Gigging with a music stand.

[Zipper]

I know it doesn't look good. After 40 years of playing Country songs and getting a lot of requests for songs I haven't played in a while, I rely on my stand and music book to refresh my memory and keep the show going.

[greggorypeccary]

Originally Posted by RockerDuck

Actually, the audience never notices a stand. For that matter, your guitar, amp, mic, or anything else. Only the music matters, and you get the words right. I stopped caring what other musician's thought a long time ago. In my acoustic act, I use a stand and play well over 100 songs. How many here can remember 100 songs, without the songs written down?

That's about the size of it.

For those who have an issue with music stands...get over it!

[brewwagon]

being a drummer i always get a big kick outta watching other musicians how they flip the page and try and keep in time

[ce24]

Originally Posted by greggorypeccary

Who cares what other musicians think?

Especially when you're playing a gig and they're standing in the back with their arms crossed.

Guitar players seem to be the only ones obsessed with this issue. The horn guys in my band use them all the time.

^^^^^^ This...I use one and am converting to my ipad....smaller footprint but if Elvis Costello can use one so can I, also most concert band have a teleprompter on the floor with scrolling lyrics. same thing...saw Tom Petty using one...again not a point worth considering IMHO.

[Oakville Dave]

I agree with the idea that it's much worse to forget the words than to have a stand. I've been on stage with a singer who blanked so badly that about 40 bars went by before he could remember the lyrics!

I think the only people in your average bar who care at all are other musicians!! If the band is really tight and cookin', then 99.9% of the audience doesn't even notice a stand of it's not too prominent.

The trick with a stand is to keep it as flat as possible so it doesn't block anyone's view and if at all possible don't use a light, which just draws attention to it.

Our bass player now uses an iPad with a stand clamp. It's half the size of a stand and be doesn't need a light. That's my next investment.

[dsutton24]

These guys use them... but what would B.B. King's band know about anything?

[ac15]

I don't have a problem with what anyone else does as long as they sound great and I like their performance.

As for myself I usually perform solo, 2-4 hour gigs and have not used a stand for my most recent gigs, nor when I first started. However, for a while I got in the habit of bringing the stand and I realized that it was more of a security blanket than anything else, as I rarely referred to it. Anyway, I'm back to not really using them. For what it's worth, I'm talking mostly about gigs where people aren't necessarily there to see or watch me (background music at a restaurant, cocktail party etc.). In this situation, it matters not at all whether you use a music stand. I'd never use one during a 40 minute set in a rock band playing original material.

As for the person who asked how many people can memorize 100 songs without a stand, the answer is: many. I know quite a few human jukeboxes who can play for hours without referring to any written music. In fact it's common.

On the other hand, I know one rock band who has been playing the same 15-20 original songs for the past 15 years and the singer still brings a stand. Honestly, that's fuggin' ridiculous.

[Barbeque John]

I use a stand, with 200 some songs in the book, at my age I need a bit of help sometimes. There are more songs that are only in my memory. It's odd but I'll write down the key, but never the changes on songs I sing, but have to write out the changes on the more complex tunes that other people sing. (like old swing and fiddle tunes)
I have a duplicate book in half size (4 1/4 X 5 1/2) that fits in a guitar bag if I need it for something more casual, and a small folding stand. I can do about an hour with just a guitar, but after that I need a bit of help. Just putting that book an a table is reassuring.
One of these days I'm gonna go the tablet route, I see jazz groups that all have their faces illuminated by Ipads.

[Slowpoke]

When I had my own band some years ago I used a Hoyer Jumbo and I used to stick bits of paper on the top of the body with just the start line of verses of a few songs. I knew all the words but on some songs could never remember what order the verses came in unless it was a story song that the verses just followed on. Like Old Dogs Children etc, Six Days On The Road was always one I had to have on guitar just to get the order of the verses. There were a few others but I'm sure you wouldn't want to know..... Slowpoke

[soulman969]

I guess until they come up with compact teleprompters at my feet or at mic stand level I'll probably keep using one. When you're covering the lead vocals for over 100 songs of a 150 song play list playing 4+ sets and night and covering your instrument a quick peak at a lyric chart takes a lot of stress away from the gig.

If it's considered "unprofessional" then there have been a hell of a lot of bands over the years who have been "unprofessional". I'm sure after a dozen times or more through "String of Pearls" Glenn Miller's band didn't need the chart but it was there on the bandstand nonetheless.

For a one hour opening or two hour show/concert I can live without it because the tunes are all laid out in advance and the show is rehearsed but in a shoot from the hip club gig, it comes in handy. Especially if you take a request or something you haven't played in a year.

I never needed one for chord progressions or other instrumental notes but for lyrics yeah. IMHO it's a lot more unprofessional for the band to be on the third go 'round of the intro while the lead vocalist has a memory block over how the first verse starts and has that "deer in the headlights" look on his/her face. Better a cheat sheet than a "train wreck" as far as I'm concerned.

The caveat here is to keep it organized so you don't need to stop the show hunting for something.

[JayFreddy]

Originally Posted by jazztele

Rehearsal isn't necessary if everybody knows their part.

Some of you rock and roll guys are funny...music does exist outside of your world.

Like I said before...depends on the gig.

I especially like the folks who say it's "unprofessional." Highest paying gigs I ever got were reading gigs.

+1.

Or when I get an emergency call on Wednesday to play a gig on Friday, with 12 originals I have never heard before, plus a half dozen covers, several where I'm supposed to sub the piano parts note-for-note.

Spent most of Thursday transcribing the tunes, figuring out how to do them with a capo (the singer likes to move up or down a step or two depending on her mood...), and yes, I had my little music stand with me on stage Friday night.

While on stage, the singer called out several originals that weren't on the rehearsal CD that I'd never even heard before... And then she expects me to play them after hearing only one live acapella chorus... The bass player and drummer have been playing with her for 20 years. lol

All that transcribing on Thursday must've primed my ears because I pulled it off, but I still can't remember what chords were in most of those songs.

Without a music stand, that gig wasn't going to happen. The show must go on...

[Thorby Bislam]

I use a music stand but I have it stood slightly to one side of me so it doesn't obscure anyones view but I can glance across it to keep myself on track. It's not a crutch, it's prosthetic memory.
And I don't have to flip pages mid song because each song (lyrics and chord progression) is on a single piece of A4 paper. Nor do I need to cart a big book of lyrics onstage, just the songs I'm doing right then.

Like Tim said; the only rule is connect with the audience. I'm an amateur but I can connect and though I say it myself, I'm pretty good at it. This, not music stands, appearance or virtuosity is the only bugbear for me.
Sometimes I see guitarists bent over their intruments studying where their fingers go and musos/singers staring fixedly at the rear wall of the venue or looking at other band members rather than their audience or, worse yet, closing their eyes or wearing dark glasses on the principle that 'if I can't see them, they can't see me'. Not to mention turning their backs on the audience while adjusting amp settings etc. This is the biggest turn-off. It's a lack of respect. You need the lyrics with you, fine, take them. Just don't let them come between you and the people.

[dblues]

Originally Posted by Larry F

I detest how stands look onstage with a band, for all the reasons mentioned above.

However, I am at a stage in life where not only can I not lift amps as easily as before, but I can't remember cues and special things that we put into a song. And for a long time, I couldn't remember the backing riff to SRV's So Excited. Ditto with Killing Floor. I would have one of the other guys sing it to me. Well, this is pretty bad. If we practiced more, and if I practiced the tunes more, it wouldn't be the problem that it is.

I feel really bad that I am as shaky and lazy about this, but I sure wouldn't want to use a stand onstage. It doesn't look real, spontaneous, or committed. Maybe we could have one set of standards for young guys with strong backs and plenty-o- brain cells, and another for those of us near 60. Could we do that? That would work for me. That way I get to criticize everyone younger than me and cut myself slack. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Seriously, tough call, and I empathize.

What Larry said. At some point some point for some of us the choice is cheat, screwup or quit. I never used one when I was playing out for $ but I was only responsible for remembering lyrics to maybe 10-15 songs per gig.

Edit: At some point some point for some of us? See I can't even type a sentence much less remember a lyric. At some point for some of us...

[muudcat]

I do a lot of Dylan tunes from time to time and although I have some of them memorized, when they're new to me, I must have the lyrics in front of me. The lyrics are the most important thing in his songs so why screw them up.
Ya at one time I probably new well over 100 song lyrics, but for some, not all, as you grow older, memorizing doesn't get easier and I'm constantly changing my set lists so I must have a stand. Now for songs I've written, it's a no-brainer, but 3-1 hour sets requires lyrical precision

[Justinvs]

Originally Posted by Thorby Bislam

I use a music stand but I have it stood slightly to one side of me so it doesn't obscure anyones view but I can glance across it to keep myself on track. It's not a crutch, it's prosthetic memory.
And I don't have to flip pages mid song because each song (lyrics and chord progression) is on a single piece of A4 paper. Nor do I need to cart a big book of lyrics onstage, just the songs I'm doing right then.

Like Tim said; the only rule is connect with the audience. I'm an amateur but I can connect and though I say it myself, I'm pretty good at it. This, not music stands, appearance or virtuosity is the only bugbear for me.
Sometimes I see guitarists bent over their intruments studying where their fingers go and musos/singers staring fixedly at the rear wall of the venue or looking at other band members rather than their audience or, worse yet, closing their eyes or wearing dark glasses on the principle that 'if I can't see them, they can't see me'. Not to mention turning their backs on the audience while adjusting amp settings etc. This is the biggest turn-off. It's a lack of respect. You need the lyrics with you, fine, take them. Just don't let them come between you and the people.

I would agree with _almost_ everythig you said except the part about turning around to adjust your amp. When you handle your own sound that just goes with the territory.

[Arbiter]

Unprofessional? Ye gods.

My background is different than a lot of y'alls, I started as a violinist, but...unprofessional? Is reading unprofessional too? How about tuners? Rehearsals? Lessons? I'd just like to know where the line is. So I can stand behind it. And laugh.

[Justinvs]

Originally Posted by morgankelly

I've never heard a bar band that played difficult enough songs to really need sheets.

I'd use them, but I play and write pretty advanced, complex music.

You're kidding, right? Just because you're a bar band doesn't mean you only play I-IV-V all night. Throw a couple Willie songs in or a couple sappy pop ballads and just watch the chords start to run wild!

[getbent]

Originally Posted by Justinvs

You're kidding, right? Just because you're a bar band doesn't mean you only play I-IV-V all night. Throw a couple Willie songs in or a couple sappy pop ballads and just watch the chords start to run wild!

all too true... I have played with guys who reduced all songs to 3 chords though... I once backed a guy playing four strong winds with no minor...

it would be awesome to see an old guy band playing punk with music stands! that would be hilarious... I can picture the singer reading the lyrics and kind of shouting "Too Drunk" and squinting during "holiday in cambodia"

ha ha, I think I'll go out to breakfast this morning, that is cracking me up.

[Wrong-Note Rod]

I think it depends. I know some guys that HATE to see a band up there with charts. I dont mind seeing a cover band that plays all night long, and has a playlist of 50-100 songs, with a stand full of charts, especially with the words for the singer.

An original band that plays only one set, a chart would be somewhat questionable.

[dmarg1045]

The ideal is to know everything perfectly by heart. If you can't do this, you might as well have a music stand. It's better than blowing lyrics or chords.