How often do you rehearse? (Vote! )

[Marc valero]

My classic rock/new country band has been doing about eight shows a month so we just rehearse new material, but due to various reasons we have only gotten together about twice in the past four months. We usually average about 2 practices a month. I played in a modern rock band years ago and we practiced before every gig, but we only did about three shows a month.

 

[JRA]

9 piece horn/vocal band = maybe/probably a rehearsal before a gig. everybody reads.

7 piece horn/instrumental band = weekly rehearsals. everybody reads. but: we do originals, we're constantly tweaking to make perfect, and we have fun/satisfaction accomplishing what others might label 'difficult'. most of our arrangements are meant to be 'show stoppers'.

neither way is the 'right' way for everyone. both are correct for me. both bands = sound professional and polished. neither band 'jams' for the sake of it. it's all pretty much 'serious business'.

but because i'm retired, i'd actually be up for a jam band experience now and then!

 

[Bullitt5135]

I can see why a cover band shouldn't really need to rehearse much. If you've got your parts down, and everyone else does too, everything really should come together with minimal preparation.

With seasoned musicians with a lot of gigs under their belts, sure. I suppose it's second-nature to really experienced cats to keep the show rolling. But for your typical bar & grill cover band, it's really obvious to me when the band has not rehearsed their performance. For example, the last bar band I went to check out was pretty good musically (not great), but it was obvious they had rehearsed the transitions between every song -- like you'd expect from a seasoned touring act. They just kept plugging along and never lost the audience's attention. Contrast that to another band I saw recently that was probably better musically-speaking, but they were a hot mess between songs and never really captured the audience.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

One band I play with never practices, ever.... every gig is strictly seat-of-the-pants, but they play just about every weekend, so the show stays pretty tight. They very seldom have set list either, which drives me nuts, but I've kinda' gotten used to guessing what's likely to be next.

The other band gigs maybe twice a month, but we try to practice at least one night a week, just because we like playing music together. We stick to a scripted set every time, no surprises.

So, do I get to vote twice?

 

[ONYX]

The last band that I was a full time member of never rehearsed. We would get together 1 or 2 times a month and write/learn new material and then go our separate ways until gig time. It worked for us, but situations like that are more the exception than the rule.

 

[MrBKerth]

Twice a week, but I suppose it's how you define a rehearsal. We don't typically rigidly run through a set but we brush up on whatever we noticed might've been off in our last live set or any songs we haven't "dusted off" lately.

Occasionally an all night Saturday writing and structuring session will also occur but those are more infrequent. Sometimes we miss the mark and only make it once a week but that's not typical and usually occurs when we are gigging a minimum once a week so we don't necessarily fall out of practice.

 

[HolmeBass]

One band I am in rehearses once a week, and rarely plays (although we're hoping for gigs, but the drummer just quit so now we're auditioning for his replacement). Another band rehearses once a month and plays 15 to 20 times a year. Another band plays 20 - 25 times a year and rehearses without any set schedule. We'll rehearse 6 times in 4 weeks and then go a month without rehearsal. Another one only plays a few times a year and only rehearses right before we play. Another band very rarely plays (and it's a shame, because it's a good band, just everyone is busy and seems to prefer gigging with someone else) and almost never rehearses. We're playing on April 28 and I doubt we'll rehearse even though it's been since last July since we played a gig. Not my choice, mind you, I'd love to rehearse more and play more with this band, just never seems to work out.

So kinda hard for me to vote for just one option.

 

[QweziRider]

For those who gig regularly, how often does your band rehearse?

My main gig, once time in the last two years, and only because we were adding a new segment to the show that night. We all live all over the country, so rehearsal's not an option

All my other gigs, I live 450 miles away from everyone else. Again, no rehearsal, show up knowing the parts.

I like it better this way.

 

[tink9975]

I play 3-5 shows a month with my bandleader (he has another trio that does about the same, plus solo acoustic gigs) and we just had our first rehearsal in a year. Mostly working on new original material. for adding new covers we usually learn them at home and see how they go on the gig.

 

[Johnny Crab]

One band I play with never practices, ever.... every gig is strictly seat-of-the-pants, but they play just about every weekend, so the show stays pretty tight. They very seldom have set list either, which drives me nuts, but I've kinda' gotten used to guessing what's likely to be next.

80+ gigs last year, no set list since I got drafted into the band as a replacement 11 years ago. Whenever we HAVE TO have a sub(drummer a few times, guitarist once), the list of a few hundred gets sent to the sub for comment on what they "know". One session drummer showed up as a sub at one gig, was given a "set list". About a minute before we start, B/L turns around and tells him "I hope you know this stuff because about 2 or 3 songs in, that set list goes out the window". Guy's eyes got big as saucers and he got nervous real quick but the gig turned out fine.

B/L can read and run an audience quite well. Since we're "old guys"(i.e. playing for 50 years each at least), when we get call outs, if 3 out of the 5 of us know it then it WILL get played and recorded(A Zoom H4 runs at every gig for new songs, unplanned events, and if we have great/good sit-in folks). A LOT of songs got added to our list that way, keeps you on your toes but took a while to get used to.

 

[DirtDog]

31 gigs in 2016; maybe a dozen rehearsals since we brought on new frontmen a year ago. For 2017, same number of gigs, maybe half the rehearsals. We had our first rehearsal of 2017 just this week, working in new tunes for a string of gigs in April and May. But the first year we formed (2010) - maybe 40-45 rehearsals, 5 gigs. Has varied along that trajectory depending on readiness of new band members.

I like balance we have now - despite the odd unproductive/annoying rehearsal, I do look forward to getting together and playing outside of a gig.

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

For those who gig regularly, how often does your band rehearse? My current band plays out 1x a month and wants to practice every week. This is a deal breaker for me. I don't get paid to practice and I do my homework so this seems unnecessary. IMO a full gig schedule for pros or semi-pros means rehearsal isn't necessary at all unless you're adding new material constantly. I was in a very successful cover band for 7 years and we didn't have a single rehearsal. You did the work in your own time or you'd be replaced. My church gig was the same way, show up knowing your part. Am I out of line with my expectations? How much does your band rehearse and what is your opinion about it?

Practice is what you do at home individually.

Rehearsal is what you do together as you plan on appearing when playing out.

More rehearsals when needed.

 

[buldog5151bass]

One band rehearses weekly, but only gigs every other month or so (jazz - rehearsal is as much fun for us).

One band rehearses every other week, to keep tight - less often if we are gigging weekly or more.

I also semi-regularly sub. I only rehearse if I haven't performed with them in over 3 months.

 

[bigswifty1]

Band gigs usually twice a week.
Been with them three years.
No rehearsal so far.
Mike

 

[AztecViking]

Last cover band I was in had regular Wednesday night practice. I loved it. We were always productive and kept developing our group groove. But I can totally understand how some bands and differing personalities wouldn't work well with that. Even if I don't have a gig I like getting together with other musicians at least once a week to keep the "live" chops up. I play very differently when at full volume and bouncing off what other players are doing. Can't exactly simulate that at home.

 

[crucislancer]

For those who gig regularly, how often does your band rehearse? My current band plays out 1x a month and wants to practice every week. This is a deal breaker for me. I don't get paid to practice and I do my homework so this seems unnecessary. IMO a full gig schedule for pros or semi-pros means rehearsal isn't necessary at all unless you're adding new material constantly. I was in a very successful cover band for 7 years and we didn't have a single rehearsal. You did the work in your own time or you'd be replaced. My church gig was the same way, show up knowing your part. Am I out of line with my expectations? How much does your band rehearse and what is your opinion about it?

I’ve only done originals bands over the years, and in every instance regular rehearsals were mandatory. Most of the time it was once a week, with the occasional exceptions to that rule. For example, my last band had a long rehearsal 1x per week, with the first half running through the set list that will be played next, and the second half for writing, and everything was recorded. It gave us the opportunity to fix issues that came up, or make positive changes to the songs or how the set list worked, and after that we could work on new material and perhaps even debut a new song at the next gig.

I can see a cover band being different, especially when playing out 3-4 times a month or more. No point in a rehearsal if everyone knows their parts.

 

[Kmonk]

There's a difference between rehearsing and practicing at home. Rehearsal is for the entire band to get together, make sure that everybody is playing their parts correctly, listening to how everything sounds, learning how to react when things go wrong and getting the sound tight. The reason there are so many mediocre bands these days is because they do not rehearse.

 

[chuck3]

My main band rehearses to freshen up for a gig and to add new material, otherwise not. I play in another band that never practices and does quite well ... we all just know the material (that band is classic rock; my main band is very eclectic and does some material that needs rehearsal). By myself, I practice upright bass 3 or 4 times a week; bass guitar, maybe once a month. Upright just requires more practice. I'd love to have the time in my life to practice bass guitar as much as I do the upright, though.

 

[SAlcott]

I play in an 8 piece band that has gigged for 22 years. We've rehearsed three times.

 

[Kun2112]

It comes down to how often you play together, and whether or not you want to be extremely tight. I've seen tons of bands that have everything except for tightness, and I find that boring. If you don't have it, I don't care how well you play, you need to play together more.