I’ve played hundreds (maybe over 1000) of songs, but have forgotten many of them by not playing them for so many years.
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How many songs do you know?
- Thread starter strost
- Start date
In that case I'd say you don’t know the recording of the song. The song is the melody, lyrics and to some extent the chords. However, a song can always be reharmonized so the chords can be changed from the original, jazz players do this all the time.
My current list including all whom I work with is over 600. I'm sure I know more than that. I never use an iPad or charts. Everything committed to memory. If I haven't hit it with one of the groups in a long while I will request an advance list to look over and brush up on anything that has escaped me. When ya do this stuff for decades your ears can hear where it's going. I have big ears and keep them open.
I wouldn't even want to guess after close to 50 years of playing in a half dozen successful bands. I have no idea. When I was Touring there was a 75 song requirement, and within that # is what you played. BM & BL would get together a day before a gig and set up a list . You wouldn't see the songs to be played at the gig location until you went on.
When you hit the stage, the crew had your list taped to the floor by your rack or mic stand. The songs picked were within the 75 song requirement. If you had 2 shows a day you used the same list for both. A couple days apart, the list would change. It was a guessing game but, fun!
When you hit the stage, the crew had your list taped to the floor by your rack or mic stand. The songs picked were within the 75 song requirement. If you had 2 shows a day you used the same list for both. A couple days apart, the list would change. It was a guessing game but, fun!
Many hundreds. More than 200. Maybe more than 400-500. I don't know exactly. I've never counted. All I know is I've done this for 30 years, and played all kinds of genres and am often first call sub to be trusted to come in any play songs accurately in short order, sometimes without ever having seen or played with the band or ever practiced with them. In this month (July-August), I've played with or subbed in with 4 different bands. The song crossover from any band to any other in this case is about 5%-10%. On the songs, I just "know" in the way you think of it, with all the bands, that's 95%.
The bands are:
Modern/Classic Country/Classic Rock/Pop with Female Singer
Modern/Classic Country with Male Singer
Modern/Classic Country/Rock with Male Singer
Blues/Yacht Rock/Pop with Female Singer,
Because of the types of bands, I play in, and how they are run as practicing and performing entities, and even as a sub, I *MUST* "know" the songs like hitting "Play" on whatever media device comes to your mind. When necessary, I spend a LOT of time listening to songs new to me, so I can hear them like I'm hitting "play".
It is one thing to be able to play a song.
It is another thing to play the song.
It is yet another thing to know the song so deeply that planned or unplanned, you're instantly ready to play it at any moment live with great accuracy and consistency without thinking hard.
Hundreds, don't know exactly.
When I was a teenager, I played along to the radio, and I still find that I can follow most "classic rock" with maybe a reminder or two. I play mostly jazz now, but stopped bringing fake books to gigs about 20 years ago.
I've never made a systematic effort to learn lots of tunes. It just happens.
When I was a teenager, I played along to the radio, and I still find that I can follow most "classic rock" with maybe a reminder or two. I play mostly jazz now, but stopped bringing fake books to gigs about 20 years ago.
I've never made a systematic effort to learn lots of tunes. It just happens.
Y'all are some players!
One interesting thing to me has always been the idea that bassists for big successful bands likely know far fewer songs than cover band or "working" bassists.
I am sure some big time bassists know tons of songs. But I also assume some know their catalog and not much more.
One interesting thing to me has always been the idea that bassists for big successful bands likely know far fewer songs than cover band or "working" bassists.
I am sure some big time bassists know tons of songs. But I also assume some know their catalog and not much more.
Easily 300 off the cuff on bass, probably another 600+ if I get a chance to go over them once or twice.
Easily played 4000+ songs .
- 43 years playing music, 35 years paid gigging - many pop, rock cover bands & tribute bands, fill-in gigs, some studio session work, originals bands, jazz bands reading chord charts, big bands/ orchestra pits sight-reading notated charts, Christmas Pageants, plus decades as a gospel/church player.
- I did ‘learn a song a day’ as part of my home practice for a few years there when I wasn’t gigging as heavily. Great way to develop your ear and find your way thru a song. Kept me sharp for when I needed it.
- I used to put the radio on and turn the lights out with my Fretless bass on a Friday or Saturday night when they played 4 hours of non-stop music on the radio. Those were night I wasn’t gigging (obviously) but just wanted to play. Phenomenal ear training, kept me sharp and gig-fit.
Easily played 4000+ songs .
- 43 years playing music, 35 years paid gigging - many pop, rock cover bands & tribute bands, fill-in gigs, some studio session work, originals bands, jazz bands reading chord charts, big bands/ orchestra pits sight-reading notated charts, Christmas Pageants, plus decades as a gospel/church player.
- I did ‘learn a song a day’ as part of my home practice for a few years there when I wasn’t gigging as heavily. Great way to develop your ear and find your way thru a song. Kept me sharp for when I needed it.
- I used to put the radio on and turn the lights out with my Fretless bass on a Friday or Saturday night when they played 4 hours of non-stop music on the radio. Those were night I wasn’t gigging (obviously) but just wanted to play. Phenomenal ear training, kept me sharp and gig-fit.
I never said that in order to know a song you had to be able to play it note for note. Do you know the intro, changes and ending? If yes, then you know the song, if no, then you don’t know the song. It’s pretty black and white.
You can wordsmith it all you want. Show up as a sub and explain to the BL that it’s not that you don’t know the song, you’re just reharmonizing it. And you don’t know the intro or ending because that’s not really part of the song. Then see how many call backs you get.
When subbing I ask the BL “which version of this song are you doing?” In some cases I even have to ask “do you leave in all the mistakes?”
I worked for years with a singer/songwriter who often reharmonized his covers adding extra chords to the simple 1-4-5 country songs he liked to play.
Which is the “correct” version of “Mr. Tambourine Man”?
"All The Things You Are"
I have an “all songs” folder in Dropbox with every song I’ve ever charted. I started gigging on bass about 5 years ago so this really is about all I know. Although there are probably another 20 or so I just know without thinking and I never made a chart - Sweet Child, Living on a Prayer, Don’t Stop Believing, etc.
Yeah - my current band deviates from the originals and I’ve had to adapt to their version. At this point there are some songs I’m sure I’d play wrong if the band actually went by the original.
Adaptation is key…
When subbing I ask the BL “which version of this song are you doing?” In some cases I even have to ask “do you leave in all the mistakes?”
I worked for years with a singer/songwriter who often reharmonized his covers adding extra chords to the simple 1-4-5 country songs he liked to play.
Which is the “correct” version of “Mr. Tambourine Man”?
"All The Things You Are"
I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.
wintremute
mediocrity at its finest
- Oct 16, 2014
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It's seems to be black and white to you, because you have your definition. Maybe not so black and white to others, who may not agree with your definition.
I'll continue philosophizing on my own.
How many do I know.....
-Note for note or very close to it?
A few dozen.
-Close enough to to play without music and satisfy a bar crowd.
A couple hundred.
-Well enough to fake my way through if you put words and chords on front of me.
Haven't found my limit yet.....
-Note for note or very close to it?
A few dozen.
-Close enough to to play without music and satisfy a bar crowd.
A couple hundred.
-Well enough to fake my way through if you put words and chords on front of me.
Haven't found my limit yet.....
Turnaround
Commercial User
Current active repertoire is about 225 songs. There are another approximately 500 songs in the inactive repoertoire. Then there's the songs I have totally forgotten about - maybe thousands (I forget).
I'm not sure how many I know off hand. It's usually 50 - 80 I guess, from the list of whatever band I happen to be playing in at the time.
But for fun I've kept a list of all the songs I've played in band over the last 20 years. These are songs I've actually played in a group setting at least once and doesn't include songs I just worked on for myself.
The current list has 598 songs.
In alphabetical order the first song on the list is - 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite
The last song - ZZ Top – Waiting for the Bus
But for fun I've kept a list of all the songs I've played in band over the last 20 years. These are songs I've actually played in a group setting at least once and doesn't include songs I just worked on for myself.
The current list has 598 songs.
In alphabetical order the first song on the list is - 3 Doors Down - Kryptonite
The last song - ZZ Top – Waiting for the Bus
