RichieP_MechE Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Big band I play trumpet in needed a sub on piano for rehearsal that happened earlier tonight. I volunteered for the job. Man, I thought I was a decent sight reader, but I was wrong. Especially in the key of Db. Ah well. It was a good learning experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonksDream Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I joined a big band as the piano player 3 years ago because I wanted to improve my reading so I totally understand what you went through! I still struggle with some of it. It got a bit easier when the bandleader said "we don't expect you to play it all correctly"! A major part of the art of big band piano reading is knowing what you can safely leave out. Instrumentation is meaningless - a song either stands on its own merit, or it requires bells and whistles to cover its lack of adequacy, much less quality. - kanker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humannoyed Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I've had that happen before. Up tempo Basie charts with the piano part completely written out with lots of extended chords with accidentals all over the place, About 8 or 10 pages worth, and on a dimly lit stage. Forget it! I looked over and the guitarist has a one page lead sheet with chord symbols. I wanted to yell at him "HEY MAN, GIVE ME THOSE CHARTS!" "It is a danger to create something and risk rejection. It is a greater danger to create nothing and allow mediocrity to rule." "You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." W.H. Auden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I've had that happen before. Up tempo Basie charts with the piano part completely written out with lots of extended chords with accidentals all over the place, About 8 or 10 pages worth, and on a dimly lit stage. Forget it! I looked over and the guitarist has a one page lead sheet with chord symbols. I wanted to yell at him "HEY MAN, GIVE ME THOSE CHARTS!" Sounds like my first gig after arriving in CO: subbing in on a few big band shows. Woodshedded my ass off for the first gig, which happened to be outdoors.... Yeah, ten page piano parts spread out over 2+ stands. The wind was so bad my clothespins had subs. 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJUSCULE Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Eric Website Gear page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RudyS Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I also faced that problem when I joined a musical orchestra on the first rehearsal. I head to sight read chords (6+notes) without the symbols above it, and quite fast changes. The conductor had really good ears and was critical to every last note. Got slapped around quite a bit. Next rehearsal, I wrote the symbols above them in my music! Rudy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Mike Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I've been playing in a big band for about four years now after taking close to 20 years off from playing. It has really helped my playing (naturally) as well as reading. I've always been able to read fake charts, but my chord interpretaion had gotten rusty over the years. A lot of 6/9, #11 and b5 chords on this stuff. We do a few Basie charts, most of them based on the original arrangements. We just started playing Corner Pocket, which has a solo piano intro, meaning piano is literally the only instrument playing. There is a You Tube video of it I've been using to understand how Basie played the intro. I'm most amazed about how he played the voicings, as the lead line has the span of a 10th (in Db) which he played with his right hand alone. I don't have the same span, so I'm working out how to play it using both hands and still have my left hand jump down to play the lower hits in the later bars. It's a fun challenge. The nice thing about this band is that we meet every week, so when new charts are handed out, I don't have to be an expert on the first reading. I make copies of the charts and keep my own book to practice against. Some of the charts are easy to read, others less so. We have copies of the original Glen Miller charts to Chattanooga Choo Choo which is completely written out (in Db) with no chord names. In those days the piano player doubled the bass line so the bass player and I need to be in perfect sync. This type of stuff has helped me with bass clef reading one of my many weaknesses. We got a new drummer a few months ago who is vastly better than the old drummer. This has really helped tighten up the rhythm section. The guitar player and I tend to take turns playing the background rhythm under the solos. The drummer has great dynamics, so guitar and piano behind the solos now sounds too cluttered. The band leader is also fond of Buddy Rich arrangements, which gives us all a chance to wail. He also likes a lot of the old Tonight Show band arrangement by Tommy Nuesome, which are complicated but sound great. But yea, we play in D-flat a lot. The MD Told us why last night. Turns out that in the 30's and 40's, Db was the lowest available note on the baritone sax, which was much louder than the upright bass and acoustic piano. Arrangers put songs in Db so they could get that strong chord at the end of the song. It was less necessary as amplified instruments became prevalent, and saxophone builders added an extra key to the bari. Little bit of musical history for ya'! . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klezman Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 When I took my current gig playing Gospel I thought it was all going to be "This Little Light..." etc over and over until I met with the director. The contemporary Gospel charts are just insane sometimes and often in Gb or Db. Almost always with those, I have to listen to the recording to understand what can be distilled out. However, I sometimes have to sight read stuff out of the hymnal during services which really makes me sweat. Even though the harmonies are simple on these, some of the time sigs (like 4/2) still make me really think hard because even though I know logically what they mean, my brain doesn't compute a half note as one beat without deliberate effort on my part. After about two years though, I'm much improved. So yes, the butt kicking has made me a much better reader. It wasn't that harsh though. Can't imagine being in Buddy Rich's band... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawback Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 knowing what you can safely leave out. Case in point: Basie ____________________________________ Rod Here for the gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecorbett Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 I've had that happen before. Up tempo Basie charts with the piano part completely written out with lots of extended chords with accidentals all over the place, About 8 or 10 pages worth, and on a dimly lit stage. Forget it! I looked over and the guitarist has a one page lead sheet with chord symbols. I wanted to yell at him "HEY MAN, GIVE ME THOSE CHARTS!" Sounds like my first gig after arriving in CO: subbing in on a few big band shows. Woodshedded my ass off for the first gig, which happened to be outdoors.... Yeah, ten page piano parts spread out over 2+ stands. The wind was so bad my clothespins had subs. LOL We are all slave's to our brain chemistry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveCoscia Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Not a big band story... Back in 1978, on a Wednesday night, I went to see a local Long Island band called Pellucidar. This band did a live Rocky Horror Picture Show (including Magenta, Columbia, etc.) with the whole shebang. During their first break the lead singer announced that the keyboard player was leaving and that anyone who was interested in auditioning should speak up. Back then, I was doing mostly weddings and lounges - but I wanted to play rock. So this was a step up (not monetarily though). I spoke to the singer and expressed my interest he asked me to learn two albums (Aqualung and Rocky Horror Picture Show) for an audition on the following Monday. That weekend, the lead singer phoned to say that the audition was cancelled. Their agent had booked the band out in the Hamptons on Monday night, then he said that their keyboard player wasn't coming. "So your audition is going to be on stage and you better be good," he said. Man, was I nervous and I got my butt kicked. I got the gig. Steve Coscia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonksDream Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 knowing what you can safely leave out. Case in point: Basie Amen, brother! The one thing you can't ever leave out is the classic Basie solo ending: [dashes are 8th notes] | - - - - dat - - - | dat - - dat - - - -| or, as the trumpet section always reminds me: | - - - - Count - - - | Ba - - sie - - - -| Instrumentation is meaningless - a song either stands on its own merit, or it requires bells and whistles to cover its lack of adequacy, much less quality. - kanker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bosendorphen Posted December 14, 2012 Share Posted December 14, 2012 Man, was I nervous and I got my butt kicked. I got the gig. Great story! "The devil take the poets who dare to sing the pleasures of an artist's life." - Gottschalk Soundcloud Aethellis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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