Anatomy of a Gig, Part II
04/22/10 04:09
[This
is part II of a travelogue through a particularly
fun gig opportunity I had recently with the
Northwest Christian University Community Choir.
Part I presented my preparations for the
rehearsal and the rehearsal itself…]
Since I had really only had one run-through of each tune with the choir on Tuesday, and the concert wasn’t until Sunday, I set up my gear at home. Throughout the week, I occasionally pulled out the charts and ran through the hard parts as Sunday drew nearer.
Surprisingly, my biggest challenge ended up being my own gear. For gigs like this, I often use two keyboards, one stacked on top of the other to allow more flexibility in sounds and technique. My bottom keyboard has 88 weighted keys (like a piano) and a great piano sound, as well as a newer collection of good quality organ and orchestral sounds. My top keyboard is smaller and has non-weighted keys, allowing me to play faster and to easily slide my hands all over the keys for that classic rock and gospel organ “smear” sound. Having both sets of keys also allows me to make quick transitions between sounds as I’m playing live.
My 14-year old “top” keyboard has not aged well. Recurring tuning issues as well as some other electronic troubles confirmed my fears that it is no longer reliable for live shows. Not having the funds to run out and pick up my dream keyboard (anyone got an extra Kurzweil PC3 lying around?), I set to work making sure I could do the show with only my “bottom” keyboard.
I programmed some new sound combinations that I could switch between quickly using a foot pedal and the controls on the keyboard. Voila, the problem was solved. (However, playing those sliding gospel organ smears on a weighted keyboard proved to be a good exercise in pain management…) I had a lot of fun using my expression pedal to fade one sound into another and to “ride” my own volume to match my orchestral sounds with the volume of the choir and band.
Gig-day arrived and I showed up for warm-up and rehearsal. I’d never been asked to be so early to a show before, but it was the best thing we could have done. The band had time to run-through the trickiest parts of the set before the choir arrived, which resolved the last of my issues. This, combined with a great sound-tech, allowed everyone to be comfortable on stage and hear what they needed (you rock, Ray!)
After a quick check of key tunes with the choir and soloists, we took an actual break before the show (again, I’m not used to all the luxury, here). Melissa had provided some food for the band, and we took some time to hang and chat before we headed out to the stage.
At the last minute, we decided to jam on a truly groovin’ gospel rendition of an old hymn as the choir came in (I’ll never hear Blessed Assurance the same way again). How fun to sit without a chart and just feel my part take shape as the band played. No rehearsal at all for this one, just following Loylene and seeing where the music went. Might have been my favorite part of the night.
The concert was a blast. I’ve never seen a director move so seamlessly and quickly between tunes. I learned that the more notes I take in my music, the better, as I had to have everything in place for a new song within seconds of finishing the last one. I only got off track once when the director turned to me for a song intro and I wasn’t ready for her. (I had forgotten a step in preparing my one keyboard for the tune that really needed two. That won’t happen again!)
Gospel, rock, bluegrass, traditional hymns, pop tunes, it was all there. What a joy to get to stretch out my chops and learn a bit from some pros. What a joy to see some gifted amateur singers have the opportunity to sing and perform in such a well-run choir (this is a non-audition choir that is open to the community and only rehearses 75 minutes a week). To know that there are people doing this in our community warms my heart. Thanks to Melissa Stock, the band and the NCU Community Choir for letting me have a part in all this!
Let’s do it again!
Soli Deo Gloria
For those who care: The Gear List
Bottom Keyboard: Yamaha S90ES (with FC3 Sustain pedal and FC7 Expression Pedal)
Top Keyboard (Rest In Peace): Alesis QS7
Mackie 802-VLZ3 mixer (to give me my own monitor mix before sending things to the house mixer)
Mackie SRM350v2 speaker for my personal monitor
Starbucks hot chocolate with peppermint and fuel from Quizno’s and the Pita Pit
Since I had really only had one run-through of each tune with the choir on Tuesday, and the concert wasn’t until Sunday, I set up my gear at home. Throughout the week, I occasionally pulled out the charts and ran through the hard parts as Sunday drew nearer.
Surprisingly, my biggest challenge ended up being my own gear. For gigs like this, I often use two keyboards, one stacked on top of the other to allow more flexibility in sounds and technique. My bottom keyboard has 88 weighted keys (like a piano) and a great piano sound, as well as a newer collection of good quality organ and orchestral sounds. My top keyboard is smaller and has non-weighted keys, allowing me to play faster and to easily slide my hands all over the keys for that classic rock and gospel organ “smear” sound. Having both sets of keys also allows me to make quick transitions between sounds as I’m playing live.
My 14-year old “top” keyboard has not aged well. Recurring tuning issues as well as some other electronic troubles confirmed my fears that it is no longer reliable for live shows. Not having the funds to run out and pick up my dream keyboard (anyone got an extra Kurzweil PC3 lying around?), I set to work making sure I could do the show with only my “bottom” keyboard.
I programmed some new sound combinations that I could switch between quickly using a foot pedal and the controls on the keyboard. Voila, the problem was solved. (However, playing those sliding gospel organ smears on a weighted keyboard proved to be a good exercise in pain management…) I had a lot of fun using my expression pedal to fade one sound into another and to “ride” my own volume to match my orchestral sounds with the volume of the choir and band.
Gig-day arrived and I showed up for warm-up and rehearsal. I’d never been asked to be so early to a show before, but it was the best thing we could have done. The band had time to run-through the trickiest parts of the set before the choir arrived, which resolved the last of my issues. This, combined with a great sound-tech, allowed everyone to be comfortable on stage and hear what they needed (you rock, Ray!)
After a quick check of key tunes with the choir and soloists, we took an actual break before the show (again, I’m not used to all the luxury, here). Melissa had provided some food for the band, and we took some time to hang and chat before we headed out to the stage.
At the last minute, we decided to jam on a truly groovin’ gospel rendition of an old hymn as the choir came in (I’ll never hear Blessed Assurance the same way again). How fun to sit without a chart and just feel my part take shape as the band played. No rehearsal at all for this one, just following Loylene and seeing where the music went. Might have been my favorite part of the night.
The concert was a blast. I’ve never seen a director move so seamlessly and quickly between tunes. I learned that the more notes I take in my music, the better, as I had to have everything in place for a new song within seconds of finishing the last one. I only got off track once when the director turned to me for a song intro and I wasn’t ready for her. (I had forgotten a step in preparing my one keyboard for the tune that really needed two. That won’t happen again!)
Gospel, rock, bluegrass, traditional hymns, pop tunes, it was all there. What a joy to get to stretch out my chops and learn a bit from some pros. What a joy to see some gifted amateur singers have the opportunity to sing and perform in such a well-run choir (this is a non-audition choir that is open to the community and only rehearses 75 minutes a week). To know that there are people doing this in our community warms my heart. Thanks to Melissa Stock, the band and the NCU Community Choir for letting me have a part in all this!
Let’s do it again!
Soli Deo Gloria
For those who care: The Gear List
Bottom Keyboard: Yamaha S90ES (with FC3 Sustain pedal and FC7 Expression Pedal)
Top Keyboard (Rest In Peace): Alesis QS7
Mackie 802-VLZ3 mixer (to give me my own monitor mix before sending things to the house mixer)
Mackie SRM350v2 speaker for my personal monitor
Starbucks hot chocolate with peppermint and fuel from Quizno’s and the Pita Pit