Had you heard me fumble thru "Fire On The Mountain" you wouldn't be so impressed!
Luckily, no one at the Petunia Festival seemed to mind.
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Luckily, no one at the Petunia Festival seemed to mind.
Cool. Got any advice/tips on how to approach these kinds of gigs?
Story reminds me of this one Victor Wooten lesson
"You're always one fret away from a right note."
Have fun
"You're always one fret away from a right note."
Have fun
I filled in for a band one night. BL would tell me the key and recite a few chords, launch into a song he wrote that I never heard and in a different key than what he said.
I do a lot of jams and knew the key was wrong, found it and did my best to follow. Thought I sucked. Everyone thought I was great. The venue asked them back. They asked me to take over when their bassist had to drop out.
Playing off the cuff is scary as hell.
When it works it's beautiful.
When it doesn't ....
I do a lot of jams and knew the key was wrong, found it and did my best to follow. Thought I sucked. Everyone thought I was great. The venue asked them back. They asked me to take over when their bassist had to drop out.
Playing off the cuff is scary as hell.
When it works it's beautiful.
When it doesn't ....
Best of luck, OP!
It sounds scary, but could be fun, and heck, if it turns out to be a train-wreck it won't be your fault.
In fact, grab the mic just before you guys go on and tell the audience the situation!
Please make sure to come back and tell us how it went.
It sounds scary, but could be fun, and heck, if it turns out to be a train-wreck it won't be your fault.
In fact, grab the mic just before you guys go on and tell the audience the situation!
Please make sure to come back and tell us how it went.
I think I'm a half-way decent bassist, and I couldn't possibly fathom this...
... unless, it was a family reunion and they were still drunk from the night before... maybe then...
I did this once for a church service. It was 4 songs, one of which I'd never heard of. Got called at 11 AM; rehearsal (once through) was at 1 PM. I thought it'd be awkward, but somehow I was totally comfortable, playing stuff I hadn't rehearsed, with musicians I never met before, in a church I'd never been to before.
Not for everyone, but a bit of a challenge here and there I like.
Not for everyone, but a bit of a challenge here and there I like.
I don't gig constantly and playing isn't my profession so take this for what it's worth...
Playing at a lot of jams and open mikes where there's little pressure, really paying attention to what everyone's doing, helps to prepare you for these situations... it becomes very natural to react and fit in musically over time.
When listening to random music on the radio or Spotify or whatever, try to learn the bass part by ear, without your instrument, by the end of the tune. Make it a goal to "get it" faster each time. It's kinda like sight reading training for your ears. Then try to recall it later or the next day. It'll sink in, and now you have a new tune in your rep!
I play with a BL who always calls tunes I don't know, haven't heard, or haven't played before, or for decades... i definitely don't always succeed at it but I love it, keeps me on my toes and we have a laugh over it - I'm lucky on that front.
The iPad Ultimate Guitar app for non-jazz stuff is also very handy if you can use one on the bandstand. I use that and iGigBook (for jazz fake books) when I can, and I'm finding I don't need them as much the more I do this.
Playing at a lot of jams and open mikes where there's little pressure, really paying attention to what everyone's doing, helps to prepare you for these situations... it becomes very natural to react and fit in musically over time.
When listening to random music on the radio or Spotify or whatever, try to learn the bass part by ear, without your instrument, by the end of the tune. Make it a goal to "get it" faster each time. It's kinda like sight reading training for your ears. Then try to recall it later or the next day. It'll sink in, and now you have a new tune in your rep!
I play with a BL who always calls tunes I don't know, haven't heard, or haven't played before, or for decades... i definitely don't always succeed at it but I love it, keeps me on my toes and we have a laugh over it - I'm lucky on that front.
The iPad Ultimate Guitar app for non-jazz stuff is also very handy if you can use one on the bandstand. I use that and iGigBook (for jazz fake books) when I can, and I'm finding I don't need them as much the more I do this.
As much I'm really impressed with how you guys can get through tough situations like that, I'm also pretty shocked with how irresponsible BLs can be if they purposely make that happen.
I do it all the time. It is nerve racking at first but like anything else you get used to it. A decent about of music theory knowledge and a well versed pallet of musical tastes can certainly help... and left hand guitar recognition has saved me many a nights.... I even learned in y youth how to recognize typical guitar progression from standing behind the singer and memorized how the back of his hand looked on each chord lol. Anyone can learn to do this..... if you can play bass you can play tunes with no rehearsal and even tunes you have never heard. There are a limited number of possible chords even though there are countless possible configurations. But most of our western music tends to follow similar paths. Good luck and enjoy.... you're a better and better player after each gig like this. You become more of a musician and less of a bass player. IMHO.
Honestly..... some BL's come to find that a sub bass player with no rehearsals at all can actually be better than their regular player. Not to sound arrogant but it is just the truth. I have become the regular player on some gigs through these situations.
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I accepted a long time ago that your average person has a terrible time decoding what they've heard in real time, unless they're intimately familiar with the matrerial or are incredibly well trained musicians. Or unless the band is so bad that it's impossible to avoid that they've shaged up.
So I tend not to stress to much about live performances. Especially for those gigs, I learn the changes and any really prominent basslines. I usually just wing it from there.
It also helps that the folks I pull into those gigs tend to be better musicians than I am.
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I did a gig back in Oct 2016 with a 90's alt-rock band out of KC. My main band was taking some time off (singer had a baby) - so I put an ad on CL looking for fill-ins. Never met the guys until the night of the gig. They gave me the set list like a month in advance though, and I had heard 80% of the songs about a million times. Went great. Done a few country gigs where I only had a few hours of rehearsal with the guitar player beforehand. While stressful, I enjoy these gigs - certainly keeps it interesting!
Significant difference between that and no rehearsal no set list no nothing. That gig no problem. No set list no rehearsal no nothing? No thanks.
I used to do many no-rehearsal sit-in gigs playing jazz. I just told whoever my contact was that I would need head arrangements or fake books. Never a problem.
I did a small number of sit-ins where it was no rehearsal R&R. I always told the guitar player to make sure I could always see his hands. For me, it was the same as a fake book. I could see the chords in real time. The only thing lacking in watching hands from a real fake book was the ability to look ahead.
BTW, is "real fake book" an oxymoron?
I did a small number of sit-ins where it was no rehearsal R&R. I always told the guitar player to make sure I could always see his hands. For me, it was the same as a fake book. I could see the chords in real time. The only thing lacking in watching hands from a real fake book was the ability to look ahead.
BTW, is "real fake book" an oxymoron?
