Prioritizing and rehearsal time

[brianrost]

I dislike unecessary or premature rehearsals. I've been playing long enough so that for sub gigs I just learn the material and go in with zero rehearsal (although I always offer to rehearse if the BL wants to).

If the situation is bands I am a member of, rehearsal scheduling varies from band to band. Anything from regular weekly rehearsals to never rehearsing When it's new material for everyone (except perhaps the person bringing the song in) there's really only two options: give the band enough lead time to shed at home before calling a rehearsal or work out the song in rehearsal.

I've done both and am fine with learning a new song in the rehearsal room, but I push back on a list of more than a half dozen new songs to be rehearsed within less than a week. I also push back on someone adding more songs to the list a day or two before rehearsing. If the song needs more than a single rundown to ID any problems and then maybe 2 more passes to nail it, it's impossible to properly rehearse more than a half dozen songs in a typical 3 hour rehearsal anyway.

What annoys me the most is when I learn the material, come to the rehearsal and the band insists on playing it incorrectly. Not coming up with a unique arrangement but actually playing the wrong notes and chords. In one case we were rehearsing "Knock On Wood" which I had been playing in various bands for decades. First they wanted to change the key which is OK but then they played the wrong chords in the bridge. When I pointed out they were playing everything off by a fourth and showed them the right chords, they insisted I was wrong. For that band I had to remember to play the wrong chords (luckily it was only a couple of sub gigs). That's actually harder than you might think because I needed to pay attention every time the bridge comes around.

 

[3Liter]

Yeah, but are my standards too high because I have time? That's what I'm struggling with. Someone pushed back at me today when I sent some charts and notes out, saying that she was buried with work and doesn't have time to look at it. I never asked her to look at it. My intent was not to put pressure on, just to provide useful tools for the next rehearsal.

.

I'm working with some guys that are retired. I play guitar and sing and we have another guy a few years older than me that also works during the day who sings and plays guitar. The BL sends out a constant stream of charts, files (songs with just the drums, or just vocals, etc.) and other band minutia (names, files of names, etc.) I cannot keep up with all that and feel a little guilty.

Then I realize I can ignore most of it an look at it on my time if I want or need to.

I also realize he has more time for this than I do because he's at a different station in life. Might come to a breaking point over a couple of things, but I'm just gonna let it ride for as long as I can since the process of rehearsing is fun. He wants to gig, but there's little in the way of plans for that and a lot of individual outages and we're picked up stuff at a slower pace....BL is also a perfectionist and can't pick stuff up as quick as some of the rest of us. My situation is different than yours, but the common factor is perhaps a mismatch in timing, priorities or talent.

 

[Old Blastard]

I'm the opposite. I'm the only one not retired in one band (I play in 2) and Inwork a full time job that can go from 6 to 16 hours a day in one phone call. I have two part time jobs. I literally grab practice moments between phone calls and assignments. I'm good at learning tunes quickly and often record things we work on at rehearsal for playback later.

For the OP, focus on what you need to focus and tell folks you have some commitments you have to fulfill and that you WILL be prepared next week. Life is busy.

 

[Admiral Akbar]

Yep. I've been there. I even started a thread about bands that want to rehearse to much recently.

Here's what has worked for me. I have to put the ball back in their courts with honesty. Just explain to the other two bands what you have explained to us. If they can't work with you... as in give you these two weeks to get ready for the other gig and THEN get together to run their songs.... simply tell them that you will honor your commitment this time, but that this will be your last gig.

/\/\this, exactly. @LBS-bass You just need to tell these other cats what the deal is. As these other bands really need you, and you are one of the few (or only) pro-level (and in-demand) bassists in your area, you're not gonna lose these other gigs by not rehearsing with them for a couple of weeks.

 

[Admiral Akbar]

However it does point up some long-term changes I'm going to need to make. Here's the frustrating thing. Clearly I'm in demand. But I'm not being demanded by the right people. There aren't that many of the right people here to begin with. I absolutely understand everyone saying that I'm punching below my weight, but there's not much here to punch up to, at least not that I've found.

So move to a bigger pond with more heavy and middle-weight fishies.

 

[HardNHeavy]

Not sure what to do about this.
It would be much easier if everyone would use their personal time to learn the material well and only schedule full rehearsals closer to the shows. But I don't think people have the confidence in their ability to learn the material without having the full band there to prop them up..

ugh...story of my life with other band members, i sooooooooo wish people were more prepared. So much time is wasted otherwise!!

 

[Polfuste]

Glad your bandmates from yesterday's rehearsal have understood your situation.
A practical situation is to record all rehearsals (perhaps you already do it). So you always have the last version of a tune played by the band and everybody can work at home on the same version you were all agree for during the rehearsal.
It's my role additional rôle in the band. With a simple zoom recorder H2N switched ON in the rehearsal room, I record all the session. Then I cut it tune by tune very easily with a DAW and send it to all bandmates in mp3 format with Wetransfer. That takes me perhaps one hour to treat an entire session. And no one can tell me he can't work efficiently at home.

 

[Mark_70]

I feel your pain.. I quit a band that worked like that a few years back. Seemed like we confused "practice" and "rehearsal time".
The struggle is real.. Perhaps time for a bit of a talk ? Is this something you can just discuss with the band ?
There's really no need to get together until each band member individually has prepared. Sounds like YOU get that, but not everyone in the band operates that way. Maybe worth a talk - or you just suck it up and try to hack your way through it before you're prepared (but agreed that this is a bit of a waste of time).

Regards
Mark

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Sorry to say it sounds like you've over extended.
2 bands is about the max for juggling.

Don't worry about others, just make sure you can pull your parts off properly.
Good luck and have fun!

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I understand your problem. Here is how I approach the issue. First, I put the bands in order of the schedule.
Then I look over the material and rank the songs in order of (my perceived) difficulty. I start with the easy stuff and run through it. It probably doesn't take much time for that. After that, I start working on the more difficult songs. Another thing that helps is to put all the songs on whatever media you can listen to from anywhere including your car and listen to it every chance you get.
After that, if other band members don't show up knowing their part and want to take up your time for learning, tell them to learn their parts before the next rehearsal and excuse yourself and go home.

 

[Kevorargh]

I feel your pain and your stress. As a BL, there is nothing I hate more than scheduling a rehearsal because that seems too be the only way to get band members to learn their parts - and there are not that many musicians to choose from. The ones I have chosen are good and can learn on their own - but they are busy playing in other bands, work, etc., so if I want the band to sound like they know what's going on, I need to schedule a rehearsal (really a practice).

At the same time, this is what I tell my students is self-imposed stress. At some point, I have to make the decision to either stop the cycle of rehearsals and running a band, or change my attitude. For example, I am constantly in search of newer songs for the set as I feel I haven't found the right mix of songs for the show. But that means more charts and more learning, and therefore more rehearsals. So far, I am attempting to change may attitude. We'll see what happens.

Good luck with your dilemma. I'm glad to see you are communicating with your bands and setting your priorities so that the bands work for you, not the other way around.

kevorargh

 

[pepj]

3 bands with song priorities but they themselves dont learn stuff? nope, not working.

If someone wants a new set learnt then the payback needs to be a lot of dates/money in order to justify the time put in.
Id consider it as a dep on that basis only if the band were rehearsed up and i just had to stay with the songs and not blow them.
Otherwise, too much work in to short a time.
Either that or send over a pad, I'll do my homework, they do theirs and see you on the gigs.

 

[DirtDog]

Sounds like you've spread yourself thin and the confluence of events have conspired against you. It happens. Short term and ruthless prioritization might be necessary. Which outfit means the most to you and your reputation? Might be worth it to prioritize that? Or which might benefit the most from you being as prepared as possible.

I've found that I can't be something to everyone, so I focus on being everything to someone/something. YMMV, of course!

 

[3bc]

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Sounds like you're afflicted with competence, @LBS-bass, and your perspective is totally valid. I'm not a pro but I can only stand to play with folks who are at my level or, usually, much better musicians than I. Bands with folks who are unprepared at rehearsals is a non-starter for me.

this! It can be very frustrating playing with people who need their hand held when you are a different level of musician. It might be one thing if they tried their best but that doesn't sound like the case. The real irony is that bad musicians generally just go and look for tabs online, and really, if you can't learn a song with tabs available for basically every song ever written you're not ready to play in front of an audience. I play with the same 5 people now for the last 4 years. We play literally one show a year. A couple months before that gig we all throw a few song into the pool and learn them all. Well exchange notes via email, like my vocal range isn't there, let's do that in G instead of A, stuff like that.

we did Kodachrome last month at a gig. Right before the first rehearsal play through I said "hey, did anybody else notice the bar of three in two different spots in the song? Are we going to play those bars of three or switch them to 4?" They are in slightly unusual places and the decision was made to play them in 4. 10 days later at the gig, and after a few beers, someone might forget where a bar of three lands and KISS.

then we rehearsed the song all the way through without issue on the first try and then moved on.

not every group of musicians is at that level, and many more are quite beyond that level. But if you're at that level where a handful of quick mental notes is all you need to show up and get through a gig without a real rehearsal and all these guys are using rehearsal as practice time that is brutal.

 

[Geddaric]

Not sure what to do about this.

I'm having a problem currently. I am retired, and I have plenty of time during the day to work on material. However, I have several shows coming up this month and they all require learning a significant amount of new material.
Did you ever feel like you want to just wipe the slate clean and start over with different people? That's about how I'm feeling right now. I'm trying to use my free time more wisely to help some of these bands get better organized but with that I run the risk of looking like I'm trying to run their show for them.

Doesn`t sound like everyone has the same level of commitment as you. Where`s the B.L.???
Personally, I would address this with the concerned parties. If they`re not ready to step up, maybe you should consider stepping out. Sure, perform the gigs that are scheduled, but if you are one who wants to put on the best show you can, and others aren`t there, it doesn`t necessarily reflect well on the band as a whole. (IMO)

 

[LBS-bass]

A piece of this is timing. It's October, and every year at this time everyone wants to add a bunch of specialty songs for shows happening around Halloween. This is juxtaposed on top of my reconstituted main band having a debut performance in the middle of the month, with a lot of new material for us and a new drummer for whom all of it is new. I'm stressed over that show anyway, because I want it to be good and we were nowhere near ready at our last rehearsal.

I know those guys well enough to know they are working hard this week to bring it all into focus. The fact that I haven't has as much time a I normally would to do this is bothering me. I now have about one week to get it right. Today is the 7th and our show is the 15th.

Our new drummer is replacing a world-class pro, and he is a bit green. He has enormous shoes to fill. I am married to him. That is stressful. We practice in separate rooms and he needs work on stops and starts, etc. I have been trying all week to get into the larger practice space with him to go over some of that, but I haven't had the time to do it. So that is on the schedule for today. Go over two sets with the drummer, then go over two sets with the full band tonight. The band is heavy on harmonies. That's our thing. making sure we gel and are consistently singing the right parts is key.

I've also been staying in a different home for a week because I'm house/petsitting for a friend, which makes things even more stupid since I have to parcel out my time between locations and I can't effectively practice when I'm not at home. It's only a few blocks from my house, so it could be worse, but it isn't ideal.

So it is what it is. I'm not over-extended. None of these bands plays out more than twice a month, most significantly less than that. If I played in only one or two bands I would shoot myself in the head due to boredom. It's just that these timing issues come up, and when they do, the rehearsal schedules start to look and feel like a huge obstacle. I've always been good at prioritizing my own time to work on my own. In my real world work life, I was the person you'd just stick in an office and leave alone to get everything done, and everything got done. But I get uncomfortable when things interrupt my flow and timeline plans.

Thanks, everyone, for your encouragement. I feel like I can get a handle on this now and I feel like we're going to be okay.

 

[mrcbass]

I'm juggling two bands right now and have a slight appreciation for your dilemma. I've designated one of my bands a "primary" and do what I have to to honor the needs of that band. I signed up for the second band partly as a favor (helping someone out) but made it as clear as possible, that I couldn't be the full time guy.
My booking arrangement is: Outside of thirty days, my primary band gets my calendar. Second band can request, but I won't commit to gigs until we get within the thirty days. The second band is a no-rehearse band - I wouldn't have taken on a second weekly rehearsal situation. I actually wish we would rehearse a few times just to be able to lock in a few things, but we work as it is.

I know this is a different story than yours LBS. I'm a little surprised to hear that you're dealing with amateurs who can't do their own work, but I suppose the correlation between your situation and mine is that managing the needs of multiple bands requires a lot more communication than just one. I make MY conditions perfectly clear before I settle in. I feel a little bad for my second band because my needs complicate the BL's life, but it's the only way I can manage both gigs. He seems to think I'm "all that" ("been looking for a bassist like you for 4 years") and is willing to tolerate my availability. I've even had to turn down paying gigs that interfered with my primary band's rehearsal. He does have a couple of "lesser" bassists to cover, but from what I've seen (everything is through group texts), despite the mindset of playing with whoever he can pull together (3-6 piece presentation), it's a very chaotic process for him to man a show (others are in multiple bands as well).

So if I were in your shoes:
1. Prioritize MY needs for the next few weeks. (Actually, for the long haul as well.)
2. Communicate with my BLs re: my availability.
3. Tell the bands that "need" rehearsals sooner than I'm ready to do their own work and we can get together on <this date> - plenty of time to prep for the pending show.
4. Anyone who makes this a problem can find another bassist

I don't like feeling all superior or anything, but I need to manage my time the way I need to manage it. If I am any good, it's because of my preparation routines. As long as it doesn't become a surprise at any point, there's nothing wrong with stating and enforcing my conditions. I also make sure to live up to my word - if I commit, I'm there.

It also sounds like you need to block your calendar from other business dates - respect your own schedule. Busy is busy even if it is just personal practice time. Of course there's no reason you couldn't practice acoustically when you're minding your clients' puppies, right?

 

[gtmalone]

I'm retired, too. I had a little of that a few years ago but not quite as much as your current situation. I didn't like to say no to an offer to play. I had my pride don't you know - lol. In addition, being in the DFW area, it was at least a half hour drive (sometimes more) to get to a rehearsal or a gig. At times it felt more like going to work instead of being fun. I worked through the commitments then stepped back to think about what I really wanted to do with music. I have no pretenses of being well known, making a lot of money, etc. Music is serious hobby only and it has to be fun. If I had an offer to play, I took a good look and decided if this was really something I would enjoy or have a new experience (musical theater for example - probably won't do that again!). Sometimes the answer was no. I would tell the guys thanks for asking but I won't be able to do this one. I would sometimes recommend someone else. Even turning down a gig I would still get calls and sometimes I would take it.

Hope there is some value in this random collection of thoughts! I'm sure you will get it sorted.

 

[LBS-bass]

It also sounds like you need to block your calendar from other business dates - respect your own schedule. Busy is busy even if it is just personal practice time. Of course there's no reason you couldn't practice acoustically when you're minding your clients' puppies, right?

Theoretically that's doable, but not the kind of practice I need. I'm trying to learn songs from recordings and playing through them to make sure I have the forms right, etc. I find my biggest challenge comes with remembering what comes in which order. Verse/chorus/verse ... short solo or long one? What about the stops? Are they after the first or second solo?

I make notes, but the best way for me to really learn this stuff is by pounding it into my brain through repetition. And the singing/playing makes everything take twice as long. How's my phrasing? We all agreed to practice the phrasing on the record. How are they doing it on the record? My personal practice space is set up for that kind of practice.

As far as my business, I'm pretty much retired, but I do take on a job here and there for friends in the neighborhood. They're low stress, low-key clients, but they, too, are all bunched up this week. It's just a weird timing issue that everything fell into my lap at this moment.

 

[LBS-bass]

I'm retired, too. I had a little of that a few years ago but not quite as much as your current situation. I didn't like to say no to an offer to play. I had my pride don't you know - lol. In addition, being in the DFW area, it was at least a half hour drive (sometimes more) to get to a rehearsal or a gig. At times it felt more like going to work instead of being fun. I worked through the commitments then stepped back to think about what I really wanted to do with music. I have no pretenses of being well known, making a lot of money, etc. Music is serious hobby only and it has to be fun. If I had an offer to play, I took a good look and decided if this was really something I would enjoy or have a new experience (musical theater for example - probably won't do that again!). Sometimes the answer was no. I would tell the guys thanks for asking but I won't be able to do this one. I would sometimes recommend someone else. Even turning down a gig I would still get calls and sometimes I would take it.

Hope there is some value in this random collection of thoughts! I'm sure you will get it sorted.

Yes, that's quite valuable, and exactly where I'm starting to land in my own thinking. After this month I think I'm going to take stock of a number of things. Each band I work with has value to me in one way or another. They are either lovely people that I don't want to disappoint, good musicians who I really want to be on stages with, or some combination thereof. But I need to cut back on the time I'm spending. I'm going to need to set some boundaries and work with people who can accept those boundaries; that means I'm going to have to let some things go.