How many polyphonic instruments can/should a band have?

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One of the bands I play with has now decided to add a keyboard on top of the two guitars and lap steel guitar that we already have (and the guitarists both play pretty dense parts too). I say this equals mush by default, though I'd like it if someone could come up with a counter example.

There are only 12 notes. How many chordal instruments are acceptable? I usually tend to think even having two guitars really requires justification, but there are bands that pull off two guitars plus keyboard because they know how to do texturing and not step on each others' toes.

― Hurting 2, Sunday, 29 April 2007 05:57 (nineteen years ago)

Lots of people play at the same time in an orchestra, and lots of them are often doubling each other. There's nothing wrong with that setup, but it means you have to actually think about arrangements and appropriate tones the way any orchestrator has to. See Broken Social Scene for a band that makes a whole lot of instruments work well.

But yeah, I'm sure it's easier to sound crappy with such a dense potentially overlappy setup if you don't do that stuff carefully.

― St3ve Go1db3rg, Sunday, 29 April 2007 17:41 (nineteen years ago)

Lambchop do this well too. Does everyone have to play all the time? Can't someone drop out occasionally and, well, not play for a bit? I guess musicians aren't keen on that.

― Matt #2, Sunday, 29 April 2007 23:39 (nineteen years ago)

A lap steel has more than 12 notes.

― horrid bluegrass clicktrack, Monday, 30 April 2007 03:57 (nineteen years ago)

Fuck me, is there 12 notes on my guitar too?

― cli0019, Monday, 30 April 2007 06:33 (nineteen years ago)

As many as possible. Just because every instrument has so many notes does not mean you should try to play them all at once. Ideally, every instrument in the project should play the same note, over and over. This would be perfect music.

― Klaus M. Flanger, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:03 (nineteen years ago)

no, you idiot, they should be playing ostinati, preferably in fifths or octaves, and maybe once or twice play a minor third or the seventh to jazz it up.

― TOMBOT, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:04 (nineteen years ago)

Can't someone drop out occasionally and, well, not play for a bit?

DANCE BREAK!

― St3ve Go1db3rg, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:35 (nineteen years ago)

Just look at the bright side: as the guitars and keyboard blur into a wall of someone playing every single note of the appropriate key at the same time, the audience will latch onto your bass playing as an anchor.

― nabisco, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:27 (nineteen years ago)

playing every single note of the appropriate key at the same time

Thirteenth chord!

― St3ve Go1db3rg, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:33 (nineteen years ago)

I suppose that should say "any given time," really.

― nabisco, Monday, 30 April 2007 20:46 (nineteen years ago)

i don't know, i feel kinda bad, cuz when my band plays, none of us are on the same page, and not in the cool sorta jazz sense either.

I think we have way too many drums, saxophones, jew's harps and lead guitarists. They really stomp all over my cool triangle playing.

― cli0019, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 23:12 (nineteen years ago)

I think we have way too many ~~drums, saxophones,~~ jew's ~~harps and lead guitarists.~~

Come on man, this isn't the Wagner thread.

― St3ve Go1db3rg, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 23:44 (nineteen years ago)

What's the matter with Wagner, if you play it like AC/DC????

Actually, our real problem is that we play in a garage coffee-cup carriers for damping material on the ceiling and the drums keep overpowering our recordings. Even with a pillow stuffed in the drummer.

Any ideas?

― cli0019, Thursday, 3 May 2007 08:22 (nineteen years ago)

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