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How do you make band rehearsal productive?
- Thread starter Jean Rodriguez
- Start date
Don't pop any beers open until AFTER you've run through the set a couple times. If you start out with a buzz, you're all going to be sloppy and lazy, and no improvement will occur. Sure, it's fun to jam out slightly toasted, but that's what the end of practice is for.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Practice what you do alone to learn your parts. Rehearsal is when you meet to put the parts together, not for learning parts. The key to productive rehearsals is everyone having productive rehearsals.
At the end of a rehearsal, you say, for next rehearsal everyone have their parts down to X (specific songs). Nothing wrong with a jam after the work is done, but not instead.
At the end of a rehearsal, you say, for next rehearsal everyone have their parts down to X (specific songs). Nothing wrong with a jam after the work is done, but not instead.
If your goal is to be gigging in November, and we're halfway through September now, you are not going to have originals ready to gig - maybe one or two, but really, unless these are all fully composed and demos recorded from some previous project, I would either forget about originals for now, or forget about gigging for now. Treat it as a cover band to start with and plan to work originals in later once your cover set is up and running.
Brainstorm up ideas for cover songs you want to do. Everyone can do this at home, or if one of you is clear BL, they do it. Email your lists around. Pick four or five songs for everyone to learn this week. Everyone MUST learn their parts at home - rehearsal is not practice, remember that.
When you get together for your weekly rehearsal, run the songs, see how your parts fit together. If there are any problems, glitches, or dead spots in the songs figure out how to deal with them, or decide to cut the song. Before you leave the rehearsal space, agree on what the agenda will be for next week - four or five more songs to learn and brushing up/fixing lingering problems on the ones you did this week. If everyone is really doing their homework, and you're not wasting time, you shouldn't need four hours of rehearsal.
After eight weeks of rehearsing you should have a repertoire of 30-40 songs, enough to gig with. Bear in mind that when you approach a venue to book a gig, they may already have the next few weeks (or months) booked. So don't wait until you have your full list tight before hitting the pavement. If you can get a gig on the calendar early, that can light a fire under everyone's butt to work hard, because they know they have to be ready for it.
As for working originals in, I can see two paths. One would be if you have time to meet, jam and write outside of your fixed weekly rehearsal that you're prepping the cover repertoire. Treat it as a side thing. Then, once the cover repertoire is set, you can start working on the originals as a group to have performance-ready. Or, if you don't have the time on the side, just wait until the cover repertoire is set, and then you can relax and use rehearsal time to write and to brush up the cover tunes (and add new ones at a more leisurely pace).
Brainstorm up ideas for cover songs you want to do. Everyone can do this at home, or if one of you is clear BL, they do it. Email your lists around. Pick four or five songs for everyone to learn this week. Everyone MUST learn their parts at home - rehearsal is not practice, remember that.
When you get together for your weekly rehearsal, run the songs, see how your parts fit together. If there are any problems, glitches, or dead spots in the songs figure out how to deal with them, or decide to cut the song. Before you leave the rehearsal space, agree on what the agenda will be for next week - four or five more songs to learn and brushing up/fixing lingering problems on the ones you did this week. If everyone is really doing their homework, and you're not wasting time, you shouldn't need four hours of rehearsal.
After eight weeks of rehearsing you should have a repertoire of 30-40 songs, enough to gig with. Bear in mind that when you approach a venue to book a gig, they may already have the next few weeks (or months) booked. So don't wait until you have your full list tight before hitting the pavement. If you can get a gig on the calendar early, that can light a fire under everyone's butt to work hard, because they know they have to be ready for it.
As for working originals in, I can see two paths. One would be if you have time to meet, jam and write outside of your fixed weekly rehearsal that you're prepping the cover repertoire. Treat it as a side thing. Then, once the cover repertoire is set, you can start working on the originals as a group to have performance-ready. Or, if you don't have the time on the side, just wait until the cover repertoire is set, and then you can relax and use rehearsal time to write and to brush up the cover tunes (and add new ones at a more leisurely pace).
Four hours sounds long to me. Remember to schedule some breaks! For myself I feel like I learn the most while I'm able to concentrate really hard on what I'm doing, and I'd probably start getting diminishing returns after a couple hours. But, whatever works for you.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Couple more thoughts:
- if you have 4 hour rehearsals, good chance you are not prepared.
- you don't "teach the drummer the song" at rehearsal. You give him a recording of what you have, and tell him to prepare a part to bring to rehearsal. As others have said, people should be prepared with their parts before rehearsal. THEN you can decide what works and what doesn't.
- if you have 4 hour rehearsals, good chance you are not prepared.
- you don't "teach the drummer the song" at rehearsal. You give him a recording of what you have, and tell him to prepare a part to bring to rehearsal. As others have said, people should be prepared with their parts before rehearsal. THEN you can decide what works and what doesn't.
We hold short rehearsal (1.5 - 2hours) and don't tolerate anyone being late. Any one of us can be set up and playing within 5 minutes of arriving at rehearsal. Agree on four hours being too long - just invites time wasting as far as I'm concerned.
We only work on tunes that have discussed in advance and have some sort of consensus on key and overall arrangement. If it's apparent someone hasn't done their homework, we park it and move to the next objective. Often we'll just work on starts, stops, bridges and endings. Other than that, we're not too anal about schedule or agenda.
Still have not found an optimal way to rehearse/perfect vocal harmonies. It's a waste of the full band to go over harmonies ad nauseum, but it's somewhat hard to work on harmonies without the band. Catch 22.
We only work on tunes that have discussed in advance and have some sort of consensus on key and overall arrangement. If it's apparent someone hasn't done their homework, we park it and move to the next objective. Often we'll just work on starts, stops, bridges and endings. Other than that, we're not too anal about schedule or agenda.
Still have not found an optimal way to rehearse/perfect vocal harmonies. It's a waste of the full band to go over harmonies ad nauseum, but it's somewhat hard to work on harmonies without the band. Catch 22.
Alright, four hours is long now that I look at it. Last rehearsal, I was starting to get tired at the two hour mark. If not four hours, how long do you guys recommend?
Weekend warrior here, ancedotal evidence only. I think it's very important to not tell other band members how to play their instruments. Then if you aren't getting something, or hear a problem make sure to bring it up in a way that it's your problem: "I'm missing that accent, or I'm not together with you on this etc."
I could go on about this, but finally make sure you know your part well and how the song goes YOURSELF. Without that, there's not much of a chance you can influence things.
I was used to directing choirs and rehearsing at "bar 25" or whatever, pointing out missing parts of the singers, missed notes etc. I was in charge. That doesn't work at all for the bands I've been in. Show up, know your part well, and bring up problems in such a way that the problems are YOURS and other band members can help you.
I could go on about this, but finally make sure you know your part well and how the song goes YOURSELF. Without that, there's not much of a chance you can influence things.
I was used to directing choirs and rehearsing at "bar 25" or whatever, pointing out missing parts of the singers, missed notes etc. I was in charge. That doesn't work at all for the bands I've been in. Show up, know your part well, and bring up problems in such a way that the problems are YOURS and other band members can help you.
No beer, or fun-bush, until after the practice... it can sloppy real quick, especially the fun-bush.
(Sorry for the long post)
Song selection.
Not all cover songs take the same amount of learning, some may take forever to get right while others jump out that they are going to work with minimal work. No point spending forever trying to learn one song when you could have several others down in that time. Don't get hung up on one song just because someone wants to play it.
We record all rehearsals so can listen to them later and make a decision on which to put the time and effort into learning and which to drop or put on the list to look at later.
We agree what we are going to learn for the next rehearsal and all put in the homework to learn them. If someone hasn't learnt their parts (doesn't often happen but life can get in the way of even the best intentions) we will skip that song and work on something else.
This works pretty well for us.
Rehearsal time.
We rehearse at the drummer's house. I live one hour drive away and the guitarist about 30 minutes away so we want our time there to be productive. We usually work for about 3 hours total with a couple of 10 - 15 minute breaks for a mug of tea (tea being the UK national drink) and a chat - often but not always band business. So a rehearsal can be 4 (or more) hours long but split into manageable chunks so we don't get too tired (we are all getting on a bit).
Record rehearsals.
I record all rehearsals and edit out the best version of each song and put them on Dropbox. We all listen to them before the next rehearsal and often have suggestion for improving them (or sometimes dropping them). We often record a version of a song with no harmonies or a lead break (just chords) so we can work on those at home without any distractions. I will also, if requested, loop the lead break backing part multiple times so the guitarist has a backing track to play over.
Noodling.
There is no noodling during rehearsals, this includes searching for the perfect tone. It's not big or clever and bores the pants off those who have to listen and wastes valuable rehearsal time.
Song selection.
Not all cover songs take the same amount of learning, some may take forever to get right while others jump out that they are going to work with minimal work. No point spending forever trying to learn one song when you could have several others down in that time. Don't get hung up on one song just because someone wants to play it.
We record all rehearsals so can listen to them later and make a decision on which to put the time and effort into learning and which to drop or put on the list to look at later.
We agree what we are going to learn for the next rehearsal and all put in the homework to learn them. If someone hasn't learnt their parts (doesn't often happen but life can get in the way of even the best intentions) we will skip that song and work on something else.
This works pretty well for us.
Rehearsal time.
We rehearse at the drummer's house. I live one hour drive away and the guitarist about 30 minutes away so we want our time there to be productive. We usually work for about 3 hours total with a couple of 10 - 15 minute breaks for a mug of tea (tea being the UK national drink) and a chat - often but not always band business. So a rehearsal can be 4 (or more) hours long but split into manageable chunks so we don't get too tired (we are all getting on a bit).
Record rehearsals.
I record all rehearsals and edit out the best version of each song and put them on Dropbox. We all listen to them before the next rehearsal and often have suggestion for improving them (or sometimes dropping them). We often record a version of a song with no harmonies or a lead break (just chords) so we can work on those at home without any distractions. I will also, if requested, loop the lead break backing part multiple times so the guitarist has a backing track to play over.
Noodling.
There is no noodling during rehearsals, this includes searching for the perfect tone. It's not big or clever and bores the pants off those who have to listen and wastes valuable rehearsal time.
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- Jun 6, 2012
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- 6,859
- Disclosures
- I don't wait 30 minutes after eating, to go swimming.
Probably a little overlooked, but cutting down on/eliminating idle chit chat between songs. That can waste a LOT of time.
Few thoughts, as I really hate unproductive practices...
RE the cover stuff, the only rules with that have to do with the bars/clubs in your area. Where I am, an original band generally does all original music. If they throw a covers in it's usually one or two tops. If you're looking to make money, then it's best to play mostly covers and throw a few of your own tunes in with that. For most cover gigs though you need a minimum of 35 tunes.
- As you already mentioned, DEFINITELY get together with the guitarist first to iron out as much as you can. The most prolific band I was ever in was The Nerve, and we used to get together at least one night every week (me and the guitarist/singer) to work on material without the drummer.
- I wouldn't ditch the jamming, but keep it as a quick warmup. Maybe 15-20 minutes just jamming in a chosen key. I'm certain that jamming makes for a much tighter and more creative band.
- Learn covers on your own time, and make sure you learn them inside out. There is no reason to waste time in the studio figuring tunes out. Do whatever you need to do to get the other guys to do their homework.
- Decide before the rehearsal what you plan to accomplish.
- Know, and agree, that you're in the studio to work and not hang out. Some people make a party out of rehearsals, and that's fine if everyone is in agreement... but if you want to get the most accomplished, to me that means it's the band only in the studio, and nobody is drinking or getting high.
All that being said I'm heading out for a little 4 day tour today with an original band that's going to be doing half covers and half originals. I think this is the only band I ever played in (and I've played in lots and lots) that does that, and it's working well. Hence the no rules thing.
Best of luck!
I was gonna comment based on my own experiences with bands that were either all originals or that had a heavy ratio of originals to covers. But Joe did it first, and more succinctly than I would have written it. So all I can say is: What he said!
FWIW, in every originals band I ever played in, we always (wisely IMO) kept at least one cover song per set until we were really well established on our home turf. But still, whenever we went outside our main playing area, we always put a few covers per set back in to serve as icebreakers. We discovered (as you will) that if people don't know who you are, playing some things they are familiar with that are similar in style and vibe to your own songs works really well to get your own music more easily accepted.
No matter how original your act, until you're getting regular airplay and doing major concerts, cover tunes are your friends.
My GF (who is a blues musician primarily) can never get over how hung up the rock/alt world gets about doing - or not doing - covers. In the blues world, everybody happily and shamelessly covers each other's tunes. That's just the culture of the blues world. The musicians see themselves more as practitioners of a long living artistic tradition. And it's not uncommon to find members from bands who are sharing the same marquee to sit in with each other for a song or two in the course of the evening. That's something I find refreshing, and occasionally inspiring, even though I'm not particularly into the blues myself.
I'm going to go against the grain and tell you to remember to have fun with it. Your a new originals act and seem to be fairly young. Don't waste your entire practice goofing off but if you treat it like a chore it's going to become a chore. Talkbass seems to forget that alot. Generally my band sets out to practice and run the set twice in two hours and work on new stuff with the time we have left. We get plenty of time to have fun Nd goof off as well so I don't see why people act like you gotta run it like a boot camp.
One suggestion I would make is to set a firm time schedule and stick to it.
There was one originals band I was in where we were renting time from a big name rock band to use their rehearsal studio for our rehearsals. That was mainly due to the fact we could get it (one of our bandmates grew up with one of their bandmates), and we all lived in city apartments - so rehearsing in anybody's home was out of the question. The place was professionally managed by a full-time staff. We got a locking cage to store our equipment when we weren't there, and the use of the studio for fours hours on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 - 11:00. We were allowed in on the dot. And expected to be packed up and out the door - also on the dot. And the house rule was: band members only. No friends. No partying. No visitors/guests - unless it was music related and we cleared it in advance with the staff.
With money out of pocket and a limited window to get everything accomplished that we needed to, you can be sure we were all very well prepared every time we went in there. That took some good communication and occasional get togethers among the various members during the rest of the week to make it all work. But (in our case) it worked out really well. Especially since we could accurately say how much each second of our rehearsal time was costing us. And with a not exactly insubstantial monthly rent bill (approx $1200 in today's dollars) hanging over our heads at all times, we were pretty motivated. It was not only good motivation to be prepared and productive during rehearsals - it also provided some very strong incentive to get out of the studio and gig.
There's no need to spend real money like that if you don't have to. But if you put a dollar figure on your time, it helps keep the time you are spending in focus. And focus is what it's all about when you're in a band.
There was one originals band I was in where we were renting time from a big name rock band to use their rehearsal studio for our rehearsals. That was mainly due to the fact we could get it (one of our bandmates grew up with one of their bandmates), and we all lived in city apartments - so rehearsing in anybody's home was out of the question. The place was professionally managed by a full-time staff. We got a locking cage to store our equipment when we weren't there, and the use of the studio for fours hours on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 - 11:00. We were allowed in on the dot. And expected to be packed up and out the door - also on the dot. And the house rule was: band members only. No friends. No partying. No visitors/guests - unless it was music related and we cleared it in advance with the staff.
With money out of pocket and a limited window to get everything accomplished that we needed to, you can be sure we were all very well prepared every time we went in there. That took some good communication and occasional get togethers among the various members during the rest of the week to make it all work. But (in our case) it worked out really well. Especially since we could accurately say how much each second of our rehearsal time was costing us. And with a not exactly insubstantial monthly rent bill (approx $1200 in today's dollars) hanging over our heads at all times, we were pretty motivated. It was not only good motivation to be prepared and productive during rehearsals - it also provided some very strong incentive to get out of the studio and gig.
There's no need to spend real money like that if you don't have to. But if you put a dollar figure on your time, it helps keep the time you are spending in focus. And focus is what it's all about when you're in a band.
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Totally agree with @Jolagh. Don't get all butthurt if one of your practices isn't productive. It happens and remembers to have fun. Some my band's rehearsals turn into a literal hangout and it still makes us a better band.
We come up with an agenda at the end of rehearsal for the following week. Anything new is learned / practiced solo by everyone in advance. It helps keep the momentum flowing and nobody feels like they're wasting time. With that said, we still have a couple of beers and enjoy ourselves. When everyone shows up prepared and ready to roll, it just goes a bit smoother.
OMG in addition to the comments about people learning stuff BEFORE rehearsal, THIS. The jibber jabber just kills me - almost every band I have been in tends to devolve into mindless chitchat between songs unless there is a jerk (usually me) to tell everyone to shut up.
