Do you carry or keep it locked upstairs?

[ProfD]

Not the firearms.

 

Carry sheet music/charts/PDFs, memorize tunes or both.

 

Do you carry a 'book' or have PDFs stored on a PDA, iPhone, etc.?

 

I have been able to rely on memory but that seems to be changing.

 

The 'book' would be more obvious than my PDA sitting atop the Motif.

 

However, if my memory bank is getting cloudy, the eyesight isn't too far behind it.

 

Either way, iRefuse to carry a laptop or buy an iTablet...iThink.

[SK]

I was going to reply, but I forgot what you posted and I can't see it without my glasses.

[wjwilcox]

I carry. Since I play in a church worship band, we play twice a week, 6 or 7 different songs each time and don't get the set list until the Thursday before each Sunday. And since at my age the brain begins to calcify, having that chart in front of me allows me to play without worrying if the necessary brain cell is functioning or not....

[Mr.E]

I carry what I have to. Some songs you just can't forget, some songs are just thrown at you day or two before gig. Lead sheets on note rest don't bother me at all. And if you are playing outdoor don't forget paper clips. Wind can do funny things.

 

 

Cheers,

Ed

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

Mine is everything from scraps of paper, to sheet music, to memory,to things that only exist on tape or audio file of some sort because it was written during a session....

 

and you are right, some organization would be called for at this point. I regularly jam acoustic/some electric with a bunch of teachers and IT guys and like that, none really play out (though a couple have in the past) and dredging up old songs from as far back as the 50s or as recent as the latest appropriate music has made me realize that I have officially forgotten more than I remember.

 

In the last band that hired me as a 'hired gun' guitar player, we went to a gig and the opener in the front room was playing, with his book of songs. Our bass player walked up to him (little shit that she is...) and said, "Oh, so you've got a book, huh? Yeah. We've got Bill."

 

Unfortunately I think those days are gone forever. I'm not sure though... I can't remember. In terms of being able to access large amounts of data quickly, I believe that some sort of computer would be required, along with perhaps a search setup of some sort... you'd want to search by artist, title, first line, chorus line, and you'd need something that would give you 'close' hits... something that, if you put in "I Wanna Hold Her Hand" would return "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as a hit.

 

Don't feel too baddly though... Elton John, Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Billy Joel, Ozzy, and many many others use a teleprompter.

 

[DanS]

I don't for music, but anything new the band takes on that I have to sing, I simply can't remember the lyrics, and usually have a bolded copy taped to one of the boards.

If it's a song that I've listened to for years, I don't have an issue with the memory. I can load a text file into my Fantom and just read the lyrics off the screen, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

Geddy Lee has a Samsung monitor on the floor in front of him in the Snakes & Arrows tour, so I don't feel so bad.

[Dave Bryce]

All memory, music and lyrics.

 

dB

[BluesKeys]

depends on the gig. I do have some song lyrics of songs I don't sing a lot. But if I am on a solo gig I carry fake books and lyrics for hundreds of songs. You never know what someone will request and I usually have the tune in my head and the lyrics on a sheet somewhere.

[MuzikTeechur]

I memorize everything. That way I don't have to mess with a book, stand, lighting, etc.

Except when I sing "Gimme Some Lovin'" - those verses kick my ass for some stupid reason.

[Bobadohshe]

Depends on the gig magn.

 

Big band? The book is waiting there at the gig, and you have to sort through it at the beginning, pull the charts yourself, and then read your arse off.

 

RnB/contemporary pop/reggae/standard bar/club gig? Printed music is a foreign object that has no place here. Some people might use a setlist with the keys next to the tune, but that's never been an issue for me. I'll always know the key of the song, just possibly not the form.

 

Church gig? Always printed, but it depends. Some church gigs the leader has his own nice custom charts that he pulls for you at the beginning. Others, you have all the music at home and have to pull it yourself, and you're reading off a CCLI lead sheet. Occasionally I'll just do stuff from memory on that too.

 

Solo piano 3/4 hour private party affair? Me and my mini real books and a lot of tunes from memory.

[DanL]

memory with a couple exceptions, where I might break out a cheat sheet for some lyrics or chord changes. I try to do away with them quickly otherwise they become a crutch.

[Tonysounds]

Don't feel too baddly though... Elton John, Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Billy Joel, Ozzy, and many many others use a teleprompter.

 

Not Steven Tyler: he can waltz into any Home Depot and fire off some songs with ZERO prep! http://tinyurl.com/y9xgoye

[Meisenhower]

It's a mix for me.

 

Most of my jazz gigs are played from memory and real books (or iReal Book). If I'm doing a pit gig, then its solid reading (same with big band). If I've had to do transcriptions, then those are always memorized, as there's something about that process that "inks" it to the brain for me.

 

If it's a studio session, I'll read or memorize and then forget it as soon as I walk out the door.

 

I don't really do cover/top 40/variety stuff anymore, but when I did, I memorized those tunes as well.

 

I try to do the same with lyrics, but those seem to be the first thing I forget, so I would always take them with me and look em over before singing.

[kanker.]

Depends on the gig

[Floyd Tatum]

Depends on the gig

 

Same here. I try to memorize as much as possible, but I never had a great memory to begin with, and the 60's and 70's didn't help, if you know what I mean.

 

[eric]

I'm mostly a "from memory" guy and I am pained when I see bands that perform a lot together with the same players using charts. I griped about this so much in my current band and my insistence that the horn section implement what I dubbed "Project Memorize." They finally did it. Now the only time a chart needs to come out is when there is a new song or a sub on stage. But that's a general business/wedding cover band.

 

We play a song or two very infrequently that will call for a chart and I'll have a small piece of paper or a few pages in a binder stashed in my briefcase or taped to my keyboard for these rare occurrences.

 

There are a few bands I sit in with very sporadically and don't have all their music committed to memory, but I'm usually good as long as I know the key of the song. For more complex chord changes, I keep copies of their set lists in my keyboard case (so they are always available) with some notes I've taken on chord structure. Very disorganized, but it works for these ad hoc gigs.

 

At one point, I was creating 3x5 flip cards for these kinds of efforts, but the payback was not there for bands I may perform with every other month. At the end of the day, I highly prefer memorization and zero dependence on charts.

[David Loving]

No charts unless the gig calls for it.

[Jazz+]

I forget what I know. So my gig book is a black 3 ring binder with clear plastic page savers with all my lead sheets are arranged in alphabetical order. These lead sheets were photocopied from fake books or made by me with Sibelius notation software.

[kanker.]

I forget what I know.

I forget titles. I know more songs and tunes than I can count, but the titles just elude me. Lots of pot back in the day.....

[montunoman]

I do what Jazz+ does. I wish I had a better memory. On a lot of tunes I just look over it the first chours and then it comes back to me. My goal is to have a full gig worth of solo material played by memory.

[B3_borne]

I forget what I know.

I forget titles. I know more songs and tunes than I can count, but the titles just elude me. Lots of pot back in the day.....

 

Sounds like me I have chord cheats in a binder ... the older I get the worst it seams I have to rely on them.

[MonksDream]

It's a mixture for me as well. My preference is to do things from memory cause it looks better to the audience. When I'm the bandleader I have charts for everything printed and put in binders, both for the players and myself. I try to get along without them but it's nice to know they're there if we need them. As a side person I read if I don't know the tune or if I'm working with a singer 'cause they rarely do tunes in common keys.

[kanker.]

I forget what I know.

I forget titles. I know more songs and tunes than I can count, but the titles just elude me. Lots of pot back in the day.....

 

Sounds like me I have chord cheats in a binder ... the older I get the worst it seams I have to rely on them.

I suppose I should expand on my answers a little. If I have to do a crash course on stuff, like learning 4 hours of material in a week, I chart stuff out. Otherwise, I learn the tune. This isn't memorization per se, but learning to hear the sound of the motion of the changes. There's no point in memorizing things that aren't specific parts, and even then you can memorize them as sounds instead of notes. Hearing how changes progress means that instead of having to memorize a specific set of changes for a tune, you get past the changes eventually by relying on your ear to remember the tune instead of your intellect. It makes the tune more organic in your brain, and makes it much easier to transpose changes because they're not specific thoughts, but general sounds

[SpaceNorman]

Like others have said - it all depends on the gig. If it's anything that I play with regularity - it's usually upstairs. I carry as well though - with what's gets carried being a balance of how new is it to me, how often it gets played, how complex it is - and how much new stuff have I been jamming in my head lately.

 

For the sake of efficiency - I've gotten into the habit of creating charts for virtually every tune I learn - typically a combination of lyrics / chord symbols. I do 'em on my laptop in MS Word - formated to fit a 5 x 8 card. I can fit 99% of the songs I do fit 1 song per card.

 

I have two methods of carrying. The one I use the most is "hard copy" - where I simply print off anything I need with me - bound in set list order in a little book (done with a two hole punch and bound with a 1 inch binder ring). The book sits on the open space atop my RD700SX. It's tidy and very unobtrusive.

 

My second method is to simply bring my laptop and place it on stand that attaches to my keyboard stand. It's definite NOT "unobstrusive" - but does give me access to everything in my library. I tend to use this when practicing - and have carried it only once or twice when it was an evening of "read" material.

[DirtyRubberDuck]

I memorize everything. That way I don't have to mess with a book, stand, lighting, etc.

Except when I sing "Gimme Some Lovin'" - those verses kick my ass for some stupid reason.

 

That's weird! I always memorize stuff because I have trouble playing with much feeling if I'm concentrating on what notes to play/ words to sing. But "Gimme Some Lovin" has always been tough for me too, and it's been years! I think the fact that the verses are so similar makes it hard to remember. That or I drink too many beers.

[Aidan]

I can play all night without music, but my memory lets me down on lyrics. I used to use a Freehand Music Pad, but that is currently hors de combat as there's something wrong with the touchscreen.

 

The night it went out I had to rely on things I sort of knew and I just about got through it, with some creative slurring. But that decided me that I would make an effort to get the lyrics of songs "in place", one song at a time. Will still need to pull out a printed sheet for first dance requests, though, I imagine.

[Moonglow]

I have about 98% of our club tunes memorized. For those songs not committed to memory, I try to be stealth about it, using an index card with the chord changes. It's often not even the entire song, usually the bridge, chords for the guitar solo, or some other portion of the song.

 

For wedding receptions/dinner dances, I rely on charts for about 25% of the music, as some of it we have not played for months. For these events, I'm not as concerned with trying to hide it. I usually just spread it across my upper keyboard.

[ProfD]

Hearing how changes progress means that instead of having to memorize a specific set of changes for a tune, you get past the changes eventually by relying on your ear to remember the tune instead of your intellect.

I always memorize stuff because I have trouble playing with much feeling if I'm concentrating on what notes to play...

Bingo. Maybe a single cheat sheet containing the tune title and numeric progression will be enough to jog the memory and let me fly.

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

One of the things that I do when I sit in or join a new combo.... I make a set list, and beside the song title I'll write out a few of the chords. (Like, the key, and maybe the bridge progression or whatever...) In big black sharpie. Then I tape it where I can see it, or put it on the floor by the pedals.

[Dave Ferris]

I can't read music....at least while I'm playing

 

Seriously, I'm doing a concert this Sunday where I'll be given 10 minutes or so for a solo spot. I have a solo piano arrangement worked out for the Monk tune "Ask Me Now"---I played it awhile back in the early days of the Reharm Room. It has a lot of alternate voicings and LH counter melodies that need to played exactly has written to get the proper effect. I hadn't played it in awhile so I started working on memorizing it this past Monday, maybe spending 15-20 minutes a day working on it. I'll probably have the music there Sunday has a safety net for the arranged head part. The changes to blow on I know---hopefully

 

On a typical gig I'll bring a couple of my books with tunes that I like to play, one for myself and another for the bass player. We could probably just call tunes but it's nice to play lesser known stuff with an occasional original or arrangement of a Standard thrown in. Since we don't always play together, especially 5 nights a week, it's puts everyone at ease and just makes everything run smoother without any guess work.

 

I remember chord changes very well but melodies sometime elude me. Especially Be Bop heads where there are a lot of notes like "Confirmation" for example. Again I like having the music there has a safety net because one--I'm a stickler for playing the right notes and being fairly truthful to the original and two--again I'm not playing this stuff 5 nights a week with the same cats.