Ready to Jam and everyone else is still tuning.

topgun2021

Gold Member
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Reminds me of Concert Band. Our section gets set up and ready to go, and then we sit for 5 minutes waiting for people to tune.
 
My experience is similar but replace 'tuning' with 'noodling'.

I've sat waiting a full five minutes whilst people noodle on saxophones before and I finally went up to the front and had a stern word (the conductor - a friend of mine - didn't have the guts). I hate noodling and I never, ever do it. At one point I was recording a friend's band and the guitarist would not stop noodling between takes. I was trying to listen to his playback and he kept *$&#ing down the line, so rather than get up and mute him, I got up, went into the control room and physically threw him out. I picked him up and threw him out of the door, which I then locked.

It absolutely drives me mad. The bass player and keyboard player in my current band do it but I'm not at the point where I've been driven mad yet. When my relationship with them is more established (I've been in the band for two months) then I might finally say something.

I hate noodling.
 
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A prior band I was in (classic rock), the lead guitarist would tune after every song. He wouldn't even listen to hear if it was out of tune. He's immediately mute, gaze down at his pedal-board-tuner-thingie, and tune. Needless to say. If there were dancers on the floor, there weren't after that. And it's not like it was a Walmart First Act or anything. He always played Les Pauls. I told him, "Even if it IS out a little bit, nobody will even notice or care". Used to bug the hell outta me!
 
It took me a while, but I finally got our band to stop the "noodling"

I hated it. Both guitar players and the bass guitar player would just do it all the time.

They would argue that "we're practicing".

I kept telling them to practice at home. We're rehearsing!

I had to harp on this for 6 weeks straight, but eventually they stopped.
 
It took me a while, but I finally got our band to stop the "noodling"

I hated it. Both guitar players and the bass guitar player would just do it all the time.

They would argue that "we're practicing".

I kept telling them to practice at home. We're rehearsing!

I had to harp on this for 6 weeks straight, but eventually they stopped.

Yes, thank you!

If they start trying to pull off this stunt in my band, then I'll do exactly the same on the kit with some obnoxious licks. They'll complain and I'll just have to give them a knowing look...
 
I just joined another band a few months ago and amazingly *none* of them do it.
But they talk and tell stories for 5 minutes between numbers. I guess I can tolerate that.

Can you imagine if the drummer noodled or tuned his drums between numbers all the time. Unmounted them, started tuning heads, etc.....
 
Noodling gets under my skin too, especially at gigs. I also don't like when people give away the song we're about to do. What musicians don't do is important too. I had to get a sub about a year ago for a gig I couldn't make. Well my gig fell through at the last minute and I informed my bandleader that I was now available for his gig. Well he had given the gig to another drummer and out of professionalism, the sub did my regular gig.

He was a noodler. I actually showed up at the gig since mine fell through, to observe the sub that they got, I was very curious. I have to admit that it was kinda nice seeing the guy do a worse job than me, and noodling in between songs. Sorry, but I'm competitive and always want to be the best drummer in attendance, so it kind of stroked my ego to hear them lamenting about the other guy. It gave them a sense of appreciation for the things I both did and didn't do, especially noodling between songs.

On break I was verbally appreciated by the bandleader and the bassist for not doing the noodling thing. They never realized it before. It's nice to be noticed by comparison. I make a conscious effort to not play drums unless I'm playing a song. Even when I set up I check the tuning by the harmonics, with the bare minimal amount of single hits I can get away with. I don't want people hearing me actually play until it's showtime.
 
I also play drums at church.

Luckily, I play an electronic kit, so I turn the kit off and place the sticks on a pad so I an noiseless.

Imagine If I noodled during a reading or a sermon!

That helps me not noodle at all other practices and gigs.
 
Thanks guys. All your kind words and thoughts were so comforting, you have no idea. I really felt supported. So I guess I'm back...time is too precious to waste.
 
Larry! Great to see you back and fighting the good fight against noodlers and players who give the song away a gigs!

The endless tuning is a pet hate. At times I've wondered how many years of my life have been spent quietly behind the drums waiting, waiting, waiting.

Meanwhile, if I finally get everyone to stop noodling enough to let me tune they all hang silently looking at me expectantly and impatiently, essentially pressuring me to get it done (because, by then, they are in tune). One day I'm going to not rush under the pressure but methodically keep them waiting a full 5-10 minutes with noodling between tuned notes the way they do ...
 
LARRY! So great to see you posting! Manly awkward e-hug just sent your way!

On topic, I'm actually pretty sensitive to tuning issues, and I'd rather the guitar be tuned real fast if it sounds a bit off. A single string can really throw off the feel of a song for me.
 
Happened just last night. I really like the 2 guys I play with regularly but the noodling and the gear/shop talk really wears on me. The guitarist is a great guy but his pedal obsession is kinda crazy. He even sucks in the bass player with the tec-talk and the bass player only has one pedal and he barely touches it.

I find this happens less at the open jams. If you're noodling w/pedals and stuff nobody is going to wait for ya!

And yeah, that opening pic (meme) is me, except I actually doze-off...
 
More or less everyone in my band will noodle during practice. But it usually ends up turning into a jam, and sometimes a new song, so that isn't a problem. Or we end up spending 5 minutes talking between songs. Then again, we are really just a group of good friends that decided to start a band to have a reason to hang out regularly.

Live the noodling and talking stops though.
 
I always thought that during practice, it's OK to noodle...if no one is talking. As soon as two band members are trying to communicate about the music, I always thought it highly rude when people don't at least turn down, and preferably stop playing out of respect. OK they need to practice. Do they need the amp to practice?

Another thing that grinds my gears is setting up at a gig, did you ever have one of those guitar players who open up their case right where you're supposed to set up? And you have to either move it yourself or ask them to do it? Then they put their expensive guitars on their stands, all exposed and stuff, and place it like 1" from the drum construction zone? So if I knock it it's my fault. I am always thinking of giving the others as much space as possible by rough assembling my stuff off stage and bringing it up in the logical order so my stuff doesn't take up onstage real estate. (unless it's a huge stage) It's just simple human etiquette, nothing to do with music really.

I like when people help you load in and you have to move it all because they placed it right where you are setting up. Lol.
 
I have a habit of playing constantly unless we do actually want to discuss something important.

It doesn't sit well with a bass player in one of my bands but sometimes I think all he wants to do is sit and talk... and we pay good money for the studio hire so I like to get 3 good hours of drumming in, if that's what I've paid for.

Lately I've started playing rim taps and cross sticking so I can still tap away while other want to talk.

Drumitis.
 
I have a habit of playing constantly unless we do actually want to discuss something important.

It doesn't sit well with a bass player in one of my bands but sometimes I think all he wants to do is sit and talk... and we pay good money for the studio hire so I like to get 3 good hours of drumming in, if that's what I've paid for.

Lately I've started playing rim taps and cross sticking so I can still tap away while other want to talk.

Drumitis.

You are my nightmare.
 
In all seriousness It's pretty hard to stop myself when I've just paid my $22 studio fee and someone would rather shoot the breeze than get some solid practice done, band or instrumental.

Song ideas and feedback/discussion I will stop playing but I don't get enough drumset time during the week as it is.
 
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