This weekend I have another gig as a stand in for the regular guitarist. A gig is a gig, I love it. An opportunity to play.
To prepare I was given the set list two weeks ahead of time. Tonight we conducted a 'run through.'
We played as though we knew what we were doing.
It sounded as though we had been playing together for years.Very tight.
The songs themselves are easy. But to get a band to mesh well is why we rehearse. To sound each note in its place...with precision and feeling is not so easy.
Getting the drummer to count a song off at the proper number of beat per minute (BPM) is not easy either. Some are rather hyper and tend to count every song as quickly as possible. No modulation in tempo at all.
Sometimes the bass player feels the emphasis on one and three and you expect it on two and four.
Each little step is the foundation for the next and the next until you have the song sounding as you intend.
Usually it involves a lot of work.
Sometimes, it just clicks.
Tonight it clicked.
It didn't hurt that of the seven songs on the list I knew five. Although the arrangements were a bit different, it was easier than learning a new piece.
The two new pieces were easy enough - I was familiar with them before I had to commit to them.
So we played as though we knew what we were doing.
My new goal is to open my eyes. I am one of those guitarists that just tends to close his eyes while playing. It began as a way to shut out the sea of faces that made for awful butterflies. But it changed with time and venues. Lights are now the main culprit. Maybe I should wear my shades?
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