Sink or swim - would you cope?

[tauzero]

On 10/07/2023 at 15:43, Waddo Soqable said:

Pretty much what @Dad3353 said, and the ability to "wing it" which I've pretty much done many times anyway .. Plus if its a reggae gig, you're going to be using a deep deep bassy bass tone, so you're going to be able to get away with murder there too.. 😁

 

And as you don't have to play the 1, you've got all that extra time to work out what chord he's playing. The skill I'd rely on is a bit rusty now, when I was playing in the house band at an open mic night I could read the guitarist's fingers.

[pbasspecial]

I’m a pretty experienced bass player. In a band and also the house bass player for a couple of local jams. 
However, I attended another local jam just as a player and got asked to play for this ‘interesting’ guitarist/singer. He wasn’t even going to tell me what he wanted to play until pressed, at which point he said it’s a song from the latest Sparks album and would probably know it! 😂

With that he mumbled a few chords, which I didn’t hear and he proceeded to start straight away. After about 15 seconds of this car crash waiting to happen, I casually unplugged my bass, mic dropped the cable to the floor and walked back to the bar. It felt wonderful. 😂

[Waddo Soqable]

5 hours ago, pbasspecial said:

I’m a pretty experienced bass player. In a band and also the house bass player for a couple of local jams. 
However, I attended another local jam just as a player and got asked to play for this ‘interesting’ guitarist/singer. He wasn’t even going to tell me what he wanted to play until pressed, at which point he said it’s a song from the latest Sparks album and would probably know it! 😂

With that he mumbled a few chords, which I didn’t hear and he proceeded to start straight away. After about 15 seconds of this car crash waiting to happen, I casually unplugged my bass, mic dropped the cable to the floor and walked back to the bar. It felt wonderful. 😂

You should have launched into a load of dodgy slap bass... 😁

[MacDaddy]

Nicky Bomba isn't worried about it and it's his name on the gig, so I wouldn't worry about it. 

[Damnthatlazlo]

Back before the days of internet tabs & YouTube, tab books were expensive and I couldn’t really afford them. So I did what I think anyone with an ear did back then. I listened and worked it out. Big glides until you land the note help 🤣🤣🤣

[msb]

In the olden days we used pitchforks to tune up. And often had to try and do that while disco was blaring through the club PA.

 

 

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, msb said:

In the olden days we used pitchforks to tune up...

 

Aye, thems was the daze  ...

 

[msb]

I still carry a tuning fork in my gig bag.

[SICbass]

The OP reminds me of Spike Milligan‘s “An Audience With…” appearance in the 80s. “Hello! I have nothing planned for this evening… so nothing can go wrong.”

[Nail Soup]

Out of musical attributes, play-by-ear is far and away my weakest.

So I would turn any such thing down. To accept it would be not fair on me, not fair on the audience and not fair on the other musicians.

[TheGreek]

My first thought when I read this was intimidating  - "what if I f**k up?" - but the more I've thought about it the less intimidating its become. 

After all what happens when we're jamming? If we can't get it by ear we can always look at the guitard and read the chords they're playing. 

That's how I work out songs when jamming normally. 

Feels like a confidence thing  - once we've "got it" it's not an issue but learning something from scratch can cause a  bit of anxiety. 

Believing in our own ability can be the biggest obstacle. 

[bass_dinger]

On 11/07/2023 at 13:33, asingardenof said:

I would definitely not cope. I would rather sandpaper my eyeballs than try that.

When you're finished, could I borrow your sandpaper?

 

Absolutely terrifying gig.  Like a one-legged unicyclist on a tightrope, disaster is just one (Jah) Wobble away....

[fleabag]

I dont think i've wung it  ( winged it ? ) in any band i've ever been in.  Nonetheless, if the songs were going to be simply structured, then its not a problem. 

 

 

[dclaassen]

I believe I’d be okay in most situations, but would definitely keep it simple until I had an idea of what was going on….space is your friend on these kinds of adventures.

[Downunderwonder]

Today's the big day!

[dclaassen]

47 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

Today's the big day!

Good luck!

[msb]

give ‘em heck

[meterman]

Best of luck 👍 Hope you smash it!

[Downunderwonder]

Gig report please.

[Gasman]

I realise that there’s not a lot of love for jazz here, but that’s where I started, and through that had to develop a good ear for changes, helped by subconsciously knowing the structure of a load of songs that I’d listened to but hadn’t actually played. As several contributors here have suggested, I find watching the rhythm guitarist’s chord shapes helps a lot too, but the lead guitar is not much help at all!

[Buddster]

3 hours ago, Gasman said:

..... but the lead guitar is not much help at all!

They generally aren't, especially when it comes to packing up!