EricV
05-29-2002, 10:12 PM
Well, well, well, my performance with Perpetuum Overdose ( a metalband who asked me whether I could replace their guitarist for one show on Saturday ) has just been cancelled.
Thatīs a bummer, because I guess it would have been fun ( after all, itīs been a while since Iīve been performing in a metal-concert... ). But maybe something good comes out of it anyway, since I could tell you about my preparations for that event. Maybe thereīs some helpful advice for you in it.
As you know, I occasionally work as a "hired gun", ( we actually call it the "musician firefighter service"... go figure ). Most of the time, it brings in some good money, and it sure is a learning experience every time.
I have worked with bands from all different styles of music, even with some orchestra.
This time, the keyboarder of P.O. ( who also used to take guitar lessons from me for a while ) asked whether I could play the guitar for them during the show on Sat., since their guitarist wouldnt be able to make it to the show.
So I said "OK", and even told them a VERY reasonable prize, since I knew they wouldnīt get a lot of money for that show, neither.
So, hereīs what I did to prepare:
First of all, I asked for a setlist, all documentation that was available ( like leadsheets etc. ), plus studio- and live-recordings of the songs that were on the setlist. ( The studio-versions are, to me, easier to transcribe, while the live-versions give you a good idea of the arrangement and what part you should play, in case there is more than one guitar part on the studio-version ).
I also asked about the schedule for the day and any special info ( whether I was supposed to do a solo-spot, whether the guitarist used unusual tunings or special guitar-effects etc. )
On Sunday, their keyboarder emailed me a lot of documentation, which was extremely helpful ( after all, I do have other things to take care of, so it was a good thing to have some extra help with the preparations )
That documentation included lead-sheets ( chord-progressions and structure ) plus some extra comments.
I downloaded some of their songs and went loosely through a few off the songs. The next day, the keyboarder came to visit and brought me a with the songs from the setlist.
Of the 8 songs ( actually, there were 10 on the list... 8 for me to learn from the CD, 1 guitar solo spot, plus a new song which hadnt been recorded yet ), 7 were live-versions and one was a studio-recording.
We went through the songs quickly and cleared up some stuff ( did I mention that these were some of the easiest preparation-phases yet ? With other artists, I just was sent a CD and a setlist, and didnīt have much time neither ).
Then I listened to the songs and made new leadsheets, using my own ( weird ) system to write down the progressions and song structures. I also added comments about the guitar sounds ( clean / distorted / echo etc. ) plus any hints about important rhythm parts ( like unisono stuff or passages where Iīd play on my own ).
Then I went to work, playing through each song while listening to the CD.
Here comes my most important point about this:
- It is good to have leadsheets etc, and sometimes you donīt have much time to prepare. But the best thing is to KNOW the songs and remember the structure so you can play through them pretty much without any documentation after a while.
Some of the songs were rather long with lots of changes, so I was focussing on those.
It took me about... letīs say, I did 2 hours on Monday, two on Tuesday and one today. Most of that consisted of playing through the songs, getting familiar with them, memorizing the changes, and practising some of the riffs.
I also listened to the songs while doing other stuff, so I could memorize them. Today, I played through the whole set ( minus the solo and the unreorded song ), and made sure I was all set.
The leadsheets were still in front of me, but I didnt have to look at them anymore.
If there would have been a passage with some difficult rhythm stuff or a difficult change, I would have asked the drummer or the keyboarder to cue me in while being on stage.
Anyway, I got a phone call that the show was cancelled, which is a bummer ( their singer had an accident... dude, get well soon ! )
But it was another nice learning experience.
( And way easier than some of the other hired gun-jobs I did in the past )
My point:
- If you have to learn a lot of songs on short notice, try to not only play through it a lot, try also to listen to it a lot, so you actually KNOW the song.
- Make some leadsheets. After a while, they īmight not be necessary anymore, but itīs a good feeling of security to have them close.
- Play through the songs a few times. Try first to nail the riffs etc., then try to play them while injecting some "life" into them... you know, donīt just play through the stuff, try to feel it and put some feeling into them...
- Although you should be realistic about your abilities, stay confident and calm, try to give the musicians that asked you to help them out a good feeling... it will be easier to perform for all of you if you guys feel good. Mistakes happen, but they might have happened with the original player of the band, too
- Most of all, try to learn something out of it, try to have fun...
Hope this was at least a bit interesting
Warm regards
Eric
NP: Frank Zappa- Shut Up And Play Your Guitar
Thatīs a bummer, because I guess it would have been fun ( after all, itīs been a while since Iīve been performing in a metal-concert... ). But maybe something good comes out of it anyway, since I could tell you about my preparations for that event. Maybe thereīs some helpful advice for you in it.
As you know, I occasionally work as a "hired gun", ( we actually call it the "musician firefighter service"... go figure ). Most of the time, it brings in some good money, and it sure is a learning experience every time.
I have worked with bands from all different styles of music, even with some orchestra.
This time, the keyboarder of P.O. ( who also used to take guitar lessons from me for a while ) asked whether I could play the guitar for them during the show on Sat., since their guitarist wouldnt be able to make it to the show.
So I said "OK", and even told them a VERY reasonable prize, since I knew they wouldnīt get a lot of money for that show, neither.
So, hereīs what I did to prepare:
First of all, I asked for a setlist, all documentation that was available ( like leadsheets etc. ), plus studio- and live-recordings of the songs that were on the setlist. ( The studio-versions are, to me, easier to transcribe, while the live-versions give you a good idea of the arrangement and what part you should play, in case there is more than one guitar part on the studio-version ).
I also asked about the schedule for the day and any special info ( whether I was supposed to do a solo-spot, whether the guitarist used unusual tunings or special guitar-effects etc. )
On Sunday, their keyboarder emailed me a lot of documentation, which was extremely helpful ( after all, I do have other things to take care of, so it was a good thing to have some extra help with the preparations )
That documentation included lead-sheets ( chord-progressions and structure ) plus some extra comments.
I downloaded some of their songs and went loosely through a few off the songs. The next day, the keyboarder came to visit and brought me a with the songs from the setlist.
Of the 8 songs ( actually, there were 10 on the list... 8 for me to learn from the CD, 1 guitar solo spot, plus a new song which hadnt been recorded yet ), 7 were live-versions and one was a studio-recording.
We went through the songs quickly and cleared up some stuff ( did I mention that these were some of the easiest preparation-phases yet ? With other artists, I just was sent a CD and a setlist, and didnīt have much time neither ).
Then I listened to the songs and made new leadsheets, using my own ( weird ) system to write down the progressions and song structures. I also added comments about the guitar sounds ( clean / distorted / echo etc. ) plus any hints about important rhythm parts ( like unisono stuff or passages where Iīd play on my own ).
Then I went to work, playing through each song while listening to the CD.
Here comes my most important point about this:
- It is good to have leadsheets etc, and sometimes you donīt have much time to prepare. But the best thing is to KNOW the songs and remember the structure so you can play through them pretty much without any documentation after a while.
Some of the songs were rather long with lots of changes, so I was focussing on those.
It took me about... letīs say, I did 2 hours on Monday, two on Tuesday and one today. Most of that consisted of playing through the songs, getting familiar with them, memorizing the changes, and practising some of the riffs.
I also listened to the songs while doing other stuff, so I could memorize them. Today, I played through the whole set ( minus the solo and the unreorded song ), and made sure I was all set.
The leadsheets were still in front of me, but I didnt have to look at them anymore.
If there would have been a passage with some difficult rhythm stuff or a difficult change, I would have asked the drummer or the keyboarder to cue me in while being on stage.
Anyway, I got a phone call that the show was cancelled, which is a bummer ( their singer had an accident... dude, get well soon ! )
But it was another nice learning experience.
( And way easier than some of the other hired gun-jobs I did in the past )
My point:
- If you have to learn a lot of songs on short notice, try to not only play through it a lot, try also to listen to it a lot, so you actually KNOW the song.
- Make some leadsheets. After a while, they īmight not be necessary anymore, but itīs a good feeling of security to have them close.
- Play through the songs a few times. Try first to nail the riffs etc., then try to play them while injecting some "life" into them... you know, donīt just play through the stuff, try to feel it and put some feeling into them...
- Although you should be realistic about your abilities, stay confident and calm, try to give the musicians that asked you to help them out a good feeling... it will be easier to perform for all of you if you guys feel good. Mistakes happen, but they might have happened with the original player of the band, too
- Most of all, try to learn something out of it, try to have fun...
Hope this was at least a bit interesting
Warm regards
Eric
NP: Frank Zappa- Shut Up And Play Your Guitar