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Pro Muso
146 members • Free
27 contributions to Pro Muso
Aug 13 •
Tuning down???
So I used to play in Rock bands many moons ago. During that time I was the lead singer/rhythm guitarist. In those bands we always tuned down a half step (that made it easier to sing Zeppelin, AC/DC, etc.). That has carried on with my solo acoustic performances. My question is, how many of you tune down and if so, how low do you drop your tuning?
2 likes • 20d
I went to a jam a couple of years ago and got up with the assembled band. They asked me if I wanted to do a song so I chose Today I Started Loving You Again - Merle Haggard and I said F#. The lead guitar player said 'I don't do sharps'. The bass player told him that if I wanted to do it in F# they should. Rather than have a punch up I settled for G. It didn't quite sound right to me but hey. I must dig that song out again.
0 likes • 22h
@Andrew Henning The key change on Karaoke Version isn't that good. I download the stems to Audacity which has an excellent pitch change system
8d •
Too loud!
We are currently travelling around so erratic interaction on this group for a while. We are currently in Croatia Debrovnik and wandering around in the balmy evenings. A number of venues have live music with most being guitar and backing tracks. What I have noticed is the volumes are extreme. Ear bleeding stuff. I think the purpose is different though. The venues are competing for business and want to stand out and draw you in. Bit like the old disco days I suppose. Came across a guy playing Jambalaya but in Croatian. Was interesting but hard to sing along to. Considering the audience is probably international and the locals know English anyway I wondered about that decision.
9d •
Playing with the Audience
Sometimes, if I think the crowd is feeling it and would enjoy it, I sprinkle in a few TV trivia questions. I give them a few clues like, “The family in this show has a dog named Tiger. They have a housekeeper named Alice. They had a string of bad luck on a trip to Hawaii.” After someone yells the Brady Bunch, I play the theme song. I’ve never had to give more than a few clues. Someone always knows what show I’m talking about. Other TV themes I do include: Love Boat, WKRP in Cincinnati, Welcome Back Kotter, Cheers, Three’s Company and Mary Tyler Moore. Sometimes I get more people singing along to these than my normal set songs. Often I run into people days or weeks later and they tell me they loved remembering and singing those old TV songs. Anybody else do fun things to mix it up or get the audience engaged?
0 likes • 8d
@Mishka Fok Marianne my choice. No competition
10d •
Good starting songs
The conventional wisdom is to start the night with an upbeat song, not a slow ballad, but not to waste a strong banger this early. Let'em know that you are here! That is easy to say, but quite a balancing act. Maybe I would understand better if we created a list of songs that are upbeat and strong, but not wasted in the warm-up. I haven't tried it with audiences, but my guess is 1. I've just seen a face - Beatles
2 likes • 8d
We often start with 'I can see clearly now' but last time was 'Hello Mary Lou'.
18d •
How do you find venues?
How do you all find venues when you are just starting out? (beyond open mics)?
6 likes • 17d
The first gig my band played was one of our member Mum's church fete. We were in the church and the fete was outside. A few people wandered past. Experience was gained though. Our second gig was at the 100th anniversary of a school and we were invited to play by a mutual friend. Turned out we were in this massive gym all on our own and the main activity was a couple of hundred metres away in the school square (quadrangle). We had a couple of people accidentally call in. Again, experience was gained.
1 like • 8d
@Nate Southerland Yes we only do volunteer work for good causes. Don't want the pressure of paid work and we are all retired anyway. We don't do gigs that would replace paid performers though.
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@keith-homes-9976
Retired bloke in an amateur band that plays for fun and at aged care homes
Active 22h ago
Joined Aug 17, 2026