What's the current thought on using charts for live shows?

[bigdaddybass12]

Context.
If it’s Brown Eyed Girl and you’ve played it 2X each night 4 nights a week for 30 years the charts aren’t helping you.

Yeah, my issue is the 2 guys I play for are capo junkies. Years ago I learned to watch guitar players hand to see what chord he was playing. Then move that chord(note) up the # of frets he is capo'd up ! That taught me to play by 'pattern" opposed to having .5 of a second to find a A# on the neck. So charts don't benefit me very much with my current gig. To add to confusion, my gig tonight the singer/guitar player will play a song capo'd on the 2nd fret, next time he will play it on the 3rd fret

 

[Andy Marshman]

In earlier years, I played in bands that did 4 sets of about 13 songs each. I was the lead guitar player at that time I had to memorize every lick and solo for all of them. No cheat sheets, hints etc. That used to be the only thing I knew - nobody used charts etc. In recent times, I've had to give up the fight.

 

[Jefenator]

There is something about being fully “off book”. I love being able to just close my eyes and play. Or watch my band mates for visual cues. (Or check out the crowd...)
OTOH I've played with about 20 different groups this year so far. My life is already pretty crammed, without trying to commit 50 sets worth of arrangements to memory!
Reading doesn't exclude visual communication BTW; classical players read all kinds of crazy stuff while following a conductor.
I do concur that sometimes a chart can be a crutch. Whenever time allows, it is usually best to commit new material to memory.
There is also the show aspect. (YMMV; if I were free to work in some dance steps, that would probably do more harm than good.)

 

[ole Jason]

I take playing seriously but I also work full time. It's just not possible for me to memorize every tune someone, especially sit-ins, might call on a gig. Being able to read on the fly is a valuable skill to have.

 

[micguy]

Memories are funny things. I have a few hundred songs committed to memory that I can play in any key (and I'm learning new ones all the time), but even though the sets I play (church gigs) are only 4 or 5 songs, my mind is incapable of remembering which songs we're doing, in what order, or what the keys of them are. So I have a setlist to supply that info in real time. On paper, on the ground next to my pedalboard.

Having things memorized means I can look at the audience, my bandmates, the singers, etc - there is a lot of info there that's useful, that makes me a better musician, and that helps connect with the audience.

 

[Core Creek]

Set and setting.
If you're playing seated and the whole band uses charts, it is most likely fine to do likewise.
If the horns use charts, you might stand next to them.
If you're the only one on stage using charts, you should either have a valid reason (being a sub on very short notice, having some mental troubles memorizing things due to age/sickness etc.) beyond "I am too lazy / can't be bothered / don't want to".

I don’t necessarily agree with this. I’m the only one using charts (sometimes the guitar player is) and I’ve been in the band 10 months. But the rest of the band has been together for 12 years. I’m not a sub, not new - I just have a lot less experience with the songs, and they have their own quirks that made their way onto the charts.

But having charts means often I am asked if a song goes a certain way. I did the work - recently - and with over 300 songs some of the other members forget them from time to time. Having someone in the band with a chart means at least someone knows the form.

I think more importantly it’s the instrument. I make this argument often - if the guitar player misses a note or the keys come in a measure or two late because he forgot the song, few people notice. The bass is a foundational instrumental - if we stop, people notice.

The last three years I’ve gigged on guitar (lead and rhythm), drums, keys and bass, and bass is the instrument I chart the most. We are far more essential to the song structure than most of the rest of the band and if a chart is going to make sure the bottom is there I have no shame in using one.

 

[MrLenny1]

Only if really needed.

 

[groovepump]

There’s no “standard practice” in this scenario. If the gig requires the use of charts, than that’s it. If you have the time and ability to memorize everything, great! do it. But sometimes you show up, and they hand you a chart. No one will judge you because you know how to read music!!!

edit: personally, I prefer charts on paper on a music stand (as opposed to a tablet or smartphone) because it’s a little bigger and you can quickly and easily make notes with a pencil if necessary

I also prefer my own written chart on paper. I try to keep the music stand "low", so it's not so prominent to the audience, and I keep it off to the side. I usually only need to glance at it for the few songs where I need reminders. My "charts" are only reminders for a few songs that I forget how it starts, or what the progression is.
I only actually READ charts when playing in an orchestra on DB. And there's a lot going-on in that case. Even-so, if you practice at home enough, many of the passages get memorised and the sheet music then becomes a "reminder". But I use paper charts "live" on a few songs, because we jam new song in all the time, just before a gig. It doesn't help that I don't listen to most of the music we play, either.

 

[groovepump]

I don’t necessarily agree with this. I’m the only one using charts (sometimes the guitar player is) and I’ve been in the band 10 months. But the rest of the band has been together for 12 years. I’m not a sub, not new - I just have a lot less experience with the songs, and they have their own quirks that made their way onto the charts.

But having charts means often I am asked if a song goes a certain way. I did the work - recently - and with over 300 songs some of the other members forget them from time to time. Having someone in the band with a chart means at least someone knows the form.

I think more importantly it’s the instrument. I make this argument often - if the guitar player misses a note or the keys come in a measure or two late because he forgot the song, few people notice. The bass is a foundational instrumental - if we stop, people notice.

The last three years I’ve giggled on guitar (lead and rhythm), drums, keys and bass, and bass is the instrument I chart the most. We are far more essential to the song structure than most of the rest of the band and if a chart is going to make sure the bottom is there I have no shame in using one.

You are correct. If the guitar plays a wrong chord, note, whatever, or drummer drops a stick, nobody notices. But the bass player can't screw-up anything without being noticed.

 

[micguy]

The last three years I’ve giggled on guitar

sounds like fun music.

 

[groovepump]

Depends on the genre, show, general aesthetics, etc.

Lots of rockers think it's a no-no. I play in a community group and there's no way I'm going to memorize all that. Gimme the book, and I'll play the notes.

AMEN to that!!!

 

[mrcbass]

I would've chosen a "depends" type of answer if it existed. I don't think there is a hard fast rule anymore. For me, yes it's best to be able to play from memory - especially if you're in a situation where you have a pretty stock playlist and won't do random call outs on stage.

I learn from charts and use them as a crutch while getting up to speed on a new band's material. After a while, I don't really need them, but I do tend to play in bands that have over a hundred possible songs and will try to process any request. So I do keep a tablet on my mic stand. If I've worked it before, I can put out a decent line on most any song in my charts (over 1,000 now) on the fly. The band I sub with (my only current gig) all use tablets. They have close to 200 songs that could be called and we do a lot of request fulfillment. As long as the lead folks aren't staring at the tablet, I see no harm.

Big old music stands on stage for musicians that are not in a orchestral setting? Please, no.

 

[PlayTheBass]

I do a lot of sub work, and anything I transcribe I keep in chart form even if it’s just a key fill or a bridge or an outline of the song structure. My rule of thumb is that if it takes more than a minute of listening to the song to recreate it, then it’s worth the time investment to make a chart so I don’t have to repeat the learning process when the band calls me again in two years and that part of my brain has evaporated.

I’ve also gotten more organized with my charts on my computer so they’re easier to find. So now I scan in my hand-written stuff to go with my Finale/iReal stuff. A little extra time up front but man it’s nicer than sifting through the stack of charts in my closet.

I still print hard copies to go in a binder on a music stand (with dedicated binder per band for the most part), but I’ve been pondering going ipad since those are a little more discreet on stage. And they work in any lighting without needing a light like the paper method does, of course. It would be cool to make everything PDF to have access to my whole library on stage too. I’d miss being able to make notes directly on the chart, but maybe there’s a good app that would allow that?

 

[Core Creek]

sounds like fun music.

Darn autocorrect

 

[micguy]

Darn autocorrect

I was entertained. Call it a win.

 

[fjbolebruch]

I only use a chart if we have someone sit in with us to play a tune I’m not 100% familiar with, I’ll look it up on my phone to get through it. When it comes to our regular repertoire, I don’t want to read anything but the crowd and the other members of the band, we jam a lot and have a few rotating members. Do your homework!!!

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I don't know if it's because I learned to read music from the fourth grade or what, but I'm used to notation being there and I have a difficult time memorizing songs. I'm working on it.

 

[Ggaa]

Worked with a vocalist who needed a 12x18 tablet on the floor for nearly all lyrics. Looked like a monitor from the front but you could see the reflection in the kickdrum head.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Worked with a vocalist who needed a 12x18 tablet on the floor for nearly all lyrics. Looked like a monitor from the front but you could see the reflection in the kickdrum head.

Most concert videos will show that they're using teleprompters disguised as floor wedges when they show the camera angle from the back of the stage.

 

[Krakmann]

Salud!

I don't like it at all in my kind of music (soul, rock, pop, funk). I don't like seeing them onstage, either. But if you really need them, ok, of course.