What is practice to YOU

[HeadyVan Halen]

Many of us say what practice should be (metronome, finger excerses, etc) but really, honestly, how do you practice?

If I have songs I have to learn, then that but mostly, I love grooving..making it up as I go.
Stumble upon something I like and work it into a solo or lick.
I don't answer the phone when 'going in' either...

Just curious as to what the word 'practice' means to you


Earl

[cbrophy]

Practice is what you do at home...before you get to Band rehearsal!

[jmac]

Originally Posted by cbrophy

Practice is what you do at home...before you get to Band rehearsal!

Some say that this is rehearsing not practicing.

Some believe that practice shouldn't sound good.

[paganjack]

Depends how I feel. I have a short attention span sometimes, so I do a lot of different things to keep my skills sharp.

Either I will work on 1/2/3/4-finger speed/technique, practice slap, practice tapping, run scale forms, run etudes, work on theory stuff, learn songs by ear, learn songs from books, practice recording to a click, practice playing without a click, play in the dark to memorize the fretboard more, try to write coherent material and of course, spend some time just randomly jamming and messing around with my effects board.

[HeadyVan Halen]

Originally Posted by cbrophy

Practice is what you do at home...before you get to Band rehearsal!

Thanks, Mr. Jamerson.
So when you're at home, by yourself, what IS practice for you?

[Mike M.]

I don't have much free time. But when I do have time, I've been putting my DigiTech Jam Man to use. I'll play something simple, will let it loop and I'll just jam over that.

I just got that pedal about a month ago and it really is a great tool for practicing.

[Jazzdogg]

Originally Posted by jmac

Some say that this is rehearsing not practicing.

Some believe that practice shouldn't sound good.

Who is this "Some," and why should we care what he has to say? Is he a regular TB participant?

[Winemule]

I'm pretty task-oriented. Most of the time, I don't pick up the instrument unless there's some piece of music I need to learn. So I try to always have something to learn.

Songwriting I do on a six-string (I don' know no nuthin' about composing).

[cbrophy]

Originally Posted by HeadyVan Halen

Thanks, Mr. Jamerson.
So when you're at home, by yourself, what IS practice for you?

OK..Ok...was just trying to be funny! But practice to me is...I usually only get 45 min to an hr...So I start with running through scales/arpeggios for 10 or 15 mins just to loosen up the fingers. I will listen to any new songs being introduced and work on getting those lines down. I will then pick out passages from songs we are working on that need attention, and slowly work on those until up to speed. If there is time after that...I will noodle around to anything that interest me, maybe working on technique.

[GeoffT]

I break it down into 6 categories:

1. Technique - right and left hand, dexterity stuff, hammer-on/pull-offs, left hand muting (ghost notes), string skipping, alternating plucking, etudes, etc.

2. Chords/Scales - using note doubling, patterns/cycles, inversions, etc.

3. Rhythm/groove - practicing various rhythmic feels and patterns, quarters, 8ths, 8th note triplets, and 16ths.

4. Reading - just plain reading practice to build and maintain that skill.

5. Ear Training - learning songs, melodies, or cool licks from the recordings.

6. Songs - Learning/playing songs similar to the original parts or improvising/creating parts over given changes.

I'll use different tools to varying degrees with each - no metronome, with metronome, drum machine, Band-in-a-Box, or backing tracks.

I keep a log of everything I practice using a fairly simple database. I try to focus on the things that I don't do well and do them the most. I try to hit 3 categories each day, if I have and hour and a half, I'll use a timer and do 30 min of each. If I have half an hour, 10 min each or 15 min on two of them. I'll try not to go more than a couple days without hitting a category.

I know it sounds like a lot and it sounds like it could be pretty dry but I'll generally try to pick one specific area of each category, say 8th note grooves or minor chords and scales, and focus on that for a month and then change it up for the next month. And to keep it interesting, say I'm working groove on the rhythm 1+ +3+ +, I'll apply chord changes, or certain chords or scales to find different ways to make it sound cool within the framework of that rhythmic pattern.

[tZer]

Originally Posted by cbrophy

Practice is what you do at home...before you get to Band rehearsal!

+1

Practice is what you do on your time. Rehearsal is what you do on other people's time.

It's solitary and personal and what you work on is defined by what you need to work on in order to be prepared to play with others so that you don't waste the time of people who use their practice time properly.

[didgeribass]

I warm up with some scales and then try to practice the things I can't play, not the ones I can

I try to be task-focused, i.e. practice technique that I need for I particular song. My attention span is good for about an hour during the week and about two on weekends. After that, I find myself just noodling around

[G.Bisson]

my home practice consists of:

First warm up hand techniques. Run through familiar patterns that tryout various techniques. Test if my coordination is 'off'. This segues into..

Improvising chord progressions. Doing many things during this. Focus my ear, test if my hearing is 'off'. Try'n find new meaning to old sounds and new places to take them. Try'n give new meaning to less familiar ones. Mentally review theory and intervals while doing this. Once I've loosened up and explored my creative side I move onto..

Targeting specific lines. Work on problem areas of a song, difficult transitions, tricky rhythms. Learn a specific song passage. Target whatever may be causing frustration. Take care of all the hard stuff and whatever else might be on the agenda until I tire.

Then cool down to a steady rhythmic groove. Practice maintaining a steady rhythm for an extended length of time. Test if my timing is wavering as I fatigue.

[seanm]

I am always surprised at the rigid definitions used on TB for practice and rehearsal. I, and everybody I have ever played with, use the term band practice. I try to use the term rehearsal on TB, but a rehearsal to me means setting up like you would at a gig (which we never do) and playing the songs like you would at a gig. Although we do use gig volume at practices

Does the strict definition of practice and rehearsal come from some music program?

[tZer]

Originally Posted by seanm

I am always surprised at the rigid definitions used on TB for practice and rehearsal. I, and everybody I have ever played with, use the term band practice. I try to use the term rehearsal on TB, but a rehearsal to me means setting up like you would at a gig (which we never do) and playing the songs like you would at a gig. Although we do use gig volume at practices

Does the strict definition of practice and rehearsal come from some music program?

For me it came from school and our director very specifically told us repeatedly that "you practice on YOUR time, this is rehearsal. If you don't practice and we have to stop and let you work things out you are wasting everyone's time."

During rehearsal there would be times when we broke off for what was called "sectional rehearsal" which was where each section went to a separate space and worked as a section on specific parts - but even then, that was still referred to as 'rehearsal' - and again, for the same reason - because it involved an ensemble that counted on everyone being reasonably prepared/practiced.

I made a point of changing the way I refer to "band practice" as rehearsal to drive home the point that you are expected to arrive ready to play. When I organize a band, I do the best I can to make sure everyone has a list, reference material and knows the next rehearsal's agenda all in an effort to gently imply "show up prepared".

If people show up thinking that's when they're going to start learning stuff - then the realize everyone else came in loaded for bear and they are the weak link - they get it.

But yes - for me the terms "practice" and "rehearsal" come directly from school and a director who made no bones about what he expected out of his players.

[ErikW]

Originally Posted by tZer

For me it came from school and our director very specifically told us repeatedly that "you practice on YOUR time, this is rehearsal. If you don't practice and we have to stop and let you work things out you are wasting everyone's time."

During rehearsal there would be times when we broke off for what was called "sectional rehearsal" which was where each section went to a separate space and worked as a section on specific parts - but even then, that was still referred to as 'rehearsal' - and again, for the same reason - because it involved an ensemble that counted on everyone being reasonably prepared/practiced.

I made a point of changing the way I refer to "band practice" as rehearsal to drive home the point that you are expected to arrive ready to play. When I organize a band, I do the best I can to make sure everyone has a list, reference material and knows the next rehearsal's agenda all in an effort to gently imply "show up prepared".

If people show up thinking that's when they're going to start learning stuff - then the realize everyone else came in loaded for bear and they are the weak link - they get it.

But yes - for me the terms "practice" and "rehearsal" come directly from school and a director who made no bones about what he expected out of his players.

Was your director Mr. Hand from Ridgemont High

[tZer]

Originally Posted by ErikW

Was your director Mr. Hand from Ridgemont High

Pretty close! Now I went to a high school that had a stellar, competitive music program. While our basketball and football teams were pretty forgettable, our marching and symphonic bands, orchestras, string ensembles, and jazz bands were always winning top honors regionally.

Everyone took it very seriously and he was a very strict teacher who didn't put up with any BS. It nurtured a musician's work ethic that I later learned was very unique. A lot of schools' band programs are 'novelty' programs and don't take it nearly as seriously.

All of the people who I forms garage bands with back then came from the same ethic -so we progressed VERY fast. We didn't have to define "practice" and "rehearsal" - we all knew it from school - and that's how we approached our bands as well.

The further from those days I get, the more I discover that many people don't have that same ethic - and those "jam sessions" are very different. People learn stuff there - don't practice at home - things develop much more slowly. I learned not to try to tell them "Hey - this is rehearsal!..." because most of the time they were using "band practice" more as an excuse to drink beer than to develop a repertoire - which is OK by me too as long as no one gets all bent when the band doesn't really sound all that great and can't seem to get a gig...

[seanm]

Originally Posted by tZer

For me it came from school and our director very specifically told us repeatedly that "you practice on YOUR time, this is rehearsal. If you don't practice and we have to stop and let you work things out you are wasting everyone's time."

Fair enough. What your director called rehearsal, my directors called band practice. You where expected to know the songs. The point of band practice was to work om them as a group and to get sections right.

A rehearsal only happened before a gig. We would go through the songs, in order, with no stops for mistakes or corrections. The director would also add any talking he was going to do between songs. This gave us a good idea of the length of the performance.

I can understand why your director made the distinction, but I really think that band practice assumes the individuals know the song and we are just working at getting it together as a group. This is at least my definition of band practice in a perfect world.

[GeoffT]

Originally Posted by seanm

I am always surprised at the rigid definitions used on TB for practice and rehearsal. I, and everybody I have ever played with, use the term band practice. I try to use the term rehearsal on TB, but a rehearsal to me means setting up like you would at a gig (which we never do) and playing the songs like you would at a gig. Although we do use gig volume at practices

Does the strict definition of practice and rehearsal come from some music program?

It's not just music, think of actors preparing for a play, when they all get together to work on the finished product, it is not play practice, it is rehearsal. As the previous poster said, practice is what you do by yourself to improve your playing or learn your part.

The 2 words have different meanings and often will produce different expectations and results when applied to when a band gets together to play. Here's another example of the power of the words you use, think about saying "I'm gonna go mess around with my bass" vs "I'm going to go practice my bass," the latter implies that you are going to focus on something specifically designed to improve some part of your bass playing. Over the course of time the results can be significant.

[tZer]

Originally Posted by seanm

I can understand why your director made the distinction, but I really think that band practice assumes the individuals know the song and we are just working at getting it together as a group. This is at least my definition of band practice in a perfect world.

Mine too - and for a long time there was no need for clarification - everyone else I played with had the same understanding. But at some point that dissolved and I discovered a whole other world of bands where no one practiced on their own and used "band practice" as the only time they played their instruments.

After showing up to a few of these sessions fully prepped, knowing most, if not the entire list and discovering I was the only one, I had to start asking if that's the norm. I soon learned that the further from school I got, the more that was the norm.

So I learned that when I wanted to form a band or when I was asked to be the director, I stopped assuming everyone knew how to use the band's time well and started making sure everyone had a more clear understanding of what was expected. Part of that was purposefully using the word "rehearsal" in all emails. Because, like you, most other people call it "band practice" and by throwing that 'r' word out there, it causes people to think about it differently.

Again - I am no rehearsal nazi - and I go with the flow. If a band is totally casual and everyone is on board, I am too. But if the band is half-serious and I am in a role that has a responsibility to make things move, it's rehearsal when the band is together working on things - and people know that they should come ready to play.