What songs should every keyboardist know b4 auditioning for a band?

[skier4467]

My goal is to someday be good enough to play keys in a band. I probably still have another year or 2 to rehearse though.

 

What are some popular songs that every keyboardist should know?

 

What should I learn b4 auditioning for a band?

[Sven Golly]

This is going to sound obvious, but it all depends on what type of band you're auditioning for.

 

If you're looking to play Top 40, then knowing the full complement of Yes and ELP songs isn't going to do you much good.

 

Same with the Madonna and Britney Spears catalogue if you're auditioning with a blues group.

 

Narrow down your choices a bit, and we could probably limit the list of songs you 'should' know to about 500 or so.

 

Cheers,

SG

[Andre Lower]

Perhaps I'll beat Sven in the obvious department, but my approach is even more basic: Even if we're talking about a cover band that is forming up, the rule is that they probably know (at least to some extent) which songs they want to perform.

 

So instead of struggling to acquire such a huge "library" that you are bound to know any song they call up on first rehearsal by heart, you should concentrate in covering the basics by choosing average songs from each genre and cutting your teeth on them.

 

Assuming your personal taste will also play a part on your band choice, you can narrow your efforts even more by avoiding extensive training in polka songs ( ) in case you do not like polka at all.

 

Upon meeting your prospective band first time, ask about their setlist and which 5 or 6 songs they'd like to have you already playing on 1st rehearsal, and then go for them, tiger! Unless you're planning on joining Dream Theater, a pro jazz ensemble or some philharmonic orchestra, you should be fine.

[Dave Horne]

Skier, what kind of band are you aiming for?

[Steve in KS]

Free Bird and Cocaine.

 

You'll be set!

[Garrafon]

I have always asked bands for a copy of their set list and learned a few off of there. Why guess when you can know for sure? Why play other songs when you can play exactly what they are going to want you to play?

[iLaw]

Skier,

 

To all the good advice that's already been said, I would add that a skill that you need to be concentrating on heavily is the ability to quickly lift songs off recordings. That way, rather than trying to learn every possible song the band in question could possibly play, you'll only need to ask for a set list, a recording, and a couple days' head start. When you come to the audition/rehearsal playing their originals as well as the classics, they'll be very impressed.

 

Larry.

[Joel-Ready-Mix]

Skier, it seems as though I am in the same postion as you, so this thread is helpful to me as well. Thanks, guys.

 

Here is my list that I am working on which seem to have helped my general skills a lot and you may find a few to be helpful as well:

 

Hold the Line

Video Killed the Radio Star

Allentown

Penny Lane

Caught a light Sneeze, Father Lucifer, Winter

Breakfast in America, It's Raining Again

Fallen by Lauren Wood

Jump, Right Now, Dreams (and every other Van Halen song with keys)

Invention 13 and some other easier Bach

 

We should post back in a year and let everyone know how we are doing.

[Les Mizzell]

I have always asked bands for a copy of their set list and learned a few off of there.

I've always gotten a set list and recordings of a practice session or a gig or two so I could see how they had arranged the songs and the key they were being performed in.

 

Additionally, I requested the original recordings they learned the songs from so I could see exactly what parts were in there that needed covering.

[Dave Horne]

Wouldn't it be great if bands had a lead sheet to work from as well? I took the time years ago to make my own lead sheets. Granted this is not Top 40 music, but I just throw the book at any new bass player (or Bb or Eb instrument) and they have very legible lead sheets to work from.

 

I'm not going to get into a discussion about reading music, but it really saves a lot of time in a rehearsal situation if everyone can read.

 

Taking the information from a CD is great for your ears. Putting that information down on paper as well is the best way to approach this in my opinion. Also, if you can't make a job, the guy filling in has an excellent running start. It's a win win situation. [old fart mode off]

[Steve Force]

Dave, I agree.

 

BTW: I only read wisdom and experience-IMO you can turn the "old fart mode" off as it doesn't apply.

 

Regards.

[ITGITC]

Originally posted by Dave Horne:

[old fart mode off]

Uh Huh... dat OFF switch done broke long ago.

[Trill]

Originally posted by forceman:

Dave, I agree.

 

BTW: I only read wisdom and experience-IMO you can turn the "old fart mode" off as it doesn't apply.

 

Regards.

As the robot said in the movie Short Circuit 'Need input,need input!!! It is a whole lot easier to chop down a tree with a sharp axe.

 

I like all the help I can get Dave. Even suggestions by other band members are considered. Then again I play with a bunch of old farts ]But boy do they know thier stuff

 

Greg

[Sven Golly]

Originally posted by Joel-Ready-Mix:

Jump, Right Now, Dreams (and every other Van Halen song with keys)

Okay, pop quiz: what tune(s) are you learning off of Women And Children First?

 

(no help from the peanut gallery on this one, I want to see if he really is learning every VH tune with keys... )

 

Cheers,

SG

[Joel-Ready-Mix]

"Okay, pop quiz: what tune(s) are you learning off of Women And Children First?"

 

Well...OK..I think you mean "And the cradle will rock" or whatever. I don't actually have that album and will probably never learn that song. I suppose that would be a good song to add to the list though.

I guess you need a big marshall amp or something though to play it though, eh? I can't remember any other songs from that album.

[Sven Golly]

Correct! Two points.

 

It's definitely a GREAT song to add... one of those classic VH tracks that nobody really plays, but when you kick into it, the audience (assuming they're VH fans, or were listening to radio in '79) completely lights up.

 

I've got a pretty bang-on version of the distorted Rhodes on my Motif ES7, but it would definitely be a lot more fun to run it through a Marshall...

 

Oh, and avoid Jump at all costs. I think they've ratified the Geneva Convention to include that tune as an illegal weapon of gastrointestinal destruction.

 

Cheers,

SG

[jay da cop]

Jump happened to be the trademark song of a band I was in during the late 80's. I got really sick of it, but it is still a way to "impress" the younger set. I'm guessing that it was the same with us (or me and others in their 40's or older)

when a guitar player broke into Freebird, or Smoke on the Water, or Cocaine, etc in the late 70's. I guess they just don't really have many keys songs that are instantly recognizable and stand on their own, at least as a intro. I know we all know differently, but they may not.

 

Jay

[zephonic]

On this side of the world no one will take you serious as a keyboardist if you don't know how to play "Spain" (Chick Corea)

[Dave Horne]

Originally posted by zephonic:

On this side of the world no one will take you serious as a keyboardist if you don't know how to play "Spain" (Chick Corea)

I can't remember the last time anyone ever asked for that song.

 

There are others who might place Sweet Georgia Brown or Tea For Two on their list, or God forbid, the theme from Cats.

 

We still don't know what kind of band the original poster is interested in, do we?

[Andre Lower]

I forgot to add an important question Skier: Do you intend to join bands that play for money or just for fun? In the former case you're bound to need more flexibility and a wider scope of skills in your palette (like proficiency in organ chops, piano styles as well as synthesis). But if youre into blues for example, and intend to join a pleasure band that plays nothing else, youll not need all that, at least immediately.

[Mr. Nightime]

I agree with many of the others that you should build up your listening chops right away. Many bands use the original recording as a basic template for the song structure, then put their own stamp on the song. You can learn a recording note for note (not a bad thing) and still have to adjust. The listening chops will help you adjust to the differences.

the nice thing about working with this type of players is you can add your own individuality to the tune, making it that much more rewarding.

[Joel-Ready-Mix]

"Oh, and avoid Jump at all costs. I think they've ratified the Geneva Convention to include that tune as an illegal weapon of gastrointestinal destruction. [Wink]"

 

I have to admit if I went to the music store to try out some gear I would feel sort of embarrassed to start playing "Jump". I don't why that is, I still like it. Same goes for "The Final Countdown" and "Take on Me". Good songs though.

[Mr. Nightime]

I went into a music store in Kansas City years ago, and they had a sign up in the keyboard area that had posted fines for playing certain songs. "Lady of Spain" had the highest fines, but "Jump" was right up there.

[Joel-Ready-Mix]

"...the highest fines, but "Jump" was right up there."

 

I was going to make a joke like this..funny that they did that.

 

Well, I'm going to add "Spain" to the list. I'll get more street cred. if I can play some Chick. I actually thought Chick Corea was a drummer until 6 months ago (oops!)

I'll try "Sweet Georgia Brown" too, but maybe I will pass on "Cats"

[Trill]

Skier,

 

The best training is your for your skills. Ability to read is a huge plus, How well you are grounded in music theory, which will greatly increase your improv skills. And your physical abilitys. Can you change chords quickly,precisely? Can you keep up with the music? Can you use your left hand. Can you hear and pick things up quickly and put them down on keys? It all works together

The day you feel confident enough or competent is the day you answer an ad for a band and ask them what they play and pick some songs for an audition.

 

If you learn to parrot a few songs ,but are not grounded in the basics your weaknesses will come shining through.

 

Having said all that, there is still a lot of on the job training so to speak and a lot of us rarely ever feel satisfied as musicians and a lot depends on the talent of the group. But your ready when you feel ready.

 

And of course you may have to play Free Bird or Jump

[NoahZark]

I have to admit if I went to the music store to try out some gear I would feel sort of embarrassed to start playing "Jump". I don't why that is, I still like it. Same goes for "The Final Countdown" and "Take on Me".[/QB]

That's a great list(!), to which I would add the theme from Beverly Hills Cop ("Axel F").

 

Maybe this topic -- Good, KB-Heavy Songs That You'd Nevertheless Be Embarrased To Play In A Music Store -- warrants its own thread. What else makes your lists?

 

NJS

[Unsound Practices]

We are going way OT here but the song I always use to test acoustic piano sounds is Journey's "Faithfully." And yes I should be fined or dragged out the back alley for that...

[Sven Golly]

Continuing the OT...

 

Having worked in music retail in a past life, I can vouch for the pain that should be inflicted on anyone playing Jump on a keyboard in a music store.

 

Funnily enough, though, when I was working at a major Toronto retailer (named after a guy whose name sounds like "cleave" ), the guitar department also had a similar list of songs that were verboten. Top of that list was Smoke On The Water for electrics, and Stairway To Heaven for acoustics. My favourite moment was, early on a Saturday morning, just before the store opened, I had just racked the brand spanking new Proteus 1, dialed in the acoustic guitar patch, and proceeded to play Stairway To Heaven at full volume on a Peavey KB300 amp, that was coincidentally positioned facing into the guitar department, just inside the door to the keys room.

 

After that near-death experience, I took to sequencing Yngwie Malmsteen guitar solos to play as demos for customers...

 

Oh, and that scene in Wayne's World above the guitar, "NO Stairway To Heaven" was inspired by the sign in our store, or so the story goes.

 

Cheers,

SG

[eric]

If you have chops and good command of your keyboard rig, you really don't need to "know" any songs verbatim. I have picked apart many sonts and constructed them from recordings, but I've found that new bands I've played with have gone much better with a "play by ear with feeling" rather than analyzing a song on a CD and trying to replicate it. If you know what key it is in and have an idea of the structure, you should be able to come up with a decent keyboard part, regardless of what was actually recorded.

 

With all of that said, I am a fan of trying to recreate things authentically. I just would not spend a ton of time on this merely for an audition.

 

I would not even know where to start with counseling on "these are songs you must learn" as the styles vary so much. I have not played Jump since 1985 and can't see going into an audition and playing this particular song.

 

I think you want to have a good grasp of many idioms and an idea of how to express them using staple sounds (e.g. piano, organ, EP, clav, synth) plus that something special that makes it unique for you.

 

Let us know how it goes.

 

Regards,

Eric

[Joel-Ready-Mix]

Originally posted by Noah S:

[[/QB]

That's a great list(!), to which I would add the theme from Beverly Hills Cop ("Axel F").

 

Maybe this topic -- Good, KB-Heavy Songs That You'd Nevertheless Be Embarrased To Play In A Music Store -- warrants its own thread. What else makes your lists?

 

NJS [/QB]

I agree Axel F is definitely on that list.

On the other list I forgot "James" by Pat Metheney but that was getting kina hard.

Anyway good points from everyone.