Greetings readers and welcome to another edition of Rock Keyboards. This month I wanted to share some real-life gig tips that I’ve learned in my 30+ years of playing music. I’ll never forget my first band. I was fifteen and not old enough to drive. We played lots of incredible gigs and I fell in love with playing music immediately. Since then, I have played thousands of different types of performances including recording, TV, Carnegie
Hall, Madison Square Garden, etc...and I’ve learned a few things about people, music, business, and life along the way.
Don’t argue with people at all
Is the soundman giving you a hard time? Is the singer of your band a difficult diva? Does the drummer always slow down? Forgive them immediately and just enjoy yourself. Nothing is perfect no matter how famous the band. It’s a lot easier to have a great time if you just accept everybody as they are and don’t try too hard to fix people or force them to see music like you do. Another expression of this idea could be to not worrying too much if the piano, amp, or drums are to your liking; they rarely will be. I like to say “I never met a piano I didn’t like”. The piano is the piano. Surrender to it and you will play it as well as you play your favorite.
After your solo play the chords for the other soloist
A lot of times you will see someone in the band just take a break and stop playing after they play a solo, usually one that was too long. Don’t be this person. If you are supposed to be supplying the harmony for the song, you must to keep playing or the whole supporting structure of the tune can collapse. It’s also pretty selfish and a sign that you are not really a member of the team. The best bands have great support for each other, and you can see it and hear it when you go to see them play.
Get a contract
Got a big gig that you have to fly too or hire other people for? Get everything written down between you and the client so everybody knows what they are supposed to do and what they are responsible for. Cool, honest people love contracts and uncool, dishonest people don’t. If you are booking a gig with a person and they don’t want to put the terms in writing, be very wary because using contracts is a common practice and the way true professionals keep their business straight.
Don’t expect anything from music
This concept sounds a little strange, but I assure you it’s very liberating. We, of course, want to have money and success. The paths to both of these, I have found is not to say “I want to be famous” or “I want to be the best” but instead say, “I want to share my gift with the world” or “I want to use my gift to bring people together”. This is a much more powerful and less stressful way to live and will make everyone love and respect you.
Shift the focus off yourself
In summation, I’ll leave you with this thought; try to stop thinking of yourself so much in all things, not just music. When you are playing a concert, don’t get stuck in your own head. Pay attention to what the rest of the band is playing. This togetherness is a quality that all the great bands had. Check out the Beatles and how they would react to one another when they played live. They loved it. Try not to take it so seriously too. If you play music for a living, or even if you do it just as a hobby, you are truly a fortunate individual. Celebrate this incredible fortune every day and your life with open up and you will become someone everyone wants to know.
Slovníček frází a hudebního žargonu
Vážení čtenáři, dámy a pánové, zvu vás k dalšímu dílu Rockových kláves! V prosincovém vydání s námi Brian sdílí pár užitečných rad ze svého bohatého muzikantského života. Z textu jsem vybral sedm výrazů, které mne zaujaly. Snad budou zajímavé i pro vás. Přeji vám pěkné čtení.
Wisdom: Znamená moudrost. Titulek tedy zní „Moudra pro muzikanty“.
Soundman: Tady se pohybujeme ve známých vodách, hovorově tak označujeme zvukaře. Setkat se můžete i s výrazem sound engineer, což je takové formálnější, do češtiny překládáme zvukový inženýr.
Diva: Toto cizí slovo převzala i čeština. Má původ v latině, slovem tak označovali bohyni. V moderních jazycích pak operní zpěvačku mimořádného talentu. Později přeneseně egocentrickou osobu, se kterou je těžké vyjít, která má hvězdné manýry.
Surrender: Je podstatné jméno i sloveso, znamená kapitulace a vzdát se (kapitulovat). Přeneseně také poddat se něčemu. V článku je ve větě: „Surrender to it and you will play it as well as you play your favorite“, tedy „Podejte se tomu (hovorově i vykašlete se na to) a zahrajete na něj (piano) stejně dobře, jako hrajete na svůj oblíbený nástroj“.
Dishonest: předponu dis už jsme si vysvětlovali, znamená zápor. Honest je čestný, tedy dishonest nečestný.
Wary: znamná být opatrný, obezřetný. Pojí se s „of“, tedy „to be wary of something“ je „být obezřetný“.
Liberating: V češtině známe přídavné jméno liberální, které označuje člověka nebo třeba pravidla, která jsou volnější, svobodná. Liberating je přídavné jméno a znamená osvobozující.
