Music walk chases us away from HAL

[RuthC]

4 hours ago, CafeBruno said:

So again they get to make their own set lists from the universe of around 500 approved songs. If they are early on their contract, then you would not expect them to have learned 13 hours of music in such a short time. So that's when you would likely see repetition - when the band hasn't yet had time to learn enough songs to avoid duplication in a week (or more). 

If they are musicians, I would think they should already know at least some of the 500 songs they get to choose from, so they would have fewer to learn. I also think a musician knowing only 500 songs is nothing to brag about. Their repertoire should be a lot broader than that. 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

If they are musicians, I would think they should already know at least some of the 500 songs they get to choose from, so they would have fewer to learn. I also think a musician knowing only 500 songs is nothing to brag about. Their repertoire should be a lot broader than that. 

As individuals they might know more, but before they can play it on stage , they must have rehearsed and learned  it together to get the timing correct.

Edited December 26, 2022 by ldtr

[RuthC]

8 minutes ago, ldtr said:

As individuals they might know more, but before they can play it on stage , they must have rehearsed and learned  it together to get the timing correct.

That's not at all the same as learning the songs from scratch. That's learning to work as a team. 
And 500 songs is still not very much for any musician to know. 
There is no excuse for HAL musicians to be playing the same few songs night after night after night. It is boring. 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

That's not at all the same as learning the songs from scratch. That's learning to work as a team. 
And 500 songs is still not very much for any musician to know. 
There is no excuse for HAL musicians to be playing the same few songs night after night after night. It is boring. 

The formula is what HAL HQ put together basically focusing on quality over quantity.  For the musicians is is follow the formula or find another job.  They only have so much rehearsal time and can only add songs as a group at a certain rate.  Then they reach the end of their contract and may be part of a totally different group the next time and have to start all over again.  It is what happens since they assemble the bands from individuals instead of contracting existing bands as a group.

[KAKcruiser]

I understand what  you are saying.  Maybe HAL should find a way to hire an existing band.  And, maybe they could hire two piano players for Billboard who know each other.  I've seen very good singers who are great together and I've also seen very mediocre singers who are not very good together.

[Altamira]

16 hours ago, Tennessee Titan said:

22 hours ago Altamira said:

"The Lincoln Center Stage, featuring music virtuosos performing favorite classics at a much lower volume, was never crowded that we saw during our cruise, but a very small minority of people preferred it. "
16 hours ago Tennessee Titan said:

We found exactly the opposite. Lincoln Center Stage usually full to overflowing. Wish they performed more in the evening....

We don't do the Carribean.

If what you say about the Lincoln Center Stage attendance during your cruise was typical of most cruises, rather than what we observed in ours, you can indeed look forward to more, not less beautiful classical music played in all your future cruising. Happy sailings to you!

[HALcruiser2001]

10 hours ago, RuthC said:

If they are musicians, I would think they should already know at least some of the 500 songs they get to choose from, so they would have fewer to learn. I also think a musician knowing only 500 songs is nothing to brag about. Their repertoire should be a lot broader than that. 

Look up how many songs musicians learn.  The beetles only had 188.  500 is a mega ton and most musicians know nowhere near that amount.  Studio musicians are the top and can probably play that many because they have to read music and play anything placed in front of them, but they generally do not know these songs, they can play them though.  "Knowing"  500 songs is practically impossible.  Most cover bands that know 100's of songs, the vocalist will use a tablet, because remembering the words is very hard.  Instruments are much easier as you just need to stay on track and know some good solos.

Elton John recorded about 500 songs, if that gives you some mark of what a genius he was and I guarantee you that none of the musicians on HAL are Elton John caliber.

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, Altamira said:

If what you say about the Lincoln Center Stage attendance during your cruise was typical of most cruises, rather than what we observed in ours, you can indeed look forward to more, not less beautiful classical music played in all your future cruising. Happy sailings to you!

 

When I was on Zuiderdam, Lincoln Center was full to overflowing. Granted, it's a smaller space (Explorer Lounge) than on the Pinnacle ships. Their space filled on K'dam, too, even with the awkward time slots. (Sharing with BBKing meant BBK had the space at night.) 

 

On one of my cruises, LC started offering additional performances as "recitals," with just one or two of the musicians. I hope that they have some choice in what they play at these performances. 

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, bdd123 said:

Look up how many songs musicians learn.  The beetles only had 188.  500 is a mega ton and most musicians know nowhere near that amount.  Studio musicians are the top and can probably play that many because they have to read music and play anything placed in front of them, but they generally do not know these songs, they can play them though.  "Knowing"  500 songs is practically impossible.  Most cover bands that know 100's of songs, the vocalist will use a tablet, because remembering the words is very hard.  Instruments are much easier as you just need to stay on track and know some good solos.

Elton John recorded about 500 songs, if that gives you some mark of what a genius he was and I guarantee you that none of the musicians on HAL are Elton John caliber.

I wonder how many songs Bob Dylan knows. I'd bet it is well over 500.

[swmichigan cruiser]

Just my thoughts. We did the Zuiderdam 4 times around 20 years ago and we switched to other cruise lines. We have the Rotterdam booked next August and I am looking forward to seeing  the entertainment options onboard. From what I hear HAL changed for the better for what we might like. Might not be perfect for others but for us it looks promising.

[FlorenceItaly]

1 minute ago, swmichigan cruiser said:

Just my thoughts. We did the Zuiderdam 4 times around 20 years ago and we switched to other cruise lines. We have the Rotterdam booked next August and I am looking forward to seeing  the entertainment options onboard. From what I hear HAL changed for the better for what we might like. Might not be perfect for others but for us it looks promising.

If you enjoy LIVE music, R&B, Rock, some classical.  You will be pleased.  We are.  If you enjoy shows in a big show room like other cruise lines offer, you will be disappointed.

[HALcruiser2001]

59 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I wonder how many songs Bob Dylan knows. I'd bet it is well over 500.

 

He wrote over 600 and sold his entire catalogue in 2020.    I doubt he remembers each word, but perhaps.

 

I think Irving Berlin holds the record and old baroque composer may have done more, but doubtful.

 

My point is not argument.   My point is the HAL entertainers are unlikely to "know" 200 songs and it is more unlikely that they have even played, let alone know 500 songs.

 

Musicians are a dime a dozen.   Been there done that.   I spent my early days as studio and substitute in orchestra and musicals.   I was not great, but I could read and play what was put in front of me with about 90% accuracy.   I cannot say I know or even knew the songs.   I usually got 24 hrs notice before a 2 hr performance.   Just watch YouTube on people covering songs.   Guitar, drums are relatively simple to cover if you can read music and improvise. Lyrics and singing are much harder.

 

I'd be astounded if any HAL musician has a list of 500 tunes that they can play without sheet music on demand.    In fact I would be astounded d if any musician could do that, pretty sure many could fake it tho.  😉

[HALcruiser2001]

2 hours ago, swmichigan cruiser said:

Just my thoughts. We did the Zuiderdam 4 times around 20 years ago and we switched to other cruise lines. We have the Rotterdam booked next August and I am looking forward to seeing  the entertainment options onboard. From what I hear HAL changed for the better for what we might like. Might not be perfect for others but for us it looks promising.

I agree that's why we chose HAL 20 years later as well.  we did Mexican Riviera and Caribbean.   But if the cruise in Feb doesn't deliver it is likely not going to be HAL next time.

 

We will do nights in Music Walk, if the do 3 sets, we'll do them in order.   If they are good, the last set should be their best.

Edited December 26, 2022 by bdd123

[Altamira]

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

If you enjoy LIVE music, R&B, Rock, some classical.  You will be pleased.  We are.  If you enjoy shows in a big show room like other cruise lines offer, you will be disappointed.

So nice to have so many wonderful choices. We consistently love all the big shows on Disney,  Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. (Our favorite cruise lines for entertainment.) We’ve spent more on good orchestra seats to see a single musical on Broadway than we’ve occasionally paid for a 7-nts cruise on the Harmony OTS and enjoyed fantastic, in our opinion, entertainment every night.

[HALcruiser2001]

5 minutes ago, Altamira said:

So nice to have so many wonderful choices. We consistently love all the big shows on Disney,  Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. (Our favorite cruise lines for entertainment.) We’ve spent more on good orchestra seats to see a single musical on Broadway than we’ve occasionally paid for a 7-nts cruise on the Harmony OTS and enjoyed fantastic, in our opinion, entertainment every night.

 

Good to know.    Holy Smokes 6700 pax.    What a beast!

[RuthC]

3 hours ago, bdd123 said:

My point is not argument.   My point is the HAL entertainers are unlikely to "know" 200 songs and it is more unlikely that they have even played, let alone know 500 songs.

Then HAL should get rid of Billboard Onboard and go back to a real Piano Bar. 
Back in the day HAL had several musicians in the Piano Bar who could play any song at the mere mention of it---music and lyrics. This is before the days of tablets holding the lyrics for them, too. Some had a Fake Book, though. 
Several I had the pleasure of spending evenings with knew a few times more than 500 songs. 
Those days of playing 'Stump the Piano Player', and losing much of the time, were fun. 

[REOVA]

4 minutes ago, RuthC said:

Then HAL should get rid of Billboard Onboard and go back to a real Piano Bar. 
Back in the day HAL had several musicians in the Piano Bar who could play any song at the mere mention of it---music and lyrics. This is before the days of tablets holding the lyrics for them, too. Some had a Fake Book, though. 
Several I had the pleasure of spending evenings with knew a few times more than 500 songs. 
Those days of playing 'Stump the Piano Player', and losing much of the time, were fun. 

It was fun when Glenn Michael sat in for a sick Piano Player and did sing along on VoV last July. And on the GWC the piano players are versed in different genres (although some of their arrangements were like fingernails on chalkboard). There are various types of musicians, some play by ear, some read music and some do both. Even the Rolling Stones forget lyrics and notes (as does Bob Dylan) on their own songs. The old HAL house band on the World Stage were great (miss them) but they also had sheet music and arrangements for specific performances or performers. (Over time they memorized the songs but still "turned the pages".) The RSRR band members said they liked specific types of music and specific artists so they would not know every song on HAL's list. I'm sure each of their cover bands back home only play specific styles. I don't expect these bands that are spliced together on ships to learn every song but having more variety than playing their favorite song would be nice. Of course there are people who get out on the dance floor no matter if it's the same song or not and the music bars are standing room only, so either they enjoy it or have nothing else to do. 🤪 Sometimes they have to cater to the crowd and we find something else to do. 

[Hlitner]

18 hours ago, ldtr said:

The formula is what HAL HQ put together basically focusing on quality over quantity.  For the musicians is is follow the formula or find another job.  They only have so much rehearsal time and can only add songs as a group at a certain rate.  Then they reach the end of their contract and may be part of a totally different group the next time and have to start all over again.  It is what happens since they assemble the bands from individuals instead of contracting existing bands as a group.

I like the way you think.  So by your reckoning the "professional" musicians need to only know one song which they can play over and over again!  I am sure many HAL fans would vote for a modern song like "In the Mood."

 

Hank

[RuthC]

25 minutes ago, REOVA said:

It was fun when Glenn Michael sat in for a sick Piano Player and did sing along on VoV last July.

I sailed with him once when he was the Piano Bar musician. He was one of the better ones. 

[REOVA]

29 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I am sure many HAL fans would vote for a modern song like "In the Mood."

 

Hank

But be careful, you may get Glenn Miller, Rush or Robert Plant's "In the Mood" depending on the musicians 🤣

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, REOVA said:

It was fun when Glenn Michael sat in for a sick Piano Player and did sing along on VoV last July. And on the GWC the piano players are versed in different genres (although some of their arrangements were like fingernails on chalkboard). There are various types of musicians, some play by ear, some read music and some do both. Even the Rolling Stones forget lyrics and notes (as does Bob Dylan) on their own songs. The old HAL house band on the World Stage were great (miss them) but they also had sheet music and arrangements for specific performances or performers. (Over time they memorized the songs but still "turned the pages".) The RSRR band members said they liked specific types of music and specific artists so they would not know every song on HAL's list. I'm sure each of their cover bands back home only play specific styles. I don't expect these bands that are spliced together on ships to learn every song but having more variety than playing their favorite song would be nice. Of course there are people who get out on the dance floor no matter if it's the same song or not and the music bars are standing room only, so either they enjoy it or have nothing else to do. 🤪 Sometimes they have to cater to the crowd and we find something else to do. 

 

(bold is mine) House bands work hard. Cunard's has to back a variety of guest performers, often with just the afternoon to meet the performer and rehearse before the evening's performances. There's no shame in using sheet music or tablets for such short prep time.

[HALcruiser2001]

3 hours ago, RuthC said:

Then HAL should get rid of Billboard Onboard and go back to a real Piano Bar. 
Back in the day HAL had several musicians in the Piano Bar who could play any song at the mere mention of it---music and lyrics. This is before the days of tablets holding the lyrics for them, too. Some had a Fake Book, though. 
Several I had the pleasure of spending evenings with knew a few times more than 500 songs. 
Those days of playing 'Stump the Piano Player', and losing much of the time, were fun. 

 

I think it would be one of the most entertaining possibilities on HAL, and hope we get some good performers in Feb, but according to people here on CC reviews are mixed.   It's tough when people can got to so many venues like this.  Norwegian already has the Howl at Sea exclusivity.

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I like the way you think.  So by your reckoning the "professional" musicians need to only know one song which they can play over and over again!  I am sure many HAL fans would vote for a modern song like "In the Mood."

 

Hank

Talk about an absurd interpretation.  

 

The point is that there is a reason why there are limited play lists, and that is the system put in place by HAL, not the musicians capabilities. Mixing different musicians to form a band just before a contract of a few months in length is a major contributor. 

[ontheweb]

17 hours ago, bdd123 said:

 

He wrote over 600 and sold his entire catalogue in 2020.    I doubt he remembers each word, but perhaps.

 

 

And in addition to the songs Dylan wrote, I am sure he knows many, many more songs.

[yarnsinger]

On 12/23/2022 at 6:41 AM, The-Inside-Cabin said:

The volume for most cruise ship shows is usually around 90- 100 dB  -  Lot's depend on where you sit etc. 

 

There are apps you can get on your phone to measure this if you are interested.  HERE

 

Appropriate show volume is subjective, but it has to be loud enough to "fill the room", overcome the sound of dancing footsteps and the sound of the drummer - which is harder to modulate in many cases.    What's too loud for you may be "perfect" for someone else...

 

We measured the volume in BB King on the Nieuw Statendam. It was consistently over 100 dbB, which is dangerous. It's too bad, but for us, the music is too loud, even without my hearing aid. It's so loud, actually, that I can't hear the detail of the music. You are absolutely right that what seems loud to some is just right for others, but in my opinion, the volume should never be so loud that it drives people out of the room. We love music - in fact, one of us has made his living making and teaching music since he was in his teens - and we feel cheated that we can't enjoy that part of the trip. The musicians are universally top notch on HAL, something you really notice when you go on another line, but sometimes I want to send the sound techs off the nearest gangplank.