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How do you run 'rehearsals'?

Octaves

Octaves

Guest
Jun 22, 2012
386
14
#1
I mean, how do you manage rehearsals?

Do you have an agenda that you run through? Does one person lead the rehearsal?

Does the band play through a song first to make sure music is correct before singer steps in? Or, do you go hard at it all together straight away?

Do you hold a 5 minute meeting at the beginning or end of each rehearsal?

How do you work out the beginnings and ends of songs so that everyone is on the same page?

Please tell me how you run / operate your rehearsals to get the most out of them. I need some assistance here!

Edit: covers.

Thanks in advance :)
 
#2
ran my 19-piece orchestra for the last 30 years. hundreds of gigs all over the place, and tons of recording projects.

come in with a gameplan for that day's rehearsal time (new material, brush-ups of old, or specific pieces for a gig).
keep the vibe light but keep it moving through the material.
run any complex passages earlier, when people are fresh.
be patient, but focused.

in a smaller band that's also a democratic decision-maker, each person who brings in a piece should be allowed to establish their arrangement of it in rehearsal, i believe.
if it's a tough one, maybe run the tricky bits instrumentally, then have the singer jump in as soon as that's all settled. there's something cool about the entire group feeling their way through it from the get-go, feels more like a band and less like a group + singer.
beginnings and endings- i woulld say listen to the options that are voiced, and pick the one that makes most musical sense and feels the strongest choice.

someone take the initiative to determine what will be done in rehearsal that day, at the start. saves time and prevents "uh, what's next?" sort of drift.
at the end, save 5 minutes for discussion/logistics about the upcoming gig, recording etc.
in my opinion, bands should always be working toward a gig or a recording/documenting session. making your own music videos is also an excellent fun and productive way to keep it all interesting and engaging.
good luck!
 
#3
Ideally (which doesn’t always happen), we come to rehearsal having learned (or at least familiarized ourselves with) the song(s) we’ve decided to do and our parts, find our arrangement (intro, extro, special accents and extensions we decide upon), record it, hand everyone a CD to practice to, pick which songs we’re gonna do next rehearsal, repeat.

Again, this is the plan, but it doesn’t always happen so efficiently. :)
 
#4
some excellent points.

I've already decided we need a goal (perhaps seek gigs when we have 30 pieces).

Good idea about recording live then distributing CDs with arrangement to practice to.

Am also thinking about creating a rehearsal agenda template!
 
#6
We run through our 45 minute set list (12 songs) to warm-up. Then we might just jam for 15-20 minutes since we usually get some song ideas from that. Then we will work on 1 or 2 new songs and try to get them sounding better. At that point, we go out to buy more beer and have a smoke. Then we come back for another hour or so and play songs that we think are fun. The last hour isn't the most productive, but it's usually the most enjoyable.
 
#7
AaronVonRock said:
We run through our 45 minute set list (12 songs) to warm-up. Then we might just jam for 15-20 minutes since we usually get some song ideas from that. Then we will work on 1 or 2 new songs and try to get them sounding better. At that point, we go out to buy more beer and have a smoke. Then we come back for another hour or so and play songs that we think are fun. The last hour isn't the most productive, but it's usually the most enjoyable.
Click to expand...

Originals band?
 
#8
Marko5657 said:
Originals band?
Click to expand...

We're trying to be all original. We just started playing together two months ago. We've got three original songs and 12 covers. We'd like to get a solid one hour set down, eventually replacing the covers with original tunes. We're not really wanting to learn new cover tunes, but we already have three on the backburner that we'll go ahead work on.
 
#10
Lately, my oldies band has been just running through set lists - one set per session, and then working on any potential new songs.

In my previous band we would do a similar thing but we knew most songs so well that we would play intro, first verse, chorus, and then the ending for many of them. My current band doesn't know the songs as well so we play them all the way through.
 
#11
Imo, recording songs arranged at rehearsals is very valuable.

It’s cool for a new band to practice and learn to play together, but after that, spending (wasting) time rehearsing songs already arranged is a waste of valuable time.

A single mic in the rehearsal space and Audacity on a laptop will do this well-enough.
 
#12
Marko5657 said:
I’m guessing that the OP want so do covers, and is looking for a good rehearsal formula to get him gigging.

No offence intended, but your formula is not conducive to progress, even for an originals effort.
Click to expand...

None taken. We're not really wanting to be just a cover band and we're not trying to "make it" in the business. We just want to get some local gigs on local bills and make some eardrums bleed. And have fun doing it.
 
#13
I have a 4-piece part-time classic rock band. My wife plays keys and I play bass and share lead/backing vocal responsibilities. The PA and rehearsal space are in my house and I do all the booking....I'm not really a "type A" person, but the responsibility has fallen on me to lead the band.

Our rehearsals go something like this:
1. I contact the other 2 members of the band
2. Arrange day and time for rehearsal (on weekly basis)
3. Send a list of what needs to be covered
4. At rehearsal, I give them cd's of songs to learn for "next time"
5. Schedule next rehearsal
6. Rehearsal is 6-9 p.m. (maybe longer on gig week)
7. Some drinking may occur...but this isn't a party
8. We may jam a little if we get thru everything

This has worked well for the last 13 years...yeah, still playing with the same guys.

We play a little less (since we've gotten older) but want to keep it fun and entertaining...and it only works if you know what you're doing.
 
#15
Generally, we run through sets, polishing flow and feel.

Sometimes we have more of a first-aid practice, where we work problematic sections, and Q & A rehearsals, where we play a song with a couple of different feels, and discuss as a band what we think of them.

Our rehearsals are very productive; no smoking; no drinking; no mucking about. We all have busy lives, and rehearsal time is best spent making good, quality music. I still think our rehearsals are slightly better than our shows, and we are trying to rectify that.

If a song is new, we run through it. If it's a train-wreck, we put on the iPod, and play with it, then try it again. We ask, "how was that?" and if everyone thought it was great, we play it again, so we put it into our memories more. If everyone thought it was a mess, we either play it again several times until we get it, or we back-burner the song for next rehearsal, saying "everyone work on your parts."

I always encourage each band member to run the rehearsal; to get in things they want to get in, and they are quite aware that if they don't, I certainly will.
 
#16
My current band is haphazard and is barely running. Since it's not MY band.....yada yada!

The way I have done things in the past. I've always been a cover band bassist.

1 Formulate songlist
2 Choose songs to start working on (at least 5-10 per week)
3 Set a steady rehearsal day and time that suits everyone
4 I set rehearsals for 2 hours (if you need more than that, the musicians are not up to par) because I don't have time to waste bullsh**ing around! If everyone does their homework and know what they're doing, you shouldn't have an issue.
5 rehearse intros, transitions and endings (work on medleys)
6 chat/socialize for a few
7 next week, same bat time, same bat channel
 
#17
A vital concept, that I'm surprised hasn't been posted in this thread yet, is:

Practice is what each person does on their own, to learn the material, sharpen their chops, etc.

Rehearsal is where the group comes together, to assemble what they've learned on their own, work out details such as intros, outros, transitions, etc.

Always have a plan. Your time together is all too short & shouldn't be wasted. Others have suggested plenty of good things to include in a plan. I will add, try to be as specific as you can about what you want to do. Go beyond just "playing Song X". Decide what, exactly, you want to do with "Song X", such as work up a new intro, clean up a shaky transition into/out of the bridge, add a harmony, etc.

Don't feel obligated to play each song in its entirety. If there are segments that need work, work on those segments. Repeating segments that don't need work may be wasting some of that valuable time. Learn to recognize when "enough is enough" & it's no longer productive to keep beating a dead horse. Let it go & move on.

In addition to the planned-for songs, throw in a few songs from your book without notice, just to keep everybody on their toes. Pick songs that you haven't played recently & might not be as sharp as others.

Finish with some "fun" time, such as just jamming on some tunes or just see where some riffs go.

The last thing to do at a rehearsal is to plan for the next one. Make sure everybody has something to work on (i.e. practice) on their own in the meantime, & that everybody knows & agrees what the plan is for next time.
 
#18
We have a closed Facebook group that we use for discussions and idea sharing throughout the week. If we don't already have an agenda, several days before rehearsal we will open up the "table" for rehearsal agenda ideas.

We normally get a "set list" together before rehearsal. Usually open with 2-4 established songs to get us warmed up but may need polishing. Right now, we are writing new material with an eye toward recording another album this summer, so we dedicate a majority of rehearsal toward collaborative song writing. Each band member (there are 4 of us) tries to bring 1-3 ideas each rehearsal. We go through everything, keep the ideas that have promise, and work on a fleshing out 2-3. At the very end of rehearsal, we record the new, fleshed out ideas, and email mp3s to everyone, so we can work on parts on our own time. We revisit the new ideas next rehearsal and make a final decision on moving forward with the idea, or scrapping it.
 
#19
Our pre-meeting always takes place while we are setting up...plugging in, getting everything turned on and warmed up. Will decide if we will run through a particular set or work on new material or whatever here.

If you've not gigged yet, develop a proposed setlist and play through it...adjust the order or bring in new songs/throw out ones that don't fit until you get something you think works. Consider any various tunings and associated guitar changes needed....minimize them if possible.

Adjust your rehearsal space so you are on onstage position as close as you can get it. Run through your sets timing yourself and working/deciding on transitions between songs. Continue to work through your set until it becomes almost second nature and start/ending/breaks are tight and comfortable. Pretend you have an audience. Rinse and repeat as necessary. Consider bringing in someone to listen and offer critique also.

If you are using harmonies, consider setting aside some of the time for vocal practice to get and maintain things the way they need to be. A lot of times we will run through the harmonies alone and then part of the song with instruments to make sure everything sounds right. It also helps the vocalists to remember the lyrics (yes we are old) for songs we haven't played in a while.

Usually toward the end of practice we will dust off some stuff we have not done in a while but want to keep current. And we may jam to a new riff. We are re entering a writing phase again so that is somethng we will begin to schedule into the practice as well. If writing, make sure you have some charts/lyrics for other players with the idea you are presenting...a scratch recording is good too. This speeds things up measurably. Also good to record with a Zoom when writing so ideas don't get lost.

And don't be military about it all. Leave room for flexibility to the schedule.
 
#20
We used to just jam thru 8-10 songs...and then throw stuff on the wall to see if it sticks.

Wrong.

We have didicated songs we must learn...3-5 of them.


We stop the song after playing thru it..and work on difficult parts.

Also...if we get stuck...and the energy gets sucked outta the room...we will do some easy songs to put us back on track.

And...I keep notes of the aongs we do...the new song ideas ..and the spots we need to focus on.



We will work on that specific part for a while and fix it...or if not working...revisit it next week
 

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