I have to learn two songs for a gig, by tonight...

[Maiden89]

Two days ago, I had a friend ask me if I could learn two songs for a gig their doing. They never told me what day the gig was, so last night I rehearsed with them for about 30 minutes and they said it was tomorrow night. (which is tonight)

I have to learn the leads on two Stevie Nicks songs: Stop dragging my heart around and Sweet little lies.

Last night sounded like shit! I barely learned the songs with an acoustic guitarist, the timing was off and to be honest, this music couldn't be further from my comfort zone. I also have to use someone else's amp that I'm not used to, to dial in my tone.

I'm so nervous, I don't like being unprepared and sounding like shit. BTW, I'm going to be using my Bengal Splash DK2M with EMG 81/85's to play these songs, which is going to look so awkward.

Any tips from some experienced musicians that can help me prepare for this?

[artonsafari]

I used to learn a tune or two from week to week to play with my friends band when they were playing out. "Learn it like it is on the album" 'course I had a week to go over the song and know it inside and out. Using someone else's guitar, I made mistakes. We all laughed. Biggest thing if you do mess up... Relax, find your place and keep going. Most audiences won't notice if it's a bar type situation.

[Shawn Lutz]

my advice is to not do the gig

[markD]

how well do you know your theory? if you know it pretty well, look at the tab for each song, map the progression you're playing over and figure out the key. from there, you should know the key as well as if it is major/minor. play along to the track - try the natural minor or the major scale first. from there fool around with the major or minor pentatonic. chances are the leads will use one of those scales. after that see if any "blue" notes were added - flat 5th, etc.

you SHOULD be able come up with something similar n workable in about an hour.

[Axewielder]

I wouldn't sweat a Stevie Nicks tune too much. That being said, I'd log out of the internet forums and get back to practicing on the guitar!

[PowerTube]

Hey, at least the songs aren't Cliffs of Dover and Opus Suite Trilogy 5. As someone said above, stay on key and only the musicians in the audience will notice if you don't play it exact. You aren't playing for them, you're playing for the hordes of inferior, non-musically talented, unwashed masses.

[Chad]

I agree to figure out the key, find a scale that works, and just do your best.

People can laugh at playing a church gig, but when I was doing that, I regularly dealt with having to learn anywhere from 3 to 6 songs within a day or two notice. Sometimes had to do songs that I didn't like and/or were stylistically out of my comfort zone. And we didn't just wing it. They were all solid musicians. Plus, you have a captive audience who isn't inebriated (well, not supposed to be.....lol). Anyway, I was the lead player so I usually first worked out the rhythm to the songs, then figured out any solo breaks, then I tried to come up with fills, triads, etc.....that sounded good over other rhythm guitars for other parts of the songs.

Bottom line: have confidence and give it your best. If you've played awhile, you can probably pull it off without a problem.

[Jack The Riffer]

Sweet little lies was actually sung by Christine Mcvie with Stevie Nicks providing backing vocals. Hope this helps.

[Chad]

Also, sounds like that guitar is gonna make you more nervous/self-conscious. Maybe try something more boring/pedestrian like a Strat, Tele, Les Paul....or even a superstrat with a more subdued finish..

[Larz]

Good luck!

If all else fails, throw in a few kicks and and Kip Winger poses and nobody will know the difference.

[Maiden89]

I pretty much figured out those two tunes by ear, my biggest problem is getting the right tone from someones else's amp. The "Dragging my heart around" lead is pretty damn simple, I figured I'll just use my volume knob to dial down the gain when I have to.

"Sweet lies" is gonna be a little harder to figure out the tone. I figured out the keyboard intro riff and I'm just playing power chords under the acoustic player part while he does his strumming thing.

Neither song really has "leads", just a couple of bendy feely type things and some keyboard parts I'm translating to guitar.

I wonder if this is the first time someone has used a Jackson to play Stevie Nicks?

BTW, I don't have any "pedestrian guitars". I have a Jackson Kelly, the DK2M and a blood splatter superstrat. The Kelly has a broken string and I figured the blood splatter would be a worst choice than the bengal dk2m.

[pickford1625]

drink alot.

[VitaminG]

haven't played Stevie Nicks solo stuff on a Jackson but we do play Go Your Own Way. I've used a couple of Jacksons on that one over the years.

were the timing issues yours or the bands? Just keep shedding the songs if they were your issues - the natural feel of the tunes will sink in. Try to loop any sections that are sticking points for you. If the timing issues were with your bandmates & you won't get to rehearse again (any chance of a last run through at soundcheck?), hang on to your seat & swing for the rafters!

Find the key & work out where your basic box shape is for each song so you always have somewhere safe to return to if you lose your way. Don't overplay, slow down, listen to what everyone else is playing, don't forget to breathe. For tone, more mids, less bass, less gain

[Maiden89]

The timing stuff is mostly with the singer, the acoustic player and I are pretty tight. We are going to rehearse for about an hour before we play. The biggest sticking point for me, is using someones else's amp to dial in my tone, but I'll just go with it.

[artonsafari]

Don't worry about tone, the audience will be overjoyed to hear a couple songs they know. Oh, and use the blood spatter super Strat! FTW!!!