On average, how many tunes do you play a day?

[pamosmusic]

If I’m just practicing for no particular gig I probably work on a single tune for a few days. Even if it’s one I already “know.”

[MarkRhodes]

Most days, I only play my own songs.
I'm one of those loner assholes you sometimes hear about on the news. ;o)

[Gilpy]

I’ll probably run through 5 or 6 jazz tunes a day, plus some pure improvisation. And then I try to learn something new. I don’t play jazz gigs but when I have a rock or country job I will review about 20 songs a day.
I play with several bands and also do some subbing and the occasional studio session.
I keep all the songs in Studio One on my computer so when I get a call for a gig the material is there, easy to start, pause, rewind etc.

[rpjazzguitar]

Varies, depending on what I'm preparing for.

Lately, I've been drilling top 50 jazz standards (from somebody's list on the Internet) and playing them in random keys. So maybe a dozen a day.

Today, though, I have two gigs to prepare for, one with 27 tunes on the setlist and the other with 14. So, 41 charts, a few of which are for songs I haven't heard yet, so I have to find recordings.

[AllanAllen]

So, 41 charts, a few of which are for songs I haven't heard yet, so I have to find recordings.

The band leader should be telling you which recordings to use as reference.

[pamosmusic]

The band leader should be telling you which recordings to use as reference.

More common in a small group gig than a big band gig. And often not happening in small group gigs either.

Honestly getting the set list ahead of time is a small luxury.

[AllanAllen]

As a sideman I ask without shame. As a bandleader I appreciate someone who wants to prepare.

[rpjazzguitar]

The band leader should be telling you which recordings to use as reference.

That band has a private youtube channel for that. But, sometimes new tunes haven't been posted yet. So, I find the composer's version (which is what they usually use) and check it against the chart. If that's not right, I'll try a few others by well known artists. I can usually get into the ball park.

Seems to me that doing it this way -- and not bothering them to send me the link -- may make it easier for them. As a sideman subbing in a band, I think you really want to avoid being a squeaky wheel, if you can possibly figure out how to play the music without bothering the leader. If, on the other hand, you're going to screw up the performance unless you ask the question, you're going to have to ask it. Best of luck knowing the difference.

[rpjazzguitar]

More common in a small group gig than a big band gig. And often not happening in small group gigs either.

Honestly getting the set list ahead of time is a small luxury.

I think it's like other situations with a boss. Most are happy to help. But, what they may really want is for the work to be done perfectly without them having to spend a minute on it. Big band leaders are consumed, in my experience, with covering the chairs, bringing in new charts, troubleshooting old charts, finding lost charts, booking the band and other administrative duties like finding a place to rehearse for 15 horns and rhythm section. So, I try not to bother them with guitar related problems out of concern that next time they would prefer I just didn't show up.

[AllanAllen]

That band has a private youtube channel for that. But, sometimes new tunes haven't been posted yet. So, I find the composer's version (which is what they usually use) and check it against the chart. If that's not right, I'll try a few others by well known artists. I can usually get into the ball park.

Seems to me that doing it this way -- and not bothering them to send me the link -- may make it easier for them. As a sideman subbing in a band, I think you really want to avoid being a squeaky wheel, if you can possibly figure out how to play the music without bothering the leader. If, on the other hand, you're going to screw up the performance unless you ask the question, you're going to have to ask it. Best of luck knowing the difference.

A sideman subbing should be treated like royalty and helped as much as possible. You are doing the band a favor, not the other way around.

[Rick5]

Varies, depending on what I'm preparing for.

Lately, I've been drilling top 50 jazz standards (from somebody's list on the Internet) and playing them in random keys. So maybe a dozen a day.

Today, though, I have two gigs to prepare for, one with 27 tunes on the setlist and the other with 14. So, 41 charts, a few of which are for songs I haven't heard yet, so I have to find recordings.

Drilling a top 50 list in different keys sounds fantastic. I am going to try that for a while.

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[AllanAllen]

Drilling a top 50 list in different keys sounds fantastic. I am going to try that for a while.

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This is the list a lot of people use.

Ted Dunbar's Bebop List article @ All About Jazz

[Rick5]

This is the list a lot of people use.

Ted Dunbar's Bebop List article @ All About Jazz

That's an interesting list. It'a weird that a simple tune like song for my father is mixed in with some of those harder bebop heads. I was thinking more about the standards "everyone" should know - e.g., stella, wave, yesterdays, etc.

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[Bop Head]

This is the list a lot of people use.

Ted Dunbar's Bebop List article @ All About Jazz

Ted Dunbar's list was meant to be played through every day (all 50 tunes) in the original keys. According to Peter Bernstein each of the tunes should teach the student a lesson, which one was up to the student to find out himself.

[AllanAllen]

Ted Dunbar's list was meant to be played through every day (all 50 tunes) in the original keys. According to Peter Bernstein each of the tunes should teach the student a lesson, which one was up to the student to find out himself.

I thought you were supposed to learn them, then learn them in all 12 keys, then play them in the same position through all 12 keys.... maybe that was just someone here being silly. I only got 2 or 3 down between gig preparations... Then it took me 3 weeks to learn the verse and melody to Stardust... Now that I have the melody, I'm not sure why it kicked my butt so much.

[pamosmusic]

I thought you were supposed to learn them, then learn them in all 12 keys, then play them in the same position through all 12 keys.... maybe that was just someone here being silly. I only got 2 or 3 down between gig preparations... Then it took me 3 weeks to learn the verse and melody to Stardust... Now that I have the melody, I'm not sure why it kicked my butt so much.

That might’ve been me. I work on bebop heads that way and i got the idea from my guitar teacher who was a Dunbar guy. But I don’t use the specific list … and mine is shorter at the moment … and I don’t play them all every day. I set a timer for 15-20 minutes and just mark my spot when the timer goes off.

Ive probably mentioned that in the context of the Dunbar list, because I kind of lifted the idea from there, but it’s not quite the same thing.

My bad.

[BreckerFan]

I would say 5-10 a day. I have a spreadsheet with all the tunes I know and a playlist of my favorite YouTube play alongs for them. Every time I play a tune I give a score between 1 and 10, and then I have a very crude algorithm set up that calls a random tune, with a slight bias towards those with the lowest scores, so theoretically I'm working on those tunes that I'm the worst at the most. Most important thing is just that I'm keeping my repertoire up.

[pamosmusic]

I would say 5-10 a day. I have a spreadsheet with all the tunes I know and a playlist of my favorite YouTube play alongs for them. Every time I play a tune I give a score between 1 and 10, and then I have a very crude algorithm set up that calls a random tune, with a slight bias towards those with the lowest scores, so theoretically I'm working on those tunes that I'm the worst at the most. Most important thing is just that I'm keeping my repertoire up.

Holy hell. I’d probably pay for that algorithm

[JazzPadd]

This is a good topic for a thread! It's interesting to read the different reasons and routines that others have for playing tunes. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

I'm an amateur or casual player, a hobbyist I suppose, and I play perhaps 2-3 tunes most days. They tend to be mainly tunes I'm reviewing or working up to play or call at weekly or monthly jam sessions. As an example, for a few days before last night's jam session I reviewed "Dindi," "Sugar" and "You and the Night and the Music." "Dindi" was part of a solo guitar suite I worked up for Jobim's birthday last month, for which I arranged it in A. For the jam session, I reviewed it in Eb, which is the key in the common jam session books we use so others can join. The other two tunes, I was playing a lot last year but when they got stale I stopped calling them. Ironically, someone unexpectedly called "You and the Night..." at a session last week, which put it back on my radar but I need some playing time to get it back in shape. So the number of tunes I play per day goes like that; it's situational, it depends on the context.

On the other hand, some tunes are challenging rhythmically or the theme or comping pushes my current level of dexterity. If I have time I might try to work on those deficiencies systematically by focusing my daily playing time on those more demanding tunes. One of my chronic deficiencies is a sometimes clumsy anchored picking technique. However, instead of working to improve that, I recently stopped using a pick and returned to playing with my thumb for single lines and adding other fingers for chording as needed. Interestingly, at last night's session another guitarist commented that I had "changed my style."

But I think what matters most to me at the moment is being able to play the tunes that get called at jam sessions at least competently enough so I can join in or bring a new tune to a session. In that sense, I play tunes at home in the interest of later participating in a social setting around playing jazz out with others.

Many moons ago, when I was a work-a-day musician, I played far more tunes per day as part of a general practice routine that was oriented toward gigging and earning a living.

More recently, in addition to jam sessions, once or twice a year I might get invited to do a one-off show or sit in on someone's gig. When occasional shows or gigs are on the horizon I'll only play tunes to prepare for these more formal performance, and temporarily curtail the casual informal jam sessions. So for me overall, tunes that I play per day seem to mostly depend on a purpose for playing a tune at that time.

But of course, playing is also (and maybe even mostly) about fun and joy, and many tunes are just fun and joyful to play. Some days, I pick up a guitar and play one of those tunes with no purpose whatsoever.

[BreckerFan]

Holy hell. I’d probably pay for that algorithm

Haha nah it's nothing crazy, needs some more work. If I had any programing skills maybe I'd make an app...

The real challenge is that for it to really work I need to have like 6 months plus of data. Ideally you've played through each tune multiple times. If I stick with it for like 5 years it'll be really useful.

[Rick5]

For gigs, I tend to play with the same group of guys, so I can get really well-prepared in advance. With a few exceptions, we agree on all of the tunes in advance. A week or so before the gig, I stop all other practicing and just focus on playing the gig each day. I then feel like I have played the gig half a dozen or more times by the time it rolls around.

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