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Music Stands on Stage
- Thread starter lustersilk
- Start date
That should have ended the thread.OH, absolutely!
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Totally screams amateur.
What totally screams amateur to me is thinking that there's no gigs out there where a pro's going to use a stand.
The only time I ever needed notes was when I was in a Yes tribute band and I had to make a note chart for a section near the end of "Ritual". I had them on a piece of paper on the floor inbetween my mic stand and Moog Taurus Pedals.
It's pretty simple, really, for most gigs. Players who get called on for reading gigs will very probably need to use a stand. Those who never get a call for those gigs because they can't read may not see why a stand is sometimes essential.
Make a couple of cheat sheets with mnemonic reminders for each set.
Tape one to the back of the PA, tape the other one to the floor.
Change them out after each set.
Tape one to the back of the PA, tape the other one to the floor.
Change them out after each set.
That sort of thing works great for me on some gigs. It's obviously not any sort of option for a theatre gig where you might get about 100 pages of music in front of you five minutes or so before the stage curtains go up.
So are you saying that people who can sight read don't/can't memorize?
I just think that in some genres (chamber music for example), it's just part of the look.
maybe some of that pretentious "look, I can read music" elitist attitude has got something to do with it,
maybe it's tradition.
Same with a choir, all of the members holding a hymnal while they sing. It's part of "their look".
I think that there is a difference between having your charts handy like off to the side where you can glance at them when necessary and hiding behind a stand with your nose buried deep into the sheet music.
A big old stand front and center acts as a barrier between the musician and the audience.
That detracts from the interaction, making the connection harder.
I guess your position for or against a stand on stage is really determined by your definition of what a "performance" is.
If you are just up on stage making music and not visually entertaining your audience. Then a stand is no big deal.
(but at the same time........ why would you even have to be up On Stage to do that?)
I couldn't imagine Ted Nugent putting on a concert with a music stand center stage.
And I think that as a small time band, If your singer can't remember the words to Mustang Sally, you have a problem.
Obviously not the same thing as having one "On Stage".
and honestly, How often does that scenario happen?
I think you're probably reading too much into what I said. Thinking that someone reading music when they need to is "pretentious" or "elitist" seems a little weird.
For some gigs I do, I need to read music, and therefore I need something to put the music on. For other gigs, I'm not reading so a stand is just unnecessary. It's that simple.
Thanks to nortonrider for the ladder to get down off my high horse.
And I do have an attitude. See I like all kinds of music and I play all kinds of music. I sometimes need something to tickle my pea brain as to how to proceed next. In comes the stand. Not for everyone for sure.
What I was trying to get at is 99 out of 100 bands play a particular genre of music. I could sit in and sound very good with that first 99 bands cuz they are predictable (no stand needed). Blues comes to mind. There is a reason all open jams turn into 12 bar shuffle jams (they are predictable).
Now if I could pick one band out of a hundred to play with, guess which one I'd pick???
You guessed it, the band with 300 songs to choose from, the band that plays multiple genres, the band that will surprise you at every turn, the band that could fill any gig, but I'll need my stand.
Just call me unprofessional.
Are we going for 20 pages here. I'm trying to do my share. All opinions are valid. All opinions are welcome.
And I do have an attitude. See I like all kinds of music and I play all kinds of music. I sometimes need something to tickle my pea brain as to how to proceed next. In comes the stand. Not for everyone for sure.
What I was trying to get at is 99 out of 100 bands play a particular genre of music. I could sit in and sound very good with that first 99 bands cuz they are predictable (no stand needed). Blues comes to mind. There is a reason all open jams turn into 12 bar shuffle jams (they are predictable).
Now if I could pick one band out of a hundred to play with, guess which one I'd pick???
You guessed it, the band with 300 songs to choose from, the band that plays multiple genres, the band that will surprise you at every turn, the band that could fill any gig, but I'll need my stand.
Just call me unprofessional.
Are we going for 20 pages here. I'm trying to do my share. All opinions are valid. All opinions are welcome.
It's not just Talkbass, here's a 16 page thread from the Harmony Central Forum
on the exact same topic:
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on the exact same topic:
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Look, no music stands. That's pro.
Yeah, well "Hot Cross Buns" has only three notes in it.
Oh I just meant for the average rock gig.
If you're getting pages of music to read then how could anyone think a stand was unreasonable?
For me, fairly frequently.
For example, a couple of years ago, I was playing a revival of a show called Closer Than Ever. On opening night, I was sitting in the green room before the show. The music director/pianist was sitting at the table, writing something. The stage manager called places, and we started up the stairs to the stage. As we were halfway there, the MD handed me the sheets he had been working on, and said, "here, we are going to play this tonight for the exit music." So we did. No problem.
Earlier this year, I got a call to do another theater gig. It was a workshop being conducted by some Broadway performers for high school kids. Band was again onstage: piano, drums, and electric bass. The gig consisted of a 2 hour rehearsal followed immediately be performance. (I think that the rehearsal was 5:30 to 7:30 and the performance was at 8.) No music was provided in advance. We read down the charts once or twice at the rehearsal, and then played the gig. Again, no problem.
I have a gig next Saturday night for the grand opening of a new theater space. The band will be on stage, and I know that the performance consists of a half hour concert. But beyond that, I have no idea what I'll be playing. I'm sure I will be handed charts when I get there, and I'm sure that the performance will go well.
The following Wednesday I have an orchestra rehearsal for a show I will be playing throughout November. Then on Friday, I have a rehearsal for a concert production of a different musical I will be playing on November 3 through 5. In fact, on November 4, I have a matinee performance for one show in the afternoon, and a dress rehearsal for the other in the evening. There is no time, or need, to memorize the music for all of these different shows.
These are all pro situations. I don't dispute that there are situations where a music stand is unnecessary or even undesirable. But the argument that a music stand is always "amateur" or "uprofessional" is absurd.
For me, this debate isn't so much about music stands per se as it is about making assumptions. Many people on TB and other forums only ever play typical rock gigs, like Rockin Mike said. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. I love 'em!
But what happens then is some folks go on to make over-assertive statements about professionalism or whatever, when the way some musicians have to work is outside their experience. And that's when we get nonsense like "music stands just scream amateur" and other similar twaddle about performance matters, as if everybody plays in the same sort of musical situation. A moment's thought about the variety of ways that other musicians go about their work would probably stop most folks jumping to this sort of conclusion. But sometimes people take a point of view about one particular type of situation and then assume that it applies unconditionally.
In other words, "music stands just scream amateur to me personally, for certain sorts of gig" would be pretty fair. "Music stands just scream amateur" as an unqualified statement of fact that applies in every situation is a lame, poorly considered over-generalisation.
But what happens then is some folks go on to make over-assertive statements about professionalism or whatever, when the way some musicians have to work is outside their experience. And that's when we get nonsense like "music stands just scream amateur" and other similar twaddle about performance matters, as if everybody plays in the same sort of musical situation. A moment's thought about the variety of ways that other musicians go about their work would probably stop most folks jumping to this sort of conclusion. But sometimes people take a point of view about one particular type of situation and then assume that it applies unconditionally.
In other words, "music stands just scream amateur to me personally, for certain sorts of gig" would be pretty fair. "Music stands just scream amateur" as an unqualified statement of fact that applies in every situation is a lame, poorly considered over-generalisation.
