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Topic: Principles of Good Backup |
Steve Benzian
From: Burlingame, CA USA
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Posted 20 Jan 2004 11:54 am
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This important part of what we do on the bandstand is not well covered in most instruction. What are the do's and dont's that you guys rely on? Playing pretty fills in the holes beween the words of the song is what I try to do....I try to lay out for a whole verse and chorus so it doesn't get tiresome. There must be rules to follow that help. Thanks for any suggestions. |
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C Dixon
From: Duluth, GA USA
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Posted 20 Jan 2004 12:03 pm
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Jeff Newman says,
"Learn what NOT to play". This suggests of course that there can be too much. And it is more than just filling up the gap between singers's phrases.
The two best in the world at backup IMO, are Jerry Byrd and Buddy Emmons. As Ray Charles said, "he (BE) gets into my mind and plays what I feel". In a word, backup should be an extension of the singer rather than a separate entity.
carl |
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Walter Stettner
From: Vienna, Austria
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Posted 20 Jan 2004 12:12 pm
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Right!
I heard and read that in many statements from top musicians, that they want to listen to the singer's voice first, so they can get a better feeling for backing up.
Listen to all those legends, Lloyd Green, Pete Drake, Jimmy Day, Buddy Emmons, Paul Franklin, they can play exactly to that point, that's what usually makes us all listen and still talk about those songs decades after they've been recorded!
Walter
www.austriansteelguitar.at.tf
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[This message was edited by Walter Stettner on 20 January 2004 at 12:13 PM.] |
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Eric West
From: Portland, Oregon, USA, R.I.P.
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Posted 20 Jan 2004 1:56 pm
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Get some Old Ernest Tubb records, on CD I guess. Any of them will have THE FINEST backup on them. Especially the Charleton Years, ( 61-75 or so)
Also Lorreta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, and Johnny Paycheck.
With the ABOVE in mind, many players that "don't play during vocals" just do so because they don't want to play, or don't follow the examples of the artists I mentioned.
If you have to pick between not playing at all, and playing too much, do yourself a favor, pick the latter.
It's more fun.
The sooner you realise that it's the "you" show, the sooner you will realise how to make vocalists sound better and LIKE you. It's in Your Hands.
Paradoxical?
Life is too.
EJL |
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Steve Benzian
From: Burlingame, CA USA
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Posted 20 Jan 2004 3:58 pm
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One other thing for me is that the backup should be shared with the other instruments and you need to take turns and not play over each other. That's the way recordings are done...but it's sometimes a free for all on the bandstand....we ususally agree who will take the intro but then......it's off to the races. |
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Paddy Long
From: Christchurch, New Zealand
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Posted 20 Jan 2004 8:22 pm
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Listen to what the other guys are doing, and make sure you all the players have eye contact - The hardest thing to learn is when not to play !! |
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Wayne Baker
From: Altus Oklahoma
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Posted 20 Jan 2004 8:25 pm
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First, I like to look over my right shoulder, left for those of you in NZ. Then shift into reverse... Oh wait, you meant bandstand backup, my bad
Wayne Baker |
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George Kimery
From: Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 20 Jan 2004 9:04 pm
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Paul Franklin said something on his tape on playing backup that has stuck with me. He says he listens to the words of the song to get ideas for an appropriate fill. If Texas is mentioned, then maybe a little Texas swing lick will work. If raindrops are mentioned, then some little chime that could suggest rain drops. A hard driving hell bent, whisky drinking song, then something really gutsy and robust sounding. If a girl is singing a pretty song, then a sweet delicate lick, etc. Of course, most of us don't have Paul's ability to create a lick on the spot that just seems to match the occasion, but I think it is a good principle and something that we can strive for. [This message was edited by George Kimery on 20 January 2004 at 09:05 PM.] |
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Mike Cass
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Posted 20 Jan 2004 10:14 pm
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Stay out of the singers way |
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Bengt Erlandsen
From: Brekstad, NORWAY
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Posted 20 Jan 2004 10:58 pm
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Listen to the music. Find the groove. Understand and feel the rhythm. Don't play for yourself. Play together w the band (means listening to what the other band members do). Practise and play long enough to get a feel for what everything from staccato notes (short notes, long pause) to legato notes(long notes, short pause) and all variations in between will do for the rhythm, even though all notes come out at the same tempo/rate.
When playin in between the vocals one does not need to play a different lick everytime. Repeating the same lick might also do the trick. Maybe with a slight variation but not necessarly. Not playing every verse, chorus at the same level (110%). Make sure the band has room (level) to bring the song both up/down from everything to real soft/quiet to loud. Using dynamics as part of the playing is something that can make the difference between a good/bad performance of the song beeing played.
Bengt Erlandsen [This message was edited by Bengt Erlandsen on 20 January 2004 at 11:03 PM.] |
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Johan Jansen
From: Europe
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Posted 21 Jan 2004 7:17 am
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a blue bonett in a field of orchidees attracks attention, more than the most beautifull orchidee in the middle of it., because it's lonely and seldom and unexpected. |
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Ricky Littleton
From: Steely-Eyed Missile Man from Cocoa Beach, Florida USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2004 7:18 am
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Listen to John Hughey on Conway's "Baby's Gone".
IMHO that, my friends, is how back-up should be!!!
But of course I could be wrong...
Ricky
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Emmons LeGrande - 8x4
Session 400 Ltd
Dan-Echo, E-Bow, Ibanez Distortion, Boss Comp./Sustain, Ibanez Auto-Wah
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Ray Minich
From: Bradford, Pa. Frozen Tundra
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Posted 21 Jan 2004 9:19 am
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Absence makes the ear grow fonder...
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Richard Tipple
From: Ohio, USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2004 9:56 am
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As a steel player in a band, our instrument stands out from the other players for the most part. As such we must display a large amount of self control. It is not the steel player & the rest of the band show. No, its the singer & the band.
Never let the steel overcome the rest of the band & get in the way of the star of the show.
Overplaying & telling the audience,,hay look what I can play,,aint it pretty,,is a big no no in the professional bands.
Sure there are people in the crowd who would like to hear steel constantly on every song, but the majority of the crowd will tire very fast from hearing the steel constantly.
Listen to almost any quality professional group TV or anywhere and you will see how the musicians are conducting themselves on stage through thier playing and actions.
I have set in with more than I care to mention,amature groups, when not on the road with my main group, and it never fails,,when I lay out on songs ,there is always another musician in the group asking whats wrong ?
Since it takes too long to explain,, I just say ,nothing With a lead guitarist and a rythem guitarist pounding away,,why would a steel player want to add to this amature madness
Be professional at all times,,milk the crowd with your playing. Make them want to hear your next lick or solo, dont try to shove it down thier throughts.
This will get to professional playing status faster than anything and people will remember the steel player after the show, and its what the professional groups are looking for in a steel player.
Its not so much what you play,,its when you play.
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