Members 6StringSling Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 A local band has this ad on CG. They want someone to play both rhythm & lead and be ready by Dec 29. Here is the set list - is this a realistic request? I'm pretty sure I couldn't learn all that in just a few weeks: SET 1 Knockin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bromanking Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Those are all really easy songs and anyone who's been around for a while has probably already played 2/3 of them anyway. There's over a months time so it should be no sweat for someone who can play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6StringSling Posted November 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 I've only played about 6 of them, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rad Skronker Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 I've only played about 6 of them, ever. Now would be a good time for you to learn alot of those songs. Alot of bands perform the songs on that list. If you plan to gig you would have a real head start by learning all those songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notamachine Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Those are all really easy songs and anyone who's been around for a while has probably already played 2/3 of them anyway. There's over a months time so it should be no sweat for someone who can play. True but don't bother, 1/2 of those songs suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6StringSling Posted November 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 True but don't bother, 1/2 of those songs suck. My feelings exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonjohn Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 its not a big ask at all....." What Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crownman Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Based on that set list alone I wouldn't even go see the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreenAsJade Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 You guys are a mob of wankers: the "don't play common songs" snob set. They're all classics, and the (presumably oldish( party crowd will love them. GaJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6StringSling Posted November 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Songs from that set list I can already play: Sweet Child O' Mine, Sweet Home Alabama Songs from that set list I've played in the past that wouldn't take me very long to relearn: Keep Your Hands To Yourself, Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love, Hotel California, Dream On, Just What I Needed Song from that set list I was already learning: Torn Song from that set list I wouldn't mind learning: Knockin' On Heaven's Door, Wish You Were Here, Sharp Dressed Man, Good Times, Bad Times Songs I can play that are not on the set list: Living After Midnight, Piece of Mind, Hold On Loosely, Rock And Roll All Nite, Highway To Hell, Back In Black, You Shook Me all Night Long Songs not on that set list that I'm currently learning: Crazy Train, Mississippi Queen, We Will Rock You, Killer Queen, Plush, Interstate Love Song, Are You Gonna Go My Way, Drive, 3am, Say it Ain't So, Always With You, Always With Me, Friends, Patience, Still Got the Blues The concensus here seems to be that you need to know 45-60+ songs. To play 60+ songs would be like 4-5 hours. That seems like an awful lot of work every day just to keep up with a band that isn't gigging 5 nights a week. I could probably get away with practicing 1/2 the songs one day then 1/2 the next but I don't like it when I can't practice my songs every day. I could live with every other day but once every 3-4 days and my performance would suffer. Maybe I'm just not cut out to play in a band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6StringSling Posted November 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 You guys are a mob of wankers: the "don't play common songs" snob set.They're all classics, and the (presumably oldish( party crowd will love them.GaJ Classic or not, I don't care for most them and despise some - U2 for instance. BTW, I'm 45 and didn't like those songs back in the day either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreenAsJade Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Maybe I'm just not cut out to play in a band. Nah, mate, you're just confusing two things. It's ridiculous to attempt to learn 20+ songs from cold in a month unless you're a pro. So don't beat yourself up about it. That's completely different to being steady in a band that knows 60 songs. That sort of outfit has been learning them gradually over the months and years, and playing them regularly. Once you are there, you can be sure you won't need to practice each and every song even once every 3-4days. Do you need to practice to remember how to ride a bike? Same thing with well worn in in songs. GaJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreenAsJade Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Classic or not, I don't care for most them and despise some - U2 for instance. BTW, I'm 45 and didn't like those songs back in the day either. Big f'in fat deal. So what? You can guarantee for _any_ song list posted here, someone will despise it. We didn't need to know that this time it was you. How did that help with the OP's question. But no, you had to come along and tell us anyhow. Someone always does. GaJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 6StringSling Posted November 17, 2007 Author Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Big f'in fat deal. So what? You can guarantee for _any_ song list posted here, someone will despise it. We didn't need to know that this time it was you. How did that help with the OP's question. But no, you had to come along and tell us anyhow. Someone always does. GaJ Uh, I AM the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Nah, mate, you're just confusing two things.It's ridiculous to attempt to learn 20+ songs from cold in a month unless you're a pro. So don't beat yourself up about it.That's completely different to being steady in a band that knows 60 songs. That sort of outfit has been learning them gradually over the months and years, and playing them regularly. Once you are there, you can be sure you won't need to practice each and every song even once every 3-4days. Do you need to practice to remember how to ride a bike? Same thing with well worn in in songs.GaJ How many tunes a person can be learn in a month depends on many factor - the person doing the learning, the complexity of the tunes and perhaps most importantly, the degree to which the tune is learned. For me personally, if they're reasonably complex tunes (or of a genre that's I don't do much of...) and they're expected to be learned "note for note" - 20+ tunes would require that I eat and breath those tunes during my non-day gig hours to get them learned in a month. OTOH - if they're simple 3-4 chord R&B classics - that I can get away with playing "in the spirit" of the original - learning those 20 plus 20 more wouldn't be out of the question. The question is not whether it's realistic - it's whether you're going to commit to doing it. If you are - whether it's realistic or not - it's up to you to learn them to the best of your ability and be ready to play them on the appointed date. If you do make the commitment - you had best put together a timetable and a strategy to get it done. My strategy would be to first put together a playlist that contains all the tunes on my iPod. Then I would be to spend a little time picking at the tunes and splitting the list into 3 categories - highly complex/difficult, moderately complex/difficult and nobrainers. Then I'd get started on the learning. When I'm faced with a learning crunch - I'm big on writing stuff down. I take a sheet of paper and write the title of each tune down on the top - then start filling in my "notes" on each tune from there. The highly complex/difficult tunes typically get charted in their entirety - while the moderately complex/difficult tunes may only have the bridge chords jotted down. The sheets for the no-brainers often get nothing but the key and a comment about the general style and maybe a couple of cryptic notes about the format. (In many cases - I'll identify a drum pattern that's "close" from the canned rhythm patterns on my RD700SX - and jot that down on the page as well) For the last two weeks - I'd repeatedly play through the list daily - focusing on the difficult and moderately difficult tunes. For me, playing along with the MP3s is ok - but it's not enough in and of itself. I have to be able to play the tune all by myself. I work on that by kicking off the drum pattern that's "close" and go from there. This may sound like overkill to some - however, when there's alot to learn I find it's best to work from "plan". By not having a plan of attack - you run the risk of spending too much time on a handful of tunes and not learning EVERYTHING to some degree. Using my approach by the end of the month - I'll be as ready as I'm going to be to play those tunes - and will be able to play any and all of them more to a reasonable degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Classic or not, I don't care for most them and despise some - U2 for instance. BTW, I'm 45 and didn't like those songs back in the day either. They're just songs, and they don't require an emotional investment. If they're an issue for you, don't do the gig. Personally, I'd hate it if I hired someone to play my setlist and they accepted, and then showed up with a pissy eye-rolling elitist attitude about doing the list. It's not your career at stake, it's a cover gig. Sheesh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 It's realistic for somebody who's been playing cover bands for a while. I could do it easily, but I've been playing 3/4 of those songs for years. As long as you're a competent player, you should still be able to pull it off, but you'd have to spend a couple of hours a day every day to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bloolight Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 As far as the songs on the setlist are concerned, its a typical mix of typical cover songs. We play some of them, and I'm sure they are all a good match for the audiences you would be playing to. If you're going in completely cold, then learning this list is a pretty tall order imo. Fortunately, many of them are going to be very familiar and follow old-as-the-hills chord progressions. My only problem would be learning the solos to make them copies of the originals...I don't do this in my own band, but we don't really advertise ourselves as a "cover" band in the traditional sense. If you aren't worried about copying the original solos, then playing blues leads in those keys should be easy enough for most of the songs. When I was starting out, I used 3x5 cards as cheat-sheets with the chord progressions and key of the solo on them. It was a crutch for a while, but I soon tossed them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 When I started joining country-rock bands in my area nearly three years ago, I had only played a few country songs in my previous bands. So it was a big wakeup call when I had to learn a whole bunch of songs I never did before. I liken it to cramming for a test! I did a lot of the same things SpaceNorman does to prepare (beginning with listening to mp3s in specific groups at home or at work, over and over for hours at a time). My motivation was to get into the local music scene, play with a band again (which I had not done for months up to that point) and frankly, to make some cash. If the band that wants to hire you isn't playing out enough for you, it probably won't be a good fit anyway. Everyone in the group needs to have the same goals and expectations, otherwise it won't work. It sounds like the motivation isn't there for you to work on that many songs. So, just let them know in advance that you're unable to do it and they can find someone else who can do the gig. Then you won't have to work on songs that you may loathe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cephus Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 The greatest leaps I made as a musician were through playing music I didn't like. Top-40 dance music, musical theater, wedding band, supper music. There was something to hate about all of them. And at times I wondered what I was doing it for. But now I can draw on a bunch of different stuff and it has made me be able to pull some fairly colorful licks out of my ass. Learning Crazy Train and Knockin on heaven's door don't seem particularly expanding, but anything is better than sitting on your couch with your guitar and playing the same crap that you listen to in your camaro every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Sure it's a realistic request. For somebody who's used to playing in cover bands, it shouldn't be a problem - the type of person they're looking for has likely played a good many of these songs already. If you hate the songs that much and/or don't think you could be ready to play them in time for the gig, then this isn't the gig for you. What is it that you would prefer to play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DevilRaysFan Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 They're just songs, and they don't require an emotional investment. If they're an issue for you, don't do the gig. Personally, I'd hate it if I hired someone to play my setlist and they accepted, and then showed up with a pissy eye-rolling elitist attitude about doing the list. It's not your career at stake, it's a cover gig. Sheesh. Now, Im usually the guy that posts against doing rehashed covers, and I do this on the forum for "fun/intelligent discussion/enlightened debate" - but that line-of-thought only applies to my personal band in which I have the driver's seat.... However, I agree with all these posts: Just do the gig and get paid. Plus, as mentioned above, a lot of these songs may seem lame to you and me but I know for a fact that knowing a lot of these songs will make you a lot of money as a sub in the future....... I happen to know or have played 80% of the songs here and I could more than likely fudge through the rest --- this would be a cheese cake gig for me......... ...They're just songs: they can't hurt you............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TotalPoser Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Personally, I'd jump at the opportunity. I enjoy playing what average people enjoy (you know, the people who come to venues that actually pay bands some money for their time and effort). Assuming it's a paying gig, I would go for it in a second. I've only been playing bass for about eight years, and playing seriously in a cover band for about the last six years. I already know probably close to half of the tunes listed. None of them look too terribly challenging. At the very least, it would be an opportunity to learn a bunch of standards that you can probably play in many different cover groups. Between now and the end of December is roughly six weeks. I think a dedicated person could learn those tunes quickly, by breaking up the list and working for just a few hours a week, and rehearsing with the group maybe once a week. Piece of cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sadowsky13 Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 I guess it depends how bad you want the gig. Like everyone else has said most of these are pretty standard cover tunes. I have played about 30 of them at some time or another. As indicated whether or not you can do it deopends on your level. If you do it tackle the really easy ones on the list first to get the list down and then concentrate on the harder ones or iones you are not that familiar with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreenAsJade Posted November 17, 2007 Members Share Posted November 17, 2007 Uh, I AM the OP. Hah! ROFL! Teach me to post abuse in the middle of the night You're as muddled up as I am then. You're thinking of joining a band that plays songs you despise?! But you're not a pro, just in it for the money? What's going on !? (If you were a pro, you wouldn't be asking these questions, right?) GaJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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