Know your songs by heart?

[LBS-bass]

Two caveats: Classical musicians are wicked sight readers and their work is all about performing as an ensemble to standards being set in real time by a conductor. So that is a completely different scenario than most of us encounter with our electric basses.

Second one is lyrics. I, too, am in the failing memory club. Since I don't want to have a stand on stage and I also have few songs to sing, I create cheat sheets that consist of the first word of each line, in large type, that I tape to the floor at a distance where I can, hopefully, see them. I glance at the sheets when needed and it's just enough to keep me from completely blanking. I generally don't even look at them, but it's nice to know they are there.

If I were back in a lead singer position that would be more challenging. I have been known to use a music stand, set very low and at an angle where it's almost invisible to the audience, for cheat sheets. I hate doing this, but I will acquiesce to the demands of old age before I give up music.

However, I'll never put chord charts there or full lyrics. I always feel as though I have to learn the material to the best of my ability so that it doesn't sound phoned-in. The cheat sheets are there for the occasional prompt, not to rely on for the full performance.

 

[Paulabass]

Keyboard players seen to be the most consistent offenders. I've met lots of them that cannot play happy birthday without the music.

 

[IamGroot]

IMO, Sheet music on stage

Very Acceptable: Orchestral, Big Band, Artist shows with seated instrumentalists, seated musicians for events, worhip, etc.

Acceptable: Requests, non-standard or complicated pieces (attack of the 20lb Pizza)

Sometimes Acceptable Jazz Jams

Never acceptable: Dad Band Covers, Rock n Roll, Blues Punk, especially vocalist reading off IPads

Waivered: Grade School Children

 

[juancaminos]

I feel for ya, I can't remember words to songs I sang for years. Now I need "cheat sheets" for about half of what I do.

 

[juancaminos]

Does this Help?

Edit: Uploaded correct file

That's pretty cool, I never thought of something like that, thanks

 

[LBS-bass]

Keyboard players seen to be the most consistent offenders. I've met lots of them that cannot play happy birthday without the music.

This could be a whole different topic. Keys players like to improvise over changes and, in my experience, rarely want to do any work between performances to learn parts. This works in bands where the standard I-IV-V stuff is being played, along with its many variations, but it doesn't work where there are iconic piano, synth, or organ signatures in the songs.

This is a current pet-peeve as we're looking for a keys player right now and it's infuriatingly difficult to find someone who is willing to spend an hour a week learning parts, especially when you live in a smallish town.

 

[juancaminos]

All I can say is you have no idea until you are at the point where your memory is failing. I don't need a cheat sheet for Mustang Sally or Brown Eyed Girl, etc. But I do need help for two of ten songs I sing a few of the newer songs. When we played a lot I was chided constantly about cheat sheets. Especially by our drummer. He is now in his mid 60's and in another band in another state posting pictures of their gigs. Low and behold he has a small music stand next to his drums. Since our band has gotten back together for the occasional gig our front man, who was so adamant about no cheat sheets in the past, needs cheat sheets for some songs, yeah he is just getting into his 60's and learning what it's like.

To the rest of you, at some point it will happen to you. Are you going to sell or give away your equipment and stop playing live? What will you do? It will happen to 80% of you.

 

[redwingxix]

This thread makes me really appreciate our keyboard player. He could hide any amount of literature he wanted behind his piano and organ but plays from memory pretty flawlessly and can jam out if want to keep a groove going longer. I think he may have been bitten by a radioactive spider while on a grade school field at the hammond organ factory...

 

[fdeck]

No sheet music:



An amusing note about classical music: Today, virtually all kids who learn classical music, start out playing by ear, and usually spend a couple of years at it before sheet music is introduced. If a musician is completely incapable of playing by ear, it's considered just as pathological in classical music as in any other genre, and is usually accompanied by other gaps in their abilities as well.

 

[Member8675309]

No sheet music:



An amusing note about classical music: Today, virtually all kids who learn classical music, start out playing by ear, and usually spend a couple of years at it before sheet music is introduced. If a musician is completely incapable of playing by ear, it's considered just as pathological in classical music as in any other genre, and is usually accompanied by other gaps in their abilities as well.

This reminds me of Children of the Corn.

 

[Diddywah]

In the 80's I was in a band doing original songs only. Our management sent us on a tour around the country. We had material for an hour or so and usually played concerts. On this tour some of the nights we had to do 3x45 minute sets. We streched our material to fill 2x45 minutes and since it was completly against our nature to do covers, we decided that the middle 45 minute set was going to be pure improvisation. We knew each other well musically and had some great moments on stage during those impro sets! And this was pop/rock music, not jazz.....so even more dicipline was needed! And the audience never guessed we were just "fooling around". A lesson for life for me.

 

[IamGroot]

No sheet music:



An amusing note about classical music: Today, virtually all kids who learn classical music, start out playing by ear, and usually spend a couple of years at it before sheet music is introduced. If a musician is completely incapable of playing by ear, it's considered just as pathological in classical music as in any other genre, and is usually accompanied by other gaps in their abilities as well.

Its called Suzuki method, very popular for violin, not so much for piano which is usually sightreading from day 1.

 

[fdeck]

Its called Suzuki method, very popular for violin, not so much for piano which is usually sightreading from day 1.

That's interesting because I'm a big fan of the Suzuki method. In fact I found that video by googling "suzuki recital." Because both of my kids are into classical music, we've gone to a lot of concerts and master classes. As a result, we've met a handful of the leading concert violinists. I believe the majority of the younger ones came up through Suzuki programs. Of course there's a point when you "graduate" from Suzuki.

I was raised on "sightreading from day 1" on the cello. Fortunately I picked up playing by ear on my own, so it was never an issue. I think that instruction has improved since I was a kid.

 

[Kevorargh]

The people I play with tend to use charts - yet they sound energetic and pull it off. IN another band, our lead singer/rhythm guitar player used charts but he tended to use them as a crutch and never realized that he wasn't really learning the songs - he was just reading charts. In my solo band, the lead guitarist is like the keyboardist that was mentioned earlier - he needs charts but getting him to learn iconic riffs (or riffs for my songs) is like pulling teeth. He's a lot like other pick-up musicians - when he doesn't know what he's doing, he just solos all over the place.

 

[IamGroot]

That's pretty cool, I never thought of something like that, thanks

I use these a lot, especially for country songs with lyrics.

 

[richntiff]

This is SO dependent on the music style it’s ridiculous. Anybody needing charts for a classic rock gig is in over their head. A jazz or classical gig? Not so much....

 

[bound'n'blocked]

I generally dont even know the order of the songs we are going to do before the gig. Our singer makes the set list before the gig and gives me one when we get there. We have a song list, and it's my job to know how they go. We let him make out the list based on several factors (putting them in an order that is comfortable for him to sing, flow to keep the crowd pumped up, etc). I've never used charts in the band I'm in now. I have used them in sub gigs. Do I make mistakes, Hell yes. But having the chart probably wouldnt have stopped that. I just go stupid for a brief moment sometimes.

Having said this, if you need a chart then go for it. Every modern big name band/singer uses a teleprompter now.

BnB

 

[micguy]

I play in 2 kinds of church services. One is ampless, Sunday morning, usually pretty high energy, big PA., lost of moving lights. Haze, etc. Rock style music - all memorized. We have chord charts and mp3's to learn our stuff to a week or two in advance.

The other one, I bring a little amp, and the musicians are in the middle of a room - surrounded by the congregation. We pretty much keep up volume wise with an acoustic piano - some stuff is in a PA, but not much. There is often a harpist, and we've had string quartets and the like. The music is....folkish, sometimes veering into other realms like Gospel (not huge Gospel choir, but folky Gospel). I sit down to play, and we all use charts. Then again,the music is decided on and distributed to us a few days ahead of time - a chord chart, sometimes an mp3 (sometimes in a different key).

The first services border on performances - I think anything in that realm, you want eye contact with the musicians, which means NO CHARTS. The second one, the whole thing is more introspective, it's not really a performance - we're more setting the mood. Charts? - sure.

 

[EastCoastThump]

When you know the song, you can focus on truly feeling the music....if that makes any sense...So, yes, take the crutches away.

If you gig seated, you can have charts. If you gig standing, you shouldn’t.

No charts on stage.

Yes! Thats it. You need to do your homework so you can have a good time playing with others. I feel its disrespectfull not knowing the songs.

It's not a matter of whether there are charts, it whether they glance at them, or have their face buried in the music. Are they using it for us, or are their eyes buried in the music?

I've never been in a band where people used charts who didn't sound like they were phoning it in.

A few weeks ago, Dr. Cheese posted this video of Patitucci guesting on a gospel gig. Seems to be feeling it plenty fine and not phoning it in or disrespecting, even though he's got his nose deep into the dots, while he's standing. Goes to show what we say a lot around here: there's usually more kinds of gigs than fit any one unbending rule.

The people I play with tend to use charts - yet they sound energetic and pull it off.

This is SO dependent on the music style it’s ridiculous. Anybody needing charts for a classic rock gig is in over their head. A jazz or classical gig? Not so much....

 

[redstrand]

In my main band both keyboard players always use charts, while the guitarist and I both play without. We do Steely Dan, Dobbie and that kind of 70's stuff.
I am feeling that we could be more focused and have more fun if they could get their eyes up from that paper pile.
Maybe its because they are on their asses behind a stack of keys and have plenty of space for charts, while us string players are up on our feet moving around?
What do you guys think?
Should we just remove their crutches and liberate them?

First problem is you have two keyboard players
As bad as I am at memorizing, you shouldn't use charts outside of rehearsal, IMO