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Music Stands on Stage
- Thread starter lustersilk
- Start date
and in all seriousness, in over 25 years of playing and seeing bands play in bars I have always thought that this was one of the silliest arguments Ive heard...As Ive said before in this thread you shouldn't have your nose buried in a music stand, but to have one off to the side, or behind you?? non-issue...
but than again Im really coming from the jam-band side of things where the emphasis is placed not so much on the showmanship side of things as it is on the music side of things.
not that I haven't played my share of classic rock tunes back in the day..but even than I would have a stand setup off the side or in back of me with cheat-sheets on it for songs that seldom got played...
I agree with that to a certain point but personally, I don't think showmanship is as important as ability.
That said, there are people that I just simply would not want to be caught dead on a stage with, but it has more to do with their personality than anything..
That's a good point. Until recently my singer/guitarist had a stand on stage with lyrics on it. We always tried to hide it as best we could, down low, behind a sub, etc.. We got a few comments about it mostly from other musicians and club owners, but it was still better than having the stand front and center. The final straw came though when we were shooting video for a DVD and damn near every person who saw the footage commented on the stand.
To each their own and all that, but I put a stop to the music stand on stage. The way I see it, if he can't remember the lyrics to the songs we have played literally 1000s of times, then he shouldn't be the front man. All it took was a few auditions of other singers and magically he no longer needed the book.
Invalid Link Removed a band that I sometimes sub in. Everyone in the band is running iGig or similar on an iPad or laptop (the laptop guys are also running soft synths), and those iPads and laptops are plainly visible in their promo materials. They seldom book clubs, b/c their event calendar is packed; but they have zero problem getting club bookings when they want them.
The key is that they're pretty good, and they don't stand frozen reading parts off their iPads. Those modern music stands are there to steal a quick peek at, if needed.
That still might not be your cuppa tea. But it's just a little outdated to claim that pro cover bands can't use stands. In fact, when I started subbing with this band, they ribbed me a bit for not using an iPad. (I knew most of their songbook from other groups, and I didn't want to bring any extra kit.) But they often enough played specials and requests that in that context it wasn't pro not to be able to pull a pdf from their Dropbox on the gig so that the group could play a much wider range of requests.
Professionals use them so it must be OK. I saw a vid of Geddy Lee reading off a monitor. They can be easily hidden. Haters are gonna hate.
I'd say, do what you can. Even if memorized sets are preferable for a bar band, which I would agree they are, you don't have to curl up and die just because some other bassist is horrified by the thought of a music stand on stage. That's why I quoted old Rummy: "You go to war with the army you've got." There are some things that I can't do as a bassist, but that's not preventing me from getting out there and playing.
You can leave the stand out of your promo shot.
You might find that just the fact of having it close to you helps you remember the tunes, because you're less worried about forgetting them. I play with guys who have obviously learned all of the material, but who always have a stand. This is in a jazz setting, with players who were born with a music stand in front of them.
I was the "local bassist" for a touring band, for several months, while they looked for a new bassist. Now, they had a number of complicated written-out arrangements. First gig, there I was with my stand. By the last gig, the stand was off to the side.
I-pads are pretty discreet and also kinda cool looking. They don't really give the vibe of being a music stand on the stage. Geddy Lee's monitor looks just like a PA monitor to the audience don't it? Ask yourself, if these items are designed to be discreet, there is a reason for that right? Besides the fact That Rush music is more complex than many orchestral pieces. Plus we aren't talking about Rush, onstage with professional, discreet monitors ( or at least I'm not). I am talking about cover bands in bars doing 4 hour sets.
Geddy Lee also plays in an originals band, probably pays the venues that his band plays in, and probably has to promote his own gigs. He also chooses his own strings without permission from the guitarist, has opinions about stuff, and plays bass solos. So he's doing many things that would get him kicked out of a rock band.
I too am in a jam band. Phil Lesh uses music stands. My band converted to tele prompters years ago. The computer thing looks cleaner and now with the way LED panels are being used as uplighting, most people think they are just stage lighting...
I honestly don't care what people think about what I do. My fly is wide open.
fixed to reflect my own stage presence
" Hi Debbie,It's Gina. OMG I have to tell you about last night. I went to this really cool dive/biker bar to get my drink and dance on. But WOW! The bass player in the band, he was SO entertaining. I watched him all night long. Best performance I have ever seen. Could not take my eyes off of him."
lol
Done. The videos that we have on our site are mainly taken from gigs, and the stands are visible in them. We have gigs every weekend in the best bars in the surrounding towns. Most of them are monthly frequency as well.
Oh, and I forgot my stand at home last night.
