Sorry Buck, you've still entirely missed my point. I don't care that SD, or Aerosmith, or any big name and aging artist uses them. I've seen every SD tour since '96 and loved them all, not caring a bit about their charts/sheets.
I'm talking about non-famous, weekend warrior bar bands. Those with a front person who has his/her head in a book will almost never compare favorably to one of relatively similar talent that doesn't. It's just that simple.
pc...I don't think that I missed your point. I follow your logic. I just very politely disagree with it. We will have to agree to disagree. My perspective is as I stated above in my earlier post:Originally Posted by pc
"There is no right or wrong answer for using the lead sheet. There is just differing opinion about how various audience members react to it."
To me, it makes no difference if it is Clapton or Local Boy Blue. My reaction to the stand is the same.
Why have a different reaction based on the "fame/starpower" of the act?
It is similar, in my mind, to arguing that National acts can have a lead singer that wears a hat, but local acts must be hatless. My position is that I don't care about the hat, as long as I hear good music. My priority is to hear good music. If it is with or without a hat, a music stand or a lead sheet is a much lesser (trivial really) concern.
If you don't like listening to music sung or played by someone using a lead sheet or a hat that is totally your business. But that does not make those who disagree wrong in our dislike or like of the same performer.
I choose not to judge on the basis of a stand / lead sheet. I choose to judge based on the music.
BTW....keen eye on the SD guitarists not having a music stand. You were right on pc.
Well... I'm with you fellers
Seriously, guys- this was a very informal setting. The band was game for just about anything, & willing to play a tune even if they had never done it before but if somebody might remember the melody & feel confident enough to call out the changes.
That jam isn't going any more, which is just as well. It got kind of ingrown, w/the same jammers coming out & singing the same tunes, week after week.
And that kind of spells out my inquiry in the first place. I don't feel like "rehearsing" a bunch of material for some open mike, but I don't want to sing the same tunes again & again either. I'd like to try some Bob Dylan songs & many of them might have catchy melodies & cool hooks but are very wordy. I just wondered how the lyric sheets might be formatted.
+1000
Thats the thing that most weekend warriors never get. It's not about playing or singing, it's about performing. Just because you can play or sing or both doesn't mean you can perform. A musician of modest talent that can perform will always outdraw a virtuoso who can't.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Buck, this is the point I was trying to make and failing, through too much wordiness on my part no doubt.
We can certainly agree to disagree but you still don't understand what we're disagreeing about. Chuck's post here nails it.
You don't judge about stands/sheets because you're a musician.
I don't judge about them because, as I already said, I'm in two bands where the singer (who is my best friend, btw) uses them and because even I use them when I do jazz combo gigs meant as background music.
I'm a guy who currently plays about 125 nights per year between my fulltime band, three side projects and a few others I sub for. I see what works for LOCAL bands on the LOCAL level. I was never talking about pro acts, nor open mic nights.
But if a person's business (and their joy, hopefully) is playing in a local band that wants to grow a following AND get hired back (which means making people buy booze and dance and buy more booze), this is a helpful tip from guy who knows. Lose the stands and sheets.
RE the OP:
When I use a lead sheet, and I don't always but when I do, I think the font & size is really whatever works for you. The main limiting reagent would probably be to make it all fit on a single side of a page...so you don't have to turn it.
Having said that, know that there will be variance amongst those that watch you perform as to how well you are accepted based on your using those sheets. Irregardless of how you perform. Some won't care a bit about the lead sheet, others will criticize & void your performance because you used them. There is no right or wrong. No federal law. Just opinion.
See the can of worms that was opened?
Last edited by buckaroo; 09-14-2011 at 06:49 AM. Reason: spelling
pc....thanks for sharing your thoughts.
It's about entertainment. I can't think of any successful-on-a-local-level rock bands that attract a following of "musos" as opposed to folks who just want to have a good time and dance/drink.
If you're providing background jazz for a cocktail party, or Steely Dan, entertainment is defined differently.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Pete nails it here - because we as musicians are much more in tune with quality music and quality musicianship...whereas your average bar patron wants to have fun, sing along with "Sweet Caroline" ("Bum-bum-bummmmm!...SO GOOD, SO GOOD, SO GOOD!"), drink some beverages, and hopefully get laid...
It is what it is. It's about getting the ladies to dance. It's about getting them all in the mood. AND it's about looking like you're having fun right along with them...
Hell, I was listening to about a dozen tunes yesterday that I wish I could cover with the band. Great tunes. But guess what? They're not crowd-pleasers, they're musician-pleasers. Why is this not gonna work? Because all my musician friends are out gigging with THEIR OWN bands, leaving me to entertain a bar full of drunk and rowdy fun-seekers.
"I'm gonna find myself a girl
that can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams..."
Wow. Um, I'm pretty sure we all agree that it is wrong if someone criticizes and voids your performance if you use them.
Just like annoying people who point out that "irregardless" isn't a word.
pc........I guess we disagree again. Check out the URL:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irregardless
LOL Pete you jumped all over my caboose when I did that one time. I think it was mr. bradt I was arguing about...
"I'm gonna find myself a girl
that can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams..."
Okay, Buck, sorry. You're not a guy that gets subtlety at all. Not from me or the the link you just posted.
I relent. Or we can disagree about that too if you'd like. :)
Last edited by pc; 09-14-2011 at 07:39 PM. Reason: Edited to remove spinning smilies which came off more dickish than cute
Like a Cannon, I tell you.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
pc....I can tell you are a good man. Seems we were head to head a bit, but I've been smiling for the whole ride and happy that your here to do it with.
I know your intentions are good. Just having fun with dialogue is all we are doing. And I like the way your brain works. You are a smart guy. Hell, I'd even share my music stand with you if you forgot yours on our duo gig.......
Nice. Thanks man. My chickin' pickin' is rusty and weak; I'd need a Roy Clark Big-Note songbook to keep up!
Let me just say this...
Words like "irregardless, firstly, dampening"" etc, DO indicate to the reader the education and intelligence of the writer. While one can argue the validity of such words, their use still falls under the category of "self limiting behavior". I certainly wouldn't want to use them in a job interview or presenting to the board or making a summation to a jury.
Just my $.02.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
Well Merriam-Webster claims it is a word. Color me unimpressed.
Look, a word used in speech does not make it a word worthy of general acceptance for a long time. Regardless of, and irrespective of, the number of people who incorrectly use it.
People who use words that are inappropriate contractions, or hackneyed combinations of words always strike me as people who are trying to appear as though they know more than others...not you, Buck, just in general - by the way, did you read down through the comment trail on that citation??
Linguistics are fun, though... I've been a fan of word origins (is that Etiology?? I can't remember all the way back to my undergrad days) since I was a wee lad in grade school.
"I'm gonna find myself a girl
that can show me what laughter means
And we'll fill in the missing colors
In each other's paint-by-number dreams..."
Linguistics indeed.
My only point was that "irregardless" is considered a word. It is all meant in fun "fellers". All in fun. Even the dictionary suggests not using it!
I like pickin' and a grinnin'
Jeez, you guys- WAY off topic.
"Wait a minute -- supposing two swallows carried it together?"
It's not a question of where he grips it...
From the Webster link: "Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use regardless instead."
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