Members stratotastic Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 Just curious as I've been poking around looking at a lot of band song lists lately, some of which are in excess of 300-400 songs. Ours is starting to grow pretty quickly (up around 125 and adding a few a week) and have found that rarely can we just pull something out for the first time in a year and nail it flawlessly. Some of the easier stuff we can, but mostly not. Usually we plan ahead and do a walk-through of anything we're dusting off for a gig, but I'm thinking for requests and audibles that seem to be happening more and more. Is it a matter of rehearsing the {censored} out of it till it's just burned into your brain? Do you have a structured way to revisit the deep stuff periodically just to stay fresh? Any other approaches? Or are those huge song lists just for show and you really only stick to the same 50-60 songs pretty much all the time? And if your answer is "music stands" then move along--by rule we are music stand-free band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 For me, it's generally a factor of drilling the song a ton before the first performance, including listening to recordings as much as possible beforehand. Once it's been 'in the bank', I generally can get by with no additional rehearsal on an old & dusty number as long as I give it a listen or two when I'm not focusing on much else.Since I can't set up a kit and play at home, and only have a small amount of time each week to be able to go to my rehearsal space outside of regular band rehearasls, I've just developed that my 'method' relies more on burning things into memory from listening......I keep a couple master play lists with anything that has been or may be played for each project I play with in iTunes, on my iPhone and iPad...that way I almost always have access to the music and can listen at my day job, in the car, etc. as well as at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 I don't know what we're up to, as far as songs go, but we've got maybe 5-6 hours ready to go, with new stuff added regularly. I think it's just about learning slow and steady, and not putting a song in the "done" book until you've really got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 Just curious as I've been poking around looking at a lot of band song lists lately, some of which are in excess of 300-400 songs. Ours is starting to grow pretty quickly (up around 125 and adding a few a week) and have found that rarely can we just pull something out for the first time in a year and nail it flawlessly. Some of the easier stuff we can, but mostly not. Usually we plan ahead and do a walk-through of anything we're dusting off for a gig, but I'm thinking for requests and audibles that seem to be happening more and more. Is it a matter of rehearsing the {censored} out of it till it's just burned into your brain? Do you have a structured way to revisit the deep stuff periodically just to stay fresh? Any other approaches? Or are those huge song lists just for show and you really only stick to the same 50-60 songs pretty much all the time? And if your answer is "music stands" then move along--by rule we are music stand-free band. I play in a backing band for a singer songwriter that has been at this for years. 550 songs on the front burner list and prolly as many or more on the back burner list. He draw at random out of this huge song pool and you have to be able to play songs in multiple key sigs. He doesnt use complex arrangements with tricky intros and endings. Its all pretty straight forward. We dont have rehersals, and everything is live. We play between 4 and 6 days a week, so we play a lot. everyone in the band knows how to play guitar so you can pick up visuals off his rhythm guitar if you find yourself out in the weeds on one that you havent played in a while. The set list is country, older rock, some beach stuff and 5 cds of originals. The font man has this stuff burned into his memory banks from 30 plus years as a full time working pro. Playing follow the leader with him is not easy, but with experience it works. He will cold cock stuff that he hasnt played before if he has a requests and has heard the song. In cases like that he will print off a lyric sheet for the words. Its kind of a combo between a fearless cover band and a high wire act. Its that mo that sets us apart from the other bands in our market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 I guess there are probably 150 songs on our songlist. They don't all get played regularly. Some are rarely played. Some of us are better at remembering that many songs than others. I could probably fake my way through most of them, but some of the other guys could not. A few days before any gig I come up with the songlist and then it's up to everyone to brush up on the song if they need to so that it's gig ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wardjames Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 I guess there are probably 150 songs on our songlist. They don't all get played regularly. Some are rarely played. Some of us are better at remembering that many songs than others. I could probably fake my way through most of them, but some of the other guys could not.A few days before any gig I come up with the songlist and then it's up to everyone to brush up on the song if they need to so that it's gig ready. This is kind of the way I operate as well. I try not to play off the cuff stuff until later in the night when everyone's had too much to drink. As far a keeping stuff straight in my head, I find that if I practice a song at the front end until I can no longer stand to hear it and skip it everytime it comes up on my ipod, then I've got it ready to go and will never forget it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted May 8, 2012 Members Share Posted May 8, 2012 Just curious as I've been poking around looking at a lot of band song lists lately, some of which are in excess of 300-400 songs. Ours is starting to grow pretty quickly (up around 125 and adding a few a week) and have found that rarely can we just pull something out for the first time in a year and nail it flawlessly. Some of the easier stuff we can, but mostly not. Usually we plan ahead and do a walk-through of anything we're dusting off for a gig, but I'm thinking for requests and audibles that seem to be happening more and more. Is it a matter of rehearsing the {censored} out of it till it's just burned into your brain? Do you have a structured way to revisit the deep stuff periodically just to stay fresh? Any other approaches? Or are those huge song lists just for show and you really only stick to the same 50-60 songs pretty much all the time? And if your answer is "music stands" then move along--by rule we are music stand-free band. cuz most of it is similar. If I have played the song at least a few times in the past and I can hear it in my head, I'm usually ok. I've done songs on a whim after not playing them for 30+ years and haven't had a problem, including the words most of the time. Of course, I've never smoked dope either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dan88z Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 300 songs? I bet most of those bands use the dreaded music stand with a 5" thick notebook of chords and lyrics. I also think that a lot of those bands are event/wedding bands and will get with the clients to talk over song selection, and if the client wants something from deep on the list, they know about it ahead of time and can prepare for it. In my hippy band, we have well over 100 songs, and sometimes one gets pulled out that hasn't been played for years. It's amazing how fast the rust comes off and long term memory kicks in. With my other band, I always prep the song lists a few days before and send it out to the band so if I'm dusting off something, everyone has a chance to review it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MusicalSchizo Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 I never have trouble remembering music. I can probably play 400 songs right now on bass and/or guitar from all the bands I've been with over the years. That stuff sticks in my brain really well. Words, on the other hand, can be a bloody nightmare. Even when I KNOW them, sometimes they're just not there if I'm busy playing an instrument. We pared down our list to about 80 songs and I know them all, and even on the ones I've been playing for YEARS I still brain fart sometimes because I'm concentrating on the groove or something else related to the performance that isn't singing... Repetition and focus are the ways to learn things, playing them live a bunch of times will usually help them stick.Brian V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 I average 3 gigs a month - spread across multiple projects. Taking all the various song lists into consideration, I'm maintaining a personal catalog of roughly 250 songs. My approach these days is pretty simple. First, I create a simple chart for EVERY song in my repertoire. Any single chart can fit on a 5 x 8 card. The content of each chart depends on the song. A few of my charts are a complete "chord map" of the entire song. Others break the song in sections (Intro, verse, chorus, bridge, outtro, ending) - and list the chords that make up each section - with nothing that indicates the song's actual format. Others are even simpler - "Simple I-IV-V in "C"". I include any comments I feel might be necesary. Because the bands that I work with aren't gigging constantly - we put together a set list of what we expect to play in advance of each gig. Prior to each gig - I pull out the charts and run through that list and review everything that's on the list for the gig. In "review mode" - I can blow throw the typical 40 tune list in less than 2 hours. I typically do my "review" the night before or the morning of a gig. The closer to gig time the better - I'm simply refreshing my memory. I recently added an iPad to my rig - and have transferred all my "5 x 8 card" charts to it - using OnSong. OnSong allows me to link an audio file (i.e., MP3) to each chart. I'm now in the process of categorizing the songs in my repertoire into A-B-C groups / by project (band). "A" tunes are those that need to be played often (they're either something that's new and I'm still getting comfortable with - or something that's higher on the difficulty scale). "B" tunes are those that need to be played every now and then ... just to keep it from getting too stale in memory. "C" tunes are those absolute no brainer tunes that I'll never, NEVER, ever need to practice again in my life. I've created "practice lists" for each band - the repertoire split into 1 hour "blocks" of tunes grouped by A-B-C grouping - and am trying incorporate these "blocks" into my personal practice time. I try hit the "A" blocks for every band at least once a week .. and try to hit the "B" blocks for each band once a month. Tunes in the "C" block almost never get touched. My hope is that my "A-B-C Practice Block" system will help me create a practice rotation that will help me keep everything as fresh as I practically can given the amount of practice time I have to invest. I'm a firm believer that a workable system and just a little discipline goes a long way when it comes to this sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 I am definitely in the I can remember music, but not words camp. I don't think there is a secret. Just got to learn them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLScott86 Posted May 9, 2012 Members Share Posted May 9, 2012 Giant music stand, large enough and in front so we can all see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted May 10, 2012 Members Share Posted May 10, 2012 .oh c'mon. Are you serious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted May 10, 2012 Members Share Posted May 10, 2012 300 songs? I bet most of those bands use the dreaded music stand with a 5" thick notebook of chords and lyrics. Nope a laptop with Powerpoint and a cool custom stand that looks like it belongs. only the old farts use paper and a music stand now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Bartus Posted May 10, 2012 Members Share Posted May 10, 2012 I have well over 1,000 songs in my repertoire... and if I added "the dreaded music stand with a 5" thick notebook" for lyrics, I could easily more than double the song list. Music is easy for me to remember, and because music is a mnemonic device in and of itself, it actually helps me remember the lyrics, even if it's a song I haven't played in years. Plus, it makes for a wide variety of material to play around my originals. As a solo performer, I'm one of those "high wire acts" who will take requests and dance on the edge of the building... with mostly OK results. The audience member who requested the song is almost always pleased that I made the effort. With my band, it's a different story. My drummer also knows a lot of songs -- the actual parts, not just tapping a beat to accompany the song. Bass players and keyboardists are my frustrations sometimes, and their repertoire (or lack thereof) limits what I can do in a band setting. Looking at it from their point of view, I can imagine it's a bit overwhelming for them when I hand them my song list and tell them to pick out what they know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nomadh Posted May 11, 2012 Members Share Posted May 11, 2012 I've been playing since a teen and now almost 50 and I'm convinced if I took this seriously with my teen time to spend and a teen brain to remember 100 or even 300 songs I'd be really something now. I can still drop into a song from jr high no prob but the one I learned 2 weeks ago is long gone. I can get it back real fast sometime I have to get it back real fast live in the first few measures. No way in hell I could start it though. If I learn soundgarden on guitar I loose my van morrison on bass. If i learn hustle and flow I loose dock on the bay? WTH. I'm still getting better and doing better but its very much 4-5 steps forward and 2-3 back.How many of you set list monsters had your 100+ set list before you were 22 or so.One of my biggest regrets is that I didnt kick my own shy chicken{censored} ass and get out into a real band and play with people better than I was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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