Band stage plot software

A Stage Plot or technical rider is a document that details exactly what your band needs to make a show fantastic. It details the equipment and instruments of every band member, the input you will need from the venues that you're playing and how you want your stage to look and sound.

If you're a small band and you don't have much equipment or instruments with you, your Stage Plot will most likely mainly cover the gear that you're using onstage. As your band grows, your Tech Rider will start to include any FOH consoles that you bring with you, the lighting rigs you're touring with and any pyrotechnics that you have onstage.

A Stage Plot is constantly updated as you continue touring and continue growing as a band. You can search for bands who have a similar sound to yours, as they will more than likely have a similar Tech Rider to the one that you'll need. When you don't have a good idea of what you need to include on your Tech Rider, then make a list of the equipment you have for your band and the make and model that this equipment is.

When you've done this, you can use an online Stage Plot generator to create your full Tech Rider online. Once you've created your Tech Rider, you can send it out to all venues that you will be playing in advance of you doing your shows there. They will know exactly what equipment to expect from you and your day will run a lot more smoothly. You'll soon see what a difference sending this Tech Rider out to venues in advance makes to the quality of your live show!

Preferably you want to have someone as your technical contact, it can be any members of the band who have the best knowledge and set up experience. First off let us just explain that a rider is a set of requests and criteria made by the performer prior to the performance. Everyone has a Hospitality Rider and everyone uses them, from Adele performing in concert to Hugh Jackman performing in theatre.

What is a Hospitality Rider? It's more usable and more accurate than the one I did last year in one of those fancy programs. Like Norman, I do my input lists in a spreadsheet. I also use a spreadsheet for set lists. That helps me get the sent length correct. Stage Plot Software? Start new topic. Prev 1 2 Next Page 1 of 2. Recommended Posts. Vito Corleone Posted July 27, Posted July 27, Anyone know of a decent free or cheap software for creating a stage plot?

Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options Zeromus-X Posted July 27, Author Members. Padoobies Posted July 27, Funkwire Posted July 27, I did this in PowerPoint and saved it as a. I went to freestageplots.

However, the price is right Here's what I use:. TrickyBoy Posted July 27, I've never had to do one, but I'd assume Visio would do the trick quite nicely. Posted July 28, Well that didn't work very well Also, you can give a notice if the effects like echo or reverb should be reduced for a clearer sound.

Just like above this icon displays the montor, just from another angle. If you need two monitors or maybe more, please drop all the necessary icons on your stage plan.

There are a lot of combinations available for PA system. In this case the icons shows a bass speaker and a speaker for higher tones. Remember to provide the information about the connections and cables that are necessary. Any band that plays in front of an audience of 30 people and more certainly requires a mixer that amplifies and adjusts the sound of the instruments and voices. Don't forget to describe the required amount of channels and other features like phantom power feeding , effects , equalizer , remote control etc.

Headphones can either be used by musicians to hear themselves better or by the technicians or sound mixers that are mixing the music to hear the sound isolated from surrounding noises. Please write down if the headphone is wireless or maybe requires any special plugs or batteries perhaps. Please provide all necessary information about cables and maybe the required batteries.

Although there's an existing industry standard for cables you must make sure that you have the right ones defined in your technical rider. There is for example the jack plug , cinch and XLR. You should also write down whether a mono or stereo cable is required.

Some musicians need to sit down during their concert. Please provide this information along creating your stage plan to make sure that everything is prepared well. If you play an acoustic guitar for example on your stage you certainly want to sit on a chair that is stable. The chair also needs to make a very low noise to make sure that any moving or foot steps don't cause unwanted sounds that eventually will be heard by the audience.

This can be achieved by rubber on each foot leg for instance. Unless you are doing an unplugged concert it's necessary to have a sufficient supply of power on stage. Use this symbol to show who needs how many sockets to perform. Don't forget that a guitarist might not only need his amp but also his effect pedal. Just like the icon above this symbolizes a socket. In this case it stands for an American socket.

Just use the icon above if you are unsure. European sockets have a different type of plugs and sockets that are not compatible the ones used in the United States. If your equipment has a mixed type of plugs or if you need adapters to make it run please provide that in your stage plot.

A great light show sometimess is just as important as a good sound. Make sure you describe the light stands as good as possible on your stage plot regarding the interaction to the music, where it should point to and what colors at what point you would like to have. This is a light stand as described in the icon above just from a different angle. Don't forget to provide information about the required sockets.

For most live concerts it's quite important to have a light show as well. Here you can define what type and colors of light you are using and drop several icons on the stage and rotate them as required.

If a stand for the lights is necessary you might want to leave that in the detail window or use the icons above if possible. This shows the same lamps as above just mirrored. If the light system is connected to some effects please don't forget to write that into your technical rider as well. Neither on stage nor in the audience so provide all necessary information about fixing the construction as good as possible. There are different kind of trusses, please write the amount of points in the description.

There is a huge amount of rig trusses available. Some have two bars, some three and others four. Any details about the connectors or the truss itself should go into the stage description. Some trusses can not be connected with eachother without any connector. If the corner actually conects three of more trusses please write it down in the description.

Just like above this item connects at least two truss spans together. The difference is that it has rounded corners. This element is the foot of a truss span to safely position it on the stage. If it's required to fix this foot on the ground for example with screws or with weights don't forget to write it down. This stand is not a stable as the one above and is meant to only carry a small set of truss spans to connect lamps or maybe a line array on it.

It might be necessary to write down the required height and security information on the technical rider. This is a bended truss span or truss bow. This icon can also have a different amount of bars and connection points which you should write down into your stage plot.

Sometimes you want to connect several bows together or need a special connector at both ends. This symbol stands for a solid table that can either stand on the stage or backstage. The feet of the table should have a soft underlay to prevent any disturbing sound on the stage.

A fog machine or also called smoke machine is a stage effect that can create a mysterious atmosphere. A Fog machine needs to heat up before it can be used. Also make sure that there is enough smoke fluid. Don't forget to write in the stage plot where the machine has to stand and how to operate it. There are smoke machines with a remote control and ones with a foot switch on a long cable. Just like above this symbolizes a musican but with the full body.

It might be of use to describe the exact positions of each artist on stage. Sometimes it's important to point to something on your stage plot. Don't forget to enter the details or maybe adjust the color of the arrow if necessary. This arrow has a bigger tip. It might be useful to use the rotation feature on arrows that is only on available for the pro- and ultimate-version.

A tripod stand can be used to position lights, speakers and effects on your stage. To choose the right cable length while preparing for your concert, make sure to use the correct position in your plan.

Monopod stands usually are used to connect speaker and subwoofer of a PA set together. The height of the bar can be adjusted. Consider providing its height in the object details. For many setups, it's necessary to have a computer on stage.

Entertainers of course use a computer to play their song list and to control the show, whereas some others might need it for sound or light effects. Tablets or pads in general are nowadays used on stage very often. Tablet computers are about to replace the classic folders on a music stand. Make sure your iPad or tablet is fully charged. Nearly no DJ performs without a laptop. As portable computers can store literally years of music it has replaced the CDs.

The software on the laptop is being used instead of a turntable. Don't forget to insert necessary power sources on your stage plan. This kind of body has been introduced by Fender in the s with the model called Stratocaster Semi-acoustic guitar This type of guitar is also known as a hollow-body electric guitar and was invented in the s.

Acoustic Guitar This is the classic type of guitars that work entirely without amplifications. Western Guitar steel string When talking about modern acoustic guitars, you normally mean the steel-string guitars.

PLUS Electric Guitar Stratocaster style This is generally a typical shape of a modern electric guitar that operates with pickups and a regular guitar cable that needs to be amplified either by a combo, amp or through a mixer. ULTRA Resonator Guitar The resonator guitar, also called 'Dobro' named after its inventors is an acoustic guitar that carries the sound through a bridge to the resonators.

This guitar has a very special sound that's often used for country , and bluegrass music PRO Banjo A Banjo is the typical bluegrass and country instrument. PRO Vintage Bass This icon shows a vintage bass that is not only used for oldies but for any kind of music. Rock Bass This is a bass that has a body with edges and corners so the bass guitar looks quite dangerous. Double Bass A double bass is basically what the modern bass guitar has replaced in nowadays music.

Guitar Combo Guitar combos usually are placed behind the guitarist and sometimes are leaning back to point the speaker in the direction of the artist and less to the audience. Bass Combo Handy, yet heavy bass combos are a great way to play bass on the stage without carrying too much equipment.

Bass Amp Any bass player needs to hear his own sound. Bass Effect Pedal This symbol is for bass players that wish you connect effects to their bass. Pick Did you ever lose a pick during your song? Multi Effect Pedal Multi effect pedals often operate with channels that can be set up for each song. Effect Pedal There are countless effect pedal available out there.

PLUS Vintage Guitar Combo Vintage guitar combos don't only look very nice, they often have a warm tube sound that can't be reached with modern transistor amps. Drum Stick light Drum sticks have several parts that define the sound of the drum. Drum Set This image shows a regular drum set with a bass drum, snare and a hi-hat. Rock Drum Set A rock drum set sometimes has a double bass for a much faster play. PLUS Simple Drum Set Some music styles just require a very simple drum set, for example rockabilly often is played only with a very few items.

PRO Snare side The snare drum is a part of the drum kit that is making sharp sound. Snare with sticks Just like above this icon symbolizes a snare drum. Cymbal A cymbal is often part of a drum set and a common percussion instrument that is produced from metal. Djembes A djembe is an acoustic percussion instrument that is used for many music styles.