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Sight Reading Standards!

B

bassjack88

Guest
Mar 12, 2012
5
3
#1
Hello all,

I'm currently practising sight reading relentlessly with the hope of getting work on the cruise ship circuit, the only problem is, I'm not sure what standard is actually required in order to do this. I've emailed a couple of agencies and ship companies with this question but have basically only ever received the answer "you have to be able to play everything perfectly". Whilst I don't doubt that your level of ability must be high, I can't help thinking these responses seem
a tad hyperbolic (not to mention not overly helpful!).

Has anyone done any work on this circuit or know anyone that has? Some insight into this would be really greatly appreciated!

Jack
 
#3
carl h. said:
When a NAME hands you a chart, it is expected that you will play it perfectly, not do an interpretation on it. You are messing with the integrity of the performer if you can't pull it off cold.
Click to expand...
Point taken, but I doubt there are many "NAMES" doing cruise concerts that rely on the resident musicians.. they'll bring their own.
 
#5
This thread will probably moved, but I am toiling over the same thing these days. I can read music, but I'm a poor sight-reader.

Basically, I want to be able to play some dates with the local orchestra that I've been mixing for for 17 years. I'm told that the general idea is to be able to sit down and sightread the show on the first rehearsal. They don't allow the music folders to leave the orchestra librarian.

However, the orchestra manager, who's a french horn player, and a friend all rolled into one said that if the occasion for me to play would arise (another friend doubles on upright and electric bass when the electric need is there, but he does several other things), I could somehow get the book and work on it for a show...:D. And he made it plain, and I agree, that wouldn't be possible if there were several capable players looking to try out for the chair.

All this said, my pride really drives me to be a good sight-reader, which is something a long way off at the moment.
 
#6
Most cruise ship shows are medium difficulty, not over-the-top difficult. So imagine all those songs written out. Could you sightread them? Reading bassists are rarely called upon to read scary fast sixteenths at 120. Most often they are normal, and to-be-expected type basslines.
 
#7
A few thoughts.

1, The singers don't sing in the band's key, you take their key.

2, Four times through the chorus is different than 32 bars of the same repeated figure - written out. If you blink you may miss that on the last times it cuts 2 bars early, or adds an extra bar for a transition. One mental fade and you may destroy the chart.

3, You know that music you hate - yeah that crap - you had better be able to nail it first time too.

4, With all the internet can provide, there is no excuse not to be a good reader. Thousands of hours of reading are available to you with a simple click, not to mention performances by the top groups to read along with.

5, You play bass? How is your bow technique?
 
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#8
There's like an ancient joke where a Cop walks up to a corner band and asks "Do you know there's a noise ordinance?"
And someone in the band says, "No, but hum a few bars of it and we can fake it!"

That's about it, you got to be able to fake it. You know what's coming before you read it because you've heard or played it before.

YMMV
 
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#9
seamonkey said:
There's like an ancient joke where a Cop walks up to a corner band and asks "Do you know there's a noise ordinance?"
And someone in the band says, "No, but hum a few bars of it and we can fake it!"

That's about it, you got to be able to fake it. You know what's coming before you read it because you've heard or played it before.

YMMV
Click to expand...
pretty much what I was doing at the GTG that formed my band. Out of three bass players who showed up I was the only one who read anything. I only read treble clef but I left that detail out.

There was a NZ famous singer who toured picking up bands along the way with her charts. A drummer told me how she turned around and gave him a serve for playing a near enough fill that wasn't the one written in the chart.
 
#10
bassjack88 said:
Hello all,

I'm currently practising sight reading relentlessly with the hope of getting work on the cruise ship circuit, the only problem is, I'm not sure what standard is actually required in order to do this. I've emailed a couple of agencies and ship companies with this question but have basically only ever received the answer "you have to be able to play everything perfectly". Whilst I don't doubt that your level of ability must be high, I can't help thinking these responses seem
a tad hyperbolic (not to mention not overly helpful!).

Has anyone done any work on this circuit or know anyone that has? Some insight into this would be really greatly appreciated!

Jack
Click to expand...

I've been working as a woodwind player on ships over the past year and a half. The bass players have to deal with anything from a completely notated funk chart, to walking on changes, to classical works. On the ships that I've been on, the players have all used electric basses. This is as part of the house band - usually 7-9 piece.

I'm actually considering doing the bass audition with the agency I currently use to see if it gives me some more gig opportunities. One of my reading excerpt routines is to sight read lines from Carol Kaye's books.
 
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#12
GodinFan said:
The norm for guest entertainers is they travel alone. The ship provides the band and MD, the guest ent puts their charts on the stand, and you get one shot at it.
Click to expand...
hmm.. check out Carnivals NAME schedule... Journey, Gladys Knight, KC and the Sunshine Band, Trace Adkins, 38 Special, Boston, Chicago, Daughtry, Foreigner, The Band Perry.... to name a few.
While I don't know, I'd "guess" those folks are NOT going to use the "house band" to back them.. They wouldn't on land, why would they on a cruise??
 
#15
I am going to guess the voice of experience can come up with a list of relative no name singers ending their careers on cruise ships with the ship bands playing their charts.

Kenny Rogers toured NZ last year with a pickup band of locals. Good enough for lil ol NZ ''round the traps'', probably good enough for cruise ships?
 
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