #11 09-28-2011, 09:30 AM

Hope you're making good cash for this - but that said, I do this regularly.

I've got three gigs this month where I need to learn 20-30 new songs for each. You would think after awhile there would be more crossover, but there's a lot of songs out there - especially if you are playing different styles and eras.

Make a playlist and listen to them as often as possible -

Start with the hardest song and start charting it out. The process of charting helps you remember it.

Use your internet resources to help - google for tabs and charts - you might be amazed to what you can find.

HAVE FUN - you could be digging a ditch!!!!!

As Marshall Crenshaw said, "this is easy!"

odin70 · #12 09-28-2011, 09:32 AM

write and read

IncX · #13 09-28-2011, 09:39 AM

just be wary about the bass solo in Forget You, you can fake it, but you sort of have to learn it first. i suggest you learn that song last.

and wow... i dont think having to play all those songs in 8 days is any fun at all... i dont think i would do it, unless the pay is awesome, and i'd have to do nothing all day but learn songs

**bassybill** · #14 09-28-2011, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbirddad

Hope you're making good cash for this - but that said, I do this regularly.

I've got three gigs this month where I need to learn 20-30 new songs for each. You would think after awhile there would be more crossover, but there's a lot of songs out there - especially if you are playing different styles and eras.

Make a playlist and listen to them as often as possible -

Start with the hardest song and start charting it out. The process of charting helps you remember it.

Use your internet resources to help - google for tabs and charts - you might be amazed to what you can find.

HAVE FUN - you could be digging a ditch!!!!!

As Marshall Crenshaw said, "this is easy!"

I actually do all of this, so I felt it worth quoting again here as it's such good advice.

I learned about three of the tunes just by listening in the car today. I have them playing here at home now and they're all going in quite nicely.

IncX - I already knew "Forget You" and I'd previously transcribed the solo bit in the middle. Attached here for general interest.

**bassybill** · #15 10-01-2011, 03:06 AM

This going to be great! It's a four piece band and only the singer and drummer are there tonight. Me and the guitarist are both subs and at least half the songs we've never played before. No rehearsal. But rehearsals are over-rated anyway, we all know that.

I love gigs like this, they usually just become a huge jam session and are often great fun. I bet the crowd will love it as Steve (the guitarist - first rate musician) and I will just go for it balls out. There's really no pressure on us at all as the expectations are pretty silly when you think about it.

I'll report back after the gig and let you know whether my prediction turns out correct.

lowfreq33 · #16 10-01-2011, 06:40 AM

+1 for charting, I feel like if I chart the stuff it gets into my head better, almost like it forces me to think more specifically about what's actually happening musically (as in "bar of two after 2nd chorus", etc). Also I think my memory is more visual, sometimes onstage I find myself visualizing the chart in my handwriting if it's a short notice gig.

**bassybill** · #17 10-01-2011, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassybill

This going to be great! It's a four piece band and only the singer and drummer are there tonight. Me and the guitarist are both subs and at least half the songs we've never played before. No rehearsal. But rehearsals are over-rated anyway, we all know that.

I love gigs like this, they usually just become a huge jam session and are often great fun. I bet the crowd will love it as Steve (the guitarist - first rate musician) and I will just go for it balls out. There's really no pressure on us at all as the expectations are pretty silly when you think about it.

I'll report back after the gig and let you know whether my prediction turns out correct.

Just for added pressure, the audience tonight included the bassist who I replaced in my main band. He was really friendly and took a keen interest in what I was playing. I would have done, too, had the boot been on the other foot.

Anyway, the gig went off great. Crowd loved it, we got called back loudly for an encore and got several comments about how tight the playing was! It's amazing how things turn out sometimes.

**bassybill** · #18 10-01-2011, 07:23 PM

Just for interest, here's the cheat sheet that got me through the gig (as we were discussing in my other thread a few weeks back). One page for the first set, one for the second. It did the job.

walterw · #19 10-01-2011, 10:03 PM

my favorites from your cheat sheet?

"superstition - in E"

"sweet home alabama - DCG"

thing is, these are two that everybody gets wrong; "superstition" just pumps quarter note Es on the verses (with the occasional ghost note), the clav is doing all the busy stuff.

on "sweet home", the bassline is a lot busier and more interesting than folks realize, especially on the choruses.

oh, and "put your records on" is such an awesome song, i envy you getting to play that one!

seanm · #20 10-01-2011, 10:39 PM

Glad it worked for you. I know I couldn't do it. I had to learn 12 songs in 3 days for an audition. I was able to squeeze in 4 hours per day, but that meant just one hour per song. I worked out each song then moved on to the next.

Problem is, I really need to go back over songs to learn them. And I have to give a gap between it. I have a pretty good short term memory, but my long term memory is very weak. Always has been.

Superstition was one of the songs, I think my notes where about the same

And walterw, I know the bass line to sweet home is busier... but like most people I learned it enough to get by... and never bothered to go back and really learn it. The crowds love it, so I can't complain.