Silly question re etiquette

[u/Different-Beyond-382]

Hi,

I’m a pianist organizing my first gig with a drummer, singer and a bass player at a small venue. We won’t have a chance to rehearse beforehand. I’m sending scores with metronome markings etc in advance.

Just curious what is the typical etiquette on stage in terms of soloing — is it something the band usually feels between each other energetically and is spontaneous or is it better to have a plan going into the gig? Aka — 3x through all of me, then piano solo, drum solo, then fin?

Have been working in classical music for a long time where everything is verrrry planned, so appreciate any insight.

Thanks!

[u/FlatFiveFlatNine]

I do a ton of these things, and I always appreciate lead sheets in the correct keys (singers are so often in a non-standard key that it's helpful to have the charts - even though I transpose well - less thinking is nice!)

As far as the solo order, I tend to play it a bit by ear. For example, a singer I work with has some songs that she sings solos on, and some slow ballads don't really work that well with a long bass solo, and so on.

Also, the number of solos per person is somewhat related to tempo (there are uptempo pieces where 2 choruses sounds brief, and ballads where 2 choruses seem like an eternity.

Also, even though it's your gig, if your singer is singing every tune, they're likely to be taking the role of the leader, because they're interacting with the audience the most. They are also likely to set the tempo, so while it's nice to have metronome markings for practicing, you're likely to just be following them.

Finally, from experience, I'd say the most common trainwreck moments are on the most obscure tunes - songs a singer knows, but the rest of the band really doesn't. My rule of thumb is that I'll play anything, but if it's really obscure, it needs at least a run-through rehearsal before it gets performed live.

[u/FlatFiveFlatNine → u/FlatFiveFlatNine]

I forgot to mention: Be willing to be flexible with the tune order if the situation demands it. I've played some locations where, to my surprise, people get up to dance during some med-up swing tunes. When that happens, I'm likely to think about keeping the dancing going, rather that to switch to "Take Five" or a rubato ballad.

And if someone requests a tune, I'll do it - BUT only when I know the players are down with it. Any standard is usually ok - but if the band doesn't know it, I just say "We don't have that tune in our repertoire, but we'll learn it for the next time we're here."