top five biggest mistakes

Here is the short list of the top five biggest mistakes that I have seen when performing with professional groups.

1. Do not play your instrument between songs. Practice at home.

2. Return from the breaks a little beforehand. Don't make the band leader chase you down.

3. Arrive early enough to be completely set-up and relaxed before the performance starts.

4. Assist the drummer and band leader set up and tear down their equipment. Even if you only take an extra trip with extra stands or the band library, the effort might be enough to impress the leader to call you more frequently.

5. Do not over eat (and especially over drink) at venues that provide free refreshments.

Larry Marra

www.musicteachers911.com

100 best music major online archives

Here are two websites for college music majors that I have found very informative.

One is a page from www.onlinecolleges.net called 100 best online archives for music majors.

Here is the link:

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/08/05/100-best-online-archives-for-music-majors

The other is from, Andy Zweibel, a very ambitious student from Miami University of Florida geared especially for music majors.

It is:

http://MusicEdMajor.net

Yours Musically,

Larry Marra
Music Educational Specialist
musicteachers911 Consulting Services
Address: 2935 Robin Road
Dayton, OH 45409

email:
larry@musicteachers911.com

website:
www.musicteachers911.com


Be sure to subscribe to the musicteachers911 music education podcast available free from iTunes. Just search the iTunes store for "musicteachers911" and click subscribe. It's free!

Blind leading the blind.

Here's one that happened last night as I was sitting in at a local pub involving a trumpet, piano, bass and drums. Here is the way we were situated onstage. If you were in the house looking at the stage, from left to right, 1 trumpet, 2 piano/director, 3 me on electric bass, and 4 the drummer. This was the first time I was playing with them and I met them just as we were about to perform. The leader passed out a few fake books, so I was confident that this was going to be a good night. It didn't last long...

Early on, during the standard, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", I noticed that the band was playing the usual meter of 12/8, while the drummer was punching out a straight four beat pattern. It didn't take long for the tempo to wander to the point where it was all a jumbled mess.

I stopped playing, hoping that the drummer and piano/director could salvage the song to the point where I would jump back in a the head (top).

This is when I noticed that the drummer had his music stand facing away from the band! I tried to get his attention, but he wasn't listening either. He was in his own little world, unaware that he wasn't playing the same "feel" as the rest of us.

OK, so now I turn to the piano/director only to find that he has his head buried in the book so deep he doesn't see me either. Remember that I am standing next to him.

I tried to get his attention only to find that he wasn't listening either.

So now I glance at the trumpeter. He is a great musician and was very aware of the disaster happening, so he stopped playing as well. All he could do was shrug his shoulders as if to say, "Whatcha gonna Do?" The piano and drums didn't even notice when half the band dropped out!

Enough is enough, so I start yelling at everyone to stop playing. They do, and the audience is relieved. I tell them that we would now play one we actually know. They chuckle because there is no fooling them, and my comment showed a human side. Humor is great for relieving tension.

I invite the drummer to pass me his music stand, so that I could place it in line with the director so he wouldn't have to turn his head anymore to watch for cues. It would have worked to, if the piano/director was giving cues. He wasn't. I ended up watching the pianist hands to see when he was slowing down or adding a tag at the songs end. Then I would tell the drummer.

Moral? A good band consists of everyone watching and listening to each other, making sure that their part is blending with everyone else. If you can't hear every other instrument onstage, someone isn't playing properly.

Worst case scenario?

You have the bling leading the blind.

Yours Musically,

Larry Marra

larry@musicteachers911.com

www.musicteachers911.com

Be sure to subscribe to the musicteachers911 music education podcast available free from iTunes. Just search the iTunes store for "musicteachers911" and click subscribe.

I just called... to say.... you're too loud

Here's a neat little techno-trick using text messaging for balance purposes.

I was playing bass for a church luncheon with the University of Dayton's Big Band. They use a conductor and student conductor. I left my small bass amp in the car as I was hoping that the church would have a better one. It turned out that the church had a very nice 16 channel PA system that they were using to drive one mic to run a short business meeting before the concert. The PA volume was set and no one assigned to run the sound.

I plugged my bass into their system and it sounded very nice. They had two large main speakers on tall stands. One was by the band and the other was 40 feet away near the back of the room. I decided to leave my amp in the car. Because of there being no sound engineer, I would have no idea if my bass would be balanced with the rest of the group.

Just before the concert, I unplugged the speaker near the audience so that the only sound source would be the speaker near the band.

During the first song in which the Faculty director was conducting, I noticed the student conductor standing near me. He was to direct two songs near the end of the concert.

I motioned him to come over as I had an idea.

I asked if he would walk over to the back of the hall and text me as to the balance of the bass with the rest of the horns. I set the phone on vibrate and placed it on the music rack so I could see the message when it arrived.

He sent me a message that the bass was 20% too loud. I adjusted the volume from the bass guitar knob down two numbers. He then texted back, "PERFECT!"

The rest of the concert went well. I felt better knowing that the bass was not overshadowing the band.

In the old days before cell phones, I would have someone in the back of the hall motion with their hands if I was too loud. This works well unless the hall is dark and there is a spotlight on me blinding me from seeing into the house.

Text messaging would elevate this problem.

Larry Marra

larry@musicteachers911.com

www.musicteachers911.com

Be sure to subscribe to the musicteachers911 music education podcast available free from iTunes. Just search the iTunes store for "musicteachers911" and click subscribe. It's free!

shocking!!

I was playing the piano with a big band for a local Independence Day festival. The band was under a large tent in the street, but the audience started clearing out as the rain increased.

we were literally, high and dry. and were getting paid, so we kept on playing.

In the middle of one of the tunes, the rain shorted out the power to the stage. The band kept blowing away with the acoustic drummer, but the bass player, vocalist, and I were toast!

Since this was a street fair, the band supplied it's own PA and there was no sound engineers on this one. I quickly jumped off the stage and went to the light pole that housed the only receptacle that the entire band was using.

I tried to find an area of ground that wasn't in a puddle (plus, I was wearing rubber gym shoes) and frantically looked for a red reset button in the middle of the outlet.

Sure enough, there it was.

I crossed my fingers hoping not to get knocked down by an electrical shock, and hit the button.

Immediately, I heard the bass and vocals spring back to life. I jumped back onstage and yelled to the bass player, "NUMBER???"

He said, "Letter D in five" (measures)

I came in at letter D and the band finished the song without missing a beat.

Expect the unexpected!!

Make sure to subscribe to the iTunes podcast, musicteachers911, for more tips about music teaching and performance.

Power to the People

Here's one that happened last night that's a little embarrassing. I was to play the bass with a college gospel choir outdoors at their King's Island campus for a Spring Celebration. There were several roadies and sound engineers on hand to prepare the stage as there were a dozen bands to perform throughout the day. They were only to have only 10 minutes to set up between acts. 

It was an outdoor concert and the temperature was 92* in full Sun. I grabbed my bass, music and 30 foot cable and proceeded onstage with about a minute before the first song was to begin. A cable was already plugged into the amp and neatly rolled up on the top for me to plug into my bass. I did, and played a test note, but nothing sounded. I quickly switched cabled but still nothing. I check the power light and it was shining brightly. I yelled into the talk-back monitor that I had no sound and the engineers quickly descended upon me to trouble shoot the problem. 

(Here's the embarrassing part)......

The amp wasn't plugged in! The Sun was shining so brightly that the power light on the amp appeared to look lit, but wasn't.

Lesson learned is to visually check to see if the black power cord is actually plugged into an outlet.

My test note sounded clearly with about 5 seconds to spare.

No time for a sound check, the director is about to start.

Standing ovation after the show.

Thanks sound team.

Power to the People!

Stop, look and listen!!!

Have you ever had to sight-read a broadway show at the performance?

Last night I played the bass with the Sinclair College Show choir and sight-reading the pieces for their quarterly vocal choral performance.

The music wasn't extremely difficult, but the musical director loves to alter the form of the pieces to fit with certain skits, vamps, and written in dialogue that the choir adds in the middle of the songs.

The choir was to perform four broadway medleys. They were "Lion King", "Hairspray", "Grease", and "Guys and dolls".

The medleys segue immediately from one to the other, and the pianist had no time whatsoever to inform me about all the cuts and repeated sections that the music director had written in. 

To give you an example, we were to start one medley on page 41 which then was to repeat to page three!  None of these changes to the original score were penciled in to my music. 

(This was going to make for an interesting evening.)

When the pianist first saw me walk in, he was aghast. "Are you actually going to sight read this  entire concert????", he quipped while a look of stark panic shot across his face. "There's no way anyone could do this".

Let me interject to say that the accompanist has his masters in piano performance and is the keyboard professor for the College. He plays wonderfully and we have done other venues in the past with good results. His reaction wasn't that he doubted my ability to play the bass, or ever sight read well. He just knew that there was no way I would "mind-read" all the changes that the director interjected.

So what was I to do?

Don't panic. 

(This isn't the first time for me that it's been fourth and ten with no time left on the clock)

I positioned my music stand directly behind the pianist. So I could see his music as well as mine. I elected to stand to give me a bird's-eye view of his measures as well as mine. This also gave me a good vantage point if I needed to see his hands on the keys.

The pianist was so busy that he couldn't even give me a second to point to where on the music he was playing. 

Here's where those three little words that I learned in kindergarten about crossing the street comes in. "Stop, look and listen".

I would be playing  along with the combo. The very instant I could tell that the Show Choir had repeated or skipped to another section, I stopped playing. The piano was playing the bass clef notes in the piano part anyway, so the music didn't suffer at all. In fact, the music suddenly took on a lighter quality to keep the audience's attention.

Then I would look at his piano score to figure out where he was playing. When I felt that a bass entrance was appropriate, I would start playing again. This way the overall harmonic structure of the band didn't suffer with the root note being wrong. 

This also made the band sound more interesting as playing the bass on every beat gets a little monotonous, whereas cutting out and in occasionally keeps the listeners interest.

When I would see the word "freely" over a section, I would stop as it is very hard to play exactly when the piano plays the underlying chords. You can get very close, but not exact.

When the show was over, the pianist just sat on the piano bench shaking his head.

I asked what was wrong. He just whispered, "That was amazing". 

Then, he apologized for looking so shocked when he first saw me. He said that he just felt bad for me because of what I was up against musically.

"All in a night's work" I replied.

It's easy when you....

stop, look and listen.

Larry

www.musicteachers911.com

It's the little things that count.

It's the little things that count.

Last night, I was the pianist with the Hauer 18 piece big band for the Miamisburg, Ohio Veteran's Memorial Day Dance. 

The band featured music from the 1940 WWII years and also included many of the Armed Forces Songs. 

Since I wasn't the Band Leader, my thoughts were concerned with being a good sideman. 

Thoughtful sideman will be offered work more then poor ones.

Here are some of my ideas ideas.

1. I always arrive at least 30 minutes before the downbeat to insure that my equipment is fully functional 

and i am not forgetting anything. This will allow me to scramble and get anything I need and still not be late.

2. I always help the band leader with additional equipment set up. 

The band leader not only has to set up and wire his own equipment, but also the band PA, 

18 music racks, 18 stand lights and pass out 18 band music books. Last nights band book had over 1200 charts.

One thing I noticed was how many other sidemen would show up to the performance at the last minute

with only their instrument and nothing else. Many didn't lift a finger to assist the leader with the set up duties.

3. I always volunteer my dolly and extension cords to anyone else who might need them.

I also have my name and cell number clearly marked to make sure I get them back.

4. I am never the last one to return to the stage after a break.

5. I make sure that any charts that I pull out of the book for that last set are filed in order after that set.

5. I make myself available after the performance to assist the leader with tear-down.

6. I search the stage after every else is gone to insure that nothing is left behind. 

I currently have the bass players guitar stand and will contact him so he doesn't worry about it.

7. In these troubled time, the more paying performances the better.

These tips will help to insure that you are always on the band leaders "call back" list.

Good Gigging,

Larry Marra

musicteachers911.com

The top ten in my gig bag.

Here are 10 items that you might consider taking to your next gig.

1. Portable folding music rack with clothespins (in case you're outside).

2. Your own stand light (you never know how dark the stage will be).

3. extension cord. I carry a grounded, 25 foot-four outlet outdoor reel for my stand light, keyboard and amp and one left over. I also have a three t two pronged outlet adapter for older buildings.

4. An inexpensive dolly. I bought a fantastic one from welcomproducts.com called a magna cart. This dolly weights about five pounds and folds flat for transporting. It carries over 150 pounds. I added a bungee cord to keep things from shifting during transit. It cost $25 and had free shipping.

5. three apples (you can never assume that there will be food available when you get there). I had an hour drive to a four hour gig once, and was pretty hungry afterwards.

6. An extra 1/4 " amplifier cord and mic (for announcements). 

7. I take my gig clothes and wear jeans and a tee shirt to set up and tear down. If you are on a raised stage, make sure that your shoes are shined. 

8. breath mints, water and solid deodorant. 

9.  a GPS, or a mapquest.com  printout of the driving directions.

10. the cell number of the band leader (just in case).

I got this list the hard way. I hope that you find out how invaluable these items really are.

good gigging!

Larry

www.musicteachers911.com

location, location, location

Last week, I played electric bass guitar for our local senior center with the University of Dayton Big Band. UD purchased a rather large and heavy 400 watt bass amp for me to use for this.  

At rehearsals,  I love how this amp cuts through the horns and give a booming feel to the overall sound of the band. However, I don't like having to lug the thing around the campus and heave it in back of my car.  

For the performance last week, I decided to leave the big UD amp on campus and  take a much smaller and lighter 50 watt practice amp that I bought for my keyboards. In order for the bass sound to cut through the horns, I brought my ultimate support speaker stand that extends to a height of eight feet. Having the bass amp so high enabled the bass voice to be heard over the horns even from the back of the room. Of course, I tone of the bass voice was there, but not the gutsy booming feeling that you can only get with the larger amp. The good news is that it was an absolutely beautiful day and the little amp fit in the trunk of my new goldwing motorcycle. I rode to the venue with the bass guitar strapped to my back. After a long, gray winter in Ohio, there was no way that I was going to drive a car on such a perfect Spring day. 

For anyone who is thinking about getting a sound system, make sure to invest in good speaker stands so the you don't have to blast out the first few rows of people to be heard in the back.

The financial saving of not having to buy a larger and more powerful amps will pay for the stands. The additional height will make for a more overall balanced sound from anywhere in the room.