Chord charts for remembering licks, phrases, etc.

Curt Trisko · From: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Hi everyone,

I'm currently trying to learn a big setlist of songs. Some are songs that were recorded with steel parts, but most weren't. Learning them and creating steel parts is one thing... remembering them so that I can play them in a gig is something else.

I heard a story about a pro steel player who made his own cryptic chord charts, but I didn't see them. If they were mine, I'd want them to tell me which beats the phrases start on, which register to play the phrases in, and stuff like that which are easy to forget. But of course, it has to be simple enough so that you can still focus on your hands while you're playing instead of staring at a sheet of paper.

Anyone have any experience with this? I don't want to reinvent the wheel... and it's easy to foresee it getting really out of hand and overly complicated. The mind of a musician and all the connections we draw inside our heads can look awfully chaotic when you try to break it down into writing...

Dave Campbell · From: Nova Scotia, Canada

i've been upgrading my chart making recently as i play more one off gigs that require learning lots of tunes. i recently got the 1chart app for my ipad, which seems to simplify chart making for me, as well as giving me a better ability to add my own notes for particular licks and phrases. i used to use the ol' cue cards on the keyhead trick unitl i played a gig in the dark.

i'll write out the song's changes and form, including the order of any solos or breaks. the 1chart app has some pretty cool short hand features to make things organized and consistent.

i sometimes add a note like 'steel plays melody, 10ab' or 'steel intro 8 down to 3ab'. if i play the intro, i'll write out the count if i'm expected to count it. this gives me a little more to go on than my foggy memory, especially if i'm learning a bunch of parts quickly and there are songs that sound a bit similar.

Gary Patterson · From: Gallatin, TN

I'm not a very advanced player at all, but I got a gig playing "Always, Patsy Cline" a few years back. (That's me on stage on the left.)

The score consisted mostly of just measures and chord names, with a few melody cues tossed in where needed. I ended up doing as Dave suggests, writing in fret position and pedal/lever status as needed. Within each measure I just kind of improvised cross picking or played triads. Probably not a good solution if you're going to be expected to toss out blazing lead breaks, though.

Stuart Legg · Posted 9 Jan 2019 10:54 am

Why would you try to reinvent the wheel when there is every lick you could ever invent already out there.
List all your borrowed licks by Icon of PSG
in a simple usable data base

For example:
A reminder of an Emmons A7 lick on the 11th fret one fret in front of the 10th fret A6 chord (Es down) on E9 neck
written somewhat like
(e9 10 A6 (A7alt) one in front Emmons)

From what I hear that's what I'd do if I wanted to sound like a PSG player who would be considered a good PSG player!!
No I'm not being sarcastic! Well maybe just a little Very Happy

Curt Trisko · From: St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Stuart Legg · Posted 9 Jan 2019 10:11 pm

Curt I wasn't digging at you. Seems odd to me that it is one of the most common traits and no one will admit it!!

Tom Gorr · From: Three Hills, Alberta

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

How about standard notation? Even if you canâ€™t read that well, it seems better than trying to sight read some kind of cryptic code. Just use regular staff paper for your chord charts and insert the notation where you need it.

Dick Wood · From: Springtown Texas, USA

I play with numerous bands and have the same problem as you.I work and work for sometimes two weeks only to get to the gig and the band leader doesn't do any of the songs I worked the hardest on. After all these years,I'm starting to learn not to sweat the small stuff.

You do not have to learn the signature licks exactly. Get the basics and if you've been playing many years,you should have a good working knowledge of how to add lib within a melody line along with a bag of licks that will get you through.

I've never been fired because I didn't have it all down like the record and most of the time I get compliments on what I played.

Relax,play the gig,get handful of cash and go home.
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Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night.

John McClung · From: Olympia WA, USA

When I was a sideman in L.A. with many bands, I resorted to having a binder, some songs had the numbers chart on one side, and tab with lick hints on the other. Worked, but gangly onstage. Always keep a Gig Light music stand lamp in my pack-a-seat.

The binder I put on a short music stand, probably intended for cello players, so the charts were below my neck, and folks could still see me playing. It's show business, you know!! Smile

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George Kimery · From: Limestone, TN, USA

I have an ultra simple method, but it works. A ruled 3x5 index card has 10 lines. Each line represents one string. I just write at the top the name of the song, intro, turnaround, etc. and the key. Then I write the tablature and stack the cards and insert them vertical at an angle across the back neck, between the tuning keys. Then I move the one I need to the front of the stack. I don't need much tablature to get me off on the right track. This is also good for quickly writing tab when you are noodling around and come up with a lick or run you want to remember.

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