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Music Stands on Stage

#21
I play in a heavy metal band, but our music is sometimes pretty complicated and everyone needs to be on the same note on the 1. I have CRS so for the first gig I did up some cheat sheets with the basic notes and kept them on the floor of a tiny stage next to my pedal board. Worked enough for me.

I know the material well enough, but I keep some Cheat Strips of duct tape on the pedalboard for those portions that still give me trouble.

Peace,
Greg
 
#22
HolmeBass said:
I think the same people that are all like, "shorts are terrible!" and, "your appearance is soooo important" are going to say no to stands. And then half of them will wear Hawaiian shirts while the play Mustang Sally. Whatever.

I actually *listen* to music, which as it happens is entirely sound-based: has no visual component whatsoever at all. I'm not going to knock a good stage show, cool lights, etc., but a nice tidy stage and swanky visuals are no substitute for good sounds. So I feel whatever is going to make you sound the best is what should happen. If you need a stand to get it right, then use a stand.

Some (many?) touring pro acts "cheat" by having a computer monitor or a teleprompter built in to their stage monitor system. I know CSN did, pretty slick, too.
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This stuff could go all over the place. Sounding good is the foundation you have to have that. However, a good looking stage configuration and band is part of what a working band delivers to the customer.

At some point in our playing careers, full time sole source of income or weekend warriors, it's no longer cool to show up looking un-professional with beat up old gear and a junking looking presentation ( unless your 17 ). Even for those of us playing in these cramp little spaces in bars, you still want things to look as professional as possible.

blue
 
#23
I use a thin binder with my cheat notes in sheet protectors written big in landscape and use two pages if necessary so I can read it from a distance. It lays on the floor. So no stand. I only need cheats for songs that I have not completely memorized. Front page = set list.
 
#24
Rocker59801 said:
I use a thin binder with my cheat notes in sheet protectors written big in landscape and use two pages if necessary so I can read it from a distance. It lays on the floor. So no stand. I only need cheats for songs that I have not completely memorized. Front page = set list.
Click to expand...

When I'm new to a band , I also will have a cheat sheet on the floor for those first couple of shows.

I always have my set lists on the floor next to my pedal train.

blue
 
#26
Best money I've spent lately....
I bought a nice mounting bracket that holds my iPad on my mic stand.
Heck, I don't even sing that much. But I do my set lists with my notes in PDF and read them on my iPad from my mic stand.
Looks professional and works great - backlit screen is better than paper on the floor.
:-)
 
#27
Foamy said:
Best money I've spent lately....
I bought a nice mounting bracket that holds my iPad on my mic stand.
Heck, I don't even sing that much. But I do my set lists with my notes in PDF and read them on my iPad from my mic stand.
Looks professional and works great - backlit screen is better than paper on the floor.
:-)
Click to expand...

That I like, professional & cool.

Blue
 
#28
My guitarist/singer used a stand with the lyric book on it. as hard as we tried we could not break him of this. So we started trying out lead vocalists. Magically, he does not need the book anymore.

Really, you are playing songs thousands of times and you can't remember the lyrics? I'd rather he just made **** up then have a damn stand on stage. Ever try to make a demo DVD to shop around at clubs when your singer has a friggin' stand on the stage?
 
#29
nashvillebill said:
What would kill the "vibes" more...having a stand on stage, or playing wrong notes??
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I think that gets away from the point.

If your in a rock band that's gigging a lot, playing wrong notes should diminish rather quickly. Thus, no need for a music stand.

You can still put reference resources on the floor ( neatly ).
 
#31
I never use a music stand period. It's just a thing with me, I'd rather make a mistake than have a music stand up there.

Nevertheless I don't think it matters if you're rocking the place.

Our keyboard player uses one. He has this big notebook with all kinds of notes to himself and this and that. He has a lot more programmed sounds to manage than I do. It's cool, I don't think anyone really notices.

Drives me nuts though.
 
#32
I've only recently started using a stand onstage, and only because of the sheer amount of songs I've had to learn for fill-in gigs.

If you're filling in for a country band, a stand seems to be ok.

If you're a full time member of a rock band, leave the stand in the bandroom or find a way to make it as inconspicuous as possible.
 
#33
I dislike stands. If you have a mental blank and flub one note, it says (to the very few who notice) that you didn't know that passage perfectly.

If you have a stand, it says to everyone that you don't know every passage perfectly.
 
#34
ha ha - this is a popular can of worms. In my regular band, I do not use a stand, although the lead singer does. I understand why - the lyrics to like 40 songs is a lot. I don't need charts for any of them, but I'm the bass player.

keegans.jpg


However, now I'm playing in a second band where I have to sing lead in like 5 songs and we're going to be under-rehearsed for a gig on Oct. 26. I am planning to use a stand for that, just for lyrics. I will put it low and off to the side so that it is as unnoticable as possible. But I will need it.
 
#37
I know and gig with numerous working pro's in the NYC area who sit in on gigs on an ad-hoc basis. None of them bats an eye over having a music stand on stage. Neither does the band leader.

I was also at the Love for Levon concert at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, last night. The house bass player and co-music director for the night was Don Was. He, as well as all of the horn players, HAD MUSIC STANDS on stage.

The moral of the story? Making sure the music is right is the over-riding consideration. A music stand is a minor visual. I'd much rather that than someone fumbling their way through a song.
 
#38
Smokin' Toaster said:
I'm trying to imagine Gene Simmons with a music stand in front of him. How do you notate "puke blood" in Bass clef?

Or Verdeen White. How do you notate "jump 5 feet into the air and do a big split" in Bass clef?

:D
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The last marching band I was in I did exactly that. We got the music on Wednesday and had music rehearsal. On Thursday we got our marching instructions blocked out the show and seniors identified which missing squad ranks they would fill in when I wrote in the marching instructions. Dress rehearsal on Friday by which time I memorized the music. Game day Saturday
 

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