Members Lemon Crush Posted October 4, 2011 Members Share Posted October 4, 2011 I'm a solo artist. I record all my own instruments and material, and wanna start playing it out live. But the thing is, I have no band. IMO, there are two paths A) Record a backing track for each song I wanna play live, and queue them up with a DJ. But maybe there could be sound problems having one mixed down backing track, and then whatever instrument I'll play. Would sound guys hate me? B) Get a band. But I can't find anyone interested and I can't afford to hire one. Are there any other ideas my brain can't think of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted October 4, 2011 Members Share Posted October 4, 2011 C) Arrange all your songs for one instrument (keys, acoustic guitar, etc). You know your songs are good if you can play it just on an acoustic guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Telecruiser Posted October 4, 2011 Members Share Posted October 4, 2011 When you are a solo artist then there is no band. Just you. Play your material solo. Work it out. Many big time artists have played their material solo sans band. You can also do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richardmac Posted October 5, 2011 Members Share Posted October 5, 2011 You could also do a combination - that's what I do for original songs. Some songs I'll play just on piano or guitar, no backing tracks. On some other songs I'll have the backing tracks on an iPod or iPad. Backing tracks can limit where you play, though - some places don't care, but some places won't hire you if you use them. It also depends on the style of music you play. Some styles work well when broken down to just vocals and an acoustic. But some styles (like metal) don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted October 5, 2011 Moderators Share Posted October 5, 2011 C) ...You know your songs are good if you can play it just on an acoustic guitar. ^This...because, when you think about it...how did you compose it originally? For most musicians, it is on their primary instrument, so why not figure out how to perform it as simply as the way you orignated it? Obviously, if oyu are a horn player, this could be challenging, solo performance-wise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members michael_B Posted October 5, 2011 Members Share Posted October 5, 2011 Keep it simple and use loopers. Jacob Moon does one of the best versions of Rush's Subdivisions I've ever heard: [video=youtube;W4vd9OVLO7Q] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted October 5, 2011 Members Share Posted October 5, 2011 I'm a solo artist. I record all my own instruments and material, and wanna start playing it out live. But the thing is, I have no band. IMO, there are two pathsA) Record a backing track for each song I wanna play live, and queue them up with a DJ. But maybe there could be sound problems having one mixed down backing track, and then whatever instrument I'll play. Would sound guys hate me?B) Get a band. But I can't find anyone interested and I can't afford to hire one.Are there any other ideas my brain can't think of? What kind of music is it ,, and what is the main instrument? What else did you put on the track to build it up? There may or may not even be a market for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ RAZZ Posted October 5, 2011 Members Share Posted October 5, 2011 very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shaster Posted October 5, 2011 Members Share Posted October 5, 2011 I can't think of a whole lot of gigs that would be solo and have a soundman. Except for maybe well established open mic nights, or name venues. Don't worry too much about sound techs, worry about how good it wounds. As noted, lots of people strip it down and do it all live. I saw Colin (last name escapes me) from Men At Work, in a small intimate venue. He was just playing guitar and singing and sounded fantastic (and was very funny to boot). Then there's Tuck and Patti - granted in a pretty lofty league. I once saw Tuck do Stevie Wonder's I Wish with the bass part, vocal part, keys and horn parts... cool just found it online So even though I personally use tracks, if you don't want to go that route, one voice, one guitar can work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richardmac Posted October 5, 2011 Members Share Posted October 5, 2011 That is a great use of looping. He's got a great voice, too. I've seen too many guitar dudes slap down a rhythm loop and then solo over it. I don't have much interest in hearing amateur or semi-pro guitarists solo for 5 minutes over a loop of themselves. This guy did a great job of making the song the focus, and tossing in a loop where it was appropriate. A friend of mine (Miche Fambro) plays a classical guitar and he bangs the hell out of it while he plays, so it sounds like drums and guitar and bass all rolled into one. I think that's really cool, too. Which goes back to what I'd consider the bottom line - if you close your eyes and listen, does it sound good? If backing tracks are used, when you close your eyes does it sound like a band, or does it sound like a guy playing along with a radio? TIMKEYS asked valid questions. Some music doesn't translate well to voice and guitar, or voice and keyboard... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members richardmac Posted October 5, 2011 Members Share Posted October 5, 2011 So even though I personally use tracks, if you don't want to go that route, one voice, one guitar can work. It can... depending on the genre. It wouldn't work well for dance music. Or death metal. Or most of the rap I've heard. It can work well for traditional music that relies on vocal melodies and chord progressions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lemon Crush Posted October 5, 2011 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2011 I can't just play guitar solos alone. They need some kind of accompaniment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted October 5, 2011 Moderators Share Posted October 5, 2011 I can't just play guitar solos alone. They need some kind of accompaniment. So wait, your material is just guitar solos? Trere is no chord structure under it, no lyrics...so the point of playing solo would be...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted October 6, 2011 Members Share Posted October 6, 2011 I can't just play guitar solos alone.They need some kind of accompaniment. Yes, you can! Learn how to play a few rudimentary chord-melody solo arrangements and you'll see how it's done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lemon Crush Posted October 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted October 6, 2011 So wait, your material is just guitar solos? Trere is no chord structure under it, no lyrics...so the point of playing solo would be...? It's instrumental music, yes. I can't play a lead, with two chords patterns, with a synth melody on one instrument. Not possible. Listen to my music. It's too layered to play it all at once on once instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lemon Crush Posted October 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted October 6, 2011 Yes, you can! Learn how to play a few rudimentary chord-melody solo arrangements and you'll see how it's done. I don't wanna play that style of music. Instrumental electronica doesn't lend itself to that anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted October 6, 2011 Moderators Share Posted October 6, 2011 Then I would suggest backing tracks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members michael_B Posted October 6, 2011 Members Share Posted October 6, 2011 I guess you have to decide if you want to give an audience exactly what your recorded tracks sound like, or boil it down and give them a simpler version. Instrumental is great, but what makes Moon's cover of Subdivisions work is that it's a great song, even with two guitars and vocals. I listened to you tracks and the best advice is backing tracks or midi. NIN (Reznor) has a great way of translating electronica to a live experience, but then he uses a band, but I think there a probably some lessons there. Youtube it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lemon Crush Posted October 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted October 6, 2011 I guess you have to decide if you want to give an audience exactly what your recorded tracks sound like, or boil it down and give them a simpler version. Instrumental is great, but what makes Moon's cover of Subdivisions work is that it's a great song, even with two guitars and vocals. I listened to you tracks and the best advice is backing tracks or midi. NIN (Reznor) has a great way of translating electronica to a live experience, but then he uses a band, but I think there a probably some lessons there. Youtube it. I've sen Buckethead do it too....I guess I'm trying to do something like that..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fingerpicker Posted October 6, 2011 Members Share Posted October 6, 2011 That looping video is cooler, and so much more creative than any tracks. Case closed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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