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... Gulp. Send help please. Anyone want to sit in?
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12-01-2021 10:23 PM
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You can do this. How many tunes have you got? How many breaks can you take? Do you want or need to repeat any tunes? Will anybody else be there to listen to the whole 3 hrs or will the crowd turn over once or twice. When I did 4 hour restaurant gigs I would time my sets, stretch tunes I could by a chorus. I never liked repeating tunes. So I learned enough, timed them in rehearsal to make sure and stretched the ones I knew the best. I wrote in the timings, and where to take my 3 breaks, and followed that set list. Worked for me. There are lots of ways to do it. You can find your own. Good luck and report back next week!
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Thanks for the kind words of encouragement!! I know a good number of tunes, just never played most in a solo setting for this long. Typically I am doing 3 hour gigs with a trio. Great idea on writing out a list. I typically do not do that, but I think it will be helpful in this case to stay on track, map breaks, different tempos/feels, etc. I am going to take at least one break, with a goal of not repeating a tune. It will be an event where the crowd is turning over, so it would not be the worst thing if I do need to. We will see!
Originally Posted by PaulHintz
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Four hours of solo playing, with only one break! I would organize my list, and try to not tire my hands a lot, cause it's a difficult thing if it happens in the middle of a solo 2 hour set!
I would also bring a looper, but of course not everyone is into that..
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I like to play the same tune a few different ways on solo gigs. An attentive audience loves it and an inattentive one hears only background music for their own thoughts and conversations. You can play Misty as a soulful ballad, with rubato at both ends. Then you can do it up and swinging a la Richard “Groove” Holmes, either as a medley or later as a separate tune. Use your imagination and cool ideas will pop into your head. Do the same thing with Here’s That Rainy Day or Secret Love. Try Come Rain or Come Shine as a gentle funk tune after a long a tempo intro or a slow run through. Many standards make great bossas too.
I carry a long list and look at it for inspiration before starting. You have to take at least one break. Union rules here have always been “40 on, 20 off” for “noncontinuous” pay and 55 on, 5 off on a “continuous” gig. Even though it’s not a formal contract in most cases, discuss it with the employer before starting (ideally when accepting the date). Tell him or her that your standard rate includes an hourly break of 10 minutes (or whatever you think is reasonable). This has worked well for me and the bands I’ve played with for 50 years. But we often combine two or more breaks into one longer one. If several new people show up, delay a break for a tune or two so they get some entertainment and want to stay for your return.
I also use recorded solo guitar for filler on breaks. It’s easy with a mobile phone and an amp with an aux input.
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I've done these. I like to double up my arranged parts to fill more space if I need to...So a tune can become head, improv, head, more improv, head again. If it's truly a background gig, nobody cares, allows me to relax and take up a good 8-9 minutes per tune.
Also a great place to practice playing a tune in more than one key.
And you can definitely repeat a tune if you account for audience turnover. Nobody will know.
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Just make sure you shed ahead of time if you haven't played solo in awhile.
I've played plenty of solo gigs but at one point went many yrs just playing in band settings. Then I got a 4 hour solo gig w 2 short breaks and my hands/arm were a little sore after. Maybe I'm in the minority but solo gigs make you work a lot harder to "fill things up"
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Then again, on a solo gig you can play whatever you want to play exactly as you want to play it - and you can try out new approaches before foisting them on unsuspecting band mates Originally Posted by wintermoon
. Fortunately, the bass player and drummer in my jazz trio (with whom you played so well for me when I had my hernia repaired) are open minded and on the same wavelength as me. So we're all happy to try anything one of us thinks up. On the other hand, I spent 3 hours yesterday going over old arrangements and new tunes with our new vocalist in the Philly Blues Kings and dealing with a scowling bass player (not George!) who wouldn't get off the "let's do it like XXX does it" soapbox. I tried to get him to try Cold Cold Heart 6 different ways, but he rejected each one and insisted on clinging to Nora Jones' piano legs. It's a good thing I'm easy going!
At tonight's jazz show, I want to do So What in 3/4, Come Rain or Come Shine as a light funk tune, and Watch What Happens with a reggae feel. But I've been working on these solo for a few weeks to decide how we should approach them. Just figuring out a good intro and ways to start into the head on So What in 3/4 took me more trial and error than I expected.
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Are you just playing solo or going to use a looper? I could play 3 hours of chord-melody guitar for sure and not repeat myself with 10 min breaks and such, but I read well so I can just keep flipping charts. The problem for me is that I might bore the place to pieces after 3 hours. The guitar is not a piano and while I could sit and listen to Joe Pass for 3 hours I am not sure the average listener could at all.
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"and dealing with a scowling bass player (not George!)'
oh, I was just about to text him what you posted!
kidding of course, but don't you hate sidemen that don't listen to the leader?
sometime too many cooks spoil the broth. ask me how I know....
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Just to add to the chorus: Make a list . Always have a list. The mind has a way of blanking out at the worst times. When I was leading a pickup band, I would come with set lists for everyone, including thumbnail arrangements - Key, feel, tempo, chord changes for less well-known stuff, etc. I collected them afterward, as printer ink is about $1,600 a gallon, last I heard. Forget oil or Bitcoin. The smart money is on precious, precious HP Black. Originally Posted by Paulie2
... Gulp. Send help please. Anyone want to sit in?
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"Union rules here have always been “40 on, 20 off” for “noncontinuous” pay and 55 on, 5 off on a “continuous” gig. Even though it’s not a formal contract in most cases, discuss it with the employer before starting (ideally when accepting the date). Tell him or her that your standard rate includes an hourly break of 10 minutes (or whatever you think is reasonable). This has worked well for me and the bands I’ve played with for 50 years. " nevershouldhavesoldit
Hi,P,
In Chi, we did 45/15 for combos in clubs. 3 Sets max. For CG, I only do 2 sets 45/15 since I always play solo. I can't imagine doing 3 sets, solo guitar--Jazz or Classical. What do they think we are????? Piano players?????
Play live . . . Marinero
P.S. I hope they're paying you well for your time! That's a tough gig! M
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Just pray that they don't want you to play four hours of Christmas music!
The worst two solo gigs of my life were gigs where they wanted just that.
Some woman started yelling at me for repeating tunes.
I said, "Lady, how many Christmas tunes do you think there are?"
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"Fortunately, the bass player and drummer in my jazz trio (with whom you played so well for me when I had my hernia repaired) are open minded and on the same wavelength as me"
Thanks my man you're too kind....did George say how much I paid him to say that?
But anyway, when I got there he told me what a monster player you are (I think he said 'musical savant') so I figured if I was subbing for a savant I better do something.
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"collected them afterward, as printer ink is about $1,600 a gallon, last I heard. Forget oil or Bitcoin. The smart money is on precious, precious HP Black.
"
Printer ink prices are one of my biggest pet peeves, to the point when I last ran out I said screw it, I'll live w out a printer.
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I do a 3 hour solo gig every Saturday. Bring a list. Take a break or two and have fun. It is an opportunity to work on your chops. Take lots of choruses on the tunes you have down pat. Good luck.
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I had a duo/solo 3 hour gig two times a week for a number of years. I learned so much. One thing that made it fun was free form but melodic introductions. I would be centred around the key of the piece and make up an improvisation around a theme or motif of the piece and play around with it in different ways.
This did two things: It allowed me to change the sonic texture to my own liking (add some variety to the regular comping/melody forumula) and play with that for a little while, and it made my entrance to the tune stronger because the music was already flowing at the first bar. It also extended the time on the piece in a very pleasing way.
Sometimes intros and outros can be more compelling than the solo space itself. Anyway, it helped me.
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I happen to love Christmas tunes. I make medley/mash-ups with standards. I'd start with a tune and go into a bridge of a standard in the same key, and "travel" back and forth between the carol and the standard. Originally Posted by sgcim
When I was applying to music school, I arrived for my audition having driven 11 hours through a snowstorm. I had a piece I had worked on and polished for months, but somehow my mind wasn't on it. They said "Would you like to play your prepared piece?" and I played Silent Night and at the form break I went into the bridge of Night and Day, and played with those tunes back and forth. After that, they said "What's the name of that tune? Did you make the arrangement?" I said 'Hmmm, I'll call that Silent Night and Day, I just made that up on the spot'. It may not have been note perfect, but it worked. They were entertained. I got in.
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Don't currently have a looper on my pedal board, but I do have one put away in my office. I typically don't use one but could give it a shot Originally Posted by deacon Mark
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Five stars, dM! Originally Posted by deacon Mark
Many upscale bistros, hotel gigs, and wine tastings think you should play 3 hours with NO breaks. They need to be educated about playing guitar, especially CG/Jazz, that three hours of quality music with short breaks is a real physical stretch for most. It's not the same as playing other Pop music where you can play 5 hours with three chords. If they don't like it . . . move on. That's the advantage of NOT having to make a living playing music. The secret with these venues is that if you can show them that you can increase their bottom line on the nights you play, it becomes a non-issue. Most don't care about the music. They're business people and they want a return on their investment . . . plus. That's where your business skills in promotion can make the difference from a one-nighter to a long term gig. Three hours solo guitar??? Never in my lifetime.
Play live . . . Marinero
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So do I! It got to the point that I only used it to print a report to our accountant for the taxes, and figured, screw this noise, and that was that. I suppose if I was still playing I would still be printing charts and posters and so forth, so maybe there is an upside to being side-lined! Leaves my more time to Forum! Originally Posted by wintermoon
"collected them afterward, as printer ink is about $1,600 a gallon, last I heard. Forget oil or Bitcoin. The smart money is on precious, precious HP Black."
Printer ink prices are one of my biggest pet peeves, to the point when I last ran out I said screw it, I'll live w out a printer.
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Did a one-hour solo gig of strictly Christmas tunes last night for a tree-lighting ceremony and that was enough holiday music for me.
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That must have been weird. Silent Night is in 3 and Night and Day is in 4. The only way I can imagine that is to play N&D in 6. Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
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You're missing out on some serious fun! I love to play tunes in time signatures other than the original, especially solo. It's great with a band, but you have to know who's up to it and who's not. I've been surprised to discover that many excellent musicians have trouble fitting tunes that they know well into alternative time frames. But when it's right, it's in a deep groove - and I'm fortunate that my mates in the trio are right there with me. Originally Posted by sgcim
I just got a new Alesis Q88 Mk 2 keyboard last week and redid my home studio. Everything's working great - so to test it out this morning, I pulled the P bass down from the wall, fired up the electric drummer, and laid down a quartet chorus of Silent Night in 4 for ya'! [Tech details for those who care - Both the bass and the AF207 were plugged directly into a TASCAM interface. I laid down the drums, bass, and keyboard in Tracktion and mixed that to a stereo wav file that I played while capturing the video and laying down the guitar part in OBS.]
Alternative time signatures...........
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The thing about mashups, you can take any aspect and superimpose it on another form; so many things define a specific tune. As I remember, I took the original II V I of "Silent Night Holy night..." and used the harmonic turnarounds of Night and Day. "All is Calm..." I started the characteristic #4 -7b5 descending harmony and used it as the harmonic line back to the tonic. That constituted a re-harm at that point. Originally Posted by sgcim
That was the the way I played the first form through.
On the second chorus, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, I changed the key to the relative minor and used the Eb modulation of the Night and Day.
At that point, the CMaj and C min duality is established and it's just using the ear to decide which tune to take to the next section break.
I like playing tunes this way, and I actually have lots of Christmas tunes that have mash up DNA into standards. Why not? Isn't a sense of play what makes this game fun?
Doing it on the fly is a rush. As long as you land on your feet, know where you want to be and get there by the closing turnaround, you're good. And ain't that more interesting than playing it straight on a 3 hour gig?
Aside story, one time I was playing Bye Bye Blackbird in a duo gig with Mick. At the closing turnaround, he sets up the fingerpicking pattern for Blackbird (Beatles) and laid it on top of the form. DANG! It worked. The guy's got scary ears and a wicked sense of humour. And who doesn't love the Beatles?
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Today, 04:35 PM in Improvisation