So I call songs on the fly.
It's a great way to handle things, but it must be darned tough when you're both playing, maybe singing, and producing the show at one and the same time.
Respect and some!
Even as a DJ when I
didn't have to do the playing and singing, it was sometimes hard enough. More songs to chose from isn't necessarily so helpful
Mind, I also used to do a lot of six to eight hour solo gigs, so I was still pretty exhausted by the time I went to bed.
When playing the sax, flute, or wind synth, there are notes I can play with only the left hand. If I'm playing the guitar, I can usually find a place. It only takes a second of two to type a couple of letters.
I have another trick, we have a few songs that start with Old, and most often than not, I need Old Time Rock And Roll in a hurry when playing for seniors. So I put an extra space between old and time so it comes up before the others. I can reach over, type "OL" and it's ready to play. I do this for a few others as well.
Reading the audience does get me out of the zone for a minute, but I can get right back in. I've been doing it for a long time.
Most of our gigs are 3 hours, the minority are 4 and the longest gigs we've done are 6 hours.
Playing music is a fun way to make a living, and working the audience is a good way to keep making a living doing what we love to do.
Just livin' the dream.
Notes ♫
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean