Using a music stand in a covers band

[KevB]

Never used one for a regular gigging band. I've had sheets of chords thrust at me for open mic gigs but i usually put those on top of my bass rig and consult them as and when. I think it looks a bit naff for a regular pop/rock/functions band. Even if you are there as the 'musical jukebox' (which my current band borders on) it doesn't mean you can't engage with the crowd to some extent and I think we do, none of us use stands. I'm sure I'd make just as many mistakes if I was trying to read it off a sheet, maybe just different ones. I was in a classic rock covers band once and we changed singers halfway through my tenure. The replacement insisted on bringing a big laminated book of lyrics with him 'just in case' and then spent half a song on one knee checking the lyrics. We split up within a year.

Edited December 8, 2014 by KevB

[stingrayPete1977]

No one wants to look at the top of the singers head all night but I have no issue with it if they barely look at the book and just glance at it now and then, the songs should be in order in the book before the gig starts though I do agree with that, standing watching someone looking for the words isn't fun for the audience or the band stood like spare parts!

[TimR]

[quote name='Thurbs' timestamp='1418042704' post='2626187']
...
I was thinking of going tablet based, but the thought of digitising about a foots worth of lead sheets and scores rapidly puts me off.
[/quote]

I'm going to go tablet based and scan everything I have. Only really for future reference and convenience. My folder isn't a foot thick but it wouldn't go on a music stand. Everything we play is memorised anyway but would be useful if I get dep gigs, to let them know what I already know.

[ironside1966]

Horses for courses, if it is a reading band, or a band that has to play a wide verity of music such has a hotel band, or even a band that is backing an artiest I don’t mind stands. In other words its ok if you are just there to play music but not if the purpose of the band is to entertain or perform.
Most bands covers bands I have played with would not allow music stands on stage. If any member of the band needs to bring prompts on stage then they need to do their homework. I could forgive a dep for using a music stand or even band members having a discrete prompt on a new song for the first couple of plays but that’s it. When I see a stand on stage I think that member is not part of the band because they are just following instructions.
I simply don’t understand the need for music stands if you have done your homework, unless you don’t play the songs very often.

Edited December 8, 2014 by ironside1966

[MikanHannille]

[quote name='MarkW' timestamp='1417970052' post='2625583']
Interesting thread. I play in a pubs & clubs covers band, and there's only me and the drummer who play from memory: guitar, keyboards and vocals all have stands. I think it looks bad, especially as I'm a crap bass player who only picked the instrument up a couple of years ago after a lay-off of 20 years, and if I can manage to remember the songs then anyone can.
[/quote]

Same situation.. sort of. They have the chord sheet on the floor and they look down on it most of the time. And you who's done your part, learned the songs by heart would be thinking what's the point of doing all the rehearsals.

All I have is the set list on top of my amp and that's as far as I will go with having these things.

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1417988436' post='2625836']
It's totally different for different types of band. A function band with a repertoire of hundreds of songs doing requests or playing stuff at the call of an md are totally ok to have music stands. That band works by being polished and flexible so that's a valid reason. A pub rock band knocking out time old classics with a set of 30 songs and maybe a dozen spares just look terrible imo with stands as the whole point is to be engaging and rock n roll and a bit rough and reasy. Using a stand in a pub tells me they either don't know their stuff or they're taking themselves way too seriously. I'd never play a pub with a regular singer / guitarist if he /she needed a stand.
[/quote]

+1

Edited December 8, 2014 by MikanHannille

[zero9]

Did an outdoor ging once with a 'function band'. The singers shared a music stand with lyrics on loose bits of paper. It was quite funny when there was a gust of wind...

[witterth]

our singer uses a Hercules stand and an ipad holder for Lyrics, I don't tin none notices or cares.
I admit if I'm depping , I make small notes that fit on one sheet of A4 and hide it as best I can.
simples.

[goblin]

I get a lot of dep gigs, so I've got a low mic stand with an iPad clamp. Depending on the band / how well I know the set, I sometimes have it handy but don't let myself rely on it. It's compact and out of the way though, and usually disguised by a speaker stand!

With my new band though, no reading at all.

[Marvin]

Some bands use them around here, some not. It doesn't seem to have cause any negative impressions with the audiences.

The only time it niggles me is if the singer has had a pop at the rest of the band for not learning their parts...then I tend to stare sternly at their music stand with all the words there for them, hmmmm

[ironside1966]

To all those using music stands with the same band on a regular basis, what is stopping you learning the songs? That is what I don't get.
I was talking to an agent about this a few years ago and he said he was very reluctant to book bands with music stands because the felt they could just be a band made up of jobbing musicians so if he booked them they might be a completely different band. I know a couple of agents who have fallen foul to this.

[goblin]

Oh yeah I've had that before. I've had the whole singer going "you've not learnt it", when I had done, the iPad was for reference and way out of the way, whilst he had his iPad at face level full of charts and lyrics

[ezbass]

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1418065085' post='2626507']
To all those using music stands with the same band on a regular basis, what is stopping you learning the songs? That is what I don't get.
[/quote]For me it's belt and braces in case of a brain fart. I know my stuff, but just one word or a note or two against the set list avoids embarrassment.

[stingrayPete1977]

Our main singer in my function band sits down for the whole gig.....

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1418065085' post='2626507']
To all those using music stands with the same band on a regular basis, what is stopping you learning the songs?
[/quote]
I very rarely use a music stand because it's one extra thing to carry and I couldn't be bothered to do so. However, I'll happily use one if I find it to be advantageous enough or even necessary. The up-in-arms nature of the anti-brigade strikes me as ridiculous. If you don't want to use a music stand then don't. I don't use one .... almost always.

If the whole band were hiding behind music stands and doing their utmost to avoid contact with the dancing drinking taking audience then that would be stupid but I don't think anyone imagines it like that except those with a phobia of music stands.

If someone is not learning their parts then the music stand is not the problem.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1418037929' post='2626119']
I think we're getting a little tangled wth all that "professional" talk...
Those who dislike stands on a pub gig (like myself) probably mean (at least I do) that stands and "rock image" don't really go together. That's all.
[/quote]
But some of us are trying hard to avoid a "rock image".

[MarkW]

I moan about my band mates using stands, but then to be fair only one of us has played Don't Stop Believing in F when everyone else was playing it in E...

[timmo]

I really don`t think anyone in a pub would care if there is a music stand or not. I am more interested in listening, dancing if need be to notice what is on the stage.I never took any notice of what bass was being played until i started learning, and now look as a passing interest, to see if it is an unusual one. After, i might ask what they are playing after the gig has finished. I think people worry to much about how much the average punter really cares as long as the tunes are good and all had a good time. I would say it is more unprofessional forgetting lyrics than having a stand

Edited December 8, 2014 by timmo

[Number6]

Should there be tick boxes on the flyers for the gig?

1. Music stands will be in use at this gig

2. Music stands will not be in use at this gig

It's only fair after all to let the punters know in advance to avoid them having to walk out in a huff.....

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1418068296' post='2626552']
Should there be tick boxes on the flyers for the gig?

1. Music stands will be in use at this gig

2. Music stands will not be in use at this gig

It's only fair after all to let the punters know in advance to avoid them having to walk out in a huff.....
[/quote]
I'd add....
neo cabs,
class D heads,
basses with more (or less) than six strings,
leds lights other than any starcloth backdrops,
left handed bassist that is not Paul McCartney,
plectrum used on bass,
fingers used on bass but for rock style semi quavers,
any slap should be done only under the supervision of Larry Graham unless written permission from either every member of the audience 2 weeks before the gig or from every member of basschat via a poll thread,
1x12 combos only allowed with an extension cab,
8x10 cabs must be used at full volume even for quiet songs,
no active basses allowed but passive basses can be used with an outboard preamp as thats totally different,
fanned frets under no circumstances,
no frets not allowed unless its a double bass unless you play Pino's 'wherever I lay my hat' line between every song all night.

Edited December 8, 2014 by stingrayPete1977

[Number6]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1418069567' post='2626567']

I'd add....
neo cabs,
class D heads,
basses with more (or less) than six strings,
leds lights other than any starcloth backdrops,
left handed bassist that is not Paul McCartney,
plectrum used on bass,
fingers used on bass but for rock style semi quavers,
any slap should be done only under the supervision of Larry Graham unless written permission from either every member of the audience 2 weeks before the gig or from every member of basschat via a poll thread,
1x12 combos only allowed with an extension cab,
8x10 cabs must be used at full volume even for quiet songs,
no active basses allowed but passive basses can be used with an outboard preamp as thats totally different,
fanned frets under no circumstances,
no frets not allowed unless its a double bass unless you play Pino's 'wherever I lay my hat' line between every song all night.
[/quote]

I feel there is a foundation of a plan coming together here that will maybe go some way to answering the OP's post and the 'Do'and 'Do Not' partisans.

Will the flyers be A1 or A0 Size?

[stingrayPete1977]

I was thinking more like handing out ipads on hercules stands so the punters dont need to put their pint down to read them

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1418070409' post='2626581']
I was thinking more like handing out ipads on hercules stands so the punters dont need to put their pint down to read them
[/quote]
If you put the lyrics on there too then everyone will be able to sing along.

[timmo]

This thread reminds me of my last tutor. He went to watch Robin Trower , and he said he walked out because he was awful and just played scales. He noticed because he is a classically trained guitarist. I would imagine the rest didn`t even know what he was playing, or cared. Probably the same for music stands. The punters would never know that the stand was there, or if they did, wouldn`t know it was not normal. Only musicians would notice and care about it.

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Surely the ability to internalise music quickly and efficiently is a skill like any other, that requires practice to develope - aside from how people feel about using stands on stage, surely there is an argument that if you always rely on having a pad there as a crutch, that you never really put yourself in a situation where committing the music to memory is essential, and you actually defeat your own opportunity to develope that skillset as a result.

I was lucky some years ago to work with a pro musician from Ghana who had earned his living from the age of 12 gigging on a daily basis, and his ability to learn material extremely quickly amazed me - he nailed ~45 numbers for the function band I was playing in at the time in 3 days, no crib sheets, no charts and no mistakes. On talking to him about it, he told me that much of the time when he was learning his trade in Ghana he was often expected to learn material from the radio and play it the same day, no luxury of cassette tapes or record players, so as a matter of necessity he had developed the necessary skills to keep his gigs.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1418037758' post='2626118']
so you're a "real" bass player and you tune your lowest to C?
[/quote]
"Doremi" was a mistake. Obviously i must have meant "Milaresol".