Some advice please......

[Silky999]

I’ve only been playing since late 2018 and in a band since 2019. Seeing a last year was a complete washout for gigs, I don’t have a lot of actual stage time. Do any of you seasoned veterans of the gig circuit have any advice that you’d wish you’d been told when you started out gigging? My big fear is having a complete blank of the bass line as I go to pluck the first string or forgetting that crucial part of the song where the bass is exposed. I am practising and practising our set list for this year in anticipation but is there anything I can do to prevent that mind block? Should I do some form of tab aide de memoire with the opening phrase and final phrase for each song?

The band I’m in is very relaxed so there’s no pressure from the others only the pressure I put on myself as I want to be a professional as possible and give a good show.

[TheGreek]

Anything you're likely to be playing on stage you would most likely have rehearsed to death many, MANY times before. It'll come to you...once the music starts your nerves will probably disappear.

Good luck

[musicbassman]

You already clearly have a very professional attitude to your playing, and that's half the battle already won!

I wish you the very best 

[Lozz196]

Don’t take liquid courage before the gig. You will feel better if you do but your playing won’t benefit from it.

[Munurmunuh]

59 minutes ago, Silky999 said:

Should I do some form of tab aide de memoire with the opening phrase and final phrase for each song?

Dont think of your own music in isolation, but learn it meshed into everyone else's, then your notes will flow naturally from what's going on around you (also, listening to other people is a much more fruitful way of occupying your mind than worrying )

[NJE]

Don’t worry too much about mistakes, everyone makes them and if your in a band with the right people you can just laugh it off. People watching you pay for the atmosphere and vibe the band gives off so enjoy yourself, move about and even dance a bit if it’s in keeping with the music you play. No one wants to watch a band of people glumly staring at their shoes unless they already know they are going to see Radiohead 😄.

But seriously, play along with the songs and listen to them on their own so that you can hum the main melody and know the structure in your head. After that, gigging is the best practice IMO and enjoy it!

[la bam]

Firstly, accept mistakes happen. Its live. You're human. Even people who have been playing for 40 years make mistakes.

Secondly, as long as you've put the practice in, and have everything nailed at practice, dont worry if anything goes wrong. Laughing it off helps you get over it quickly - having it play on your mind whilst you're still playing can affect the rest of the set.

Thirdly, try and learn how to 'ride out' memory blanks or errors. By this I mean let a note ring out, play nothing, or do a slide back into where you know to come back in. If you give it the confidence face and the illusion that was what you meant to do, you'll fool 99% of the people in there.

And most of all enjoy it. Everyone on here has made loads of mistakes and changers. Even brian may messed up the solo on Bohemian rhapsody a few years back. It happens. Enjoy the night!

[Downunderwonder]

Make sure you are in tune.

I find myself recalling the hook chorus in order to remember the rest of it.

I find using crib sheets makes me reliant on them. Better to remember if you can.

[WinterMute]

If you make a mistake, do it again, people will assume it's deliberate...

Miles Davis said that I think.

Edited May 15, 2021 by WinterMute

[paul_c2]

Hmmmm. A few little snippets which come to the front of my mind.

1. Enjoy yourself! Don't get into a nervous/worrisome state. Soak in the atmosphere, relax (but once on stage treat it like a job and go about it calmly and professionally).

2. Try to simulate rehearsals to be as similar to a gig as possible. This means, rather than standing around in a different position, measure out a "stage" area then choose a wall of the rehearsal space and perform to the wall. (In the later rehearsals approaching a gig) do a whole song, then do some interlude chatting while you prep for the next song, then do the next song too. Then when the gig occurs, you've practised the changes and nothing is different. Also, rehearse at the same sound/volume level as a gig, if possible.

3. Know your equipment (and respect it). The simplest signal chain can have some kind of weird issue, so plug it in logically, don't have 1000001 wires and pedals all over the place, do it logically and it will reward you with consistent performance. Have a spare for every eventuality (on stage, powered up ready to use - not in the car in the car park etc). You don't want a flat battery or a broken lead or a weird grounding issue spoil the gig, especially if you can't properly troubleshoot it.

4. Think of rehearsals as "mini-gigs" in your mind. You ARE performing - to the 2-3 other band members. Once you can do a rehearsal with a degree of consistency and satisfaction, you can approach gigs the same way (just scaled up a bit (you'd hope) for numbers you are performing in front of).

[Ed_S]

Learn the lyrics to the songs, even if you don't sing them, as they can sometimes provide the best cue in a sea of repetitive guitars and drums. Especially useful when you've started to enjoy yourself, zoned-out a bit, then crashed back into reality and have no idea how long you've been on auto-pilot or where you are in the song! Maybe that's just me.. but I doubt it 🙂 

And for those without IEM systems:

Accept that the acoustics on some stages (especially loud ones) will make you sound like you're out of tune when you're actually not, which can be very off-putting.

Accept that on some gigs you won't be able to hear yourself usefully at all. Sometimes you can sacrifice your ideal on-stage tone for something that better allows you to hear yourself, but sometimes you just have to be able to play by the numbers.

[itsmedunc]

I used to worry about things like that. Fortunately (for me) my worries were mainly unfounded. If I do have a blank, (where applicable) I sustain the last note played until my brain catches up. Enjoy yourself when you play and don't worry too much about stuff you already know. Always remember that in the main that the audience will be too drunk to remember 😂

Good luck, you probably won't need it though

,

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

I can’t speak for you or anyone else, but once I started making charts to use whilst playing, I found it quite difficult to do without them. I’d say practice, practice, practice and try and get through the set without them. You’ll be thankful for it when you can.

[AxelF]

If you don't already I'd say ask/persuade your band to switch to IEMs asap. With the availability of cheap systems these days, the ability to hear yourself and everyone else perfectly, and adjust your own mix on the fly from your phone is an absolute game changer. Suddenly you can hear every nuance of everyone else's playing as well as yours, and you can lock in much tighter, bounce off each other, and just generally enjoy yourself so much more.

And when you make a mistake, your body will make you automatically beat yourself up about it, but only allow yourself one beat to do so, then force it out of your mind and move on. It's the same mindset you hear professional sportsmen talk about, one mistake can ruin your whole game (gig) if you let it; the measure of a real professional is not someone who never makes a mistake, it's someone who can drop an absolute howler and then immediately put it out of their mind, move on and play brilliantly for the rest of the game before scoring the winner in stoppage time.

Edited May 16, 2021 by AxelF

[Silky999]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I knew the BC posse would come through for me.

 The band are going to start using IEM at our next gig(only cheap Gear4music). What it boils down to is the rest of the band are mates as well, I really don’t want to let them down and in turn the audience. We all work in the emergency services and that’s how we met so we all have the same sick sense of humour lol. They are ultra supportive as they have all been in other bands and playing longer than me. I will stay away from the Dutch courage.

I have started a spares bag with batteries, strings, tape etc and got a double gig bag so I can take two basses.

I think I am finding my practising on my own  frustrating as I need to start picking up and remembering some musical cues from the rest of the band. I use ultimate guitar backing tracks but they are not always the same as we do a song. We have our first of our post lockdown practices in a week to get ready for some gigs in July and August. 

I can read music from my brass band days but not as quick on the bass clef as the treble and I do not know the note positions on the fretboard as fluently as I would like. This is a work in progress. I will stay away from using any form of written music aid on stage as per everyone’s advice.

I absolutely love to gig as it’s the complete opposite of my day job as you can imagine and really good for my mental health which has suffered after 30 yrs of witnessing some not very nice stuff. 
 

I really appreciate the tips and advice.

 

Edited May 16, 2021 by Silky999

[Downunderwonder]

You're going to be fine.

[BassAdder60]

Some really good tips given already 

My advice is to listen to the song and write down the basic chord root notes for the Intro, verse chorus etc and save this in a notebook or folder 

You can refer to this at home at practice time in case you need a gentle reminder 

At home practice over the songs playing and make sure you know the basics 

Next and this is more important is to remember to look like you are enjoying it when you gig and that you are there to entertain and perform not just play !

Learn to be a band as one, sound and image etc 

Finally always rehearse like it’s a gig at a near gig volume if possible to learn the dynamics of volume etc 

Have fun 

[SICbass]

Good luck and thanks for what you do in your day job.
It’s been alluded to here already, but to reiterate.. Don’t sweat it over mistakes. My overwhelming memory of my first gig, some 35 years ago was the shock and relief at how much the audience (and even fellow band members) didn’t even notice my gaffs. Clearly that’s not your goal, but it might go some way to taking the pressure off, at least until you have your first few gigs under your belt. 
Have fun and be sure to tell us all how it went 👍

[Burns-bass]

Focus on enjoying yourself. Once you get through the fear, you’ll have a great time. Adrenaline is your friend (booze isn’t!)

Look at the crowd not the floor and make eye contact with your bandmates too.

Remember that the music is part of a show, but stage presence, attitude and enjoyment are part of it too!

If you’re worried about stage time, then grab your bass and head to a few jam sessions. 

We’ve all been stuck inside for so long, anyone in the audience wants a great time and you’re the lucky band that will provide it. Should be a brilliant night...

[uk_lefty]

Tune up, yes, but don't be one of those bands where each song ends and there's dead air for a minute or so while everyone double checks their tuning. Once every three or four songs is OK unless you feel you are out. 

It's nice to have loads of flashy gear, and cheap versions of flashy gear, but really a good bass sound can be produced by bass, cable, amp. More items in that chain means more things can go wrong. And usually the cheap effects pedals are where the interference comes from. 

Venues never have enough space or plug sockets. Travel light but take a load of extension leads. 

Have a good time. If you're not enjoying it your audience won't. Or if you think standing looking miserable is going to be your "thing" then you WILL be approached by people asking if you're OK throughout your entire set (lesson learned from my first ever gig!) 

Don't go over the top apologising to your audience if things go wrong or aren't quite right, laugh it off but don't ever give it the "we're a new band and we're a bit stinky poo and we don't know this song so if you want to drink up and go that's OK..." They haven't paid for tickets to see the Rolling Stones, they've come to a pub with live music on. They'd rather see local people having a good time and making music for their entertainment and won't expect a fully professional production. 

[joeystrange]

11 hours ago, Silky999 said:

My big fear is having a complete blank of the bass line as I go to pluck the first string or forgetting that crucial part of the song where the bass is exposed.

I know a lot of musicians and I don’t know a single one who this has ever happened to. It’s something that people often worry about when they start out but as long as you’re well prepared (which it sounds like you are) then your unconscious brain will take over and you’ll be just fine.

Just have fun, be confident, try to relax and don’t think about making mistakes. Overthinking can be a bad thing.

Once you’ve done a few gigs back you’ll have more confidence and none of this will be a worry to you anymore.

But mostly have fun!

[Nicko]

Above all, enjoy yourself.  You may not play everything right but the chances are the audience won't notice and most of your bandmates won'r either unless you make a big thing out of it. 

I've played gigs where I thought the band were awful and the audience thought we were great (and vice versa) - expect that you and the band will be much more critical than the audience.

It may not be practical at the mo, but open band nights are a great way to get some real experience of playing in a band with an audience without any pressure.

We've all had mind freeze on stage and its usually the first note that's a problem - once you start it all comes back.  Write the first note of your opening line on your set list.

When you finish a song and the applause had ended/the bottles have stopped flying clam down and concentrate on the next song.  You don't get long to settle yourself but if you can't recall what you need just let the band know that you are not ready. 

[lownote]

Sax god Charlie Parker used to say something along the lines of he'd rehearse and practise the derrière off his planned numbers, then on the day simply let his hands and horn do their own thing. 

Only thing I'd add is a little but important thing.  I always used to practise sitting down.  Then I got in a  band and played standing up. Surprisingly it makes a difference and threw me for a bit. 

[Nicko]

12 minutes ago, joeystrange said:

I know a lot of musicians and I don’t know a single one who this has ever happened to.

Me.

A quick chat with the singer or guitarist "How does this go?" normally does the trick.

[lownote]

1 minute ago, Nicko said:

Me.

A quick chat with the singer or guitarist "How does this go?" normally does the trick.

Ha.  When I joined my first serious band I really wanted their approval, so after the first couple of rehearsals I asked the drummer if what I was doing was OK for him.  "Dunno, didn't listen to you" was the laconic reply.