Building Your Band

A better conversation about music, with David Loftis and Peter Bulanow

Aaro Keipi, ‘Keyboardists Agreeing’

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"The Composer" by Aarography

“The Composer” by Aarography

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Aaro Keipi and I agree for about an hour on playing classical, worship, and funk keyboard, the preeminence of pads, improvising, composition, language, and communication.

The difference between us being, Aaro is actually educated on the topic, as informed by his Masters’ Thesis.

This is our first international podcast from Finland.

Connect with Aaro: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Soundcloud

Links:

MainStage

Great Pianists on Piano Playing

Christ Collat Band

Espoir by Aaro Keipi

Justin Pinkney, ‘Translating CCM’

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Justin talks to us about growing up in Gospel Drumming, needing a “third eye” to keep tabs on what’s going on, the importance of transitions, the differences playing CCM, and ultimately how these genres influence one another.

Justin on Twitter, Reverb Nation, Facebook, Website, with Chris Collat.

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Links:

Hawkins Family, Love Alive Series (Amazon)

Hezekiah Walker (Amazon)

Chick Corea (Amazon)

A few production notes on “Love Ran Red”.

A critique of gospel music translated to rock:

 

Dan Rebeiz, ‘Unifying’

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Dan Rebeiz by Pete Bulanow

Dan Rebeiz by Pete Bulanow

Guitarist* Dan Rebeiz talks to us about unifying the emotional content of the music we create in this sweeping interview.

Contact Dan @ Daniel Jack Productions or Facebook or The Excentrics

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*Music, Lyrics, Instruments, Vocals, Programming, by DJR. Mixed and Mastered by Micah Wilshire. 

Links:

Sarah McLachlan‘s Music

It Might Get Loud, with Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White

 

Auditions

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Djembe by Pete Bulanow

Djembe by Pete Bulanow

At some point in the process of Building Your Band™, probably not long after its inception, you’re going to want to add musicians beyond those you personally know. Normally this is done is through a process of auditions. I’ve seen a trend of using video interviews to weed out the first round of auditions, and that could have some utility if you have a lot of auditionees and don’t want to have to face them all and/or if you want make the barrier to entry higher. But eventually you’re going to want to meet with someone face to face.

For some reason, this seems to be perceived as a rather stressful situation. But I want to argue that stress is what happens when we let someone into a band that shouldn’t be there. I would suggest that there are two reasons we’re holding auditions. One, because we want to work with good people, not just talented people. And secondly, because we want to be able to set those people up for success and not create situations in which they can’t live up to our expectations.

We’ve all been in bands that have worked, and others that have not worked. This is my list of things that I think are important when everything is working, and therefore these are the things that should be covered in the interview.

Prerequisites. There are going to be any number of prerequisites that are informed by your community values. Those may or may not be things like membership or a particular faith experience or testimony.

Dependability. In two areas, punctuality and preparation. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to rehearse because a key person isn’t there. Being late or not giving yourself enough setup time disrespects everyone else’s time, as does not having done your homework (learned the chart, prepped your sounds). This is not something you want to be fighting every time this person plays. As high as you can set this bar in the audition process, do it. Close the doors at 1 min after the appointed time. Require them to bring marked up copies of their charts showing their prep. Ask for references.

Equipment. I just can’t take a musician seriously if they don’t have their own equipment. The most obvious question is how are they staying proficient if they don’t have their own axe? First comes the commitment to their craft, then comes the gig, not the other way around.

Keyboardists need to differentiate themselves from pianists, and part of the way they do that is having command of an arsenal of sounds (vice playing yours). Similarly you couldn’t possibly know a guitarist’s sound without hearing their rig. And wouldn’t you want to hear the bassist’s amp so you have some idea how they hear bass? I would even ask a drummer to bring in their own snare (and if they have any favorite cymbals) so you have a sense of their taste as well. And if your acoustic guitarist shows up without a built-in pickup, it raises questions of how they will play week to week. You wouldn’t even think of asking a mandolin or cellist to audition unless they had an instrument, right? The instrument is such a vital part of the sound that every person brings, I think it deserves to be part of the audition.

Theory: scales / chords (M/m/7ths/sus) / key signatures / time signatures. You don’t need to bury someone with theory, but you have to have a sense of how far they have gone and how much that impacts them given the context of the kind of music you do. I was surprised to learn one day in the studio that one of my favorite drummers didn’t know what a 2/4 bar of music in a 4/4 song was. However, it made little difference, because I could play it for him and he got it after one try – beside the fact that his time was always impeccable. But there is a judgment call here. If you don’t know the difference between a M7 vs. a m7, do you want to spend rehearsal time explaining that? Or maybe you don’t care enough and can say “ignore the 7ths, someone else will cover those”.

Proficiency. Sure you need to play at a certain level, but communicating what needs to be played is part of that. Ideally, someone could learn a song by ear from an MP3, both riffs (specific key notes) and chords (which they voice however they want). I wouldn’t require someone to know how to read sheet music “notes”, and in fact I would consider needing notes to actually be a liability. So, a solo instrumentalist that can play by ear is invaluable. In fact, everyone should be able to improvise. And the ability to read a chart, even sight-read a chart is just as important when the inevitable set list changes come up.

Time. Everything that happens musically happens against this canvas. So the ability to play in time or to set time even, to create a pocket, to not rush or lag, but to push or to pull just the right amount, even with contradictory dynamics (fast and soft, slow and loud), is essential, as is the ability to play to a click. Everyone is somewhere on this scale. This is one of those things that never stops being important, and continues to be more important the longer you do this. Make playing in time to your satisfaction part of the audition.

Pressure. I’ll be honest and say I don’t understand the argument that an audition is a lot of pressure. Playing with a half dozen or dozen potential team members in a closed room is not pressure. Playing with a fantastic band and not being able to keep up is a lot of pressure. Having to cover the intro to a song in a service in front of hundreds or thousands of people with stage lights alternately blinding you and leaving you in the dark is a lot of pressure. I would argue an audition should be friendly and positive and you should set that tone, and folks better be able to handle that little bit of pressure.

Capacity. This is the ability to remember changes or arrangement choices, and it’s something we all have to build up. It looks like this: “Ok people, listen up, we’re going to double the intro, then go right into a chorus before dropping back for the first verse. We’ll then do a normal chorus, verse 2 and chorus before going into the bridge. On the bridge I want everyone out except the acoustic guitar and kick on 2&4, and then we’re going to build back up on a double bridge, then right into the chorus a cappella with only the drum kit. Then everyone in for two more choruses, and end on the first line of the first verse without resolving. Got it?” Ideally someone can hear that once, see it in their head, maybe jot a few notes down on their chart, and not miss any of those changes an hour later when you’re doing it live. And do that equally well for six other songs.

Personality. All things being equal, even things being a little unequal, personality plays a huge role in getting the gig, and more importantly, in getting called back for the second or third gig. This is true for session musicians – the best our discipline has to offer – so why wouldn’t it be true for us simple live musicians? We need to be able to take direction, to accept critiques and suggestions, to try to respond to the vision of a producer. So make critiquing and suggesting changes part of your audition process. See how people handle it, how they respond. See if they take it personally, or if they really try to hear what you are saying and try to do it. Get off on the right foot and let people know that taking feedback and open honest communication is key to success.

X-factor. This is art. Although music has some logical and even mathematical structure to it, it is ultimately judged on the basis of intuition and interpretation – the ephemeral “beauty” if you will. This is another way of saying that not everything that counts can be counted. Auto-tune gets you perfect pitch. An emotional gut-wrenching interpretation comes from a heart overflowing. You can judge what you hear against some of the other factors we mentioned, but don’t get too wrapped up in doing a consumer report index for each audition. Folks are either above the line (in) or below the line (not in), and you’ll know the answer to that question. If they are above or below the line you can rank folks, but there is no number that says they are in or out.

So those are my thoughts. Anything else you think I missed?

Aron Lee, ‘All In’

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Aron Teo Lee

Aron Teo Lee

Aron “Teo” Lee (Twitter | Facebook) talks to us about owning the support role of bass.

Topics include:

  • Roles and responsibilities of the bass player
  • Being in the driver’s seat vs riding shotgun & navigating
  • Commitment to the groove
  • How a rhythm section liberates everything else
  • (Negative) Space
  • Communicating with a bass player as a producer

Genesis by Matthew Shell & Arun Shenoy (Amazon | iTunes)

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Michael Thomas, ‘Four Notes’

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Michael Thomas

Michael Thomas

Cellist Michael Thomas talks about the minimum technical skill required to play in a worship band, tells us the secret for how to get the best out of strings, and gives us the inside scoop on employing cello with a rock band.

“You can become a musician that sounds good in half the time that it take to become a technical musician”. ~MT

email: CelloMT at Gmail or Facebook

Chris Joyner – The Great Room (Amazon | iTunes)

Tobias John Thomas was born 11/7/14 at 12:14am, 7 lbs 6oz 21in.

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Love Ran Red, a few production notes

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Here are my production notes for translating Chris Tomlin’s (Amazon | iTunes) Love Ran Red to a live Band.

  • This is a piano record. I would personally enjoy playing songs from this album, partially because it uses so much piano (and that’s my first love), and partially because it comes across as a movie score (which is how I like to think about music).
  • There is room for your classical-pianist and your keyboardist-pianist, as well as your synth/programming guy on different songs, so be intentional about booking the right person for the right song (or call me up). There are lots of different piano sounds on this record that you’ll want to be aware of. There’s a standard Steinway or Yamaha grand, a more muted grand with the highs rolled off at the board, a compressed acoustic piano (Michael English’s Finally Free being a particularly egregious example of a compressed piano), and a plain-Jane keyboard-piano.
  • There are also plucked sounds on this record that could be covered by acoustic guitar, but I’m not sure they were originally acoustic guitar on the record (if so they’ve been highly produced), so they could also be covered by a keyboard or programmed.
  • The electric guitars are actually pretty understated on this record – standard U2/Edge delayed guitar – but one could elect to mix the guitars up to create gutsier renditions.
  • Lots of cinematic toms are present, which I personally love, but they require some special preparation from your sound engineer to get them sounding big and awesome.
  • There are some EDM influences, like four-on-the-floor kick, synth appreciators, and filter sweeps not usually found coming out of Nashville (maybe some Crowder influence?)

Greater

  • These opening lines are right out of a Hans Zimmer score, so you’ll need your gorgeous string pads handy to not waste this moment. Maybe you’d want to consider doubling the intro. You’ll want your synth guru booked for this day.
  • Programmed synth bass would be cool, but a decent live player can do this.
  • This song has some of those plucked sounds on the first verse that could be covered by acoustic guitar or a 2nd keyboard guy.
  • A modern piano/keyboard sound with some delay on it plays the thematic element on verse 2, or this could be covered quite nicely by some delayed guitar and simply layered with some acoustic piano (the latter being my preference).
  • Make sure you have your guy who loves playing toms booked for this day.
  • Starting at the 2nd chorus, you’ll want a few additional harmony vocals to join.
  • If you have an old school choir at your disposal, have them waiting in the wings and enter Fortissimo at the bridge, and then again echoing the bridge part over the final chorus. This is what the kids call “epic”.

How to get this right: let it be relaxed, sweeping, even cinematic.
How to get this wrong: overplay it.

Waterfall

  • Opens with electric piano and quickly gets into EDM synth dance sounds, so you’ll need to be playing to a click track to keep the arpeggiators in sync. Season with filter sweeps.
  • Acoustic piano on chorus is compressed (ask your sound tech do to this) and should be played live by someone with strong (classically trained?) hands. I can see a case for two keyboardists this day, one on the grand, another doing the synth work. Pads on verse 2 can be string pads or synthier square waves.
  • On that note, think about having another vocalist that sounds like you to do sound of the random overdubs. There’s room for a little extra vocal goodness if they want to run with it a little.
  • Make sure you have your guy who loves playing toms booked this day.

How to get this right: preproduction, keep it tight.
How to get this wrong: fail to give it enough rehearsal time and it’ll fall apart.

At the Cross (Love Ran Red)

  • Use compressed piano with some delay on it.
  • Plucked sounds could be covered by acoustic guitar or a 2nd keyboard guy.
  • Bring all your vocalists online for the bridge.
  • It’s OK to build to a wall of sound on this one 😉

How to get this right: keep it relaxed, create some space.
How to get this wrong: rush the kick.

Jesus Loves me

  • I would probably play this ballad on the house grand, even though it sounds more like a sample on this recording.
  • Electric guitar can cover the quiet tremolo pads, and all other tasteful / big / ambient parts.
  • Piano and Drums propel this one.

How to get this right: be passionate.
How to get this wrong: let it drag.

Boundary Lines

  • Your sound tech is definitely going to need to listen to this recording. You’ll need a second vocal mic for the intro vocal that has the highs and lows rolled off to sound lofi, run through a tap delay, and then your sound guy will play the low-pass filter live and open that up.
  • Book your synth/keyboard person who knows what filter sweeps are. They’ll also have access to vintage Rhodes sounds and compressed pianos, besides all the warm pads and undulating sounds.
  • Everything should happen to a click track so the band stays tight and in sync. You’ll probably want all those 16th note delayed claps to be programmed ahead of time and a nice click going to the drummer.
  • Ask the drummer if they want to play the tambourine or have that programmed.
  • Program the hand clap on 2 & 4 and four on the floor kick.
  • Play the toms, snares, fills, live and wail on that hi-hat like any good EDM song does.
  • More of that plucked stuff that could be played by a 2nd keyboardist or acoustic guitarist.

How to get this right: preproduction!
How to get this wrong: expect a live version to come together quickly.

Almighty

  • This song is one of those sit-on-a-stool-with-a-spotlight solo tunes, at least to start. Not too much rocket science here, even though it feels a little complicated. Eventually it builds with lots of vocals on the chorus.
  • A nice classic Yamaha or Steinway grand anchors this song. I love the bridge that drops back to solo piano. Whomever you give this solo to will thank you.
  • For the signature figure that seems to go through a 5/4 measure followed by a 3/4 measure, don’t count it that way – just play straight through with a 4/4 count.
  • More of those wonderful U2 guitars on the chorus.
  • There might be room for a second keyboardist to do some pads on this, just don’t overdo it.

How to get this right: tight transitions.
How to get this wrong: telegraph your transitions (with fills) or not choking your cymbals.

The Roar

  • There are nice pads and compressed piano on this one.
  • Four on the floor kick, but play it live.
  • Crazy backing vocal on the chorus! Never fear, the electric guitar can cover this.
  • Nice half-time feel on the bridge. You booked your choir for this right??

How to get this right: 16th note hi-hats keeps the momentum.
How to get this wrong: That’d be pretty hard.

Fear Not

  • The intro is a lo fi variant of the chorus. I don’t think it’s critical to try to sound like the record. Maybe have a 2nd mic tuned up to sound like a megaphone…or use a megaphone!
  • Mechanically, this song is straightforward. One guitar playing the arpeggios, and another something – could be guitar could be keyboard – holding down the chord. Add that and solid drums.

How to get this right: Bring in your youth and kids choir to yell out the bridge!
How to get this wrong: Fail to drive the song with all those 16th note hi-hats, or hold back even a little.

The Table

  • Grand piano, electric guitar doodling, nice drum groove. This song just comes together.
  • You may or may not want to go up a step after the bridge, especially if you’re shaky and may not nail it a capella. Either way this is another one where you want your choir coming in at the bridge.

How to get this right: Get everyone snapping on two and four before you start the song.
How to get this wrong: If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong. It’s a celebration. It’s about community. It’s about relationships: vertical and horizontal.

Psalm 100

  • It’s cool to see some of that EDM influence. You’ll be playing to a click, but a tight live drummer should be able to cover all the drums parts. Live bass is the way to go. Straightforward Edge electric guitars.
  • In fact, you may be able to play this entire tune live with your synth guy running arpeggiators, as long as you’re playing to a click. If they want to program it, that’s cool too.
  • The piano arpeggiation on the bridge would sound pretty awesome if it can be played tight on a grand. Better be practicing your Hanon for the finger strength.
  • P.S. Those are some great mellotron strings at the end!

How to get this right: Preproduction!
How to get this wrong: not play to a click track.

I Will Boast

  • This is a beautiful rubato grand piano song.
  • If you have some live strings, violas, cellos, this is the time to let them sing out. Some of this could be augmented by keyboard pads, or covered by mellotron-type samples.
  • There are some tasteful guitars, but I’m not sure you even need ’em – give your strings a chance to shine!
  • There are some really nice harmony vocals in a few spots. The whole tune might be really nicely reconfigured as a male-female duet.
  • Ends with Rhodes electric piano, which I don’t get the point of, other than to facilitate a transition to a coda of “At the Cross”.  I would label this an album artifact and ignore it live by sticking to just the piano and ending the song, particularly unless you actually did “At the Cross” earlier in your service.

How to get this right: Have a gorgeous well-mic’d, well-tuned, grand piano.
How to get this wrong: Rush it.

Jesus, This is You

  • This is the guitar song on the record. It sounds like it’s from a recent U2 album.
  • Keyboards – use atmospherics – maybe some keyboard / piano / melodic-chime sounds, but don’t get in the way of what your particular guitarist is doing. This is a guitar song – listen!
  • There is room for lots of vocals on this. The choir can possibly come out for this. Let it build to a wall of sound. Maybe add an extra chorus.

How to get this right: Book The Edge (U2) to play guitars and sing that thematic part for you.
How to get this wrong: Let it get too big / full / muddy / wall of sound (looking your way, keys).

In the End

  • A neat little rhythmic device opens this tune on the riff. That could come from a keyboard guy (arpeggiator?) or a guitar guy (acoustic guitar with delay?). Since there is already a piano part, I would look to your electric guitarist to pick up an acoustic and run it through a delay.
  • The piano part would probably be a modern piano keyboard sound, not necessarily a grand. Be ready to layer a nice big atmospheric pad like Absynth.
  • Also that’s a pretty cool compressed drum loop on the second chorus, so you’re playing tight to a click, right?
  • Kick and a couple toms build at the Bridge. The drum kit is finally in after the bridge. It’s called building tension!

How to get this right: Rehearse.
How to get this wrong: Think this song will magically come together.

REMIXes

I really love that they are offering these. It shows the songwriting can stand up to reinterpretation.

Waterfall Tritonal Remix

  • I don’t know that I’d attempt this version live, but if you can it’s got lots of nice production. Vocoder on the harmonies anyone?
  • The programmed synth and snare stuff are epic. You can probably do a hybrid with the regular version and whatever synthy stuff you can come up with.

How to get this right: preproduction.
How to get this wrong: fail to integrate live sounds well with the programmed sounds.

At the Cross (Love Ran Red) [Acoustic]

  • This song utilizes picked acoustic guitar, and very minimal warm pad on the first verse.
  • If you have a second acoustic guitar that can pick, there is room for some tasteful layered harmonies starting at the chorus.
  • Use kick and shaker on the second verse. I would probably replace with a mic’d Djembe and shaker (and tambourine) instead, as I think a drum kit is too big for this.
  • Some gentle well-mic’d grand piano comes in at the second chorus.

How to get this right: show restraint, be tasteful.
How to get this wrong: overplay.

Let It Be Jesus [Acoustic]

  • This is an acoustic piano ballad.
  • There is a little extra acoustic guitar in the recording that I don’t know I would want in right away. Maybe hold off until the chorus when the tempo gets established. That way the instrumentation stays tight.
  • I get the piano dropping out on the second verse and switching to acoustic guitar before bringing the piano back in. We need that sonic break.
  • Personally I think this would sound so much more epic with some solo string lines. Somebody score something for this!

How to get this right: restraint.
How to get this wrong: let it get too big.

Do you hear things differently? Anything I missed? Leave a comment below!