How does your band decide which songs to play?

GregEL

Joined: Mar 16, 2016
Posts: 217
Highland CA

Posted on Aug 07 2016 11:17 AM

Skill level? Democratic vote?

Does it need to be unanimous? Lead guitar or band leader choice?

Fistfight?

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montereyjack66

Joined: Jul 23, 2014
Posts: 637
LA -ish
United States

Posted on Aug 07 2016 11:43 AM

Democracy, advise and consent.

Depending upon the needs of the gig, usually our guitarist submits a list. We give comments and adjust accordingly. The main question is, what is going to work best for the audience? The second question is, what's fun?

—

mj
bent playing for benter results
Do not attempt to adjust your TV set.
https://www.facebook.com/Bass-VI-Explorers-Club-179437279151035/
https://www.facebook.com/Lost-Planet-Shamen-366987463657230/

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Clarry

Joined: Oct 01, 2014
Posts: 519
Streatham, London
United Kingdom

Posted on Aug 07 2016 12:03 PM

We kick each other in the bollocks and last man standing wins.

I go first.

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fenderfan

Joined: Jul 13, 2008
Posts: 780
9 News Pins

Posted on Aug 07 2016 02:37 PM

The Royal Aces do it in the same manner that MontereyJack described above.

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JakeDobner

Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
5 News Pins

Posted on Aug 07 2016 04:28 PM

I've always created the set lists. It is calculated.

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spskins

Joined: Feb 27, 2006
Posts: 3776
tn
United States

Posted on Aug 07 2016 08:31 PM

by the keys...

—

http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com

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stevel

Joined: Oct 12, 2012
Posts: 219
Hampton Roads, Virginia
United States

Posted on Aug 07 2016 09:44 PM

If there is a Band Leader, it's the Band Leader's call.

They may run a dictatorship, or like our own government, may have fooled you into believing you have a say. So they may give you a say and then decide.

If the band leader is paying you, you play what the band leader says. If they're open to suggestions, make suggestions, but don't expect them to be or assume they'll be entertained.

If you're not getting paid, you need to sit down and set some goals.

Democratic bands do not usually work.

Musicians generally are too narrow-minded in their views to be able to make sound business decisions.

Everyone needs to take a step back and take a long hard look at what it is you're doing:

If you're going to pick a song, and you're just in a "hobby" band and all you're dong is rehearsing and not gigging, and everything's just for fun, it should be fun. If someone says "I'd like to play "Wagon Wheel" " then you all need to decide if you want to play the song or not.

However, don't be a$$es about it. Truly, if you're not gigging, there's no reason not to learn it. It's as big a waste of your time as the whole venture if it's not fun. If making one of your bandmates happy allows you to all have fun together, then do it. If you hate the song, get over it. Just remind your bandmates you played what they wanted, so in fairness they should play what you want.

If it's a gigging band and you need to get gigs and maintain them, you need to play music THE CLIENT WANTS or THE AUDIENCE WANTS. Not what YOU want. Learn it and shut up. If you don't like it, you need to play in the garage instead.
If you have a singer, songs need to be in their range. If your singer's range is too limited to do the material you want to do, you need another singer or need to change the material. Simple as that.
Same goes for other instrumentalists that can't play. You need to ditch them, or come up with material they can play.

There are "fun" bands, and "work" bands, and some work bands also have fun doing the work.

You need to decide what kind of band you're going to be. If it's "fun", keep it fun. Do something to keep everyone happy. If it's "work", you need to work. It's a job. Fun is secondary to getting things done. If you can find people who have fun getting things done, that's ideal.

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JakeDobner

Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
5 News Pins

Posted on Aug 07 2016 11:18 PM

Wait... we are discussing 'what songs does your band know' and not "how do you create your set list".

Somebody writes a part(chord progression, melody, bass line) and we all add to it. Surf band, ya know. So we just all chunk away at it.

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NoisyDad

Joined: Mar 04, 2006
Posts: 215
West Hartford, CT
United States

Posted on Aug 08 2016 10:04 AM

For us, there are two parts to this, depending on two alternate endings to the question:
How does your band decide which songs to play...
1. ...at all.
2. ...at a particular gig.

For 1, aside from originals, which I bring in and we see how they work out and evolve, everybody has suggested various cover tunes that we wind up doing.
For a particular gig, I make up a draft setlist(s) and the other guys make comments and suggestions. Then off we go.

—

http://www.aquatudes.com
http://www.facebook.com/theaquatudes

Top

GregEL Joined: Mar 16, 2016 Posts: 217 Highland CA	Posted on Aug 07 2016 11:17 AM Skill level? Democratic vote? Does it need to be unanimous? Lead guitar or band leader choice? Fistfight? Top
montereyjack66 Joined: Jul 23, 2014 Posts: 637 LA -ish	Posted on Aug 07 2016 11:43 AM Democracy, advise and consent. Depending upon the needs of the gig, usually our guitarist submits a list. We give comments and adjust accordingly. The main question is, what is going to work best for the audience? The second question is, what's fun? — mj bent playing for benter results Do not attempt to adjust your TV set. https://www.facebook.com/Bass-VI-Explorers-Club-179437279151035/ https://www.facebook.com/Lost-Planet-Shamen-366987463657230/ Top
Clarry Joined: Oct 01, 2014 Posts: 519 Streatham, London	Posted on Aug 07 2016 12:03 PM We kick each other in the bollocks and last man standing wins. I go first. Top
fenderfan Joined: Jul 13, 2008 Posts: 780	Posted on Aug 07 2016 02:37 PM The Royal Aces do it in the same manner that MontereyJack described above. Top
JakeDobner Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 12159 Seattle	Posted on Aug 07 2016 04:28 PM I've always created the set lists. It is calculated. Top
spskins Joined: Feb 27, 2006 Posts: 3776 tn	Posted on Aug 07 2016 08:31 PM by the keys... — http://www.satanspilgrims.com http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553 https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/ http://www.surfyindustries.com Top
stevel Joined: Oct 12, 2012 Posts: 219 Hampton Roads, Virginia	Posted on Aug 07 2016 09:44 PM If there is a Band Leader, it's the Band Leader's call. They may run a dictatorship, or like our own government, may have fooled you into believing you have a say. So they may give you a say and then decide. If the band leader is paying you, you play what the band leader says. If they're open to suggestions, make suggestions, but don't expect them to be or assume they'll be entertained. If you're not getting paid, you need to sit down and set some goals. Democratic bands do not usually work. Musicians generally are too narrow-minded in their views to be able to make sound business decisions. Everyone needs to take a step back and take a long hard look at what it is you're doing: If you're going to pick a song, and you're just in a "hobby" band and all you're dong is rehearsing and not gigging, and everything's just for fun, it should be fun. If someone says "I'd like to play "Wagon Wheel" " then you all need to decide if you want to play the song or not. However, don't be a$$es about it. Truly, if you're not gigging, there's no reason not to learn it. It's as big a waste of your time as the whole venture if it's not fun. If making one of your bandmates happy allows you to all have fun together, then do it. If you hate the song, get over it. Just remind your bandmates you played what they wanted, so in fairness they should play what you want. If it's a gigging band and you need to get gigs and maintain them, you need to play music THE CLIENT WANTS or THE AUDIENCE WANTS. Not what YOU want. Learn it and shut up. If you don't like it, you need to play in the garage instead. If you have a singer, songs need to be in their range. If your singer's range is too limited to do the material you want to do, you need another singer or need to change the material. Simple as that. Same goes for other instrumentalists that can't play. You need to ditch them, or come up with material they can play. There are "fun" bands, and "work" bands, and some work bands also have fun doing the work. You need to decide what kind of band you're going to be. If it's "fun", keep it fun. Do something to keep everyone happy. If it's "work", you need to work. It's a job. Fun is secondary to getting things done. If you can find people who have fun getting things done, that's ideal. Top
JakeDobner Joined: Feb 26, 2006 Posts: 12159 Seattle	Posted on Aug 07 2016 11:18 PM Wait... we are discussing 'what songs does your band know' and not "how do you create your set list". Somebody writes a part(chord progression, melody, bass line) and we all add to it. Surf band, ya know. So we just all chunk away at it. Top
NoisyDad Joined: Mar 04, 2006 Posts: 215 West Hartford, CT	Posted on Aug 08 2016 10:04 AM For us, there are two parts to this, depending on two alternate endings to the question: How does your band decide which songs to play... 1. ...at all. 2. ...at a particular gig. For 1, aside from originals, which I bring in and we see how they work out and evolve, everybody has suggested various cover tunes that we wind up doing. For a particular gig, I make up a draft setlist(s) and the other guys make comments and suggestions. Then off we go. — http://www.aquatudes.com http://www.facebook.com/theaquatudes Top

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How does your band decide which songs to play?