I hate using a music stand

[Gary Blanchard]

but I am having trouble remembering lyrics to newer songs. Stuff that I played for years I have down, but my newer stuff gives me problems. So I am trying something new; I have created a PowerPoint show for my upcoming concert and will have my netbook on a table along with capos, picks, and water. To change the slides, I bought this:



At least I won't be too obvious flipping pages between songs and the computer will make me look like a hi-tech folkie.

[Dexter Inferno]

I royally hate music stands (not to mention seeing bands use them live). Using them at rehearsals is fine, but not at a gig.
Distracting visually, and reeks of being unprepared. Not to mention that most people will stare at that music stand rather than getting contact with the crowd - that's a big NO NO in my book - anyone who thinks they can pull off both for most of the gig is wrong. Obviously different for yourkind of gig, than a rock band doing a show where show is key though.

That said, I'm getting worse at remembering lyrics to newer songs as well. What I'll usually do is write out keywords to "trigger" phrases/verses that I have trouble remembering in big lettering and keep those on the floor - works fine for me.

[Gary Blanchard]

I can get away with stuff as a folkie that rock bands couldn't, that's for sure. For me, the cheat sheets are more for assurance; if I start to fumble for a word, I take a quick glance and get on my way. Luckily, except for one or two songs, I have enough memorized to avoid reading word for word.

[Mark Wein]

I'm not big on music stands on stage for rock and pop gigs either. If you don't know the music you can't own the music.

[Gary Blanchard]

I'm not big on music stands on stage for rock and pop gigs either. If you don't know the music you can't own the music.

Shit, I wrote the music. I just can't remember the words.

[Mark Wein]

I have that same problem too

[Kerouac]

Just wai until you can get the Google Glasses that will let you load the lyrics and scroll them in real time!

[Gary Blanchard]

Just wai until you can get the Google Glasses that will let you load the lyrics and scroll them in real time!

Wouldn't those be iGlasses?

[Jbird]

I use them every Sunday

[Mark Wein]

I use them every Sunday

for church? that would be different in that every church gig I've played I was handed the music pretty much as I went on stage or a couple of days before. To me those are "reading gigs".

[MonkeyZero]

Just wai until you can get the Google Glasses that will let you load the lyrics and scroll them in real time!

Those are gonna be so rad.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[OGG]

Those are gonna be so rad.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

There should be an app for that...

[Tralfaz]

What I'll usually do is write out keywords to "trigger" phrases/verses that I have trouble remembering in big lettering and keep those on the floor - works fine for me.

That's my method too. Works great. Gets the words flowing out of my mouth and keeps me from staring at a fully written out lyric sheet which I would otherwise be apt to do. And really, I'm less concerned about getting the lyrics exactly right than I am about just drawing a blank.

[Jbird]

for church? that would be different in that every church gig I've played I was handed the music pretty much as I went on stage or a couple of days before. To me those are "reading gigs".

Aye, on Sunday nights. It's the pastor & me on guitar, maybe a flutist or maybe a violinist or two, depending on who wants to play that day. The pastor picks the songs that day, sometimes depending on what his message will be that night.

It's helped my guitar playing in that I was so used to the chugga-chugga power chord playing of heavy metal, that when I started playing at church I realized that my 'cowboy chord' right-hand wrist playing had suffered. I needed to relearn to relax my right wrist to get some of the strumming rhythms down.

[Gary Blanchard]

I see my use of cheat sheets as a reasonable accommodation for my memory disability.

I don't stand there and read them, but need something to jog my memory at times. As a solo performer, the lyrics and melody are the main focus as there is nothing fancy happening with the instrumentation. I figure this new setup will remove some of the tackiness from a tacky process.

[Tralfaz]

I see my use of cheat sheets as a reasonable accommodation for my memory disability.

I don't stand there and read them, but need something to jog my memory at times. As a solo performer, the lyrics and melody are the main focus as there is nothing fancy happening with the instrumentation. I figure this new setup will remove some of the tackiness from a tacky process.

Another option would be to do singalongs and hope there's one person out in the audience who actually knows the lyrics so you can follow.

[Gary Blanchard]

Another option would be to do singalongs and hope there's one person out in the audience who actually knows the lyrics so you can follow.

I do a lot of singalongs, but they are relying on me to feed them lyrics, the lazy bastards.