Music stands, Lyric sheets, rant

If it's not live, it's Karaoke.

 

you guys saying "I've never once heard anyone tell us we looked lame with our stands onstage"...

well yeah. People in general are charitable enough to not actually point out other's faults to their face.

And, that is both a blessing, and a curse

Also, that's the nice thing about online forums. You'll get the honest truth, at times.

We're giving you that, here.

 

We have a 300 song list and do 4 hour shows. Could you memorize those lyrics?

 

If you have a chart then there's no question about what the arrangement is. of course that doesn't leave you any room to spread songs out or react to lots of dancers. I prefer off the cuff playing but I'll go either way, after all you're really there to provide entertainment for the people that are paying for you to be there so you should do whatever is necessary, or let someone else do the gig.

 

We were just practicing a 60 song set for upcoming gig. My bass player says did you put in AAA, did you put in BBB? I said I had to leave out over 200 songs.

 

This world would be a much better place if each of you would think just like me.

We would all get along a whole lot better.

[eye roll]

 

I think those solid black stands look so much more professional than those fold up chrome stands.

 

"Some stands are more equal than others."

-- George Orwell Gershwin, Performer Farm

 

If I see a stand/stands on stage and they're killin' it, I don't care. Stands and they're dyin' pizzes me off if I paid a cover. Really don't give it any more thought than that.

 

A chart does not prevent extending a break, etc (unlike a sequencer). It's just a reference. I mean, in my band the lead singer will signal if we want to extend a solo or instrumental part, or repeat a verse, and he's the one with the iPad with lyrics. Really, there's a lot of room here between using a chart as a reference if needed to depending on it.

 

With the current unmentionable situation, not gigging regularly has taken a toll on what little lyric memory I had. Constant repetition is a good thing!

 

+1

I've seen just as many people without stands staring at their toes, looking like they are waiting for a bus as people staring at their music stand.

Some people act like if it wasn't for the stand they'd be great entertainers.

 

How about the players that don't know a particular song and do not have a chart, an unrehearsed, unlisted song. Someone is yelling the chords to them or they are watching another player to SEE the chords. What category are they in ?

I have an Ipad for lyrics and now and then if we are playing some odd song I may chart it and put it on the Ipad. More often than not I forget I even have the chart. Then this, I always bring the Ipad but sometimes I never check it. One time I went to use it and the battery was dead.

Another time, as I was leaving the house, I put the Ipad in my gig bag, at the gig I fired it up , it was my wife's Ipad, all I had were recipes ! And no, I had no NET service to go to Google drive. I suppose I could have used my Android phone but I can barely read text messages at less than size 1 font !

While I dont care one way or the other about Ipads or Stands I will agree with a few above in this regard, and it really has nothing to do with Ipads or Stands, I'm talking charts, not knowing the music, I'm not talking about lyrics.

If we are playing in a band with the same set list over and over again for a long time, the same 20 or 25 songs, and we still need a chart, we are not playing with the band, we are on your own trying to keep up. Trust me, it shows, especially to our bandmates. We cannot interact with other players if we are glued to a chord chart, there is no eye contact. We are not prepared. Plus we cannot follow the music as it is being presented we are following a strict chart. I'm talking about repeating the same songs over and over again with YOUR band, the same 20 or so songs. The problem is not the Ipad or the Stand, its us . Go home and practice ! But I suspect those of us who do this already know we are not prepared. Here's a thought, a couple of guitar players in a band, one drives the song the other needs to view the chart and play-along. What happens if the main players amp dies, can the other take over without missing a beat ?

But this is a whole new discussion and topic, totally removed from Stands and Ipads.

 

I put this this out 3 or 4 years ago with a pic of Phil Lesh using an Ipad. Seemed reasonable.

I saw a guy playing a bar in MI, had a tablet....No one at our table mentioned it, or even noticed.

My recollection? The guy could nail the vocals and had a real fun, party-time setlist.

There, I've killed this thread.

 

I hate them, too. My band mate uses one and it has blown over on several occasions spreading papers all over. Very unprofessional.

In a variety band we play over 100 songs and remembering all the lyrics to the songs we play isn't impossible, but close to it. I use an iPad mounted discretely on my mic stand and can pull any song lyric up in seconds.

 

you noticed.

i mean, i don't have much of any argument against the tablets (just would never use one myself), just sayin

 

Well aren't you special....No [email protected]# I noticed. I'm a guitar player...you missed my point? so carry on.

 

This lady must really suck. How unprofessional.

 

I worked with a (fill in) bassist, who shall remain nameless, a few times who had the extremely annoying proclivity to get around in front of me so he could see my hands and follow the chords.
I wished that he WOULD use a music stand.
Dude, it's a Blues gig!

 

This topic reminds me a bit of the old joke - How many guitar players does it take to change a light bulb? 10, one to change it and 9 to say they could do it better!

I think we're way too critical and hard on ourselves about this, but I think that most people don't care or even notice. We care (one way or the other) because we're entrenched in everything music. But your average person attending a party or going out for a few beers and a dance at the local club could give 2 hoots. Heck, some of them might see stands and think, wow, these guys must be good, cuz I see the orchestra use them all the time on TV!

It's a huge spectrum with many variables. From the musician's perspective, it has to do with what kind/style of music, how experienced are you, how often do you play out, how many songs do you have in your repertoire, how long have you been playing with your band, do you have physical/mental challenges. The list goes on. It's simply not black and white of stand=bad, no stand=good.

I am not a car guy. If I went to car show or a race, and I heard a big engine go vroom, I'd be impressed. But the car fanatics would say well, that because he cheated cuz he put special oil in his muffler bearings, and that's not the way a real car guy would do it. I don't care, I liked the vroom, how he got it I don't know and don't care. Most of the time our audience is the same way - did it sound good, did they have fun?

FWIW, I use a stand. My band practiced about once a month over the past several years (and even less nowadays). We're "semi-retired", partially by choice and more so by today's circumstances. We've probably played hundreds of songs over the past 15+ years we've been together and keep a current list of around 60. We do lots of little arrangements and it's not just 3 chord rock or country.

I am the on-stage band leader (even though I don't do much of the singing). The other guys look to me for signals, so I have to have the arrangements down. They know something is coming, but maybe not sure when. So most of my cheat sheets are for that. It might just be V-Ch-V-CH-Solo-Bridge-V-Ch. But trying to remember if the solo comes after the 2 or 3rd verse is hard for me sometimes because I'm not playing these songs as much any more.

I use the cheat sheets for lyrics too, but mainly as reminder. After a mind boggling, rip roaring, soaring, jaw dropping solo where I am basking in my well deserved guitar god glory, I realize that, oh crap, I have to start singing in 3... 2.. 1... A quick glance down for the first couple of words and then I'm off. I don't stare down at it all the time.

So yeah, maybe it's a crutch. But for me, it helps me enjoy my limited band time and make the most of it. To each his own.

Cheers,
Doug