Gosh, I'm a Luddite and even I would just use an IPad to hold this stuff and maybe grab an app that keeps the time signature to flip the pages if my hands were too involved.
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Gosh, I'm a Luddite and even I would just use an IPad to hold this stuff and maybe grab an app that keeps the time signature to flip the pages if my hands were too involved.
wintremute
mediocrity at its finest
- Oct 16, 2014
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- Endorsing Artist: Langstrom Carrot Farms
I'm in a similar situation. At church on Sunday, I was asked to replace the bassist in the Christmas play (he's having health issues). So, being the team player, I said "sure". They give me the music, and it's pages and pages and pages! The shows are this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Plus...I can't read music! And yet, here I am on TB instead of practicing.
I usually tape them into sections of 2 or 3, front and back, then flip them as I play. Sometimes I have to group differently so that I can take advantage of a longer rest period to do the flip.
Honestly, I haven't had a gig with sheet music like that since iPads became ubiquitous. I would absolutely PDF my sheet music now and use my iPad to flip among pages.
Honestly, I haven't had a gig with sheet music like that since iPads became ubiquitous. I would absolutely PDF my sheet music now and use my iPad to flip among pages.
I would if I had an iPad, which I don't and don't really need for any other reason, and I don't read enough to warrant buying one. Nowadays it's 2-4 gigs a month on average. So I just bear with turning pages. I always figure out a way to do it without being too disruptive. Accordion method, post-its arranged strategically for easy flipping if it's really bad, etc.
But, I'm a bass player! Where am I going to get a brain? Maybe there's a brain app that runs concurrently?
Tablets have made it easier I find, but as a person who is able to sight read it should be like reading a book your already reading ahead of what you are playing, so you should have time to turn the page or get it out of the way
It's a set of pedals I did on the ultra-cheap. Including the Arduino board, it came to about $30 or so. It's not wireless, but that could be added easily enough, and it runs through a little glue app I wrote that allows you to configure the keystrokes it sends for each pedal. Works pretty well for being a piece of crap.
It takes a little bit of work but it's not that bad. Reading off a full 24-staff orchestra score can be fun too, especially when you have to sometimes switch between the bass part at the bottom and the tuba part somewhere in the middle.
This!! With a pencil, mark where the best spot is to turn. Memorise those bars in between.
@wintremute - Here's what saved my bacon...
1. Google search the audio:
"[Song title] [arranger] MP3"
2. Write your own CHEAT SHEET
- grab blank paper & pencil.
- work out the main sections: intro, Verse 1, Chorus, vamp, Coda, outro. Write these down the left hand side of the page.
- count out the number of bars for each. Section & write down next to it.
- write out a basic chord progression for each section across the page. This will prompt your memory. If same as above, write "a/a (Chorus)".
- Intros & Endings can be tricky, nail those parts first.
- Last ditch solution: just don't play specific sections (if possible). Not ideal, but make it sound like you're meant to be having rests.
- use highlighter to mark repeat lines, and circle Coda symbols.
- get together with pianist to run thru the songs. They can help you heaps if you've work thru stuff in advance.
GOOD LUCK!!
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Voice of experience here...if you use a cheat sheet instead of the sheet music provided...
1. Make doubly sure your cheat sheet is accurate.
B. Bring the sheet music given to you and don't let the BL know that you're not using it.
One time, we had to bring a sub musician on one of our gigs with Bowzer, and the guy did a great job, but used cheat sheets for everything and left the official book in his hotel room. That did not go over with Bowzer very well, and several times during the rehearsal, Bowzer and he would have an exchange that went like this:
"OK, let's start up again at letter C."
"What happens at letter C?"
The only thing that saved him besides nailing the show was the fact that the rest of us had the show memorized and weren't using books, so we all would have to ask where letter C was. After that happened 5 or 6 times, I started asking to take the pressure off the sub. I let him dangle a little bit, though
Personally, though, in that situation, I'd just as soon use the music that's given to me.
I've experienced that often, and also "Let's do that phrase at 115 again."
wintremute
mediocrity at its finest
- Oct 16, 2014
- 6,942
- 29,551
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Langstrom Carrot Farms
Those are some good tips. Some things I already do (like use highlighters to track the repeats/codas/ets). You were right on the intros and endings, so I practiced extra on them.
I guess I should clarify on how I can't read sheet music. I can't figure out what the note on the staff represents (like, is it a C, a C-flat, a B-sharp?). I can follow along and know how long notes should be held. Since the sheet music has the Chord Changes on it, for pretty much every song I can use the sheet music and keep up. I have my own little notes for some specific parts.
What I can do pretty well is read tab. So for some of the songs, I put the fret number above the note so that I know what to play. There is one song with a really busy bass line, though (the Buble/Puppini Sisters version of Jingle Bells). That one I just completely tabbed out. However, I made sure I put measure numbers on my tab so that I could always find specific measures if needed. @JimmyM, I don't think they care what I'm using as sheet music since I'm their last and only hope. They were just so happy to have someone step in at the last second, I could probably get away with crayon drawings on my music stand.
Tuesday night we went in and did the sound check/set-up. We ran through a couple of songs, and they were happy with what I was doing. Last night was a full rehearsal, and it went pretty well. I found a few spots to clean-up, but I think for the most part I've got this down.
Brilliant !!! Hope it's goes really well.
That's to do with the reading the key signature at the beginning of the chart. Clef, Key, Time ie. Bass Clef, F major, 4/4.
eg. One flat, Bb = F major (or Dm).
So, any B is an Bb unless a symbol tells you different, or the song changes key part way thru. Practice your F major scale & you'll play any song in F on autopilot.
Having the song in a Key (F major) simplifies it to just the 7 notes of that scale, unless clearly indicated otherwise. It's a bit confusing at the start, but immensely helpful later on.
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Stapling sheets to a folder doesn't seem like so much effort now.
Are there chords at least? - never mind, should have kept reading...
