obxa

February 2

Personal gig learning technique that applies to anything you need to learn. Apologies, I'm sure others are already hip to this.

When you've got a full plate of songs to learn, don't initially learn them in the set/show order. Instead, rapidly fast forward through the entire set/show for any songs that have naked, exposed, up front piano/keys intros, breaks, or outros. Work on those first before you learn and run rest of show in order..

Don't know why I hadn't started doing this years ago. I've always learned them in order, spending more time as needed. But sometimes you don't have enough time.. Did a ton of multiple artist and pit stuff this past year sometimes having to learn as much as 15- 20 songs in a week. This saved me to make sure I hit the stuff most scrutinized.

If they aren't provided, I also transcribe and make proper Finale charts for everything. Takes a while, but helps me learn material better, and I've got them for future use.

February 2

I think we can all agree: There are great keyboards out there, but stands and keyboard amps just never quite hit the mark.

BTW- One caveat on the Altos, don't get too exited about the eq. Works fine but it's not variable, just custom curves ( I think... haven't booted it up in a while...) I tend to rely more on whatever keyboard I'm using on board EQ.

February 2

Another Alt(oid?) user here.

Normally use IEMs, but needed a powered speaker for rehearsals and low impact gigs. Got Alto TS408 based on recommendations here. Sounds great, easy to carry and has come in very handy.

Planning on getting another. Because I was in a time crunch got it next day on Amazon, which also has dust covers. But just about every other online place carries it.

February 2

Unexpectedly great and well done. Had the same reaction. Highly recommended, and I'm usually jaded to stuff that feels like self-back patting.

Really felt Dylan's discomfort and brief moment of "how do I even compete with these vocalists?" Watching Quincy (and Stevie) coach him, and the encouragement of "just do you" was really amazing, especially the end result. I won't spoil it, but the Paul Simon joke was also hilarious!.

Often wondered why Geldoff wasn't knighted, but he was given an honorary KBE. Didn't know you had to be born in the UK.

February 1

2 minutes ago, BluMunk said:

it's like playing with someone who is ignoring 1/3 of the things that lead to organic and unified tone across the section.

I think brass players don't care as much because they don't listen to anyone else anyway :p.

Absolutely! I fully own it was my fault, that's exactly where I was when I first started. Adapting to their world and learning more about how they do what they do was the key. Too funny and true about brass players, they were and still are the ones you'd have a beer with after the show.

February 1

2 hours ago, ProfD said:

There are lanes and levels to this sh8t.😁

Brilliant. That should be posted on the exit door of every music school.

February 1

What doesn't kill you will make you stronger. But yes, take what your comfort allows, and what you would enjoy. As some suggested, doing second or aux keys is a great way to get a taste for this kind of stuff to see if it may add to your bag of tools, and income stream. I follow the "baptism by atomic fire method". I do main keys/MD, but doing 2nd or aux keys is a lot less stressful, and can be fun.

Because I was just an ok reader, my salvation on pit stuff was having access to audio tracks to learn the parts. I started doing aux keys playing string reductions or breakout parts in string sections. Was educational, but also weird.. String players hate keyboard players, and often aren't very friendly or helpful.. It did make me a much better reader, and learned a ton about phrasing and articulations. Also taught me to really do my homework.

You find a way. I still cheat. I put chord symbols over most measures in the score in case I get lost. My brain processes better seeing them, and helps learn (and play) the show better too. I've done some pit and oldies shows that were white knuckle terror things and vowed to not do them anymore. Plus the money (at least down here) for non-union gigs is often not worth it for the amount of rehearsals and performances. But doing them has made me a better player.

But yes, know your limits and pick your spots... just don't be afraid to stretch a little. A guy just came on the traditional service staff at my church. He's retired, but was MD/Pianist in NY for Sweeney, Cats, Lion King plus the touring companies. I hear him play, arrange, conduct, and see how he reads- and realized I won't ever be at that level. But love listening, talking and learning from him on how I can apply it to the stuff I do.

Also have bass player & drummer friends that play with Cirque. They went through a two year audition process. It was really cool to see what the criteria is at that level. I know couldn't do it, but I'm ok with that.

January 31

Thanks again everyone. Going to try to schedule soon.

13 hours ago, elif said:

I suppose I am starting to ignore it, kind of like tinnitus.

I also have vitreous detachment, first just one eye for the last year, as of last week now both.

Causes full-time floaters and spider webs. Not sure Cataract surgery will help that too. It's now more annoying than anything else as I swat at imaginary gnats. There have been some Japanese studies that Bromelain can minimize it. It's basically pineapple. You might want to give it shot, as it has other benefits too. I take it 4 weeks on and 2 weeks off- and it does seem to help. The word from my Doc is that gravity will eventually help settle them too.

Also started taking something called Preservision areds 2- which helps in the prevention of macular degeneration, and overall eye health. This (or the cheaper Lutien) has helped a little bit with night driving. But I know now that's more Cataract related.

On 1/28/2024 at 4:19 PM, cassdad said:

I had “light adjustable” lens installed (they can adjust the vision prescription AFTER the lens is installed in your eyes)

Turns out one of the brochures eye doc gave me was for the light adjustable lens Cassdad mentioned.. The strength apparently can be changed (by UV light) but not sure if this is the same as a muli-focus? I'd rather have a fixed strength, but with option to change or tweak.

As mentioned, I'm one who hates progressives- tried hard to use them for several weeks. Could never make it work. Be it walking, or driving. When doing my church organ gig - trying to read a chart, work drawbars, and look at both manuals it was a failure.

4 hours ago, Old No7 said:

"Getting old" is better than NOT getting old!

So sorry to hear about your brother in law. I've recently also heard: "everyone gets to be young, but not everyone gets to be old" and try to keep that in perspective.

Been cathartic hearing from you all. Thanks again!

January 29

I love anything Sean does. He doesn't do sales, doesn't need to. His prices are a bargain. He also updates fairly regularly.

I too bought Blackhole before Shimmer was released. I've been pretty happy with it, though I prefer Vahalla's UI. Another similar candidate is Cherry Audio's cheap Galactic $19. Native instruments very cool Raum isn't a shimmer verb per se but is delicious on synths and piano.

As Tusker alluded to, I consider some reverbs more "Character reverbs" or special purpose. and others more utilitarian.. But there is lots of crossover. Raum and Vahalla Vintage/Room Verb can do some light shimmer type action. Because things like Shimmer/BlackHole add harmonics, octaves, vibrato, modulation etc. I've found it best to limit how many things are going through it. But all depends on the type of music. When you need it, you need it. Always got Blackhole on my piano send for anything electro ambient. But can do wonders on synth or string patch for more upbeat stuff.

One trick (Dave Pensado) I learned a while back that drastically changed my whole FX thing: is to use filtering/cutting on your Reverb returns. Rolling off the low end with a HP filter, and taking a little off the top really helps Reverb (and delay) sit better in the mix, or live.

January 28

3 hours ago, MathOfInsects said:

the one that became Jump was made with the general awareness of KOML.

I think that sums it up perfectly. Especially hearing more of the actual backstory. I'm also stealing "what feels like a long time ago by virtue of not being today"

So this was fun and managed to not derail into flames.

Never heard of Far-Out magazine before, was sent in a daily newsfeed. I guess it does smell a bit like " lazy Google journalism". Gave up most music mags long long time ago. Except for trades like our beloved Keyboard & EM when they were alive. Still enjoy SOS. But things like Rolling Stone's "top guitar player" and "200 greatest singer" lists, not too mention the whole R&R hall of fame... are best viewed with a metric ton of salt. Kinda like most You-tube "Influencers."

January 28

18 minutes ago, o0Ampy0o said:

I thought the in between time assured you would not be blind if something went wrong.

That was my initial take as well. I know it's a different kind of surgery, but was thinking of a friend that had complications with Lasik. She never went back for the other eye.

January 28

Awesome thank you all so much!!! All of this is so encouraging to hear.

Glad to hear the whole thing isn't as terrifying as it sounded.

Doc mentioned about those lenses that aren't covered. Still digesting all the pamphlets.

He told me I currently couldn't pass a driving test, and the new prescription will only go so long. I use 2.50 generics for gigs. Could never get used to the progressives prescribed last time. Plus got all the usual issues: sensitive to night driving, floaters, morning fog- and my distance is getting worse.

Sounds like I'll need to plan on taking off a little bit.

Really appreciate it guys, -thank you all again.

January 28

Sucks getting old. Eye doc says going to need Cataract surgery soon, new glasses as temporary fix.

Has anyone had the surgery? Were you still able to read charts/sheet music during the healing process, and/or did it affect eye-hand coordination at the keyboard?

Couldn't quite explain concerns about spatial relationship of playing and reading (music ...or drawbars etc.) acuity to the doctor. He just said there's recovery time with blurriness. They suggest taking time off. Easier said than done. Plus they do one eye at a time- which I've read will skew things between the two while in the process. Wondering what realistic recovery is when it comes to what we do.

There's also the issue of what type of corrective lens they implant. Again, thinking in terms of mainly reading music & playing - my archery days are long over anyway.

Anything you wish you had done differently, or strongly suggest? Thanks so much in advance for any insight/experience you can share!!

January 28

2 hours ago, ElmerJFudd said:

If they say so.

I agree, it's not literal but I see it. I think that basic shape of the I/V- V pattern in the chorus that he got inspired by with the different rhythm either intentionally, or perhaps not being a keyboard player being as comfortable with that rhythm. But yes of course once H&O go to the Eb and rest of the song not so much.

Much of art is inspired by other art. Not that I'm calling Jump art If he hadn't said it himself, I probably wouldn't of made the connection, but that's the fun and interesting part. To see where the seed of inspiration comes from- at least to me.

To this day still think a blatant progression rip is the main section of "Just what I needed" by the Cars- which is pretty darn close to "I want to hold your hand" by the Fab4.

January 27

Not sure if this has been posted before... (Their headline not mine)

Arguably the Freebird-Stairway to Heaven of Keyboard riffs....but sill pretty cool article.

Especially after hearing the H & O song side by side.

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/van-halen-ripped-off-hall-and-oates/

Since the duo had become one of the biggest acts in pop music then, Eddie admitted to taking the crux of the riff from ‘Kiss On My List’. It’s easy to see the similarities once you listen to both of them back to back since both songs are in the same key and have the same syncopated rhythms going back and forth between both hands.

Despite the similarities, Darryl Hall had no ill will towards the Van Halen camp, recalling later, “It’s something we all do. Eddie Van Halen told me that he copied the synth part from ‘Kiss on My List’ and used it in ‘Jump’. I don’t have a problem with that at all.” Although there could have been some legal trouble, the influence from the soul duo gave the world a soft rock romp and a hair metal banger out of the same lick.

January 25

29 minutes ago, stoken6 said:

The 29in is 2560x1080 - couple that with 32in QHD and the two screen areas line up perfectly.

Was kind of a happy accident. When they first came out, I bought the 29" first to use as main monitor. But 2560 rez was too small for aging eyes at the distance I needed. At its native resolution it works fine for the mixer and plugins. When needing to view long text or scores, I use this little program to quickly change to larger and/ or custom resolution. https://manytricks.com/resolutionator/. highly recommended if you do different kinds of tasks.

Not sure why, but in picture I posted, monitors don't look physically lined up, but they do. Having "mixer screen" on bottom feels normal because used to have my hardware Mackie controllers (...and analog mixer before that...) always set up in similar way.

January 24

I see several folks who park their laptop under main screen as an auxiliary monitor. I personally have to have two screens to drag plugins or mixer. When doing VO I put my copy on there. After years of dual side by side, I switched to a vertical setup. LG ultra wide 29 " on bottom and 32" on top. Took a little bit, but really like it now, and much easier to focus. I'm considering a touch screen on bottom for the mixer and plug-ins. Don't think I could do more than 40" I do sessions at a few places that have 60" monitors, and it gives me a headache, though makes sense at distance.

January 24

Audio demo

https://cdn.shopify.com/videos/c/o/v/d5a6512951b148b5b946dd3e95b598f0.mp4

Funny how age changes everything. Would of lusted for this years ago, not so much today.

I do continue to kick myself yearly for not buying a Roland System 100 from a friend who was trying to raise funds to buy his DX7. ... $375. 😢

January 12

On 7/11/2023 at 9:48 PM, The Real MC said:

Don't use towels or any cloth based cover. The dust will permeate through the fibers and still land on your gear. Ask me how I know.

I'll bite- why? Usually buy felt or have occasionally used towels.

Not to start a debate....As owner of both cats and dogs- Pet related damages: Felines have done more. Gak-ing hairballs, Peeing in my Nord case, using speakers as scratch posts, knocking over stuff. Much worse than the occasional puppy chewing on sustain pedals.

January 12

Got a small investment in these. RH cables are the only kind I use for both audio and Ipad charging cables on the instrument side.. If they don't come that way I'll buy adaptors. Too many cramped stages with people bumping into my stuff makes straight cables on the business side scary. OT: I'm pretty sloppy, but cringe when I see someone using an ipad on stage with a big bright white cable (w straight plug) sticking out of it. Those are fragile enough, and luckily come in black, and R angle too.

January 10

Thanks for posting. Had a similar quest couple of months ago brought on by some exposed gigs. Went into heavy shedding mode and seeking sites. Wish I had done much of this earlier in life, but as an older student I'm actually better motivated. I talk to other players our age who say the same thing. Resources now are light years from the things like the Mix Bookshelf or Jamey Arbesold series I grew up with.

I didn't bond to Open Studio's presentation as much I would of liked but found a couple of others. I do really like the video you posted, hadn't seen that guy on there- and want to see more. Subscribed to Bill Grahams's channel posted above a while back - he really does make Harris concepts much easier to grasp.

I like Mdecks a lot. It's cheap,. they offer a lot free stuff too. They take a very unique approach to presenting concepts and breaking them down to bite-size pieces and building from there. Easy to digest, and more important: retain. Which is always my bane. Not overwhelming, especially if you want to accomplish something with limited practice time for the day. The business model is a little weird, but I get it now.

I do the $5 a month plan. With the holidays got behind, but back to work now with gigs as motivation. They have a ton of different things and post every couple of days - I focused on their Bop and Reharm stuff. Also bought a couple of their books that keep me busy. Real world use for me is always a win; love seeing the hoary-real book things we all play and learning how to approach them differently.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBCch4Wd-JAuyURvmmA1oyQ

Also Paul Tobey's jazzmentl stuff takes a similar approach.

https://www.youtube.com/jazzmentl

Here's an example of a typical Mdecks lesson:

Danger is I want to sign up for everything. I wish they sold a magic jazz pill, but I know it always boils down to just doing the work.

January 10

On 1/7/2024 at 8:04 PM, ksoper said:

Pleasure Island/Disney World. Happiest place on earth my ass.

We used to call it "Torture Island". 😀 We may have crossed paths. Was there from '94-'03 Used to always visit the jazz club on breaks. Played West end stage and R&R beach club 2x-3x a week. Plus was also doing the comedy club when needed. Got to the point where I'd just bring my Midi rack and use Disney's stuff ( weirdly lots of Roland...) Between flying, the nightly fireworks- confetti crap all over my stuff, and techs striking the stages between sets, my gear was getting hammered.

January 10

Yes, Have additional rider and it's killing me. When I had to prepare a list of my stuff, was surprised about some of the value of vintage gear. I didn't pay anything near the value, but cost to replace sends it over the top.

Luckily it's tax deductible.

It took some back and forth explaining, but was able to get Allstate to differentiate between "gig gear" and the stuff that stays put. Worth asking your agent because it can make significant difference in cost. They also factor how far you travel, how you travel, and type of venues. I bundle auto, have alarms and do everything I can to whittle it down. Only cheaper name brand insurance I've found is USAA but I'm not Military.

23 hours ago, Polkahero said:

Runs around $200/year for probably around $40k in equipment

Would you mind sharing who you use? That's a pretty great price.

January 9

Most welcome.

25 minutes ago, Sam Mullins said:

In the end, the Mac Mini plus USB-C Monitor route resulted in a lot less cabling mess than the iPad

Exactly. I know others have had better luck than me, but found the whole Ipad thing to be to a convoluted mess and wouldn't trust it for anything mission critical. Plus at the time I was trying to use it, was doing a weekly televised service for big church down here. It looked bad; even using black colored cables/adaptors. Loved the way stuff sounded at home & invested in ton of apps. Korg Module or M1/Wavestations apps by themselves ended up being best option, but could never get the amount of control needed, and always had glitchy sound issues.

Rely heavily on Ipad for charts, so had to either do the multi-app dance (cumbersome while trying to play) or bring another ipad. Stressful enough doing music part. Found it easier to just do laptop/MS and call it a day. Since downgrading MS to supplemental, even stopped bringing an audio interface and often just use the headphone output.

If Apple ever ports Mainstage to Ipad, might give it another go for low impact gigs.

Love the idea of using a Mini. So what USB-C monitor did you use?

January 9

6 hours ago, Sam Mullins said:

When I do a show with say 3 sets of 13 songs, I just create a new Concert for each of the sets (from a template file) and then pull in the 13 patches for each set from the four concerts above.

That's perfect and ideal way to do it. Even if your set list has a couple of curveballs, you can always grab some generic patches to cover, or your CK. Songs on my Mainstage gigs are 98% set in order, so that method works well with a couple of concert loads for longer shows if needed. But as you guessed, if you're on a sit-in or loose bar gig might not have what you need for off the cuff calls. For those gigs, I do hardware and divide the audience ratio of alcohol consumption to critical listening to determine how exact my sounds have to be. 😀.

6 hours ago, Sam Mullins said:

Since I use Logic for sequencing, the MainStage paradigm fits with that philosophy.

Same here. I gave Gig Performer a good try. Really liked it, but just wasn't a good fit for me - I was too set with MS. Would recommend it to someone just getting started who is not using Logic. (...or on Windows) But for $30, the two worlds of Logic and Mainstage crossover nicely and as you alluded, you're not having to learn a completely different methodology.

There's a wealth of info out there for Mainstage from Theater as well as Worship folks (where like Nords, it's heavily prevalent). Some may not apply to what you're doing musically but you'll find a general consensus on things that carry over. Especially about housekeeping and routing stuff.

Many power users only view MS in edit mode instead of performance page because it allegedly uses a little less resources. I find it distracting and haven't noticed any significant difference. With that in mind, I've simplified my MS sounds enough that I can keep it close by without having to look at it all the time.

If you haven't already, couple things I'd suggest to always put in concert setups:

1. Midi activity indicator- I do a big honking round one; but with low key color that can still be seen from afar more than than the stock CPU/acitivy thing on top. 2. A panic button with access on-screen, mapped to my nano-control, and also mapped to the lowest key on my keyboard controller. That last one works great on 88/73 boards, but sometimes hit it by mistake on 61 keyboards. I haven't played a CK yet, but bet you can easily implement controlling Mainstage from it.

3. As a back up or layer to your hardware or for a rehearsal rig: a generic Apple stock piano and organ patch, both un-enabled to save resources.

6 hours ago, Sam Mullins said:

Want to spend as much time actually making music rather than learning tech tools

I think you're instinctively on the right path. Wish I had started with that mindset. We have a running joke at my church for the stuff I'm having to run. We call MS "Pain-stage", and Live11 is "Dis-Abelton" .

I feel your pain about going too deep- which is why I had to find a comfort level using Mainstage (and Ipad when I tried that route). My goal is use it as a supplementary tool and have it get out of my way -even if not using all of it's potential. You can tweak MS to death, as keyboardists we're prone to do just that. There are a ton of concert templates both free and low cost, so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. I've used those to learn concepts, and modified as needed.

When prepping for a new show/gig now, be it Mainstage or hardware- I try to spend no more than 35% of time on sound design or tweaks. I'm getting better, but it's hard.

Never regretted spending more time learning/rehearsing the actual music, but have had diminishing returns on endless tweaking of things like horn - string patches or echo settings.

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