Chapter 23: Preparation and Performance

Preparing for the Gig

OK, so now it’s time for you to go out and do your first (or next) gig, whether it’s a heavy metal bash, a cool jazz gig, or a classical piano recital. For many musicians, “playing live” is what it’s all about! But what can you do to make sure your gig is a success? Well, if you follow these guidelines, you’ll be well on your way!

Be prepared to play. Make sure that you’ve gone over your parts, not just in rehearsal time with the band, but in your own practice time. When preparing for a gig with my original jazz fusion band, I’ll try to play through our whole set on the three or four consecutive days before the gig, either solo piano or with backing tracks/sequences I have prepared. As my band members are “indemand” guys, sometimes we only get minimal rehearsal time, so everyone has to come to the gig prepared. If you’re on a chart gig, and you have the music charts ahead of time, scan through them before the gig to make sure you know the road map and form of each song. If you’re reading music at a classical recital, again make sure you’ve had sufficient practice time with the music, and that all of your page turns are OK. One exception to all this, of course, is if you’re just showing up to a jam session (good for you!), in which case you’re “winging it,” using your playing skills and your ears!

Be relaxed and have a pleasant attitude. Less experienced players will sometimes suffer from “nerves” or “stage fright” when performing in public. Well, players of all levels will experience nerves from time to time, but the trick is to get that nervous energy to stimulate you into giving a great performance, instead of holding you back. Especially if you’re just starting out, try to get some family or friends to come to the gig and support you, then if an anxious moment strikes, you can look around and be comforted by familiar faces who want you to do well! We’re always our own worst critics when it comes to our performance, but your audience will still most likely enjoy it and have a good time (provided you keep going… see comments later in this chapter). Always be very courteous and have a pleasant attitude towards your band mates, the engineer(s), the venue staff, and any audience members you come in contact with. If you project a relaxed and sunny attitude, it will influence those around you, to everybody’s benefit.

Make sure your equipment is ready. If you’ll just be showing up to a jazz or classical gig playing the piano that is already there, there’s just one major thing to take care of regarding equipment: try to get in some warm-up time on the instrument. All pianos are at least a little bit different from each other, and it will help in your preparation to be acquainted with the feel of the instrument.

If you have your own keyboards that you’ll be transporting to the gig, there are some other things to keep in mind. Always make sure your equipment is in good working order, and that you have all of the components you need before leaving for the gig. I have a checklist that I run down for keyboards, amplifiers, speakers, pedals, cables, plug boards, extensions, and so on, before I leave for the gig. Always carry spare cables (audio, midi, a/c mains, mic cables, etc., depending on your setup). If one of your keyboards or other equipment has a technical problem, never use it on the gig in the hope that it will “behave itself.” That’s a disaster waiting to happen. Get it fixed, and use another piece of equipment (perhaps a rental or “loaner”) in the meantime.

Be punctual. This sounds simple and obvious, but it’s extremely important. If you get to the gig in plenty of time, you’re likely to be more relaxed when you set up, and you’ll have more time to deal with any “curve balls” with the setup, sound check, and so on (more about sound checks in a minute). Allow even more time to get to the gig if it’s a venue you’re playing for the first time. This will ensure that you can find the place, sort out the equipment load-in, parking, etc. When playing with my own jazz-fusion band, or with my Steely Dan tribute band in the Los Angeles area, I generally get to the gig between 2– 3 hours before show time, depending on the particular setup and logistics involved. (And I have to allow for the L.A. traffic!)

Observe sound check “etiquette.” At pop, rock, and jazz gigs, a sound check is an opportunity to check the sound of each instrument and the whole band—how the band will sound “out front” through the P.A. system, and how the band will hear themselves and each other through “onstage monitoring.” For example, for a 9 p.m. show, the sound check might be run from 6 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. If you’re the only band on that night (typical for a jazz club), then once you’ve done the sound check, you can leave all your equipment in place so you’re ready to go when show time rolls around. But, if you’re one of several bands playing that night (typical for a rock club), then you may have to tear down all of your equipment once you’ve had your sound check, as the next band then needs to set up! This can get a little chaotic, and you need to keep your wits about you and focus on the task at hand. Here are some do’s and don’t’s you should know about on the sound check:

• Normally the engineer will ask each player to play individually, in order to set levels and equalization (tone color). Next, the whole band may be asked to play sections of one or two songs to check the overall sound and monitoring. Always be available on stage during the sound check so that you’re ready to play when the engineer asks. Play one or two representative parts (from each keyboard, if you have more than one) to give the engineer a good idea of what to expect.
• Always be on time for the sound check, and respond promptly to the engineer’s requests so that the sound check is completed in a timely manner. This is particularly important if several bands need to sound check, one after the other. In this case, set up and then tear down your equipment as promptly as possible, as required by the club. Keep onstage chatter to a minimum—listen and concentrate.
• Even if you are not happy with your sound or monitoring at first, never be hostile or show a bad attitude toward the engineer. He or she controls how you will sound to your audience! Try to be constructive and positive in your questions and communication to the engineer, and you will get the “best out of them” to help your gig be successful.
• For rock or fusion jazz gigs: try to not have your “backline” (on-stage guitar, bass, and keyboard amps) too loud if at all possible! The louder the backline, the less the engineer can do to shape or balance the sound. Also, the onstage monitoring (necessary for vocalists and instrumentalists to hear themselves) can be ineffective and/or start to “feed back” when backline levels get too high.

Even if you don’t normally wear ear protectors on stage during the gig, consider wearing them during the sound check (particularly at rock clubs!). I’ve played some rock gigs on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip where the engineer moved the wrong fader on an “open mic” during the sound check, causing a brutal burst of feedback—not good for the ears!

Interpretation and Improvisation

In my classes, I am sometimes asked whether a performing musician should play a piece exactly how it is written, and/or play it the same way at each performance. The answers to these questions depend on what style of music you are playing. For example, if you were playing at a classical recital and you started adding your own notes in the middle of Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” you would probably get some strange looks from the audience! Conversely, if your jazz trio was playing for a few nights at the Blue Note in New York, and you played a “standard” exactly the same way on two consecutive nights, this might not go down well with the hard-core jazz crowd. Subject to many variations and exceptions, we can make the following broad observations about interpretation and improvisation in the different styles.

Classical: Except in certain experimental or “fringe” situations, you are expected to play the notes that are on the paper (either from memory, or by reading the music). Improvisation (adding your own notes) is not appropriate, which is perhaps ironic given that many classical composers were also noted improvisers in their day. However, classical pianists have major interpretive responsibilities in areas such as dynamics, articulation, phrasing and tempo. Through this interpretation process, the performer’s musical personality will emerge. Considering this, when you play something like Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” it really may not sound exactly the same each time—make it your own interpretation, while still following the composer’s directions. There is a lot you can put into a performance that is not written on the page!

Jazz and Latin: The majority of jazz compositions are written just with a melody and chord symbols (see comments on lead sheets and fake books in Chapter 14). With the exception of some of the more “arranged” contemporary jazz styles, the chord voicings and melody phrasings are normally improvised by the players. Solos in particular will be improvised on the spot, and a “true jazz” performer would not play a solo the same way twice (although they might have favorite phrases or “licks” that they drop into their solos). Latin styles (such as bossa nova and samba) would also come under this general heading, as they typically use the full range of jazz melody and harmony options, and they have a similar approach in terms of improvisation.

Pop/Rock/R&B: The majority of contemporary pop, rock, and R&B songs are performed within a specific structure or form (intro, verse, chorus, etc.). Most bands playing these styles are performing from memory, although some may be reading from lead sheets or fake books. There is not normally very much improvisation, except for instrumental solos. Even then, the solo may be a “signature” which is played the same way each time as it is a recognizable part of the song. Some rock bands do, however, incorporate more extended improvisational “jams,” notably the Grateful Dead and the Dave Matthews Band.

Showmanship and Faking It

When you’re performing, (whether it’s classical, pop, or jazz music, a little showmanship and “performance awareness” can go a long way. Here are some tips from the trenches:

Keep going, no matter what happens. This applies to all performance situations and musical styles! Whether you’re in the middle of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” or the Beatles’ “Lady Madonna,” you should never stop if you fumble in mid-performance! Instead, keep going at all costs, striving to maintain the rhythm as consistently as you can. As musicians, we always tend to be our own worst critics, but I guarantee you that the great majority of your audience will not notice those imperfections, provided that you keep going, and are “in the pocket” rhythmically speaking. I regularly play gigs attended by other musicians here in L.A., and even those guys often don’t notice our little flaws (unless they’re too polite to tell us!). As the old saying goes (or maybe I just made this up!?), “If you keep going, maybe 2% of your audience will know you made a mistake. If you stop, then 100% of them will notice!” If you’re on a pop or jazz gig and you lose your place in the form of the song, use your ears and try to figure out where the band is (i.e., are they on the I chord, the V chord, and so on?). Worst case: if you’re playing a tune with a repetitive form (like a blues, or jazz standard), try to catch up when the band returns to the top of the form again!

Make your performance visually as well as musically interesting. This is admittedly styledependent, and is perhaps most important when playing the popular styles. Rock bands will routinely move around a lot on stage, including some keyboard players who use strap-on keyboard controllers as an alternative to (or as well as) the more conventional keyboard “rig.” This kind of showmanship is much less common in the jazz world, although Chick Corea (a giant of acoustic and electric jazz) still uses his strap-on keyboard at concert performances. Otherwise, we keyboard players are stuck behind a grand piano or electronic keyboard rig! Whatever the gig, it’s important to look relaxed, happy, and confident, as this will then be conveyed to your audience. As much as I recognize the profound contribution that Miles Davis made to the jazz world, I don’t subscribe to his theory of “turning his back” on the crowd. If you engage your audience, they will in turn be more receptive to what you have to play, to everyone’s benefit!

Talk to your audience. This again mainly applies in the pop, rock, and jazz styles. I think it’s good to introduce your songs (either before or after you play them), and if they’re from a CD that you have released, then you can mention that too. It’s also good etiquette (particularly on jazz gigs) for the leader to introduce the band members at least once in every set, and maybe more often if some players are featured soloists on particular tunes.