TimR

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1354459736' post='1886145'] ... That's why in Britain today, there will be 10 million people wearing their SuperDry outfit in their magnolia homes with the clip framed Athena poster of a hunk with a baby above the mantlepiece, copy of Fifty Shades of Whatever on the Ikea coffee table, watching the X Factor, while eating fried chicken from a bucket, and looking forward spinning their Adele CD afterwards. Doesn't make them 'dumb' or worthy of hubristic criticism does it? [/quote] OI! Have you been peeking through my net curtains! You've missed my tattoos and Mondeo off your list there.

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1354457221' post='1886111'] It's a TV programme. It's scripted, edited, acted and produced in the same way as Coronation street, On the buses, or the News at ten. I'm sure they do what they need to in order to stay on the right side of the law as far as people paying to vote is concerned, but it's just an entertainment show for idiots. Do people really think the whole thing was put together in order to discover talent? [/quote] Are you seriously comparing X-factor to that high quality comedy On the Buses. Have you even seen the X-factor? Reg Varney would wipe the floor with most of the contestants. News at 10? Now don't get be started.....

The boy band will get signed. Who wins doesn't count, it's who is in the final two. The only time the public vote counts is after the judges have decided who they want to keep. It gives us an illusion of having a say. Don't forget that in general people only see what they want to believe.

The press aren't interested. They're part of it.

I'm 43, the other guys are 53,60 and 60. They start to visibly tire halfway through the third set, things start to stop flowing, just when we should be ramping it up. I've joined another band of people my age, my commitments and my type of music. Playing tunes from the 60s is OK but you get a certain audience. At the age of 50, I would work out what music inspires you (70s?) and look for a band of guys your age playing it. You'll have a great time, you won't be out every weekend, you'll probably get invited to social events with them. It's a lot more fun than it used to be when no one is on some great fame power ego trip. Not to say you won't get that, but it's easier to manage if you do.

It really depends on why you made the mistake. If it's due to lack of concentration then buck up your ideas. If it's due to lack of practice then practice more. If it's due to leaping around then practice leaping around and playing. If it's due to distractions there's not a lot you can do and still remain connected with the audience.

Started off with Piano and moved to Violin and worked up to grade 3. Then Marimba, Bass guitar and Tuba. These three instruments are really where it's at for me harmonically. I probably could play guitar and obviously I can play Trumpet or any other three valved brass instrument, but they don't feel right. When I listen to a recording I'm always interested in what the Bass and Drum interaction is, before the melody. Maybe its beauty is in its simplicity/compexity. Sometimes just a single note will do, sometimes it needs a strong groove. Someone once wrote on here that their guitarist had played bass on one song and remarked that bass was a lot harder because you can never stop playing during a tune. He was right to a point. Maybe it's just the way we are?

In before the lock.

Luckily for me, so far every band I 've played with has done Mustang Sally in C.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1354048146' post='1881468'] I don't understand this starting a song in the wrong key. Surely you learn it in the right key for your singer and stick with it? Also the one time I've changed the key of a song to suit a singer it opened up a whole load of new possibilities for the guitar part which meant I ended up playing something entirely different to the part I'd originally written with no chance of getting the two confused. [/quote] If you play in different bands different keys can be a nightmare. Especially if the original is downtuned to Eb. Some bands downtune, some just play in E.

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1354045302' post='1881434'] Next time round the same bit of the song just play that same "mistake" as a lead-in grace note - any super sharp eared listeners will be fooled into thinking you meant to do it that way all along [/quote] .. and some of them will think that bozo Bass player has played the same mistake every time now.

Wrong notes happen all the time. Don't worry about them. Coming in with the wrong intro is what I call a mistake. I did that last gig. Whoops. Oh Well.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1353836610' post='1878782'] ... Now these guys are all about entertaining themselves ... [/quote] There are lot like that here too. You may be opening a can of worms.

Keep looking, there are bands out there who understand how it works. Unfortunately I can't see those guys ever seeing sense. They don't understand why the soundman wants them to turn down and your just a bass player. Some people learn by reading and listening, some people learn by experience and some people never learn. The hard bit is recognising when you are an a loser trying to educate that last set of people.

[quote name='simes' timestamp='1353614613' post='1876675'] Easy - Commodores Teen Town - Jaco.....well the first 4 bars and only at half the speed it's supposed to be but it's my long term practice piece to work on at lessons. Not my usual musical fare but good for improving and learning. How the hell do you play that fast and maintain accuracy . [/quote] I think I have sections if not all of Teen Town transcribed in a Jaco book. One for the list of should learn for me.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1353587476' post='1876289'] Yes this is all true. But I'd better clarify it [b]isn't [/b]drummer who's the problem here! I was just trying to be a bit amusing in my earlier post and not identify anyone as such, . But it's the singer who's got the problem with this. And what worries me in particular is that he seems to get [b]so [/b]burned up about it that I wonder if he has anger management issues in general. So I tend to treat him with a bit of caution now. [/quote] All communication. You can see his behaviour is odd, but he hasn't told you what his problems are so have to tip toe round him to avoid problems. It makes more sense to be the singer as all he has to do, generally, is turn up and plug in. However, singers have to learn different verses to each song and entertain the crowd, so the pressure is generally on them as the front person.

Audition tonight. I've learned Crossroads, Purple Haze, Green Light Girl, and Umbrella Man. Hopefully well enough.....

Generally it's lack of proper communication. So the drummer obviously doesn't understand why the guy is telling you to stop playing, and the guy doesn't understand that you don't need 5 minutes to clear the room. So the solution is to explain to your drummer why the guy knocks on the door and to tell the guy that you only need to be reminded if you are still playing 5mins before the end of time. With all these flakey problems it boils down to communication, assumptions and people not being aware of how their actions and lack of communication is affecting others. A lot of people in today's world have no idea of what is going on around them.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1353580838' post='1876218'] ... But he does have the temerity to stick his head round the studio door and let us know if there is another band waiting when we are coming to the end of our time. ... [/quote] Yes some bands don't understand that if they book the studio for 4 hours, that includes set up and pack down time. You need to clarify this with the studio. It's no good playing right up to the end of your time if it then takes you 30mins to clear the room I play squash with a guy who knocks 5 mins before our slot starts to let them know we're waiting, then barges in bang on our start time. I find this a bit rude and would usually wait until they've finished their point. However, people will take advantage and should book enough time to play the game, or practice the set whatever.

I think the problem tends to be people not being honest with themselves, let alone the rest of the band, about what their motives are for being in a band and whether they can commit the time required to do it to the standard that the other band members are expecting. If everyone just wants to turn up and jam each week, and play the odd gig, then they should be up front from the start. Then the one or two who want to get better and gig regularly can treat it as such and get another band together.

[quote name='Rothers' timestamp='1353408404' post='1874613'] Our lead singer owns the PA as we only use it for vocal and to link in the monitors. The drummer owns a powered monitor and I have recently bought a slave to work directly from that. [/quote] That's a perfect example of why it's not just the singers responsibility. Monitoring. It can be a complete nightmare if you can't hear the vocals.

This question comes up often. It can cause quite a bit of argument if not handled correctly. Irrespective if it's 'just for vocals' it will end up being used for background music, announcements, backing vocals etc. The best solution is to buy the PA out of band funds and it's owned by the band as a consumable. Every gig the band puts £50 or whatever into funds. That money never belonged to anyone so is never owed to anyone. If you leave then you get nothing, if the band splits then the PA is sold and money split. The individual bits of a PA aren't worth much on their own. The problem with this approach is storage. Who loads the PA and brings it to gigs? Do they get paid? Then people who don't understand how quickly it all depreciates get frustrated when the band splits and want their £750 share from the £3k PA that's now only worth £750 in total. Owning bits of the PA doesn't work, if one person leaves with the speakers the band is stuffed. Hiring is a good solution, but gets old real quick when someone has to book and collect gear each gig. You end up getting different rig each gig. What I ended up doing was buying a PA and hiring it to the band. This also has problems as after so many gigs the band feel they have somehow paid for the PA and don't think thay should still be paying for it. What they don't see is you storing it, bringing it to gigs, fixing leads etc. The band were getting £3k worth of gear for £50 a time. I told them try to hire it somewhere and I would pay them £12 a gig and just turn up with my bass gear. They grumbled a bit, thought about it, then would bring up the question again every few gigs. You're dealing with people who don't generally understand what's happening in the world around them and just see £50 going into someone else's pocket and not theirs. I play in a different band now who do understand.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1353355981' post='1874214'] Hoist by my own petard! [/quote] Aye. I should have changed Mozart to Mustang Sally but thought it was pertinent to the subject matter. It is very true and explains why some non musical people like it so much and those of us who understand music should remember that just because we don't like it doesn't mean others shouldn't.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1353156754' post='1872178'] All music is made up of elements that create tension or release, harmonically. melodically, aurally, rhythmically etc. When we listen to a piece for the first ime, if it has too much tension, it confuses us. Too much release and it bores us. Whatever we dislike can usually be traced back to these concepts. Too complex a harmony will leave us finding something 'cerebral' and lacking in emotional content. Too complex a melody and it may sound 'self indulgent' or 'unmelodic'. Too complex rhythmically and it will sound 'busy' etc. But the tough bit of the formula is, our 'best fit' is changing all of the time and something that worked for us last year may not now (that's why we 'grow out of' bands we used to love). If you keep going back to something, eventually you may grow to like it or even favour it over stuff you used to love. If it is too simple for your tastes, however, you may never be able to learn to love it again e.g. Mozart. Don't forget that there are cultural factors in there also; nostalgia being one of them. [/quote]

I think it's an experience thing. If you are gigging regularly you soon start to rationalise the amount of effort you put into carting gear versus the amount of pleasure you're getting setting up and fiddling, and breaking down versus the amount of fun you get when playing. For me the multiple trips to and from cars in lifts and up stairs and ages fiddling setting up gear got boring real quick. Who wants to spend an hour setting up when you could be arriving later or chilling with the rest of the guys. At our last gig, I was set up in under 5 mins then helped with the PA and lights while the guitarist spent ages messing around with 4 guitars and countless pedals. We were all changed and having a beer while he was still tuning his last guitar. Then there is the cost versus leaving gear unattended issue. I was about to buy a £2k bass when I thought whether I was going to be comfortable gigging such an expensive bass. The answer was no and I could still get the sound and live with a sub £1k one.