Band Rehearsal Frustration Rant....

AQUANOVA · #1 03-31-2011, 05:11 PM

I just need to vent.

I play in a cover band twice a month.

We use email to decide what songs we will be learning each week and what keys the singers want them in.
Everyone learns their part and we show up before the show to go over things.
Everyone can play their parts ok, it's the structure of songs that always seems to be the problem.

When I suggest a song, I send a YouTube link of it to clarify which version.

Makes no difference.

Without fail someone learns the " extended live version" of a song
or a remake or some other obscure version and we spend the whole rehearsal
trying to nail down the structure to avoid a train wreck.

Is it too much to expect people to just learn the classic version?

It drives me crazy.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Stinsok · #2 03-31-2011, 05:17 PM

Oh, heck yeah! Here is an example: We decide to do "Rock and Roll." The next practice I asked if everyone had a chance to learn it/listen to it, etc. The drummer says "yeah, I learned the Sheryl Crow version." On a regular basis we would get "aw man, I've been listening to their cool unplugged version."

lucas vigor · #3 03-31-2011, 05:18 PM

Yep. In my main band, the guitarist had learned very specialized versions of classic songs, done by instrumental artists who had played the classics so long and so often that they totally changed the structure and added new chords and everything out of boredom. Once a new band leader came in and only knew the original, classic versions...it posed a huge problem of having to unlearn and unmemorize stuff. I say learn the classic versions first, then tweak them as a band later.

ChrisB2 · #4 03-31-2011, 05:19 PM

No. Any cover band I've been in has always tried to learn what I call the "radio" version. Seems obvious; that's what people will recognize.

Sorry I can't help. You already asked them to learn the right version and they're not doing it... so now what? Maybe it's time for a serious sit-down band meeting...

Good luck.

Bongofour · #5 03-31-2011, 05:20 PM

Yep;

No doubt there are plenty of "musicians" out there who will not waste one minute of their time wasting yours!

I believe some people get into a band situation just for the satifaction of saying " I;m in a band"

Bongofour · #6 03-31-2011, 05:23 PM

And another thing....

There are also alot of cheap a** m-Fu****s out there who have no means of aquiring the proper learning material.

MisterFabulous · #7 03-31-2011, 05:27 PM

Oh gosh Yes.

The problem with my peeps is they don't even go to YouTube. They just go on memory.

And it doesn't matter how much time in rehearsal spent trying to unlearn the songs, because in performance it's likely to revert back.

duff beer · #8 03-31-2011, 06:09 PM

When our band learns a song is automatically assumed that we will learn the studio version in the key it was recorded in...unless otherwise specified. If the people you play with can't grasp this simple concept, any advice I give you would simply be wasted.

seanm · #9 03-31-2011, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AQUANOVA

I just need to vent.

I play in a cover band twice a month.

We use email to decide what songs we will be learning each week and what keys the singers want them in.
Everyone learns their part and we show up before the show to go over things.
Everyone can play their parts ok, it's the structure of songs that always seems to be the problem.

When I suggest a song, I send a YouTube link of it to clarify which version.

Makes no difference.

Without fail someone learns the " extended live version" of a song
or a remake or some other obscure version and we spend the whole rehearsal
trying to nail down the structure to avoid a train wreck.

Is it too much to expect people to just learn the classic version?

It drives me crazy.

Does anyone else have this problem?

You actually know what songs and what key? And you are complaining about structure? I would die to know which songs we are working on

I almost always practice the wrong songs.

But, actually, I agree with you. Quite often we pick an obscure youtube version of a song. But I need an mp3, not a video. I find the audio on the youtube videos to be horrendous at best.

electracoyote · #10 03-31-2011, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AQUANOVA

Without fail someone learns the " extended live version" of a song
or a remake or some other obscure version and we spend the whole rehearsal
trying to nail down the structure to avoid a train wreck.

Does anyone else have this problem?

Yes. The exact problem. And it drives me crazy.

I got so sick and tired of learning Billy Joe Joystick's live extended jam mix versions of hit songs, because the intro or the ending was cool, or some other reason, I finally put my foot down. The rule now is, "most commonly recognized version," which is usually the original studio recording that got played on the radio.

That's not to say we don't ocassionally extend a song, or use cool intros or outros, but those are OURS to create, not Billy Joe Joystick on YouTube.

Renaissance · #11 03-31-2011, 06:25 PM

Rather than sending a YouTube link, just send them the mp3 of the song.

electracoyote · #12 03-31-2011, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renaissance

Rather than sending a YouTube link, just send them the mp3 of the song.

Great idea, if you actually own it. These days, it's not hard to find songs.

In addition, the original studio hit versions of songs usually ARE on YouTube. Someone just has to identify it as such and make sure the others are working with THAT version.

Schizoid75 · #13 03-31-2011, 06:30 PM

Well, you all definitely need to have a meeting. It's impacting your ability to add new songs and I'm sure all of you will start to become frustrated with that. Some of it may be people not putting in the time, but it also may be the media type.

You mention sending You Tube links to everyone. But I hate learning from You Tube. I think the sound quality is usually poor and I often work with The Amazing Slow Downer from Roni Music on my Mac to get songs into the right keys and slow down tricky sections to work out. So some people may be ignoring the You Tube versions for that reason.

AQUANOVA · #14 03-31-2011, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renaissance

Rather than sending a YouTube link, just send them the mp3 of the song.

I don't pick all the songs.

When someone else sends a link of a song they want to do,
I use YouTube Down Loader to make mp3s from whatever links are sent.
I don't just go pick some other random link.
Then use that in my Tascam Bass Trainer to learn the song.

I'm also the one who sends out mp3s in the key that we will be using whenever we have a key change.
So I'm making an effort to help with the key change problem.
I use MP3 Shifter.

But when we do a song in the original key, I don't think I should have to be every ones mommy and send out an mp3 of it.

bluewine · #15 03-31-2011, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bongofour

And another thing....

There are also alot of cheap a** m-Fu****s out there who have no means of aquiring the proper learning material.

True, even in here I have heard some of that,"I don't use or own a cell phone" or some sort of technology that to me is crucial for effective effecient communication and organization in a band.

The last 2 bands I have been in have been good.Everyone one has a home studio so we can share ideas rather fast sending the same file for everyone to work from.

It's not the 70s when we didn't have $hit for technology and what we did have didn't work half the time.

I'm always ready, I even keep a a current playlist of our sets (MP3s) on my phone. I can e-mail it to anyone who needs 24/7.

Schizoid75 · #16 03-31-2011, 07:11 PM

Every band has it's issues. I've been in a ton and none of them have been perfect. You can try and bring it up and address it, but who knows. It may strain relationships or it may fix the problem. If the problem continues and continues, you'll have to make your own decision on how big of a problem it is for you. On the one hand, there are plenty of bands out there and many that won't give you this same problem. On the other hand, you'll have new problems.

bluewine · #17 03-31-2011, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by electracoyote

Yes. The exact problem. And it drives me crazy.

I got so sick and tired of learning Billy Joe Joystick's live extended jam mix versions of hit songs, because the intro or the ending was cool, or some other reason, I finally put my foot down. The rule now is, "most commonly recognized version," which is usually the original studio recording that got played on the radio.

That's not to say we don't ocassionally extend a song, or use cool intros or outros, but those are OURS to create, not Billy Joe Joystick on YouTube.

I am not sure why a band is playing a live extended jam mix, doesn't make sense to me, but I'm old

AQUANOVA · #18 03-31-2011, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluewine

I am not sure why a band is playing a live extended jam mix, doesn't make sense to me, but I'm old

Guitar players always pick the version with the extended solo.

RH434 · #19 03-31-2011, 08:05 PM

No, You're not alone. This goes on for me week after week. I'll practice the studio version unless we decide on something specific. I'll sometimes even go to the length to get the MP3 and email it. But for some reason we start to play it in practice and it's like "Where did you guys go?" "Is that the way your last band played it or what?" "The chorus isn't for another 3 bars." "I thought we agreed to do it in F not E" etc.

I know it's unprofessional to stop playing, and if we were at a gig and someone reverted, I'd just mesh up at the next bar, but lately, I've taken to just stop right there and try to get everyone on track. What's the point of a practice if we're all still playing something different?

Not that I'm perfect or anything, but these guys are way more experienced than me. Maybe they are just used to playing something a certain way and it's hard to change.

Maybe I need to learn to roll with it better.

iridiumrocks · #20 03-31-2011, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duff beer

When our band learns a song is automatically assumed that we will learn the studio version in the key it was recorded in...unless otherwise specified. If the people you play with can't grasp this simple concept, any advice I give you would simply be wasted.

Same here. For covers, we always learn the studio version unless there is a reason to do otherwise and we always agree on that upfront. In some cases, the live version is the more recognizable one (such as a cover from "Frampton Comes Alive" for example). We always email the MP3's to each other to avoid any confusion.