Requirements for sidemen and leaders

[tbdana]

Does any of this sound unreasonable?

What I expect from musicians:

1. Show up on time. Early is on-time. On-time is late.
2. Be someone people want to play with. Friendly, attentive, businesslike, positive. Know the line between making it fun and turning it into a party.
3. Be a monster on your instrument. Be able to play your part perfectly the first time through and exactly the same every time.
4. Don't noodle or screw around between tunes. Be professional.
5. Solve problems instead of creating them. And don't bring attention to them if you don't have to, just solve them quietly and to yourself. No one needs to know how clever you are in finding a problem and the solution.
6. Respect others' time. Rehearsal is not for you to learn to play your part. Either be able to play it first time through or learn it before you come. Rehearsal is to get everyone playing together, and no one really wants to sit around twiddling their thumbs while you learn how to play your instrument.
7. Come prepared. Have everything you need (mutes, music stand, whatever), be dressed appropriately, and be ready to play at the time set.
This all comes down to one thing: be a responsible adult.

Having just posted a list of what I expect from musicians, here is what I expect from leaders:

1. Give me all the particulars up front. Date, time, location and duration of rehearsal/gig. Any special needs (e.g., “bring your own music stand). Volunteer the money right away (especially if it’s a freebie – that should be the first thing out of your mouth), and don’t make me ask.
2. Have the music ready for me when I get there. It’s not my job to retrieve, open, download, print out, tape, organize, bring, and maintain your music. I also don’t want to be responsible for keeping your music. It’s yours, you keep it. Just have it on the stand ready for me, and I’ll show up and play the shit out of it. Fair enough?
3. Pay me at the end of the gig. Don’t make me wait. Or if I do have to wait, tell me that up front in the initial contact and let me know when I’ll be paid and by what method. No surprises, okay?
4. Know how to run a rehearsal. That includes having a “set list,” being organized and efficient, and not beating things to death. Run the rehearsal like a job. Know what you want to accomplish and work efficiently to get there. It's what we are all there to do.
5. Be respectful of my time. You expect me to be there on time; I expect you to let me go on time. Don’t set call times ridiculously early just so you’ll feel more comfortable. I’m a professional, and I’ll be ready to play when it’s time to play.
6. Please be someone pleasant to work for. Don’t be a tyrant. No one likes a prima donna. I endured working for Buddy Rich. Never again. And hint: you’re not Buddy Rich.

Is there anything in either of these lists that you think is out of line or should be changed? Or any additions/subtractions?

[dougm]

Good summation. I would add if it is a gig, required dress.

Doug

[LeTromboniste]

Great list. I have a couple more things on my own personal list. For players:

-don't just wait for the leader to make all musical decisions, and bring something to the table.

By that I mean be proactive musically, and when the context is appropriate (especially orchestras and large ensembles), communicate within the section to coordinate and make unified decisions without waiting for instructions from the conductor. Not getting specific instructions from the conductor doesn't mean you're playing perfectly, it just means they don't have time (not is it their job) to micro-manage everything.

For people in charge, something that goes with your no. 2

-If you're hiring professional musicians, provide professional music. That means well-edited parts that don't have basic mistakes in content or layout. If you can't afford that, it means you can't afford to be putting up this show.

Parts with missing bars of rests (or multirests whithin which the bars are all different lengths), or with amateurish bad layout, or worse, just no parts and score only with page turns every 10 seconds, are the absolute bane of my existence.

[LetItSlide]

Good summation. I would add if it is a gig, required dress.

Doug

She covered that.

[JTeagarden]

I would add Alan Raph's perfect quote: Your job is not to buy the music, it's to sell it!

[bus2]

From a successful jazz singer/keyboard player:

Late is On Time. Early is Death.

[Fidbone]

Good luck with the leader requirements

[Bach5G]

Dave Frishberg: I Want to be a Sideman


https://music.apple.com/ca/album/i-want ... 1167589065

[Finetales]

Good luck with the leader requirements

Good bandleaders/contractors do all that and more.

The only thing I would really change is that nowadays, a lot of groups do everything from tablets instead of physical sheet music, which is a great thing in many situations (especially outside). If that's the case, let me know up front that I'll need my tablet, and send me the music and set list order ahead of time so I can get it all ready to go in forScore.

My list is basically a distilled version of Dana's.

Sideman:

- Be professional. (This covers #1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 in Dana's list).
- Be a good musician. Play right, read right, and LISTEN. (#3 in Dana's list.)
- Be a good hang. (#2 in Dana's list.)

Leader/Contractor:

- Treat your people right.
- Nothing should be a surprise or left to chance. This includes everything from telling the musicians the pay up front, to sending a parking map if the parking situation is complicated.
- Be professional.
- Be a good hang.
- Establish kill fees!!

[Wilktone]

A while back I put together something similar for sidemen:

1. Return calls/emails promptly
2. Arrive early
3. Help setup/tear down
4. Keep quiet
5. Leave your ego at home
6. Dress appropriately
7. Bring the equipment you need
8. Mark your parts in rehearsals, but do so appropriately
9. Be positive
10. Be prepared to play well

Many of those items were things inspired by actual incidents on gigs where I was bandleader.

[TomInME]

Having just started both a bone choir and a brass ensemble, managing the music/library is a bigger job than most of us realize. So, under the leader requirements #2, once the part is in your hands, take responsibility for it. Do whatever you need to lay it out to your satisfaction. Don't f*cking LOSE it - even if I gave you copies, it costs me and the group time to dig out a fresh copy. And if you're sending a sub, it's your job to make sure they have what they need - including markings that are legible and decipherable.
(again: be professional)

Also for players: make space for everyone, especially in less-formal settings. Don't camp all the solos, don't sit on 1st so long your tone gets thin, don't take all of the fun bass parts, don't force other players to be stuck on 2nd or 3rd all night. (Be a good hang)

[tbdana]

Having just started both a bone choir and a brass ensemble, managing the music/library is a bigger job than most of us realize. So, under the leader requirements #2, once the part is in your hands, take responsibility for it. Do whatever you need to lay it out to your satisfaction. Don't f*cking LOSE it - even if I gave you copies, it costs me and the group time to dig out a fresh copy. And if you're sending a sub, it's your job to make sure they have what they need - including markings that are legible and decipherable.
(again: be professional)

See, that's the problem. You want to delegate the responsibility for maintaining your music, and then you want to put a bunch of conditions on it. "Don't f*cking LOSE it," and "if you're sending a sub, it's your job to make sure they have what they need - including markings that are legible and decipherable."

No. It's your band and your music. I don't want to be responsible for it. I don't want to take it home. If I leave it with you it's always safe. I don't need to practice it, I won't practice it, and if you make me take it home it will just sit somewhere unopened until I hopefully remember to bring it to the next rehearsal.

Leaders don't consider that your band isn't the only group I play in. It's not my life, like it is yours, it's just something I do for a couple hours every other Thursday night. Do you have any idea how many different groups I play with, and what a nightmare managing all that music would be?

If I leave it with you it's always safe. When you say, "Deon't f*cking LOSE it," the best way to ensure that is for you to keep it in your possession. And that way, if I send a sub the music is already there waiting for them.

This is obviously a pet peeve for me. I have the memory of a gnat and I play in at least a dozen groups. If I have to maintain the music for all those groups, I guarantee that at some point I'm going to show up to a rehearsal or gig with either the wrong music or no music. And that will be your fault for having the poor judgment to trust me.

[LeTromboniste]

Having just started both a bone choir and a brass ensemble, managing the music/library is a bigger job than most of us realize. So, under the leader requirements #2, once the part is in your hands, take responsibility for it. Do whatever you need to lay it out to your satisfaction. Don't f*cking LOSE it - even if I gave you copies, it costs me and the group time to dig out a fresh copy. And if you're sending a sub, it's your job to make sure they have what they need - including markings that are legible and decipherable.
(again: be professional)

See, that's the problem. You want to pass on the responsibility for maintaining your music, and then you want to put a bunch of conditions on it. "Don't f*cking LOSE it," and "if you're sending a sub, it's your job to make sure they have what they need - including markings that are legible and decipherable."

No. It's your band and your music. I don't want to be responsible for it. I don't want to take it home. If I leave it with you it's always safe.

Here's the thing. Your band isn't the only group I play in. It's not my life, it's just something I do for a couple hours on Thursday nights. Do you have any idea how many different groups I play with, and what a nightmare managing all that music would be?

If I leave it with you it's always safe. When you say, "Deon't f*cking LOSE it," the best way to ensure that is for you to keep it in your possession. And that way, if I send a sub the music is already there waiting for them.

This is obviously a pet peeve for me. I have the memory of a gnat and I play in at least a dozen groups. If I have to maintain the music for all those groups, I guarantee that at some point I'm going to show up to a rehearsal or gig with either the wrong music or no music. And that will be your fault for having the poor judgment to trust me with your music.

I've been on a few gigs where you don't leave with the music, usually those were same-day rehearsal one-day gigs, or opera/theatre production where the librarian always collects any scores left on stands and puts then back on the stands before the next service (where you might leave with it if you want/need but can also leave it behind). But in the overwhelming majority of the playing I do (and as far as I know in most concert, classical situations), the player is the custodian of the music from when they are handed or mailed the parts ahead of the project, until after the last performance. It's a drag sometimes but it's definitely the standard practice in 95% of the projects I play.

[tbdana]

See, that's the problem. You want to pass on the responsibility for maintaining your music, and then you want to put a bunch of conditions on it. "Don't f*cking LOSE it," and "if you're sending a sub, it's your job to make sure they have what they need - including markings that are legible and decipherable."

No. It's your band and your music. I don't want to be responsible for it. I don't want to take it home. If I leave it with you it's always safe.

Here's the thing. Your band isn't the only group I play in. It's not my life, it's just something I do for a couple hours on Thursday nights. Do you have any idea how many different groups I play with, and what a nightmare managing all that music would be?

If I leave it with you it's always safe. When you say, "Deon't f*cking LOSE it," the best way to ensure that is for you to keep it in your possession. And that way, if I send a sub the music is already there waiting for them.

This is obviously a pet peeve for me. I have the memory of a gnat and I play in at least a dozen groups. If I have to maintain the music for all those groups, I guarantee that at some point I'm going to show up to a rehearsal or gig with either the wrong music or no music. And that will be your fault for having the poor judgment to trust me with your music.

I've been on a few gigs where you don't leave with the music, usually those were same-day rehearsal one-day gigs, or opera/theatre production where the librarian always collects any scores left on stands and puts then back on the stands before the next service (where you might leave with it if you want/need but can also leave it behind). But in the overwhelming majority of the playing I do (and as far as I know in most concert, classical situations), the player is the custodian of the music from when they are handed or mailed the parts ahead of the project, until after the last performance. It's a drag sometimes but it's definitely the standard practice in 95% of the projects I play.

So, what do you do with all that music between services? I suspect that, like me, you play in a whole bunch of groups. What do you do with all that music? Or is it all electronically stored?

Before my 30-year hiatus, it was different. If you left with someone's music they would freak out. Now it seems like everyone wants you to be custodian of their expensive music. I mean, if you're paying me enough I'll do it. But for rehearsal groups, community groups and freebies...I dunno, man. It's just not my thing.

[LeTromboniste]

So, what do you do with all that music between services? I suspect that, like me, you play in a whole bunch of groups. What do you do with all that music? Or is it all electronically stored?

Before my 30-year hiatus, it was different. If you left with someone's music they would freak out. Now it seems like everyone wants you to be custodian of their expensive music. I mean, if you're paying me enough I'll do it. But for rehearsal groups, community groups and freebies...I dunno, man. It's just not my thing.

Well typically it's mostly one project after the other, so there's not too many piled up at any given time. I keep them all in the respective enveloppe or folder they were mailed/handed in, and when traveling make sure I have the folders I need for whatever projects I'm doing on that trip, or whichever I intend to practice. After project, music is either returned (if originals) or I discard it (if copies or printouts). For programmes of groups that I regularly play with and which we sometimes reprise (or I think we might), I keep folders in my library, ready for the next time. Also for standard orchestral rep that I often play (Mozart masses, Haydn and Mendelssohn oratorios, etc), I keep my own copies that I've used before and annotated, sorted in a folder, ready for the next gig where they might be needed.

[TomInME]

If you're a regular, or if you have to clear the venue in-between services, it is absolutely the norm for players to take their music. The expectation is that you're professional enough to take care of it.
The only exception I've experienced is reading-only bands, although touring groups may do the same. For most formal gigs, it's extremely common to receive music in advance, even expensive rentals, and again the expectation is that you're professional enough to take care of it.

For my groups I own originals but hand out copies. Not so that I can hand out fresh copies each rehearsal, wasting everyone's time, but in case someone bails irresponsibly or ghosts, I won't have to re-buy hundreds of dollars of music and their replacement will have what they need and the group can keep playing.
And in this digital age, I also have scans for individuals who prefer that - this is another norm currently developing.

[TomInME]

Note to tablet users: don't expect to have wifi or cell at the venue. Download at home.

[Finetales]

Keeping music is something that just varies from gig to gig. I don't like keeping music if it's just loose paper (it IS the bandleader's responsibility to tape all printed parts in advance), but for some situations like an multi-show run it's common to keep the book for the whole run and then leave it on the stand at the last show. It's not my favorite, but it's also not hard. I don't think it's a big issue either way and not worth getting upset over, as long as the bandleader communicates if you need to keep the music.

8. Mark your parts in rehearsals, but do so appropriately

Not knowing how to mark parts properly is a deficiency I see in a lot of players, including pros. A professor I know actually teaches a class on marking parts, and I think music schools should do that more often. Getting handed a well-used part that has all kinds of scribbles on it that make it really hard to read is a real drag.

Note to tablet users: don't expect to have wifi or cell at the venue. Download at home.

Great point. I always have the charts downloaded and put in order in a setlist in forScore before I leave.

[tbdana]

Well, buying Tom's characterization, I guess I'm not professional.

[Doug Elliott]

I'm not sure where this situation falls in this discussion, but about a year ago I was called for a recording session, with 4 horns adding to a prerecorded track. I got a pdf of the part. It was written in such a way that the playback would sound right, but no actual person would be able to read it. Clearly in 7/4, but written in 7/2 so that each written bar was 2 bars of 7/4 with most of the note values crossing beats in very odd ways that made no sense.

Since I knew that the person who wrote it was clearly incapable of understanding how to write a readable part - I've played other charts he wrote - I spent 3+ hours entering all the horn parts into Sibelius - after getting the other players to send me their parts. Most of the time was spent splitting every bar into two bars and re-interpreting the wrong note values.

I was given $100 extra. Next time I just won't accept the gig.

[LeTromboniste]

I'm not sure where this situation falls in this discussion, but about a year ago I was called for a recording session, with 4 horns adding to a prerecorded track. I got a pdf of the part. It was written in such a way that the playback would sound right, but no actual person would be able to read it. Clearly in 7/4, but written in 7/2 so that each written bar was 2 bars of 7/4 with most of the note values crossing beats in very odd ways that made no sense.

Since I knew that the person who wrote it was clearly incapable of understanding how to write a readable part - I've played other charts he wrote - I spent 3+ hours entering all the horn parts into Sibelius - after getting the other players to send me their parts. Most of the time was spent splitting every bar into two bars and re-interpreting the wrong note values.

I was given $100 extra. Next time I just won't accept the gig.

This just brought back a memory I had buried...I once attended a summer academy as a conductor, where during one of the weeks, the orchestra had no concerts and instead had reading-recording sessions for all of the composing students' orchestral submission, so that they would get a "professional" recording of their pieces for demo purposes. Each of the conductors was assigned a few composers, and we got something like 20 minutes in total for each piece, to rehearse and record. Although I guess the festival received the scores in advance, we only got the material a couple days in advance. Two of the composers assigned to me were great, and had submitted well-prepared material. But the third had decided to ignore the festival's recommendation of writing no more than 4-5 minutes of music, and submitted a nearly 8-minute work, meaning there would essentially be barely time for a read through plus the recording. The piece was notated in constantly-changing meters of 4/2, 5/2, 6/2, 7/2 and up to 8/2, all with a tempo of half note=35. But with people changing notes in ways that had to be relaxed and meditative, but still very precise, never together and anywhere in the bars, sometimes syncopated at the 8th or even 16th note level, and often improperly notated with ties that obscure the beats, and otherwise generally being required to hold notes for extremely long durations. Tried to explain to the composer that beating half note=35 is absolutely impractical as it's too slow for the orchestra to have the sense of pulse necessary for his intricately-syncopated chord changes, yet that his meters also made it impossible to beat quarters with any clarity in all his longer bars (12, 14 or 16 beats per bar, I mean common), and that he would be much more likely to get the result he wanted if he just converted it all to 4/4, with the occasional 6-beat 3/2 bar where necessary. He insisted that his notation was absolutely needed, for the orchestra to play with the required stillness and calm. Needless to say, he probably got the worst of the demo recordings we did that week, and it made everybody look bad, the orchestra members who kept playing in the wrong places, me trying to hold this thing together beating completely useless patterns, and him standing there angry at us and clueless about the very basics of how ensembles play...

[tbdana]

Max, what an experience! Hopefully he learned the value of writing to your situation.

[TomInME]

Unlikely, because he probably loved how the MIDI sounded.

[Finetales]

He insisted that his notation was absolutely needed, for the orchestra to play with the required stillness and calm.

Classic...

[JJHenning]

1. Return calls/emails promptly

This is where gigs are made or lost! The group with sustained opportunities is the one that can close the loop when offers are made.

[Wilktone]

Don't get me started on composer/arrangers not properly notating their music. Or not writing idiomatically for the instruments.

Unlikely, because he probably loved how the MIDI sounded.

Yep, MIDI playback is a powerful tool and one that gets horribly abused.

The group with sustained opportunities is the one that can close the loop when offers are made.

Back when I was doing more big band leading I ended up with a core group of players. They weren't always the best players I could hire, but they were consistent and quick to get back to me when I asked about their availability.

Dave

[TomInME]

Back when I was doing more big band leading I ended up with a core group of players. They weren't always the best players I could hire, but they were consistent and quick to get back to me when I asked about their availability.

THIS. Flaky people who don't communicate aren't worth having on the roster.