New front Man

[Kevin Dean]

What do you think a realistic amount of time is for them to work out a set of 30 songs Cure /Killers/ Talking Heads / type stuff . we are auditioning about ten people & it's a question I'm going to ask .

[Cato]

Just singing or singing whilst playing an instrument?

[crez5150]

Are you asking them to learn 30 songs for an audition?

[JTUK]

30 songs is probably going to be 6 months work at one rehearsal a week.... depending how sorted he is.

I think you can get to gig in 6 weeks,,again if he knows his stuff...2x45mins

What songs you have in common and what you have to change..keys etc etc

[Woodinblack]

We are doing the same - 25 songs. He seems to thing about 1 ½ months, so we shall see

Edited January 18, 2016 by Woodinblack

[40hz]

For a singer, I'd say a couple of months. One rehearsal a week and practicing at home.

[blue]

If he's a veteran with relevant gigging experience and knows the genre it shouldn't take more than 2 months.

I would be real careful about bringing in anyone with no real on stage experience.

Blue

Edited January 19, 2016 by blue

[TimR]

Is he allowed a music stand?

[chrismuzz]

I'd give them a week and see how many they can do. If it's more than ten they're probably good enough

[Phil Starr]

You've had most of the factors; just vocals or instrument as well, experience, complexity (key changes etc), your willingness to use some of his songs etc.

One thing you haven't mentioned is how much time he and you have to dedicate to the task, a weekend warrior is going to take longer than a full-time musician.

In a start up band with a friend we set out to learn 3 songs a week. That worked out as one song we already both knew and two new ones a week. That takes you to 10 weeks or three months with a little slippage. That was hard work especially for Dom who worked full time. However neither of us are pro musicians.

The trouble is that asking won't tell you much about the candidates, some musicians are hopeless dreamers even if they are talented and will offer to gig next week. Others who are more cautious won't want to let you down and will tell you six months, even if they are thinking 12 weeks. You might be better off talking about how they will go about learning the set and how the rest of the band can support them.

So 12 weeks is do-able by most of us if we are committed. Any quicker might be possible with the right person and any longer might indicate either a lack of time or possibly commitment and you ought to explore that with them.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Phil Starr

[Kevin Dean]

Thanks for your replies , They are doing 4 songs at the auditions , we will be rehearsing 2-3 times a week , no key changes & willing to be flexible in the set , We would be happy to start gigging with cheat sheets if that helps . I just don't want to ask someone to do something that is unrealistic .

[TimR]

I think just the fact you're rehearsing 2-3 times a week will pretty much get you the type of person you're looking for.

.

Edited January 19, 2016 by TimR

[lojo]

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1453154909' post='2957004']
Are you asking them to learn 30 songs for an audition?
[/quote]

Quite, cant you pick 2 or 3 that cover the spectrum and ask they choose a few of themselves , 5 is more than enough to know if they can do it , the other half of the audition is sounding them out as a character, which will be hard if you spend the evening playing 30 tracks

[Roger2611]

I would expect a decent front man to be able to learn 30 songs over a couple of months and gig them with a music stand close by for about another 4 or 5 months after that