I do occasional sub work where I'm called upon to learn a bunch of songs in a very short time. Last week I got asked to join a band where I need to put together about 60 songs in about a week. Right now I have about 15 down and I couldn't put as much time into them over the last few days as I wanted, but I'll have them down when I said I would. People wonder how I do it. I am not Superman, so I have to rely on some things I've learned over the years to pull it off...and make no mistake, rarely do I not pull it off. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever not pulled it off.
1. It takes too long to write fully notated charts, but I do often write quick and dirty chord charts.
2. If there are signature parts, I jot them down, either in notation or in my own little shorthand that nobody understands but me.
3. Write down approximate tempos, basic feel, where time signature or feel changes may occur.
4. Listen to each song over and over and over as much as you can squeeze in in a short time, and play through them. Generally, doing this 3 or 4 times puts me well on the road to memorization. And if they're easy, by all means memorize them as quickly as you can.
5. Once you get the songs somewhat memorized, write yourself crib notes that you can refer to onstage with just the basics and things you might forget along the way. That way you're not constantly flipping charts. Bring a music stand to the gig if it's a vibe where you could get away with it. If it's a gig where music stands are frowned upon, put them on the floor, but make sure you've written them big enough so you can see them. I will usually have several songs on one sheet, and lay them out in a way I can refer to them quickly if there are no setlists or if someone calls an audible on your setlist. Whittle your crib notes down to just the very basics and no superflous info...keys, basic feel, reminders for tricky parts, etc.
6. Keep your original chord charts handy in case your crib notes aren't good enough to remind you. Doesn't happen to me often but it does happen.
7. Learn the easiest songs first and come back to the hard ones. When you need to fill out a 4-5 hour night of tunes, quantity is the most important thing. You will always be forgiven for having to skip a couple of the harder tunes, but you won't be forgiven at all for having to skip a lot of easy ones because you spent too much time on the hard ones.
8. If someone calls out a song not on the list, ask for the key and fake it. Whatever you do, don't start a big to-do about it onstage. Put on your big boy pants and suck it up.
9. Know that you are going to make a handful of clams on the first gig. It's inevitable. Don't worry about it...just don't call attention to them, shrug it off the best you can, and keep moving and never stop.
10. Crush the gig, collect your accolades and money, and get ready for them to call you with more gigs!
I'm sure those of you who also do these types of gigs have your own strategies, and I'd be very interested in hearing them so I and others could learn from you as well. It's tough at first, but once you do it successfully a couple times, it becomes easier. It's all a matter of putting in the work listening, memorizing and note taking. And a smattering of BS
1. It takes too long to write fully notated charts, but I do often write quick and dirty chord charts.
2. If there are signature parts, I jot them down, either in notation or in my own little shorthand that nobody understands but me.
3. Write down approximate tempos, basic feel, where time signature or feel changes may occur.
4. Listen to each song over and over and over as much as you can squeeze in in a short time, and play through them. Generally, doing this 3 or 4 times puts me well on the road to memorization. And if they're easy, by all means memorize them as quickly as you can.
5. Once you get the songs somewhat memorized, write yourself crib notes that you can refer to onstage with just the basics and things you might forget along the way. That way you're not constantly flipping charts. Bring a music stand to the gig if it's a vibe where you could get away with it. If it's a gig where music stands are frowned upon, put them on the floor, but make sure you've written them big enough so you can see them. I will usually have several songs on one sheet, and lay them out in a way I can refer to them quickly if there are no setlists or if someone calls an audible on your setlist. Whittle your crib notes down to just the very basics and no superflous info...keys, basic feel, reminders for tricky parts, etc.
6. Keep your original chord charts handy in case your crib notes aren't good enough to remind you. Doesn't happen to me often but it does happen.
7. Learn the easiest songs first and come back to the hard ones. When you need to fill out a 4-5 hour night of tunes, quantity is the most important thing. You will always be forgiven for having to skip a couple of the harder tunes, but you won't be forgiven at all for having to skip a lot of easy ones because you spent too much time on the hard ones.
8. If someone calls out a song not on the list, ask for the key and fake it. Whatever you do, don't start a big to-do about it onstage. Put on your big boy pants and suck it up.
9. Know that you are going to make a handful of clams on the first gig. It's inevitable. Don't worry about it...just don't call attention to them, shrug it off the best you can, and keep moving and never stop.
10. Crush the gig, collect your accolades and money, and get ready for them to call you with more gigs!
I'm sure those of you who also do these types of gigs have your own strategies, and I'd be very interested in hearing them so I and others could learn from you as well. It's tough at first, but once you do it successfully a couple times, it becomes easier. It's all a matter of putting in the work listening, memorizing and note taking. And a smattering of BS
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