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Should singers who front a band know chord progressions?
- Thread starter Pork_Chop
- Start date
Not necessarily. I've backed singers with international reputations. They would have no idea of key, chords whatever…but they nailed the tunes (and in one instance, with a Brazilian artist, hammered the band for not being "professional" when she went for a key change…when folks were reading charts at an afternoon rehearsal for an evening gig). Being "musical" and putting a tune over, and knowing what you want in order to put it over, may have NOTHING to do with formal understanding of what you are doing. Which can be a problem in of itself, but it's a different problem from some front-person ditz being totally clueless.
C'mon people... X-Factor, American Idol etc. have proven conclusively that you don't need to know anything about music to get your 15 minutes of fame. Why bother learning music? All you have to do is copy!
Really? I only read the first few responses, but the overwhelming feeling that this is normal is a disappointment and makes me never want to be in a band with a dedicated singer.
I've mostly played with singers who know what key they prefer to sing a song in--often it's a key I hate playing in because I have to make big jumps or can't do some cool stuff using open strings...
But often I can-but it might not be the key I know it in.
I normally find it easy to transpose in my head if I just have to shift up a fret or two or three, or if I can stay at the same position but go up a string, but going lower messes me up sometimes.
But it's easier on bass than when I play guitar--and I hate using capos...
(That's not a judgement on anybody who does, just my personal preference.)
I know a drummer who understands keys...wait, you asked a drummer and singer for the chords?
Jazz is an aural tradition first. I don't know many jazz singers who study out of any book (and I know a few great ones) they use their ears . Not saying all (frank Sinatra was mentioned as knowing his stuff) don't know, but usually jazz singers know the music away from theory and sheet music, because of listening to great renditions of the tunes.
It's not a sad sad thing If it sounds good and they have other performance skill like listening.
Yes. She is the drummer in the dance hall scene in the original 1964 movie. She has great stories about the making of that movie. She was even eaten by the monster, which smelled like whiskey, sweat and foam rubber inside. She said most of the guys in the monster suit were drunk by mid afternoon. The first monster was stolen part way through the filming of the movie, so they had to halt filming while another monster was made. If you pay attention you'll notice that the monster changes appearance slightly mid-way through the movie. They changed the script to indicate that the space ship had more than one monster on board to explain the different appearance. A recent movie was made about the making of The Creeping Terror called The Creep Behind The Camera. The trailer is on YouTube.
Back to the subject, I suspect that many famous singers didn't/don't really know much about music. Keely Smith, who sang for years with Louie Prima had no formal musical training when she was hired. She's just one example of many. If you have a natural ear you can get by without knowing much about music. In my experience it has been a rare treat to work with singers who were trained vocalists, and could read charts. Having that skill is great, but not as important as being a good front person with a good voice & stage personality. I've worked with singers who started out knowing nothing, but became quite proficient in their understanding of theory, harmony, etc.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of "shoulds" when it comes to musical expression. Of course, this is somewhat genre-dependent, and you didn't mention what the band plays. I'd generally look for more technical knowledge if they were singing prog rock than crust punk.
For the only band I've been in where the singer just sang and didn't play an instrument, no, he could not have named a chord progression. He hung out while the instrumentalists jammed out the parts, to get to know the music, and sometimes gave good suggestions, but he couldn't have told you which chords we were playing. He was nonetheless an excellent vocalist. Then again, as bass player, and I couldn't have played the guitar parts even knowing what chords they were playing over.
It sounds like you're in an unenviable position and best of luck with it, but what's surprising to me about this post is that you give the drummer a pass but expect the singer to know the sheet music.
Well, it's kind of like a physicist not knowing any math.
I agree with what you are saying.
I left the music world after a disappointing run at the brass ring in my youth and recently came back as an adult with kids and a wife. I don't have the ability to write and create like some to the artists I admire, but can interpret and add to what they do.
At this point I have a love for my singer based on his enthusiasm, reliability, charisma, and childlike love for the music we play. He is not a musician but a singer. I wouldn't trade that for anything except perhaps a 1990 Axl Rose clone without personality issues.
Your post does however cause me to reevaluate my own "craftsmanship" as you put it though. It is possibly my weakest area, having left study of theory etc… without having mastered it in my youth.
I broadly agree with you and this is largely a philosophical question, but... I think the craft is only useful to the extent that it serves the art. Some people have a high level of craft (let's call it musicianship) that's either innate or absorbed, which serves their art; these people might not have technical knowledge, but anyone can see they're naturals. This might be the case with the OP's singer. Or not, who knows.
Of course, it's best when ability and ideas are in balance. But we've all heard musicians who have earned a high level of musicianship but are boring, and musicians with a low level of musicianship and a lot of interesting ideas. If forced to choose between the two, I'd prefer the latter.
I know dedicated singers that don't know the chord progressions by heart - but, if pressed, could produce them when given one chord as a reference.
But these are able to play at least one instrument. Most singers i know that 'just' sing would not be able to tell the chords.
But these are able to play at least one instrument. Most singers i know that 'just' sing would not be able to tell the chords.
Of course, that's probably at least a little bit of humility from BB - he obviously knows his way around a guitar neck, which involves some knowledge of which notes are where, and how they relate to the chords being played behind him. And I've seen him play one or two chords on occasion. But he's being truthful in that he doesn't back himself up by playing chords (nor does he do so for others) - chording is most definitely not his thing. And he is most definitely a musician!
I like the phrase "Many players don't know the language of naming notes and chords", and I agree that it's so. Heck, I'm frequently not considering the name of a chord I'm playing (though I can name it if I stop and think for a second, and I'll know the nature of the chord, as major, minor, dominant, etc.) - I just know that putting my fingers on the guitar in this particular way gives this particular sound, and sound is what I'm working with. The sound itself is more important than the names.
-- --
On another note, I usually don't have to worry about the singer knowing the chords, because the singer is usually me!
So I got that goin' for me.
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I know plenty of singers who have had hit records who don't know the first thing about music theory.
True, none of them could read music, but they all knew music and chord theory very well.
In a world of "American Idol",,Auto-Tune,attitudes rather than ability,and Hip-hop,what do you expect?
most singers that don't play an instrument don't know that chords progress in a theoretical pattern to begin with, let alone that they did at ask be familiar with said pattern.
Great point. I DO know theory but I'd take an ear over theoretical knowledge any day, esp in a singer. Hopefully the naysayers will reconsider...or learn all of the melodies. Yeah, right.
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