Tips for musicians

[JeffD]

I found these on a guitar player blog, I don't know where they came from originally. Good stuff.

Jason's Rules of Musicianship

1. Less is more.

2. You're never wrong not to play. Let the tune breathe. Lay out for a go-round. When you come back in, it will sound that much stronger.

3. Don't play scales. Play changes.

4. Don't cast your pearls before swine.

5. Never "noodle" between tunes on stage.

6. Most guitar players should be seen and not heard.

7. Bass players are great. Unless they think they're guitarists.

8. If you're a sideman and the singer gives you a solo in a song, lay out completely for the next verse.

9. Play the tune slightly slower than you think it should go. And keep that tempo. It's amazing how much power a slow tempo has.

10. The acme of skill is not sounding good. The acme of skill is inspiring and complementing and leading others to sound good.

11. See another player struggling? Take an hour before or after the session and give him or her a hand.

12. Guitarists: There is no money above the 5th fret.

13. It is better to have a day job and play what you love than to be a full-time musician and spend all your time playing what you hate because it pays well.

14. You are not ready to move on until you can play a passage at your chosen tempo seven times in a row with zero defects. Seven times. If you screw up on the seventh time, you have to go back to iteration 1.

15. Interior voices make the tune.

16. First-inversion chords - with the 3rd in the bass, simply rock, in the right place.

17. Learn and memorize as much J.S. Bach as you can on your instrument. You won't regret it.

18. There is nothing so dangerous to the music as a guitarist who shows up with his girlfriend. He winds up playing to impress his girlfriend rather than for the music.

19. Fiddlers - master the pulse in the bow hand. 60 percent of the music is held between your thumb and forefinger on the bow hand.

20. Straight 8th notes are almost never purely straight, in reality. Listen closely to the masters.

21. Every gig should have at least one of the following:
A.) Good money
B.) Fun
C.) Connections for the future
D.) Learning

If it doesn't have any of these, turn it down and move on, or take the night off. What might be a waste of time for you might be a fantastic gig for someone just starting out. Let him or her have it.

22. Finding a substitute is the responsibility of the player, not the band leader.

23. If you're hired as a substitute, never take the regular's gig.

24. The club doesn't let people pay their drink tabs the next day. The band shouldn't have to wait for their money either unless other arrangements are made in advance.

25. Smile and LOOK at the featured musician when you're not playing. It's what theater guys call "focus" and it's very powerful.

26. Take turns taking breaks. Work out a system, so everythign goes smoothly. But vary it. Nothing's worse than a bluegrass band that always breaks in the same order.

27. Always play as if a master were listening to you. Eventually, they start to whisper to you.

[John Flynn]

Absolutely great stuff and as applicable to mandolin players as it is to guitarists and fiddlers. Thanks.

[Peter Hackman]

There's no money above the 5th fret. Only music.

[Robert Moreau]

Great.

Thanks for posting!

[Shana Aisenberg]

Good list.

BTW, this musician gladly accepts tips, coins OK, bills better

Seth

[PhilGE]

BTW, this musician gladly accepts tips

Buy low. Sell high.

But seriously,

Learning to play above the 5th fret will strengthen your ability to play below.

Five fundamentals of practice I've learned from others:
1) Warm up by playing scales and other "exercises"
2) Practice often
3) Practice slowly and with a metronome
4) Keep your practice focused and with a reasonable goal in mind
5) repeat the above.

If I kept to this regimine, I'd be a much better player! Somehow, family manages to come first. Speaking of them...

-Phil

[entau]

22. Finding a substitute is the responsibility of the player, not the band leader.

have to disagree with that one -
been in situations where I'm not in the regular band/group - but am hired (paid) for special appearance/performance

I would think in that situation if I agreed to something but couldn't make it due to circumstances - it would be the band leaders problem

kind of like if I can't make it work becuase I'm sick - I have to find the replacement ? not my employer ?

of if I have a solo gig and can't make it - is it my responsibislity to find a sub? or is it the manager of the venue ( club, hall whatever)

The acme of skill is not sounding good. The acme of skill is inspiring and complementing and leading others to sound good.

how does that apply to solo performance ?

[earthsave]

I'm a notorious noodler between songs.

[Any Day Now]

better then noodling during a song...id say thats a more important tip.

[Celtic-Grass]

great list! I'd agree with every one. Including the one about find your own replacement. It's not only courtesy, it's a mark of respect for your fellow players and shows professionalism. (when i was an itinerant Jazz player years ago that was as sacred a rule as any. Pull a stunt like leaving your band mates hanging and you'll find yourself without any work, fast.)
One more thing I'd add to this list is a thing one of my music professors in university always said about showing up for a gig...
"Early in on time, on time is late."
give yourslelf time to tune up, warm up, and be relaxed. Nothing worse than a guy hitting the stage cold.

[groveland]

13. It is better to have a day job and play what you love than to be a full-time musician and spend all your time playing what you hate because it pays well.

That's how I got where I am today!
These are great things to aspire to, particularly the non-musical, 'respect and professionalism' tips on the list. Frankly, back when I was doing music full-time, there were very few, if any, musicians in the bands I worked with that honored those points. I believe that those players who do take the high road enhance their potential for big success way beyond where their playing skills can take them. If I only knew then what I know now...

[ApK]

Ahem...if I may:

>>3. Don't play scales. Play changes.<<
I'm not going to argue, but what does that mean, exactly?

>>4. Don't cast your pearls before swine.<<
Sounds pretty arrrogant and pretentious to me. #What does this mean? Don't give your best unless you deem the audience worthy? #Shouldn't you strive to cast nothing but pearls, ever?

>>11. See another player struggling? Take an hour before or after the session and give him or her a hand.<<
How about OFFER them a hand, and back off if your unsolicited advice isn't wanted.

>>18. There is nothing so dangerous to the music as a guitarist who shows up with his girlfriend. He winds up playing to impress his girlfriend rather than for the music.<<
Huh? #Doesn't this contradict #4...you want him to cast his pearls before her, right?

>>23. If you're hired as a substitute, never take the regular's gig.<<
Spoken like someone who must get fired and replaced a lot.
Why should a better player turn down a job?

>>27. Always play as if a master were listening to you. Eventually, they start to whisper to you<<
Seems to contradict #4 and #18...if you're playing for the master, then you're not playing for 'the music' and assuming you want to give the master pearls, what if everyone there is swine?

ApK

[sully542]

WOW - good stuff. I'm so new I only know what about 1/2 of it really means!

[Klaus Wutscher]

Ahem...if I may:

>>3. Don't play scales. Play changes.<<
I'm not going to argue, but what does that mean, exactly?


>>23. If you're hired as a substitute, never take the regular's gig.<<
Spoken like someone who must get fired and replaced a lot.
Why should a better player turn down a job?


ApK

Playing changes instead if playing scales means to choose your notes (conciousely or unconciousely)in a way that your lines always reflect the changes, i.e. use the "strong" chord notes. The idea is that, even without any backup, the listener would be able to hear the changes. It´s really tough to do, but seperates the men from the boys, at least in Jazz, imo.

If you take the job from someone who brought you along as his substitute, you get one job, but you lose ten (or twenty, fifty)in the future. Not only that you will never sub again for that partiular player, but the word will spread, and nobody hires a sub only to feel his steamy breath right behind him. That rule is not limited to music. My law firm sometimes consults other law firms for specific cases - no big deal, usually. But one firm proceeded to lure away a client from us in the process of a consultation. It was a small case and not a big loss for us, but guess who never got called again...
Of course there are grey areas, like when the player is fired by the leader and the sub gets an invitation to join the band, but that´s not the same as taking a gig away from another player.

[groveland]

Ahem...if I may:
>>23. If you're hired as a substitute, never take the regular's gig.<<
Spoken like someone who must get fired and replaced a lot.
Why should a better player turn down a job? ...
ApK

If you take the job from someone who brought you along as his substitute, you get one job, but you lose ten (or twenty, fifty)in the future. Not only that you will never sub again for that partiular player, but the word will spread, and nobody hires a sub only to feel his steamy breath right behind him. That rule is not limited to music....

I know that kind of opportunism is not a trait I admire.

[MikeEdgerton]

22. Finding a substitute is the responsibility of the player, not the band leader.

have to disagree with that one -

I agree with you totally on this. The last thing I want is to have somebody show up at a gig and say "Bob the banjo player couldn't make it so he sent me". I'd rather have Bob the banjo player tell me he couldn't make it so I could either pick songs that didn't need the banjo or find someone that I felt could sit in.

[Klaus Wutscher]

The last thing I want is to have somebody show up at a gig and say "Bob the banjo player couldn't make it so he sent me".

Sure, but the way I see it, if I accept a gig and cannot make it (for whatever reason), then I should contact the bandleader and offer a solution (i.e. sub) to the problem I caused. That´s something different than just sending a "surprise bandmenmber" to the gig.

[MikeEdgerton]

Offering a substitute is one thing. Procuring a substitute is another. The band leader (in my case the rest of the band, we try to be democratic about these things) still has the option of choosing. The way that's written it would appear that the band leader would be out of the loop.

[Klaus Wutscher]

Agreed!

[ApK]

I agree with the 'offering' vs. 'procuring' distinction. And I think the point is, if you can't meet your commitment, don't leave them in a lurch to the best of your ability. I've had to do this running lights for shows and such.

But similarly, isn't there the same distiction between 'stealing a job' and accepting a job you are offered? Like in the law firm anology, the consulting firm should not solicit or try to steal your client, but unless you've signed a formal non-compete, if the the client simply decides he likes the consuiltant better, and fires you, you think the other firm should turn the client away? Same with a sub player, no?

[MikeEdgerton]

If you're offered a job you should simply run through the pros and cons like you would in any situation. If you sit in with a band and they offer you a permanent (if there is such a thing) position then you weight the costs and benefits of your actions. If it means you get to play with a group of strangers for beer and food once a week and you lose your best friend then I know what my reaction would be. If it means you get a job that feeds your family and you lose an acquaintance that only calls you when he needs something then I know how I'd react to that. This isn't a cut and dried world.

[kvk]

Ahem...if I may:

>>4. Don't cast your pearls before swine.<<
Sounds pretty arrrogant and pretentious to me. What does this mean? Don't give your best unless you deem the audience worthy? Shouldn't you strive to cast nothing but pearls, ever?

Maybe the point isn't to avoid playing pearls, it's a avoid playing for swine. That is, don't alter what you play, alter who you play to.

[JeffD]

Ahem...if I may:

>>4. Don't cast your pearls before swine.<<
Sounds pretty arrrogant and pretentious to me. #What does this mean? #Don't give your best unless you deem the audience worthy? #Shouldn't you strive to cast nothing but pearls, ever?

Maybe the point isn't to avoid playing pearls, it's a avoid playing for swine. #That is, don't alter what you play, alter who you play to.

That is my take on it. Don't play to the wrong audience, and then attempt to make them happy or educate them.

Not everyone is going to like or appreciate our music.

[ApK]

I could certainly understand that. #I mean, don't bring your chamber music to the honkey-tonk, and don't bring your Grunge rock to the Queen's brunch, but to phrase that as "don't cast pearls before swine," #well, it does come from a guitarist, and I guess it takes a healthy ego to be a guitarist.

[kvk]

[QUOTE= (JeffD @ Nov. 07 2007, 11:15)]

...
Not everyone is going to like or appreciate our music.

Reminds me of a phat horn section blowing the intro to "Gimme Some Lovin'" at Bob's Country Bunker.
Can see the beer bottles hittin' the chicken wire now.