100% agreed Dave....take away the all the sheets and look into the audiences eyes
memorizing is a powerful tool on stage!!

Donny, if that's the case, you guys are going to need to STOP relying on your laptops as a crutch as well. - Scott

My laptop is a jukebox for breaks or DJ work. No crutchs here!

Face it! Uncle Dave. You rely on crutches too:



Can't READ music eh?!

Lead sheets, lyric sheets, notation or whatever, these are all onstage crutches we ALL benefit from using (from time to time).

Scott

Is an Arranger Keyboard a crutch?!?!?
t.

Sorry - nope. I often don't even turn on the pc till it's break time. I've played most night without it at all. I hate crutches, and never rely on them. That's not saying that I never use a lyric or chord chart ..... it's just an extremely rare, and isolated event.

I think music is for pit bands. The front man should never read on stage. Or at least ..... never get caught reading.

Uncle Dave - sincerely - WTF are you doing here if you don't want to talk about the MERITS of the Music Pad Pro? This is a valuable topic to some of us, yet you waltz in here making yet another series of your narrow-minded statements just because YOU don't use music on stage. Does that mean the rest of us can't even talk about it without hearing from almighty you? Music is a crutch? Centuries of great musicians have used music on stage and still managed to entertain their audience - you could learn a lot from them if you weren't so limited in your view. I don't understand your need to put down other people's choices when it comes to playing in favor of your own except that you are an arrogant and self-absorbed individual.

Esh.... These are opinions, pal. Many readers need alternate takes on a subject to determine it's validity and usefulness for them.
I have certain ideals about stage presense, and I stick to them. My thoughts about reading are not isolated to my stage either.
No need for ruderies ( WTF ).
I'm just adding my part to the mix. You wanna go buy one of these things ..... you'll be better armed in the decision because of these varied posts.
Variety is the spice of life, right?

U.D. I'm going to have to agree with Esh. It is not a sin to use music, fakebooks and charts during a performance.

I play a song a few times and can then throw away the music. My wife who is a very accomplished pianist and pipe organist can't play Happy Birthday without a chart. The ability to not use music is a gift that not everyone has. Our lead trumpet player who can play anything in any key can't sing Proud Mary without the lyrics even though he's sung it 300 times. These things are gifts.

Esh can we take the anger down a couple of notches and knockoff the profanity? Neither are really necessary to make your IMHO very valid point.

Tom,
Reading is no crime, in fact I know many players woule be lost without charts. I just feel very strongly about the "front man" approach, and as a solo entertainer, I'm definately out in front.
And I'm sure that if your trumpet player really wanted to ... he could memorize Proud Mary. It's a case of priorities. It must not be that important to him.
The benifits of memorizing a song go so much farther than just allowing eye contact. It allows the performer to "connect" more fully with the song without the barriers of sight.
It's just one take on it, but your opinions are always well stated.....unless you're making fun on Don Mason or me !