I use a blindfold, myself. My violin teacher used to make me do that all the time.
The rest of it, well, not the worst gig experience I've ever had, but no fun. Good gigs make it worth it, but bad gigs make you better.
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Dark stage and an unexperienced fretless player
- Thread starter dr_gonzo
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I use a blindfold, myself. My violin teacher used to make me do that all the time.
The rest of it, well, not the worst gig experience I've ever had, but no fun. Good gigs make it worth it, but bad gigs make you better.
D
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Well I have to say the idea of a classical music teacher blindfolding students is a new one on me. Especially when there's no precise visual reference on a violin to follow anyway. But what do I know, I stopped violin after grade 2 and switched to cello. No blindfolds, excellent intonation.
This. You will have bad gigs. Guaranteed. Learn from them. But you should pick battles wisely. Put yourself in the promoter's shoes. He's stressed, looking for help. Being adaptable is part of the business. He's doing his best. You should do your best. Being in a certain spot in the lineup shouldn't matter unless you are headlining
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Make your own fret markers on the neck. There's nothing wrong with cheating to get through a gig.
...just as long as you keep on practicing until you don't need the crutch.
I also had a similar situation about a year ago the difference is that it was my last gig with my band, I was moving out of state the next day so I didn't have to see anyone ever again. We got to the gig that night and were supposed to go on 2nd of three bands. The first band didn't show up so we were to open. We start setting up and the room is bright, lights are on. We get up on stage to play, start our first song with lights still on and the sound guy dims the lights and I'm screwed....... We got through it as a band but it sucked. I don't know if it was easier knowing that I was leaving the next day or if I wanted the chance to be able to right it with another show.
I think the older you get the easier it is to shrug those ridiculous gigs off. Welcome to screwed up gig land. Thankfully the good ones outweighs the bad, eh?
As far as the bass I mostly have my eyes closed. It might be a bad habit at this point but it really helps me focus on all aspects of the music. I mean I play gigs and never see the audience cause I'm stuck in 'my closed eyes world'...
As far as the bass I mostly have my eyes closed. It might be a bad habit at this point but it really helps me focus on all aspects of the music. I mean I play gigs and never see the audience cause I'm stuck in 'my closed eyes world'...
Practice fretless with your ears. Intonation has nothing to do with eyes, dots or fret lines. Muscle memory is part of the process, and adjusting the intonation at each note is key. 1,2,4 fingering works more accurately intonation wise.
You have to be able hear every bass note.
A good violinist, cellist, or double bassist plays perfectly in tune without looking, so can a fretless bassist. Violinists don't need fret lines to look at, and still be perfectly in tune.
I work on intonation during practice. 45 years and it still is part of my practice routine.
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Hand Percussion - especially for an act like this - need not, and certainly should not be underamplified. I've seen and played many, many shows with Brazilian percussion, and if the sound folks have their mojo together, cross-stage listening is not compromised. This sounds like a poopie event, with poopie sound techs, organizers and basic infrastructure. Poopie is as Poopie does! Yeah, maybe your fretless playing was not as you'd have liked, but what a mess, for reasons well beyond your control. That said, going diva on program placement will likely get you nowhere in the long run. And good luck with your continuing pursuit of fretless!
madbass6
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Darkness has nothing to do with your mistakes , you shouldn't be looking at the fretboard anyway!
What if your reading music ?
it's all in the practice , intonation and your ear training! a Common mistake a lot of us Bass players do when transitioning to fretless is try to play fretless as if playing freted ! same when transitiong to an uprite Bass or EUB we tend to want to play the instrument the same way as electric freted!
Hey all experiences and mistakes at the end of the night are good ones as long as you learn from them!
So intonation , practice and ear training to notice when your intonation is off is the key to being a good fretless player not a lighted stage. Good luck man ! don't get discouraged and keep at it!
Trust me - based on this alone you would not have been the least popular band there (or not there) that night. Anyhoo... I think a lot of other people have already said these things, or things close enough to them, but my thoughts are:
If the organisers want you to go on first, fourth, or last, or to all stand stage left, or whatever... just do it. They'll have a reason for asking, and will appreciate your help. And having greatful organisers will help your chances of being asked back.
If you want to get better at something, anything, practise it. So practise playing your fretless without looking at the fingerboard. I don't think you need to actually be in the dark - just look straight ahead, not down. The more you do it, the better you'll get.
If you can't get the hang of it, there are luminous dots, lines, etc. you can get to stick on the side of the neck.
As others have suggested, practice in the dark. My son, who at the time was teaching double bass in New York, was giving his father a lesson. At one point he caught me visually searching for a note on the fingerboard. He said: "Dad, why are you looking at the fingerboard? There's no information there."
I had those on my fretless before I had the fingerboard replaced.
I don't know if Roz is still taking orders.
Suck hard today so you can suck less tomorrow!
The more experience you have dealing with garbage scenarios the easier it'll be to roll with them in the future.
Also, have fun. Do your best not to take it too seriously, and show that to your audience. A fun persona can forgive a lot of clams (ask me how I know).
The more experience you have dealing with garbage scenarios the easier it'll be to roll with them in the future.
Also, have fun. Do your best not to take it too seriously, and show that to your audience. A fun persona can forgive a lot of clams (ask me how I know).
Geddy Lee once said in an interview: "you have to be prepared to fail in public if you want to grow up as a musician". I'm playing in a band just like yours, cajon, accoustic and electric guitars, and two singers. I do believe that the fretless sound would be perfect for our kind of thing, but I still don't feel prepared, even after some rehearsals with the band. Still trying to be confident about my fretless playing...
Trainwrecks are good for the soul...learn from it, and then forget about it. Everyone else has... 
