Band Etiquette - Guitarists

[melvin]

most important IMO is that the musician (not only the guitarist, but every single member in the band) must give his/her energy to the audience.

i've been playing to live audiences in a symphonic band, a jam band, and even in tiny ensembles before and i believe that performing is largely based on what the performers want to give to the audience. you can be very skillful and yet 99% of the time you stare at your fretboard. no one wants to see a performer like that. you can do that during your studio sessions but its a NO NO for playing live.

you have to channel your energy by being a true performer. watch videos of freddie mecury from queen or even robbie williams. many of these have good examples of true showmanship. argh.. watch LED ZEPPELIN live videos! you see how jimmy page make complex solos sound so easy by the way he plays it.

just my 2cents worth, i feel that musicians shouldn't play to their instrument, the instrument, like its name suggests, is just an instrument to channel your feelings. so play like you mean it guys!

melvin

 

[ShredCow]

melvin, on the other hand, there is an extremely rare breed of musicians that can just stand there... do their thing.. and the audience is awestuck. Their music just holds the audience there. No need to prance around the stage or flashy antics...

Very rare breed... very rare.

 

[melvin]

yup i agree. those who can really feel their music, and of course channel those feelings through an invisible cable into the listeners. those are the ones we worship. i know of one. ME. okie. just joking

 

[XN3K]

Based on my experience , well, here they are:
1) For all guitar players, please avoid looking at your guitars all the time and when you're on stage, please have the courage to look at the audience and not the floor, ceiling, your guitar

2) When someone goes out of key / pressed wrong chord, dont look at each other to find out who's the guilty burger, just act normal / like nothing happened then talk about it at the end of the gig backstage.

3) Selfishness really kills the band and if you want your band to succeed, respect each others capabilities and understand their shortcomings. stick together and keep practicing till its perfect.

4) Lastly, dont BOSS around!

 

[XLayaR]

Like Herman Li said...You should be able to play both rythmn and lead...

 

[neuro182]

watch School of Rock & how Jack Black got kicked out of the initial band?

he focus too much on his 5 minutes of SOLO & STAGE DIVING!!

 

[repulse87]

"you're not satisfied being a rhythm guitarist, then practice hard so that one day you may be a lead guitarist, but if ever you've been ask to play the rhythm of the song, dun act like you'd jus been f*&k in the ass or like your father jus died."

I don't think you're being fair to a rhythm guitarist here. how's rhythm less technical than lead? I've always dreaded the distinction between rhythm and lead. if you're a guitarist, you're a guitarist. no guitarist should focus solely on either rhythm or lead.

Danny Gatton and Ainsley Lister are examples of kick-butt guitarists that are adapt with playing rhythm. No matter how good your lead guitarist is gonna be, if your rhythm guitarist can't hold it, you're still gonna sound like dirt.

 

[Crawldaddy]

Hmm.

Who can forget Malcolm Young!

It's true and kinda sad that rhythm guitarists are somewhat forced into the background especially if the lead guitarist is one flashy player. It's a fact, and unless the poor bloke knows how to sing, he'll probably be 3rd in position of which band member gets the most attention.

But I won't deny the fact that Rhythm players need to get their chops right if no they'll just clash with the drums and bass, and ruin the entire song / set.

 

[ShredCow]

Gentlemen, who is dissing who?

Just re-read what the fella said with a kinder tone of voice.

A benefit of a doubt goes a long way.

Wait till you hear him say it, then you may bother.

Shall we continue sharing on guitarists - as a whole - lead, rhythm, neck and pickup.

 

[BadgerS88]

...

I might as well give me 1 cent. From experience

1. Always tune before you even think of starting!

2. I feel tuning by ear to the keyboards is much more accurate rather than relying on the tuner to do the job. In the end you get a good tight jam.

3. Make sure that, atleast everyone standing in different parts of the room get good volumes from everyone.

4. Must jam in a good mood. I feel if i solo when ive had a bad day it turns out to be really S***.

5. If gigging you dont really need to prance around like a ninny. Just convey to the audience that you are having good fun atleast. Because, you should be :lol:

6. I dont know about you guys but ive seen those Fall Out Boy live performance on TV advertisements, and they look like idiots man! Might as well do break dancing on stage whilst soloing! The way they get about on stage just makes you wonder whether they are miming or not. Like Ashlee Simpson. Huahuahua.

7. You must be able to "Click" with your band other wise, forget it dude.

8. Have fun :wink:

 

[ahmad0410]

Hmm. I don't see anything about guitar scores or tabs. I have experience this one band (can't say out the name =x) that have something against using guitar tabs/scores on jamming session. And I really mean REALLY AGAINST guitar tab/scores.

I know using the chords or tablatures scores aren't a good thing if you do it everytime for that particular song. I don't do that. Especially for a gig; scores in a gig? =.-

And guess what, I got "kicked" from e band because of that.

Or is it really an important issue here?

 

[neuro182]

maybe u should memorize the song and practise it by heart @ home because its kinda un-professional to go on stage with scores.. unless of cuz u play in an orchestra band :lol:

then again, getting kicked outta the band for looking @ scores during jamming is a lil weird..

 

[df]

Maybe during practice is ok...I would accept it if a member of my band did that...but not during gigs. But I try to memorize the song by hard before jamming.

 

[ahmad0410]

Haha..yea man.. Of course gig no way to scores. Cant memorize = no gig.

 

[gibbytones]

i always wondered as a member in a audience. would you be turned off if,

the music is good, but stage presence isnt

emphasis on a hardrock genre.

 

[BadgerS88]

if the guitarist soloing, would u wanna see him:

a) reading score

b) playing with himself

c) spinning around on the floor

d) breakdancing

e) cooking prata

f) [you decide]

:lol:

 

[ShredCow]

There are bands where the members don't prance around. They look like normally dressed people. Just stand there, play their stuff.

Look at Megadeth. Spock's Beard. Death. Etc etc etc.

Stage precense does not necessarily equal lots of movement.

It also has a lot to do with the song, basically, the songwriting. And musical skills

 

[fgl]

in my band retro groove - its considered polite not to FART in the studios especially after this afternoon's curry fish head lunch with durian chendol desert.

 

[dario]

What gets me the most is when people go crazy with gain. There are some metal bands that I watch, when they play the guitar they just go overboard with the distortion and gain that you can't even hear the notes that are being played anymore. Really not enjoyable.

 

[visa]

don't bother moving around, people will think you're a poser/emo/wannabe/scene kid.

8)