Gig without any singing

[RCGuitar]

Hi AGF, I’ve been playing some outdoor senior home gigs since the shutdown. I play and Sing. I’ve been asked to play for the senior home in November however this one will be different. It will be inside, with appropriate safety measures but they want me to play instrumental only (due to covid rules). The material I usually play for them is old school country (which they love), Merle, Willie, Waylon, Jerry Jeff, Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond...etc. I play rhythm and lead but I am not a fingerstyle guitarist. Any ideas as to how I can pull this off with no singing (totally different than my normal gigs). I have a looper but, they want me to do my thing only without vocals. It’s a little out of my comfort zone. Tx for any thoughts!

[tonyo]

Sounds challenging. I've tried this, found I had to at least mentally hum the lyrics (I play everything from memory) to be able to know where and what chords to change to

[rllink]

So what do they want, chord progressions, or do they expect you to dazzle them with your fret work? I couldn't do it. My playing is all based on my vocals. I would have to say pass.

[MakingMusic]

If my sets were largely vocals with guitar accompaniment, I would pass on the gig. I completely get their concern but without a great deal of work developing a new repertoire, I don't see how you can make it interesting.

[Ben M.]

Get a kazoo.

Sorry I know that’s not helpful.

If I played a gig with no vocals my audience would be almost as bored as me.

[rllink]

There are some really good instrumentalists out there but after a couple of songs the fascination wears off and I wonder where's the message. An instrumentalist has to be really really good to keep the audience engaged.

[12barBill]

Lip sink...

[Mandobart]

I've done a few wineries, corporate gigs and other "background music" events. Most of these the customer doesn't want vocal pieces. What works there are recognizable instrumentals - Beatles, show tunes, timeless standards, etc. The songs everyone knows. Beautiful melodic tunes (Hawaiian Slack key, for example) also works.

It helps to be a good fingerstyle player. It helps to have some beautiful uncommon custom instruments. And you need an expansive repertoire. I can stretch a standard song with lyrics to 4 minutes or so. A pure instrumental, even with thematic variations and good technical skills gets old after about 2 and a half minutes.

Like many, I've done no gigs or playing out of any kind since the end of February.

[TeleBluesMan]

Todd Rundgren used to do concerts where he would sing live to pre-recorded tracks. So kinda the reverse...

[MakingMusic]

Originally Posted by TeleBluesMan

Todd Rundgren used to do concerts where he would sing live to pre-recorded tracks. So kinda the reverse...

That would be a pretty funny concept

[TeleBluesMan]

Originally Posted by MakingMusic

That would be a pretty funny concept

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsezr0qiFIc

[MakingMusic]

Todd Rundgren was a weird dude

[TeleBluesMan]

Originally Posted by MakingMusic

Todd Rundgren was a weird dude

No doubt about it!
I had some friends who went to one of those shows. He had a reel-to-reel tape recorder with him onstage.

[DoryDavis]

Though I'm not a huge fan, I went to see him at a medium sized club a few years back (Rundgren). He walked out with his guitar and played a few monster licks. Great tone. I had been skeptical about the show but realized I could learn from his playing and got ready for a good show.

Just like that the signal quit. He tried a few things and then said "no guitar tonight I guess" and played the rest of the show, just singing, with occasional keyboard (the rest of the band was there to support). I didn't care for it, though I like his radio singles, and respect him as a producer.

That was a thread hijack. To the OP, playing several sets instrumentally is exactly what I have been trying to be able to do. You need a lot of songs, and good arrangements to keep them interesting. It's a challenge but its fun.

[Earl49]

I have the repertoire to play an hour of Piedmont blues / ragtime tunes and another hour of Hawaiian slack key in several tunings. It would be dreadfully dull for a general audience, except as background audio wallpaper. I once played a corporate gig (reception at a convention) where they insisted that I not use a PA because the last time it had been too loud for networking. Despite warning them about the lack of power from a single acoustic guitar, I complied with the request. Not 15 minutes into my set, the organizer came back asking me to turn it up above the cocktail party banter because no one could hear the music any more. But the PA system was back in the car as they had asked. I played as loudly as possible but it still wasn't enough for them. Lesson learned. Next time an event like that came up I used my PA system but showed the organizer the master volume control and let *her* set it to taste throughout the evening.