Actually I declined because I don't have any time and I don't think I have very much to teach. I want to share what I do know though.
- Learn your chords. Sight reading is great, but doesn't help you communicate with a lot of amateur musicians. Most of them will know their chords though and so should you. First know all the simple triads, both minor and major. Next learn the dominant chords, with the lowered 7th. Next learn what diminished and augmented chords are. Finally, learn the rest such as 13th, b9 major 7th, etc. I won't go into what these are here. It is incredibly valuable to be able to instantly recall any of these. This skill will be used in many of the following points.
- Chart out the tunes you will be playing. When you know what songs you will be playing, get a copy of each and listen to them. Listen to them again, paying attention to the general structure like verse 1, chorus, verse 2, chorus, bridge, chorus (I prefer simple section labels like "A", "B", "I" for intro, etc.). Listen for where sections can be defined and where they are repeated. Write this down, and then study each section. Determine what the chord changes are (more on this later), where you'll play what, articulations, etc. Marking sections first saves you time because once you've figured out how one section goes, you don't have to do so again for the repeats. With the cart, you can see the flow of the song and what to play when. Write it all down and use it to rehearse until you have memorized the song.
Many amateur musicians do not do this - maybe even most; they rely on their memory of when they heard the song over the radio or in their car. Many of them are very good at doing it this way, and many of them are not as good at this as they think they are. Charting forces you to study the tune and helps you play it correctly and consistently. - Be prepared and able to change a song. Don't feel frustrated if you spent time charting a song only to have another band member argue that it is wrong. There could be many reasons for this, such as different recordings or maybe that person has played it a different way for years and is more comfortable. Be a team player, discuss the implications of playing the song one way or another, and come to an agreement. It is easy to become adamant about a way a song should be played, but this makes the band less fun. If you feel strongly about how a song should go, make your case in a friendly way and allow the majority to win.
Related to this, you should also be adept at transposing songs. Many keyboards have a built in transpose function; that is alright if you are careful to set it back when you are done. I've forgotten to do this enough times that i just avoid using the transpose button. You'll be a valuable asset to any band if you can transpose on the fly, especially to vocalists. - Don't always play. You don't have to fill every empty space of a song. If you don't hear keyboard parts in a section, try staying out of it. Amateur musicians have a hard time with this and with dynamics in general, but it is a critical part of music.
- Steal solos. This is related to number 2, but I don't do this at the same time. Listen to, write out, and memorize solos that you enjoy. I use a program called trascribe! to help me with this. It allows you to slow down a song to help you figure it out (it does much more as well - I highly recommended this tool).
That's what I can think of for now.
