One of the regulars on the Bose Musicians Community Message Board asked for advice regarding the differences in playing in a band vs trio vs duo vs solo. Here are some of my thoughts.

Role Clarity
For one person to jump back and forth between band, trio, duo and solo performances, I think it is essential for that person to be fully present, conscious and aware of his/her role in each of those situations.

I have played in bands and duos for most of my musical life. Most of that time I have been in the role of informal musical director so that someone else could front the band without having to lead the band. I hope that made sense. I say "informal" because most of the groups with whom I have played would not have used that term.

Lately I have been doing more solo work and when playing in duos and groups I have more frequently taken the role of fronting the band.

Speaking from the perspective of one who frequently jumps back and forth between these various roles, understanding the role you are playing at the time is very important.

If I were playing with the same group of people all of the time, the roles might solidify and people would understand what they are supposed to be doing. But I am in and out of different groups and this requires serious, conscious thought about what I am supposed to contribute. It also takes the wherewithal to ask for clarity when it is not there.

Join the discussion in the message board.

Cliff-at-Bose wrote:

Yeah, ok; so we solved some big ones with the L1, including putting the music back in the hands of its righful practitioners (you and me, baby). But time marches on and I'm sure there are other Big Ones to solve, like not making enough money (working on it).

What do YOU think are the big problems to solve for our tribe? Can these problems be solved by technology, like by something incorporated into some future Bose product? And how about all that technology? I see it annoying a lot of people as they try to get stuff done on their computers and don't remember their passwords, etc. Is technology actually getting in the way these days, or is it us getting in the way of technology (revolt of the machines)? How come the track I just recorded is almost a quarter note out of sync with my previously-perfectly-synchronized multitrack production, and "nothing changed" otherwise? What about problems that can't be solved with science and engineering? Like, learning how to play together and make real music. YOu all know that if you don't have a good tune, you can play all you want but you won't have a gig. How about being in touch with your basic humanity. Are text-message relationships soulful and deep? Aieee, it goes on and on, doesn't it?

So anyway, here's an invitation to tell us what you think are the existing, big, profound, unsolved problems in a musician's life, and yours in particular. I'm talking about The Big Ones here. Anyone? (We might be able to do something about it, so don't be shy.)

I replied

regard or the lack thereof
Whether it is expressed in compliments, courtesy, compensation or something else - are we regarded as well as musicians in the past? As well as we should be?
Are we, contemporary performers schooled by life in the last 40 years of amplified music; are we condemned to be held in low regard because our self-esteem is so low that we ask for nothing better?

• Do we play on tiny stages that compete with paying seats?
• Do we play in makeshift circumstances, the afterthought of the main event (selling drinks)?
• Do we compete with recorded versions of our less than live selves?
• Are we relegated to the worst spot in the room because no thought of live music was part of the design?
• Are we expected to be the first to arrive and the last to leave so we have the least impact on other aspects of the show?
• Do we get served last if ever? At one establishment I was told quite bluntly, "Musicians get served last."

The final point may be indicative of where we stand in the pecking order of society. That is the pecking order for compliments, courtesy, compensation, — regard.
Here is a definition for the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary: (emphasis mine]

1 re·gard
Pronunciation:
\ri-ˈgärd\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from regarder
Date: 14th century
1 archaic : appearance
2 a: attention, consideration <due regard should be given to all facets of the question>
b: a protective interest : care <has no regard for her health>
3: look, gaze
4 a: the worth or estimation in which something or someone is held <a man of small regard>
b: (1): a feeling of respect and affection : esteem <she soon won the regard of her colleagues> (2)plural : friendly greetings implying such feeling <give him my regards>
5: a basis of action or opinion : motive
6: an aspect to be taken into consideration : respect <is a small school, and is fortunate in this regard>
7: obsolete : intention
— in regard to
: with respect to : concerning
— with regard to
: in regard to

Manifestations of lack of regard:

• Tiny, makeshift stages.
• House systems that, if they exist at all - are likely the unkind result of technology that is decades old.
• Not knowing how we sound, our perceptions of our performances must be shaped by our audiences, and we know that these audiences, no matter how kind may well be lying. Why? Because they could not hear.
• Having no basis to understand our worth in society, we accept the lowest estimation.

In a world of changing values, is there a future for live music when we compete with recorded selves for the eroding remnants of society's regard?

So what's the problem?
We do not know our value in contemporary society. We do not know how are regarded, but suffer for lack of adequate regard. We do not know how to regard ourselves.

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Okay - I know that this should really be hombre a mono or something like that, but once a something hits a chord it just doesn't ring true if you correct it.

I hoped we could talk about "How many L1®s does one guy need?" or more politically correct - "What is the correct ratio of L1®s to performers?"

We seem to run the gamut from ...

• Can I run my choir through one L1®?
• I have an eight piece band ...
• If we run just our vocals through it, what are the least number of L1®s that we need?
• Can I use one (or two) as a PA?
• Ensemble around a microphone.
• Big Bands
  (Chris Walden)
• One L1® for each performer.
• Vocal plus tracks into two L1®s. 
  (recently, Karen littleswan)
• Stereo-way to heaven for Electric Guitar.
  (bdotson comes to mind)
• Stereo Soundscapes for Keyboards.
  (Alan Steinberger)
• Dual pickup systems in a single Acoustic Guitar to separate L1®s
  (Rick Jordan rwj)
• I don't think anyone has mentioned three L1®s for one performer, but I think I have seen pictures.

I've got a pretty simple view of this. If you have enough that you and the audience can hear everyone clearly, then you probably have enough L1®s. As long as we are serving the Music, then we are probably doing okay. But I think that is easier to do as we narrow the gap between the number of performers and the number of L1®s.

When we get to more L1®s than performers then we can start talking about how many 'voices' that performer has and if that performer is the whole show or part of an ensemble.

Somewhere in there we get to talk about how to make the connections, dual-mono: whys and why-nots, routing through the T1®, and a whole bunch of other details. People most frequently ask "how" but I think the first question is probably "why" or "when".

What do you think?