Do you noodle on stage???

Noodles are for spaghetti.

 

How do you know they weren't actually playing a song?

 

Yes.

I turn my volume knob all the way down and I tend to run through scales on my instrument and finger warmups. I do this in rehearsal as well. I noodle while listening to my band mates or holding a conversation - I'm not head-in-the-fretboard, checked out or not talking or participating; it's almost just something to do with my hands. It's generally not obnoxious (no volume, and I don't slap so it's not super clacky) but I suppose I could probably do it less.

 

Theres two types of noodling.

The first kind is when the whole band or most of the band noodles around in a jam with the intent to create music.

The second time is what you described. It used to not bother me, but after listening to recordings of my band it now bothers me a great deal to hear people dicking around like that on stage. Our drummer is really bad at that.

 

you are not alone.

 

Once house sound comes up, the audience shouldn't hear anything the band didn't intend them to hear. Pasta or otherwise.

 

I noodle while I’m setting up so I can hear myself.
I will turn the volume way down and noodle to warm up .
Once soundcheck starts it’s no noodling for the rest of the night though.

 

Yeah it's ridiculous. That alone instantly causes me to write off a band in my head. I tune out if there is noodling in between songs. I find a TV screen in the bar and start to watch whatever sporting event is on.

 

I am a non-noodler! At band rehearsal both guitarists noodle constantly. "Hey look at me, look what riff I learned!" I find it terribly rude and annoying. Unless we plan to play the whole song why are you playing any of it? I just stand there watching the TV until they run out of material. I then make some comment about are they ready for the BAND to pay something?

At gigs I set up the PA first and them am the last one to set up my rig and make sure everything works. We play small Bar and Grills so there's no soundcheck. I pluck each of the four strings to check volume and EQ and I'm ready to go. The lead guitarist sets up first and noodles the whole time I'm setting up the PA. He then starts playing along with the house music. I'm tried to get him to not do this but he's 65 years old and been gigging for like 40 years. It's hopeless to think that he'll change now! AAAARRRGGGGHHHHH!

 

I played in a band years ago with a guitarist who just literally could not stop shredding as soon as he donned his guitar. We would tune up and before the singer could announce the first song, the guitarist would be soloing at full volume. He was young and incredibly skilled and it used to bug the hell out of me, but it was hard to hate on his exuberance. We were normally playing tiny basement shows to 50 people, so it wasn’t like we were ruining the flow of some special event at the House of Blues or anything.

 

I'm with ya. Noodling onstage is one of those things that makes a band seem amateur to me. Second only to full-volume tuning.

 

No shredding wheat on the bandstand!!!!

 

Absolutely non-professional at least. I will on occasion at an open mic/jam drop in to a riff or progression at a very low volume just to make sure I’ve git it. But only very rarely. IMHO drummers, at least in my area, are the biggest offenders. And usually when I’m trying to ensure that all my various mic gains are set properly. Sheesh!

 

I have an ironclad rule: from the last audible note of one song until the downbeat of the next no sound whatsoever will come out of my rig. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Ни звука.

I have very low tolerance for anyone else noodling on stage between tunes, but unfortunately it is beyond my control. To me, it shouts “We are wankers and are mentally still in our bedrooms.”

 

I don’t even like noodling at rehearsal.
At a gig? Unacceptable.

 

A little bit of "tweedle-tweedle" or "boom ba doom" to check volume or tone isn't bad and doesn't bother me, but full on Jack Bruce or Jimmy Page impersonations are unprofessional. ( Note that this applies only to bar or small club gigs--at a Broadway show or something of that nature--NO noodling)

 

Our drummer was always adjusting something and then playing a fill, as if to check to make sure his adjustments were correct.
Drove me nutz!!!

 

If it’s my band, there are four sure fire ways to tender your resignation during a live show as far as I’m concerned:

• Excessive tuning on stage.(Learn how to do a proper setup and/or install better tuners.)
• Excessive volume to “get my sound.” (Buy a better amp and/or learn how to properly use compression.)
• Continuing to “solo” after you receive the “Wrap it up Santana!” cue. (She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah! The rest of the audience doesn’t.)
• Noodling on stage. (No excuses. No forgiveness.)

Of the four, noodling while on stage heads the list.

 

Really? You’re definitely a lot nicer and more patient person than I am. I’d have no qualms or hesitation whatsoever ripping him a new orifice after a polite warning - or maybe two since he’s so young and exuberant.

Like the TV sitcom title says: “Curb your enthusiasm.”