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Band leader to band members live communications


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We have a worship team with about 5 members that is led by a piano player and singer. Lots of times we mix up our arrangements and improvise which makes it confusing for everyone to know when to shift from the chorus to the break the verse, etc.

 

I'm looking for a solution to this problem and I'm wondering if there are any simple and affordable solutions to this. Maybe the leader has a stealth headset mic and all the other band members have small ear pieces that pick up verbal cues that he could provide while playing. Of course, it would have to be wireless.

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If you're not already on in-ears, it's a bit of an expensive fix, but many groups do as you say: have a mic for the bandleader that only goes to the monitor mixes, but not to FOH, so vocal cues can be given to the musicians.

 

I've done a lot of gigs as a piano-playing bandleader without that technological luxury, and I got used to doing some Paul Shaffer-style hand signals with my left hand: a closed fist for "here comes the ending," four fingers up for "modulate to the IV chord," that sort of thing. But that definitely requires all the musicians to be paying close attention to the leader.

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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Hmm, I've never been in a situation where the song itself changes up, other than sometimes we extend a song when people are dancing...or shifting tunes around in the setlist when it feels like something else might work better at that time.

 

Is it really necessary to do that? I would think that would make everyone play very tentatively as they don't know what's coming next....

 

 

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Back in the day improvising jazz bands had standard hand signals, sometimes with regional flavors. Here"s one example:

 

http://www.wilktone.com/?p=4308

 

You have different needs. Why not come up with your own simple system and get the band on board?

 

Exactly. Everyone but the Houston Astros know how to do this.

 

 

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Another vote for eye contact and hand gestures.

 

Also: keep a straw and a supply of fresh balls of chewed-up and wet straw wrapper on hand, for that one guy who never looks around. It usually only takes three or four spitballs in the side of the face to correct this behavior.

 

(WARNING: do not do this to band members who are known for throwing tantrums or throwing mic stands. The proper solution there is to fire them.)

 

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In-ears would solve it, and so would eyes-and-ears. In theory the solos are taking place over already established sections of the tune (please say yes), so the information you are really looking for is either, 1) who solos next, or 2) what happens next. Your bandleading keyboard player should be assigning the solos--a simple point and nod will cover this--and can signal what's next with a couple of easy gestures. Common ones are: Fingers held up in a "V" for verse, hand held up in a "C" for chorus, hand arcing (kind of like a dolphin surfacing and diving) to show "bridge." Others are hand on head to show "top of form," and the fist to show that you are ending there. Among those five options, you should be able to navigate the forms until the inevitable switch to in-ears.

 

Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material.
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Hand signals and eye contact. Either that or don't do this:

Lots of times we mix up our arrangements and improvise which makes it confusing for everyone to know when to shift from the chorus to the break the verse, etc

 

Edit: The arrangement is the arrangement. Sure, you can extend solos (use hand gesture). But when you go to the chorus or the bridge or the verse should be set in stone. If I can't know whether we go to the chorus or the verse next or when there's a break, it's a train wreck waiting to happen. That's no way to run a railroad. Agree on the arrangement and stick to it. You can still improvise within that structure, but you can't improvise the structure. That's not musical, it's just dumb.

 

These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise.
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This topic reminds me of a thread here some time ago, where we debated whether holding fingers up referred to sharps or flats. I believe the conclusion was that there were regional differences.

 

Yes, being east coast we used up for sharps and down for flats, and I was told that west coast reversed this. But later on I found it to be context sensitive as well. Jazz players, especially horns, like to play in flat keys, so most tunes are in those keys, and they would just use up since it was most common. Guitar-based bands more often play in sharp-related keys, so did the same up fingers for convenience. Has anyone else found this to be true?

 

Back on topic: I agree with those that say don't edit/stretch the arrangements in such dangerous ways. There are plenty of more organized ways to stretch out without trying to communicate such difficult things to a whole group of people.

 

Jerry

 

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Edit: The arrangement is the arrangement. Sure, you can extend solos (use hand gesture). But when you go to the chorus or the bridge or the verse should be set in stone.
I agree with those that say don't edit/stretch the arrangements in such dangerous ways. There are plenty of more organized ways to stretch out without trying to communicate such difficult things to a whole group of people.
You never know, maybe the congregation is really into Phish!

 

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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This topic reminds me of a thread here some time ago, where we debated whether holding fingers up referred to sharps or flats. I believe the conclusion was that there were regional differences.

 

Yes, being east coast we used up for sharps and down for flats, and I was told that west coast reversed this. But later on I found it to be context sensitive as well. Jazz players, especially horns, like to play in flat keys, so most tunes are in those keys, and they would just use up since it was most common. Guitar-based bands more often play in sharp-related keys, so did the same up fingers for convenience. Has anyone else found this to be true?

Apologies for going off topic, but what I remember is using fingers to indicate sharps or flats vs. using fingers to indicate 1, 4, 5 chord (or 2 or 3 or 6) which is what I'm used to. But an interesting discussion somewhere else was about calling a tune in Am. If I just signal the key, it's in C, but that may confuse players when you start in Am. Better to call Am out loud than signal key of C.

 

These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise.
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Apologies for going off topic, but what I remember is using fingers to indicate sharps or flats vs. using fingers to indicate 1, 4, 5 chord (or 2 or 3 or 6) which is what I'm used to. But an interesting discussion somewhere else was about calling a tune in Am. If I just signal the key, it's in C, but that may confuse players when you start in Am. Better to call Am out loud than signal key of C.

 

Plus, those two sets of indications rarely intersect. The flats/sharps finger thing gets you into a tune; the I-IV-V thing locates you once you're playing already. Even if you go to a borrowed key during a song, once you're playing people usually flash the harmonic indication relative to the I, and not the key signature of the borrowed key.

 

Plus I can't quite quantify it, but people hold their hands and fingers differently when they are clarifying key signature versus scale degree. Something is decidedly unconfusable about the two indications, in real time.

Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material.
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Its improv. Who cares if the the transitions are rough. I doubt the audience or congregation would know the difference anyways. Bands that do alot of improv are usually either very disciplined or completely undisciplined. Like the grateful dead. Imagine Jerry Garcia leading your church band.

FunMachine.

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One local band here used to do something interesting...they were a house band so things can get old real quick if you are playing the same tunes for 3-4 days straight for a few weeks in a row.

 

They would do medleys of 3 songs where the band wouldn't know what songs were coming until they started the first one. Like "Stars on 45" (remember that?) the beat would stay the same and they'd "morph" into the 2nd and 3rd songs. This was a dance club so the goal was obviously to keep the peeps dancing.

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+1 for hand signs. We use them at church, although the only two we use are "one more chorus" and "this is the last chorus".

I don't agree with El Lobo on "you can't improvise structure" - there used to be an entire jam session around here whose concept was "realtime songwriting" or something like that. It can be much fun when someone starts playing some simple changes and then others riff and play on them with someone leading the dynamics and assigning solos etc. But I don't see how that could translate to existing songs in a church setting.

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+1 for hand signs. We use them at church, although the only two we use are "one more chorus" and "this is the last chorus".

I don't agree with El Lobo on "you can't improvise structure" - there used to be an entire jam session around here whose concept was "realtime songwriting" or something like that. It can be much fun when someone starts playing some simple changes and then others riff and play on them with someone leading the dynamics and assigning solos etc. But I don't see how that could translate to existing songs in a church setting.

I used to play in a free jazz/rock group where we never knew what was going to happen next. Yes, we improvised structure ... along with lyrics and everything else. I was thinking more in terms of the OP's situation playing with (amateur?) musicians in a church service. Surely in church that's a recipe for disaster. And don't call me Shirley. It takes a different kind of player and mindset to play when you don't know which part â verse? chorus? bridge? break? â is coming next. I guess you could do it in church, as long as everybody is paying close attention and knows the signals.

 

These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise.
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First of all, if there are already IEMs it's pretty trivial to add a second, off-axis mic for the BL. Two-way communication would get messy if other musicians sing.

 

Depending on the worship style, I tend to call out exceptions while I finish singing the previous phrase, to alert variously the band, the lyrics projection guy, and the congregation.

 

In the case of background music for prayer, communion, etc., you might consider leading from the instrument -- a bass playing 1, 2, 3 on beats 2, 3, and 4 is a pretty strong signal that we're going to land on a IV chord on the next beat 1. Pianos and organs (and I suppose guitars) can give hints on the way into the next phrase as well.

 

Spitballs, while effective, might not go very well during communion or other sacraments, especially if you set off the tantrum guy. Especially during immersion baptisms.

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Whatever you decide on, all it is is a pre-established framework for communication. The bandleader has to lay it out clearly, you all have to agree and all follow along... religiously (sorry :rimshot:). Prince used everything from clothing to hand signals to his hips to cue his band. Kneebody uses specific musical licks to cue sections. They cue to any section at anytime, not just moving from one to the next. And yes, a lot of big pop and gospel bands have MDs on talkback to the musicians on IEMs. How complicated you get with the signals and the degree of variation you deal with all depends on how responsive and committed the band is to the agreed upon framework.
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First of all, if there are already IEMs it's pretty trivial to add a second, off-axis mic for the BL. Two-way communication would get messy if other musicians sing...

This. And appropriate to this particular thread, around here we call that a separate 'God mic', since it"s basically a dis-embodied voice from the BL coming directly into our in ears eerily guiding us!

I would like to apologize to anyone I have not yet offended. Please be patient and I will get to you shortly.
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One of the most impressive use of the so-called God mic I've encountered was during a masterclass with a Cirque du Soleil MD (he was on O at the time). The musicians are in booths on either side of the stage/pool, he's playing bass, cueing various backing tracks with his feet, and controlling the band to coordinate with stunts and occasionally react to misses or tweaks.
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I've been in a few praise bands, and finger signals were quite common. The leader would flash one, two, or three fingers - which would correspond to sections on the sheet music marked 1, 2, 3, ...

 

I led a praise band for a number of years, but preferred my fingers on the keyboard ;) so I would usually run songs through as rehearsed. But there are times when the congregation is really getting into it and you have to do something (they're raising hands and singing along with you!) In that case, I'd call out in a loud voice the first phrase of the section I wanted the group to go. It was pretty effective, raised the intensity, and also let the guy in the back in charge of the overhead get the words correctly for the congregation.

 

IEMs would work though - just never had the luxury of an IEM system. My last praise band was 2015 - just before my move to another area.

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Agree with Bill H. Our present leader is more structured generally, planning out things before or in rehearsal; but changes sometimes are needed in a real-time basis. A previous leader - we never knew how many times he would do a chorus or bridge. I will say this - it IS possible for amateur (including myself) musicians to follow, but you can't be running on autopilot.

 

Personally, I'm glad when the congregation does "get into it," because I know then that the primary purpose of the band is being accomplished (besides, I don't get tired of playing and sometimes singing but I do sometimes get into praise and worship enough to just lay out for a while)

 

Besides, I used to play with a large country jam group, and some of the singers would sing stuff I'd never heard at all. That was frustrating at first, but it DID get me to where I could pick up the chord changes a lot better.

 

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