Music stand for singer

[Count Bassy]

8 hours ago, lojo said:

Either as band mates or employees you have to take people as they are pros and cons . One of the singers I play with uses a stand even after years of doing the same songs , however I've played with singers who don't need a stand who can't sing a Ballard like she does .

 

Bollards more like!

[2 left thumbs]

2 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

This.

Our singer uses one. Or should I say he has one, but I very rarely see him looking at it. 

It's in the photo at the bottom right and looks like a monitor. It pages through the set and scrolls each song.

I've never heard anyone comment about it.

 

nice diversionary tactics, It's in the photo at the bottom right 

see no one notices a music stand on stage

 

our singer always takes a music stand, keeps set list on it, quickly flips the page between songs

other than that I've never seen him look at it

we have about 75 songs to choose from, plus he's got 3 album's worth of songs in his originals band

if a singer should be expected to remember all those words 

would it not be fair for the rest of the band to remember the set list and not have one printed

 

[BrunoBass]

My opinion hasn’t changed since the last tine this old chestnut came up; I still think they’re a no no and if our singer turned up to a gig with one he’d be severely admonished. Mind you, he also has a pint glass holder that clips to his mic stand, and that’s almost as bad 😂 

[uk_lefty]

10 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

suppose it’s easy to judge until you need one yourself

When i played my first ever solo gig and had to ask the audience what the first line of a song was while I played the intro over and over... problem was I was playing some weird alternate version of Radiohead's No Surprises that I'd heard on a bootleg and nobody at all knew it! Served me right for trying to be a smart derrière

[uk_lefty]

3 minutes ago, BrunoBass said:

he also has a pint glass holder that clips to his mic sta

Where do I buy one???

[Oopsdabassist]

Got mine from Amazon!

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Konig-Meyer-Universal-Drink-Holder/dp/B000NUVTIY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1525932952&sr=8-6&keywords=music+stand+glass+holder

[uk_lefty]

Just now, Oopsdabassist said:

Got mine from Amazon!

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Konig-Meyer-Universal-Drink-Holder/dp/B000NUVTIY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1525932952&sr=8-6&keywords=music+stand+glass+holder

Singers Christmas sorted. Ta

[fretmeister]

I never needed one when I fronted a function band, and I was on guitar too.

one of my main hates of rehearsals is when band members turn up not knowing their parts. It's a rehearsal, not a learning session. I have the same view for all instruments including voice.

Learn the parts at home, so the rehearsal can be used properly. The only time I had lyric sheets at a rehearsal was in an originals band when the words were being tweaked all the time. 

 

Aesthetically the floor based autoprompt is far less ugly than a stand, and to be honest it looks like a monitor rather than a stand, but it still shouldn't be necessary.

The references to music stands being "props" make me laugh - they are nothing of the kind. They are crutches!

[BrunoBass]

13 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

One of my main hates of rehearsals is when band members turn up not knowing their parts. It's a rehearsal, not a learning session. I have the same view for all instruments including voice. Learn the parts at home, so the rehearsal can be used properly. 

A thousand times yes ^

[stingrayPete1977]

Every time this comes up the people that say it's criminal are normally those in bands playing the same 30 songs they were playing 30 years ago yet still mess up the middle eight in 'alright now'. 

[chris_b]

Some people learn the songs and some people don't. Some people learn the song and then can't remember it. I gigged with a well known singer and keyboard player from a previous age and you had to be on your toes on those nights. He could go into a chorus, middle 8 or and of the breaks at any time!

As far as charts and words go, do you want to get it right or blame someone afterwards for getting it wrong??

Moving away from singers, all my gigs these days are deps. Long term, short term and one-offs. I know the regular sets, but for a one-off gig I'm not going to learn 40 songs from which the band may choose 20 on the night. You're going to get a music stand and charts in those instances. IMO it's a small price to pay for a much better musical performance.

When the bands I've been in used a dep, we chose easier songs which were simpler to busk. Makes sense to me and designed to get a better performance out of the band. Some of the guys I've depped with have made no concessions. One band refused to tell me what songs they were going to play! Apparently I was the unprofessional one because I wanted a set list! So how was I supposed to prepare for that? I blew them out.

There's a lot more to a music stand than just a piece of metal.

[12stringbassist]

I will use one for my crib sheets at jam nights, but at a gig, it's a piece of large print paper on the floor, til the words are in my head..

Pic of setlist with a few lyrics at side.

 

Edited May 10, 2018 by 12stringbassist

[EssentialTension]

 

[DJpullchord]

It’s cheating!

[Count Bassy]

On 10/05/2018 at 02:28, 2 left thumbs said:

if a singer should be expected to remember all those words 

would it not be fair for the rest of the band to remember the set list and not have one printed

 

Except that the set list  is likely to change from gig to gig, whereas the song lyrics generally stay the same.

[stingrayPete1977]

2 hours ago, Count Bassy said:

Except that the set list  is likely to change from gig to gig, whereas the song lyrics generally stay the same.

You've obviously not seen my band then! 

[2 left thumbs]

 

here's a bunch of cheaters for you

 

Rolling Stones.   https://www.iorr.org/talk/read.php?1,2047434,2047512

Queen.   https://queenvinyls.com/pictures/queen-paul-rodgers-concert-milan-28-9-2008/#jp-carousel-3380

Axel rose.   http://dreamchimney.com/oftheday/detail/TelePrompTer

Aerosmith.   https://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-examples-of-well-known-solo-artists-or-lead-singers-who-were-unable-to-learn-their-own-lyrics

 

 

 

 

 

I wonder who's pedal board this is

 

 

is this the ultimate in twonkishness

 

 

I always got spare strings in my gig bag. I always take a spare bass just in case 

If singer wants a music stand, just in case I've got no problem with that

If you have a guitarist who plays to loud is it the amps fault

if you have a drummer who can't play in time is it the kits fault

if you have a singer who stands staring at lyrics. keep the music stand and recommend they stick to karaoke

[chris_b]

Cheating?

Don't be silly. Writing the answers up your arm when taking exams is cheating.

Having the words etc to hand is being prepared.

[rushbo]

Aesthetically, I'm not a fan of music stands, especially if a band is playing on a small stage in a pub - it's just one more thing to clutter the "stage". I drummed with a band a few years ago and the lead vocalist/guitarist insisted on having a music stand, with a load of loose A4 sheets precariously balanced on it. This meant that a gust of wind, an overexcited stage movement or a random, bemused drunk could scatter the cheat sheets around the stage like oversized confetti. That said, I have absolutely no problem with cheat sheets or prompts on stage as long as they're unobtrusive. I played for a couple of years in a great covers band where the singer used a "monitor" which actually housed a teleprompt system. It worked a treat. At one stage I was playing in two bands and depping for a couple of others, which meant I had to whip out a repertoire of over 100 songs. I downloaded an app for my iPad ("forScore" - highly recommended)  and bought a handy mic stand clip for it and it worked brilliantly - very discreet. I still managed to leap about in the graceless manner that has become my trademark.

As long as you don't spend the entire duration of the gig, squinting myopically at your sheet music like Mr Magoo reading his bank statement, all is good. Get the right tools for you to get the job done. If people are so mortally offended by the sight of a music stand at your gig that they storm out, I think the problem lies with them rather than anyone in the band.

 

 

[HengistPod]

There are obviously two distinct camps here, neither of which are likely to be swayed in their opinion. Fair enough, horses for courses etc.

Personally, I've played in pub bands for, oh, 30 years or so now. It's only in the last 5-10 years that I've noticed it becoming acceptable for singers to have a folder of words on a music stand at gigs (I'm talking pub-level rock covers here). Previously, a band would have been instantly laughed out of town for the singer not knowing the words, or at least being able to make some up on the hoof that fitted the song if he forgot them - which, let's face it, most punters would never notice if done with a straight face.

Being a reasonably mobile bass player, I think a fairly clear stage area is a must - and my pet hate is music stands. I've seen shows being interrupted for several minutes when the singer's words get punted across the pub by some drunk guy. There's also the fact that you can't get a decent live photo of the whole band without making it entirely obvious that the singer doesn't know the words - most unprofessional. An iPad quietly mounted to the mic stand is about as much as I'll tolerate.

Teleprompters are a whole different story for persons with larger budgets, and they tend to blend in with the stage furniture anyway.

Fact is, I have to learn 30-40 songs on the bass. Why in the name of dog shouldn't the singer be able to learn 30-40 sets of words? Particularly when the chances are that the only piece of kit he's actually had to fork out for is a microphone and a stand (yeah, yeah, irrelevant, I know).

 

Edited May 17, 2018 by HengistPod

[stingrayPete1977]

Years ago most pub bands were out gigging every weekend, as gigs are becoming fewer are far between maybe remembering all the words is becoming harder? 

[FinnDave]

Just now, stingrayPete1977 said:

Years ago most pub bands were out gigging every weekend, as gigs are becoming fewer are far between maybe remembering all the words is becoming harder? 

And people play in more bands, so even remembering the name of band you're appearing with can get tricky!

[stingrayPete1977]

Certainly yes I agree, as I said earlier I think most of the people (musicians) that have an issue with music stands are those that haven't got anything in their set dating from 1985 onwards. 

[fretmeister]

2 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

Certainly yes I agree, as I said earlier I think most of the people (musicians) that have an issue with music stands are those that haven't got anything in their set dating from 1985 onwards. 

Respectfully, that’s bollocks. 

[stingrayPete1977]

1 minute ago, fretmeister said:

Respectfully, that’s bollocks. 

No need to be respectful, you're welcome to your opinion. 

My personal experience from local bands that comment on stands has always come from bands that have been playing the same set for years on end, there's not that many words in Freebird anyway, lol.