How well do you really know your set ?

[Guest bassman7755]

I guess what I'm asking is do you know the arrangements by heart - order of sections, how many times each bit repeats, number of times to repeat chord x during the one-chord-vamp bit - or do you rely on things others are doing in the song to remind you e.g. a particular lyric, a drum fill, a nod from someone, or maybe just pure instinct.

Could you for example play your bands entire set solo ?

For me I'm probably mostly in the memorise the arrangements cold vs wing it camp, at least for the current project which being a tribute affair ups the ante somewhat, interested to know how other approach things though.

[thebigyin]

Usually good at remembering the songs per set....but occasionally a mental block occurs when you think....f***...hows this one go but usually comes back pretty quick

[mikel]

I practice/rehearse the songs till I can play them on my own, no other instruments. I imagine the song and also sing the vocal lines to myself. I can only really enjoy playing a song if I know what its about, by knowing the lyrics. If its an instrumental I also memorise the melody and signature parts of the music. For me each of the instruments are only a small part of the music, put together properly they are much more than the sum of there parts.

[Cat Burrito]

In the early days I tend to write chord progressions / keys / intros / things to note on a postcard but very quickly I don't reply on anything. I'm pretty comfortable across all the songs in my bands.

[ahpook]

I couldn't tell you 'this many repeats' of X and that of Y, but I know how they go when I'm playing.

When I'm learning covers I might write them down as I'm working them out, but eventually I'll just remember them.

Works for me, but I don't have huge numbers of different songs to remember.

[Lozz196]

Without thinking about it I couldn`t say how many times each bit was repeated but I could easily play our whole set solo.

[ambient]

You know I don't actually know a single song, let alone a whole set.

[Coilte]

Yes, I can remember the finer details about all the songs on our set list. As mentioned, sometimes I may get a mental block and have to "wing it" for a bar or two, but generally I'd know how many repeats etc.

[scalpy]

Know it inside and out, apart from the bass lines! I do all the arrangements for the keys, horns and lots of the guitar parts, so write them all out by ear mostly. By that point it's normally time to go to rehearsal and the only part I haven't learnt is mine....

[Monkey Steve]

bit of both. The bass lines (or guitar parts if I'm playing guitar) are fine, it's more about the structure of the songs.

I seem to go through:
1. write it all down (or agree the structure out loud);
2. learn it from looking/listening to everybody else;
3. know it off by heart (I can tell you how many times the riffs go round, etc and can get through it on my own by counting it out if needs be);
4. know it by "feel" (I don't need to consciously remember the parts, I know what's coming next.

And as part of that I'll work out which bits of the bass lines I need to learn and which bits I can leave a bit or room to make it up on the day.

This is then usually tested ahead of any recording - always worth running through the songs a few times without vocals or solos to make sure.

I also tend to work from practice room recordings when learning stuff - don't need to hear anything very clearly but it is an excellent reference for the structure.

[JTUK]

Of course, I could play them solo. I don't leave structure to be cued by anyone else unless that part is specifically written in as a vocal queue, for example, which you might have for band introductions or audience participation etc etc.

Having said that, I do have an outfit that is very free, well, 3 of them actually . Half the time I have no idea what the set is, so numbers and keys and grooves are thrown in on the spot.
This only works if the band really knows what they are doing. In this case the bandleader calls all the tunes..as he will sing them (and it is his set for that reason)
If we do instrumentals ( like 'Pump' for example,) then a song might be adopted if we all like it and it works. By that time, we've gigged it already so it is a bit late to find that out

In these band, everyone is playing off each other and you need pick up the cues as there is never a rehearsal.

[thebrig]

Me and the guitarist never have any notes or prompts at rehearsals or gigs, we learn the songs properly at home, and turn up knowing the songs in our heads.

The vocalist and drummer both have their notes/lyrics in front of them all the time at rehearsals and gigs, and yet they still cock up if they glance elsewhere, even for a few seconds.

I honestly think that its a case of, if you have notes and prompts in front of you, then you come to rely on them, in their case, I think they are also just too lazy to learn the songs properly I'm afraid.

Edited October 28, 2016 by thebrig

[JTUK]

Use to know a drummer a very long time ago who used to sing the song to know where he was...and it worked well for him, but I never understood why he never counted the bars.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1477666543' post='3163752']
Use to know a drummer a very long time ago who used to sing the song to know where he was...and it worked well for him, but I never understood why he never counted the bars.
[/quote]
You do know Phil C is gigging again, right?

[bassjim]

If I'm firing on all cylinders then bar the odd bum note I'm usually totally on it. If I'm ill or distracted by blonds with big tits waving knickers at me then it can go wrong. My general mood and weather I have a good tone or not will have an effect.
Sometimes like everyone I can get GIML. (Gig Induced Memory Loss) but as a whole I try my very best to know what it is I'm doing.
I will practice things till I'm confident I know how it goes. If its a dep I will use charts but if its material I havn't played before or worse than that, ever heard before I will make a point of getting to know it. ( or put my hand up in advance and say "sorry but this ones got me.can we skip it but I will make sure I have it for next time).
To not bother learning musical stuff properly or to the best of your ability IMO means you don't really care for the musical piece.

Edited October 28, 2016 by bassjim

[leschirons]

I know all the set plus any of the other 40 numbers that could get thrown in depending on the crowd. I don't have a music stand and don't have sheets anywhere other than the actual set list for the order which seems to change for each gig.

However, I have been known to let a 4 bar intro go round 3 times whilst I try to remember the first vocal line of something I'm singing so, I have the ability to go from consummate professional to red-faced incompetent pillock in about 60 seconds

[Monkey Steve]

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1477666700' post='3163754']

To not bother learning musical stuff properly or to the best of your ability IMO means you don't really care for the musical piece.
[/quote]

so true - I was in a covers band and we had a guitarist once who somehow never quite managed to learn any of the songs that anybody else suggested well enough to play at rehearsals, so why don't we work on the ones he suggested as he can play all of those...

Edited October 28, 2016 by Monkey Steve

[ambient]

It all depends on your gig I guess. If I had to learn a set then I'd try and know it in a way that I wouldn't make a mistake.

I had to learn ridiculous stuff as exam pieces at uni, Jeff Berlin's line and solo to Joe Frazier and Marcus Millers Frankenstein spring to mind.

We also had to learn songs note for note from transcriptions for live performance assessments each week.

I honestly can't remember a single one now though. In fact I don't know the bass line to a single song.

Thankfully now I don't have to actually learn a set. All my gigs for bands are reading ones, so I just turn up and play. Respect to all you that do !

[JTUK]

[quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1477667509' post='3163758']
so true - I was in a covers band and we had a guitarist once who somehow never quite managed to learn any of the songs that anybody else suggested well enough to play at rehearsals, so why don't we work on the ones he suggested as he can play all of those...
[/quote]

Classic

[mikel]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1477666543' post='3163752']
Use to know a drummer a very long time ago who used to sing the song to know where he was...and it worked well for him, but I never understood why he never counted the bars.
[/quote]

I also play drums in a band and I have never counted bars. If you know the structure and lyrics to a song you always know where you are.

[lowland]

Having returned to bass about three years ago after some decades away, when I first started playing again I had detailed notes for everything. Although this helped get me up and running, I was often reading at gigs. Not good in a pop/rock covers band as my head was down and I wasn't interacting with band members or audience.

Now I'm back pretty much where I was playing-wise in the early 90s (took a while though!), I don't need to write things down - I learn parts from Spotify and Youtube at home on my own, then we adjust where necessary as a band in the rehearsal room. The learning part has been helped considerably by acquiring a Zoom B3 recently: I run it off my iMac and listen to the track and bass (the latter using one of the amp/cab sims for a realistic sound) through headphones.

[Highfox]

Interesting reading for me as I have just joined my first full blown covers band.
I have just been given a list of 24 songs to learn that I have never played before:)

2 rehearsals down and I have about 10 of them under my fingers, band leader says he wants me to work harder! Which he could be right about, but I sure find it taxing trying to learn new stuff so quickly for me.

With my other band we have been together about 3 years and have about 50 songs to choose from about 70% being our own. Normally a quick run through if we haven't done a song in a while and it all comes back. Couldn't tell you about the bars repeats etc, but it all seems to come together.

[gjones]

I tend to go with the singer. I play in a lot of trios, where the guitarist is also the singer. If they make a mistake I'll go with them.

[Chaos Daveo]

Inside and out as an original outfit you have to. When I was in covers bands I did the same, to me it's a paramount.

[sharkboy]

Yeah, the usual set wouldn't pose too many problems to play, but it's pretty much muscle memory (for want of a better term) - you know, when you kinda just go on autopilot. It would probably be a very different story if you asked me to write down the structures rather than play them, and when old songs that haven't been played for a while suddenly reappear on the set list then there can be a few squeaky bum moments when I run through them before the gig, but generally it all comes together.