Great position and you have articulated your case better than anyone here.
I have invested a lot of time in this thread. Your talkin about a 1 in a million type of player.
Much respect and you did an oustanding job. But I still say no.
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Didnt get the gig...really bummed out...
- Thread starter bassman134
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Great position and you have articulated your case better than anyone here.
I have invested a lot of time in this thread. Your talkin about a 1 in a million type of player.
Much respect and you did an oustanding job. But I still say no.
I think the OP is long gone and this is officially now a "poke the troll" thread. With that said, let the poking begin.
I personally have learned 20 never before learned songs in one week - 7 days - to add to 25 that I already knew (more or less) to do a similar live audition a couple of years ago. I worked 3 hours every night after work, and 4 or 5 hours on the day of the gig. I sang harmonies only on the songs I already knew. I had notes / charts on an illuminated tracing board for the new songs I learned. They were not note-for-note, but many signature riffs were included and the rest sounded plenty close enough. I made one mistake during the night.
Could I do the 90 new in 6 weeks? Maybe. Really, who knows? I have never tried. But I got money on a guy I used to sub for a few years back. Musical mind plus telfon hands = success.
Blue, there are musicians out there better than you or I. Want proof?
This is an audition!
YouTube - Dream Theater - The Spirit Carries On Episode 1
I personally have learned 20 never before learned songs in one week - 7 days - to add to 25 that I already knew (more or less) to do a similar live audition a couple of years ago. I worked 3 hours every night after work, and 4 or 5 hours on the day of the gig. I sang harmonies only on the songs I already knew. I had notes / charts on an illuminated tracing board for the new songs I learned. They were not note-for-note, but many signature riffs were included and the rest sounded plenty close enough. I made one mistake during the night.
Could I do the 90 new in 6 weeks? Maybe. Really, who knows? I have never tried. But I got money on a guy I used to sub for a few years back. Musical mind plus telfon hands = success.
Blue, there are musicians out there better than you or I. Want proof?
This is an audition!
YouTube - Dream Theater - The Spirit Carries On Episode 1
So everyone here agrees they've never played a perfect night?
So there's no problem if there's a few mistakes on the fill in gig, you can learn the 90 tunes, recognizing it won't be perfect.
That sort of situation, the important part is knowing all the parts, and listening hard. Go to a chorus instead of a bridge, at least know the bridge chords, know a transition is coming up, and if you guess wrong, be quick about getting back on track.
Any cover band plays popular stuff. So you don't have to learn 90 songs from scratch, you've heard most of them, played a fair number of them. Assuming you have a good ear, you can fake your way through most of many of the ones on the list you haven't played.
Pop songs are pretty easy. You get a bunch of really talented musicians together, they'll make magic, play with a lot of energy, and will be quick enough on the draw, and listening to each other, such that any mistakes are covered very well.
I just joined a new band, had 7 rehearsals, 2 a week for a little over 3 weeks. Had to cover 57 tunes in that time. That's really too many rehearsals, a night spent rehearsing is better spent on your own working on the tunes. Sometimes the rehearsals are more for the benefit of the band than the new guy, gives them confidence you'll be able to hack it But it really takes away from learning tunes.
The trick is to play like a scalded cat, lay down a good enough groove/foundation, a few mistakes that are quickly recovered from are easily forgotten. If you're good at covering up, the audience will never know. Most of the time civilians are oblivious to all but the most glaring mistakes.
The other point, if they have a rotating cast of characters, they can't practice harmonies. They never know who's going to be on any particular gig. The only way that works is guys grab a part, the others see what parts are missing and add them on the fly.
This setup tells me they're mostly really good freelance guys, each of them playing with many bands. Leader goes down his list of the various components, bass, keys, guitar, drums, etc, from the top guys down, and whoever is available does the gig. These guys can play very well by ear, they listen to each other, they cover mistakes very well, they play with many bands, so have a huge repertoire.
You can start in the "C" or "B" list, and once you're familiar with the material, and have a few gigs under your belt, move up quickly.
My guess is these guys will understand a few mistakes if you play with energy, rebound from the mistakes quickly.
Do your best, have fun, play hard. The trick to this sort of situation is to not fret over the mistakes. While you're beating ourself up or getting upset over the last mistake, it takes your focus off what you're doing, leading to more mistakes. Once they're out there, you can't take them back, don't concern yourself with them, listen harder, keep going. Beat yourself up on the breaks if you must. Have fun, be fun.
Randy
So there's no problem if there's a few mistakes on the fill in gig, you can learn the 90 tunes, recognizing it won't be perfect.
That sort of situation, the important part is knowing all the parts, and listening hard. Go to a chorus instead of a bridge, at least know the bridge chords, know a transition is coming up, and if you guess wrong, be quick about getting back on track.
Any cover band plays popular stuff. So you don't have to learn 90 songs from scratch, you've heard most of them, played a fair number of them. Assuming you have a good ear, you can fake your way through most of many of the ones on the list you haven't played.
Pop songs are pretty easy. You get a bunch of really talented musicians together, they'll make magic, play with a lot of energy, and will be quick enough on the draw, and listening to each other, such that any mistakes are covered very well.
I just joined a new band, had 7 rehearsals, 2 a week for a little over 3 weeks. Had to cover 57 tunes in that time. That's really too many rehearsals, a night spent rehearsing is better spent on your own working on the tunes. Sometimes the rehearsals are more for the benefit of the band than the new guy, gives them confidence you'll be able to hack it But it really takes away from learning tunes.
The trick is to play like a scalded cat, lay down a good enough groove/foundation, a few mistakes that are quickly recovered from are easily forgotten. If you're good at covering up, the audience will never know. Most of the time civilians are oblivious to all but the most glaring mistakes.
The other point, if they have a rotating cast of characters, they can't practice harmonies. They never know who's going to be on any particular gig. The only way that works is guys grab a part, the others see what parts are missing and add them on the fly.
This setup tells me they're mostly really good freelance guys, each of them playing with many bands. Leader goes down his list of the various components, bass, keys, guitar, drums, etc, from the top guys down, and whoever is available does the gig. These guys can play very well by ear, they listen to each other, they cover mistakes very well, they play with many bands, so have a huge repertoire.
You can start in the "C" or "B" list, and once you're familiar with the material, and have a few gigs under your belt, move up quickly.
My guess is these guys will understand a few mistakes if you play with energy, rebound from the mistakes quickly.
Do your best, have fun, play hard. The trick to this sort of situation is to not fret over the mistakes. While you're beating ourself up or getting upset over the last mistake, it takes your focus off what you're doing, leading to more mistakes. Once they're out there, you can't take them back, don't concern yourself with them, listen harder, keep going. Beat yourself up on the breaks if you must. Have fun, be fun.
Randy
So everyone here agrees they've never played a perfect night?
So there's no problem if there's a few mistakes on the fill in gig, you can learn the 90 tunes, recognizing it won't be perfect.
That sort of situation, the important part is knowing all the parts, and listening hard. Go to a chorus instead of a bridge, at least know the bridge chords, know a transition is coming up, and if you guess wrong, be quick about getting back on track.
No poblem wirh Steve's analysis.It makes perfect sense.
blue
So there's no problem if there's a few mistakes on the fill in gig, you can learn the 90 tunes, recognizing it won't be perfect.
That sort of situation, the important part is knowing all the parts, and listening hard. Go to a chorus instead of a bridge, at least know the bridge chords, know a transition is coming up, and if you guess wrong, be quick about getting back on track.
No poblem wirh Steve's analysis.It makes perfect sense.
blue
- Oct 7, 2000
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- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Thanks. Thanks doubly for the young guy stuff.
I was playing CBGBs in the late seventies. God's been good to me. Plus I take care of myself.Jive, I don't think yer going to have many takers. If I were to learn 90-100 songs flawlessly, and had to do it within a 6 week period or less, I'd be able to do it. The gig would have to be totally worth my time though. I don't know about anyone else, but that would mean for me locking myself in for 3-5 hours a day, and listening to nothing but what I needed to prepare for the gig. And it wouldn't be what I would call fun. Slim chance of giving that a go for the possibility of winning a set a strings.
Hell, it would take 2 weeks just to record and upload all that. Make it sweet bass or amp and you might get some takers. 
Nice of you to put up the offer though.
And a PS on all of this. I don't think being able to learn a crapload of songs in a short period of time is a measure of talent. I think however that it has everything to do with experience, and willingness to commit. Bluewine, I'd be willing to bet that if you were told you'd get paid 10 million $$$ if you learned every song on jive's list within a 12 week period, you'd figure out a way to do it. It would get a lot quicker and easier after the first 100. Stop saying 90 songs in 6 weeks is impossible. It's very possible. Even for yourself.
Last Friday night, 11 PM, got a text from a friend who runs a very busy wedding/corporate band: "Mike, can you play guitar for a gig on Sunday morning at 8:45 AM?" I've never played guitar before with this band. I subbed with them on bass a few times more than 3 years ago, but they've added a ton of new material since then. I said yes.
I get the set list via e-mail at 1 AM on Saturday. It has 68 songs: three programmed sets plus a list of 18 extras that can be called at any time. I know or have charts for about 45 of the songs, and I'm confident that I can learn about 10 of the others before Sunday morning. I e-mail him back saying that I'm good with 55 of the songs and telling him the ones I'm not comfortable with. Of the ones I don't already know, he asks me if I can learn Living on a Prayer, Footloose, Glory Days, their Earth Wind & Fire medley (3 songs) and Shake Your Body Down for the gig. "Sure, no problem." So now I have 17 songs to learn: the 10 I told him I already know, plus the 7 he's asked me to learn. I spend Saturday learning 17 tunes. The gig on Sunday morning goes fine. Everyone is happy.
If I can learn 17 songs in one day, then 90 songs in 6 weeks is not unrealistic.
Everyone understands the premise or parameters of your position: you made a statement that is contrary to the actual personal experience of many people here. You got called out on it. Rather than just admitting you were wrong, you added a bunch of parameters that have nothing to do with the original post and then pretended that those parameters were part of your original statement.
blue will wine and cry about how age has been the reason he's spent more time during the past few years without a band than with one but his posts show over and over that it isn't his age holding him back.
Maybe no one cares about the parameters of your position.
I bet I'm not the only one whose eyes glaze over and whose brain becomes numb at the inevitably ramped up arguments leading to multi-quoted posts where you hammer away at an increasingly narrowed definition of some barely relevant point that you've managed to argue so forcefully until someone took the bait.
I don't expect 'everyone' or even any one to listen to, understand, or much less, agree, with my every opinion. If I did I'd start a religion or a cult, probably more satisfying that arguing how many cover songs angels can dance to on the head of a pin.
Jive-
I am very familiar with the list you posted, simply because I use it all the time to select songs for the various cover projects I work in. I also use the top wedding request lists as well. I play music that gets me paid. My selfish reasons to play are all about money now. I'm too old to be an artist
Guys that play a lot (in cover situations) should know at least half of those songs already, I would think. I don't consider myself an exceptional player at all, but I do consider myself very experienced and am positive that A) because I know my particular area and what's popular in the clubs around here and B) am able to transcribe on the fly that I could walk into any local area club and sit in with a band and do just fine. Having these songs under your belt is just a sign of being a pro player in my opinion
As far as learning 90 songs in 42 days. There is nothing new under the sun, I promise you that learning one or two of these songs will open up the door to knowing at least 10 to 20 of these songs. Pop songs aren't that hard and the level of repetition within these songs is high.
I am very familiar with the list you posted, simply because I use it all the time to select songs for the various cover projects I work in. I also use the top wedding request lists as well. I play music that gets me paid. My selfish reasons to play are all about money now. I'm too old to be an artist
Guys that play a lot (in cover situations) should know at least half of those songs already, I would think. I don't consider myself an exceptional player at all, but I do consider myself very experienced and am positive that A) because I know my particular area and what's popular in the clubs around here and B) am able to transcribe on the fly that I could walk into any local area club and sit in with a band and do just fine. Having these songs under your belt is just a sign of being a pro player in my opinion
As far as learning 90 songs in 42 days. There is nothing new under the sun, I promise you that learning one or two of these songs will open up the door to knowing at least 10 to 20 of these songs. Pop songs aren't that hard and the level of repetition within these songs is high.
I'm still here... lol.. and what else is funny, somewhere along this thread I apparently picked up 3 extra weeks to learn material. The initial time from initial audition to fill-in gig was 3 weeks...
But you guys(Jive,TC,joe, febs, etc...) have it right. After the initial shock Monday morning , and reading these threads, I've turned my attitude around on this from woa is me, to do the best I can next time, be a pro and move on. If they invite me for more fill-ins, great. If not there's a more than a chance that most of these songs will be on the next bands list, since I am looking for this type of band this time around.
That's exactly the right attitude. Best of luck with the gig. Be sure to keep us posted as to how it goes.
Wow. I only know 25 of those songs. Know, as in confident I could play them tonight. But I don't even know what many of the other 175 songs sound like.
I had no idea that Frank Sinatra would be requested a lot. Not at the gigs I've played.
But I could enjoy learning a few Sinatra songs.
Can I get in on this? about 80 of the songs on their list are on this list... I'll record my gig next week..I use 5 string DR high beams....lol.. BTW great resource..bookmarked..
Edited: its about 30 actual songs, but there are some similarities, like instead of 1999, the do "lets go crazy" .. Surprised there's no Bruce Springsteen in there.. must be a Jersey thing
jive1
Commercial User
Hey, if you can do it more power to you, and more strings.
Learn the list, and it'll be easier to learn songs not on the list. It'll be easier to find fill-in work as well.
jive1
Commercial User
Do you have links to the top wedding requests? I'd love to check them out.
I agree, as you learn songs you see how many songs follow similar patterns. Learn the patterns, and then it's just a matter of getting the arrangement. If you play with a drummer that cues the band well, you're good as gold then.
Majority of those songs are 3-4 chords, some even just one. It's not rocket science. And even if you don't nail it note-for-note, as long as the groove is strong, most folks won't notice. They may even like it better.
+1
Ive tried, I'll even say a lot harder than others, to see blue in a good light. I tried to see him as a guy who means well, tried giving him the benefit of the doubt in so many regards, but in the end he just proves himself to be an ass (as in jackass, like donkey, or stubborn as an old mule). I'm sorry blue, but I must take my towel out of your corner. You have a lot of learning to do if you plan on sustaining any lasting relationships with actual working bands.
You tend to say that a lot blue. How is anyone here supposed to take your word at value when you don't give anyone else that same respect?
Well...I could play 48 of the tunes on that list right off. But then, I don't play in bands that do all those styles. Much of it I have no idea what it even sounds like (and probably wouldn't like). Heh, gettin' older every day.
But then again, there are hundreds of tunes I know how to play off the top of my head when you're talking about the styles I usually do (much of which is old classic stuff, of course).
But then again, there are hundreds of tunes I know how to play off the top of my head when you're talking about the styles I usually do (much of which is old classic stuff, of course).- Status
