Tonight is Burns Night but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow for my haggis, neeps and tatties because I’ve got to get off to a gig instead. My double bass gets an outing with Mudslide Morris and the acoustic Revelators at Jack and Alice in Thame. Music from 8:30 – 11pm and free entry.

I’ve been working on building up my finger toughness although tonight I also get the luxury of using a small amp; it won’t be a loud gig but I shouldn’t come away blistered. I’ve also created a cheat sheet to remind me of the songs. I haven’t created full scores, which would be pretty redundant on a blues gig, but I’ve noted down key riffs so that I don’t end up playing the same thing on every tune and reminders of which ones are 12 or 16 bar patterns and which chug away on one chord. There are also a few songs outside the traditional blues genre so I’ve got some notes for those, too.

It was a good opportunity to keep my Lilypond skills moving forward. This is the first time I’ve tried combining 25+ songs on to a single piece, noting the key changes as required. I’ve got four pages in my PDF file but I’ve printed them all on one sheet which should fit neatly on the upper bout of my bass… so I must remember to pack the blutack! The output is pretty small but, as long as it is right next to me, it should be easy enough to glance down when I need a reminder.