Is it really my age or am i just lazy?

[Paleolith54]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

Today I probably could play 200 songs that date all the way back to the 70’s with total recall. Stuff I learned in my youth. Back then, I could do a couple hours in front of a crowd with no music, charts, cheat sheets. Easy.

Since I got back in to doing some public playing I have taken to using an iPad and OnSong to help me. I don’t like doing it and when I played my little happy hour last week I just really felt dependent on the technology. I justify it by saying, “well, I’m older now. I have more on my mind. I can’t recall everything.”

I’ve played some of these “new” songs dozens of times under different circumstances and yet I still have the tablet there scrolling along.

So, at a young, healthy 62 am I just lazy? Does technology just make it easier to only partially learn the song and have the ability to catch a hint? (I will say, back 30 or 40 years ago I had to listen to the song and work it out. The internet makes it stupid easy to get the chords and lyrics. Maybe i need to go back to that? Nahhhhh...)

Hate the dependency but love playing and singing for people.....

I guess the difference between a tool and a crutch is a personal distinction. I'm in the camp that sees stands, iPads, etc as crutches, and a substitute for actually being ready for the gig. I'm not militant about it but since you asked, that's my impression for the typical small-venue acoustic gig.

[KevWind]

Lots of good insight so far and a little bit of nonsense also.

First YES aging commonly brings some degree recall loss, plane and simple .
To suggest it is simply or nothing more than being lazy, or not practicing enough, is foolish nonsense

BUT it is also true that repetition (practice) helps recall regardless of age.

So the answer to the OP might be perhaps, a bit of both.

Viewing tablets or songbooks, cheat sheets, etc., as a distraction, is a highly personal highly subjective individual choice of perspective, and has little to do with the reality of entertaining an audience in general . As long you the performer are not distracted by their use, the audience won't be either.

[RedJoker]

Originally Posted by Paleolith54

I guess the difference between a tool and a crutch is a personal distinction. I'm in the camp that sees stands, iPads, etc as crutches, and a substitute for actually being ready for the gig. I'm not militant about it but since you asked, that's my impression for the typical small-venue acoustic gig.

I somewhat agree but I also tend to have different standards for different gigs. If I see the local musician playing at the local vineyard, I have no issue with them having a small stand off to the side to glance at if they forget the start of the next verse. However, I would expect more from someone I'm paying big bucks to see. I'm playing for free for a charity event so I'm going to have my tablet low and to the side incase I need the lyric reminder but I won't be reading off it. Music is not my job.

And lets be real, we see so many folks using these tools because no one but us seems to really care. If it was really a problem, the venues wouldn't hire them back.

[zombywoof]

I have a few years on you. Technology though makes my analog brain wobble. I still do not even carry a cell phone. But my motto for most things is I can muddle through. And that goes for music as well. If I am out and have a brain fart while playing I have faith that my hands will know what to do. It may not be exactly what I wanted them to do but it is usually good enough for me to muddle though.

[Laughingboy68]

I have a current repertoire of 470 songs that are 90% performance ready. I usually prepare a set list, and my standard is that the set list songs should be played with little to no reference to the iPad that has charts for all my songs. However, if I want to deviate from the 50 or so songs that I have prepared for the night, I like to have decent charts to which I can refer. I rarely if ever follow a chart, even for the tunes I haven’t played in months or years. I use it like a safety net. It gives me flexibility, confidence and the ability to serve the audience well.

I could have about 150 songs locked into memory at any one time, but I like to always have a few new songs and the ability to respond to requests. I do agree that if you need to read your lyric or follow a chord chart all the way through, that song probably isn’t ready for public consumption. I’d like to think that I use the iPad as a tool rather than a crutch. Kinda like my electronic tuners, I don’t need ‘em, but I use ‘em to make life easier and my performance better.

There was a time when I just kept it all in my head, but time and the size of my repertoire have added extra challenges that mean that having the iPad makes it easier and better. I have seen very good pros who have teleprompters. The key is to make sure it isn’t a distraction for you or your audience.

[RustyAxe]

I can easily play a 3 hour gig without my iPad, but I keep it on the mic stand for those times I’m asked to play something I know the music to but am unsure of the lyrics. Contrary to being a liability, it’s paid off in the tip jar.

For concert settings there no need, I’m not taking requests and am playing a familiar set list.

[taylorgtr]

Don't feel bad - every one of these guys is looking down at the teleprompter - including the guy who made it a hit, and the guy who wrote the song.



Side note - Have you ever seen Neil Young as happy on stage as he looks here?

[donlyn]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

Today I probably could play 200 songs that date all the way back to the 70’s with total recall. Stuff I learned in my youth. Back then, I could do a couple hours in front of a crowd with no music, charts, cheat sheets. Easy.

Well, I go back to the 50's, but I never had 200 ready to go. However, I probably always knew at least 200, just not ready to go. Despite what someone posted about having a crutch becoming a bonus in tips, I would like to think that you should know everything you attempt to play. I do see the comfort in having backup (used to be called 'fake books'), electronic or otherwise. Just should not be used for most of your repertoire.

"Is it really my age or am i just lazy?"

Maybe. "Only you . . . " know the true answer.

Don

.

[Steadfastly]

Barbara Streisand has prompters all over the venues she has sung at. She makes no bones about it and tells the audience they are there and why. Because she often forgets the lyrics.

[Oldguy64]

Originally Posted by difalkner

I can play songs with no problem that I learned 40 years ago, 30 years ago, etc. But we have 4 or 5 songs each week to play on Sunday morning with our Praise Band and I use my iPad and OnSong. There's usually one new song every couple of weeks.

A lot of the songs I must have played 20 times over the last few years but I still look at the chord sheets on the iPad. I think part of it is that I'm playing with 7 or 8 other people and really need to make sure it's right. Plus, we use click tracks and they aren't forgiving at all if you get off.

When I play my 'old' songs then it's just me and if I want to add a measure or skip a verse or make any tempo changes then it's cool.

But I can't seem to remember these newer songs like I can my old John Denver, Simon & Garfunkel, CSN&Y, etc.

David

Some people can remember loads of songs and the changes.
I cannot. I can sing many songs from memory. Add playing and I need the chordpro.
I can probably play 10 songs from memory.
That said, if you put a chordpro in front of me, I can follow you just about anywhere after the second run-thru. And that’s with songs I’ve not ever heard.

When I play P&W once a month, I may have the songs three weeks or four days in advance.
I may or may not have heard the songs before.
And we may have played them before...in a different key.
If you’re still playing for folks and still doing it well and enjoying it...
Do what works.

[Gordon Currie]

I started playing guitar in 1966. Like everyone else, I either memorized or I had sheet music or some sort of chord chart. There was no alternative.

If someone had come up to me in the 70s and offered a magical electronic device that could keep all of this at my fingertips, I would have been all over it like white on rice!

I have been blessed with a stellar (but NOT photographic) memory, so I was able to remember all the things I might have preferred to leave to an electronic memory. At the same time, I made a crucial decision early on to focus on original music. That limited my earning potential big time, but it also drastically reduced the demand on my memory (I'll never need to know 200+ songs down cold).

There are all kinds of things we 'give up' as technology continually moves into more and more of our lives. I think it is valuable to pause and question, but overall it is inevitable. 40 years from now people may be pining for the iPad days and dissing the new 'direct-injection' method of learning a song. Rinse and repeat.

[cdkrugjr]

Once, when playing Mustang Sally, I forgot the first lyric . . . .

I wasn't that old either . . .

[Nyghthawk]

Originally Posted by cdkrugjr

Once, when playing Mustang Sally, I forgot the first lyric . . . .

I wasn't that old either . . .

LOL! I have started checking my driver's license every day at 5 to make sure I am going to the right house!

[varmonter]

I'm mid 60s . been playing out all my adult life.
When i was 20-40 i could learn a song chords an lyrics
after playing it 4 or 5 times. Now it takes me onger.
I can still do it. . I too use an ipad with onsong.
I can tell you if you rely on it you will take longer
to learn the song. You have to put it aside and
play the song without it . Then you can have it
for setlists .

[merlin666]

When I was at my playing peak in my teenage years I learned songs the hard way from vinyl records. That probably helped memorizing cause I never used any notes or other aids for playing. Then I took a few decades break, and now I learn songs mainly from lyrics with chords that I download. Often I haven't heard the songs in many years so I tend to butcher them badly, and because I put little effort into learning anymore they don't really sink in. Good thing I don't perform and just play for fun at jams and open mics. No-one there complains that I bring a music stand and binder, and those who sit near me usually sneak a peak too. I have a tablet with some song apps, but it's too much hassle to figure out the scrolling and wresting with technology, so I just stick with paper. Have about 5 binders full by now.