So, we all suck...

[RedHatter]

... but, my friends and I have begun playing together to -hopefully- do covers in the local bar scene in our area; the guy playing keys has more than a few hook-ups that can get us on stage. As we're just starting together, I am looking for any tips/suggestions that those who play out on a regular basis can pass along.

We're a four-piece (guitar, bass, keys, and drums) that really just began playing together last week - we're looking at (due to real-life obligations) only being able to practice together four or five hours a week and to start we've picked out three individual songs to start with. I've lurked here on the forums for a while and it seems that the 'correct' way to get things going during practice is to pick a few songs out, practice/play them until everyone has them done, and can play them together, and then move on to another couple three songs. Rinse and repeat while going back to the older songs to ensure that everyone is up to par.

So that being said, I'd appreciate any tips, tricks, advice that any of you have to offer in this new venture.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Be all on the same page on that plan.

Add: Take your first three songs to an open mic after week 3. Rinse and repeat. Anyone can learn 3 songs a week if they are truly interested in doing their own gigs.

Allowing for a few misfires on song selection you should be able to gig well before summer is out. So see how it is going at week 3 and book that gig after second open mic at week 4.

 

[RedHatter]

Be all on the same page on that plan.

Add: Take your first three songs to an open mic after week 3. Rinse and repeat. Anyone can learn 3 songs a week if they are truly interested in doing their own gigs.

Allowing for a few misfires on song selection you should be able to gig well before summer is out. So see how it is going at week 3 and book that gig after second open mic at week 4.

Excellent, thanks. We did in fact have a few false starts at the beginning when it came to choosing songs, mostly tunes that were far above our level. I think that I've grounded everyone now though and we're all on the same page with what we -currently- can and cannot play.

 

[PHILTHYinNC]

You've got it.

Pick the songs you want to do. Each member learns their part on their own. Come to practice to put what you've learned into action. Once they're satisfactory, move on to the next group of songs.

I agree with playing those songs to an audience as soon as possible. I always learn a song quicker if I know I have to play it in front of people within a certain time. I'm pretty devout about practicing on my own, but I'll definitely put in that extra hour or two to learn it, rather than "it's close, I'll fix it when we rehearse together" if I have a deadline.

As some other TBer said, practice is for you to learn your part of the song, rehearsal is where you learn to play the song as a band.

 

[RedHatter]

You've got it.

Pick the songs you want to do. Each member learns their part on their own. Come to practice to put what you've learned into action. Once they're satisfactory, move on to the next group of songs.

I agree with playing those songs to an audience as soon as possible. I always learn a song quicker if I know I have to play it in front of people within a certain time. I'm pretty devout about practicing on my own, but I'll definitely put in that extra hour or two to learn it, rather than "it's close, I'll fix it when we rehearse together" if I have a deadline.

As some other TBer said, practice is for you to learn your part of the song, rehearsal is where you learn to play the song as a band.

This makes perfect sense to me. It's also what we're pretty much forced to do since we're only able to get together once a week for about four or five hours. We get together and talk about what we want to do, everyone warms up, and then we get to work. We'll work on one song for 15 to 30 minutes and then move on to the next, rinse and repeat. It can get a bit tedious since right now we've only got three songs, but I can only imagine that part will get better once we play better together.

 

[theduke1]

The biggest mistake bands I've been in make is they tend to confuse rehearsal with practice.
Practice is what I do at home
Rehearsal is what the band does once per week.
That's not to say if I or a band member is struggling with a piece of a song we help each other.
But IMVHO each member should know this week's tunes before rehearsal.
God luck keep us informed as to your progress
Duke

 

[ThirstyMonkey]

So I'm by no means an expert, but I think early on there are two big issues that hamper a groups development. Song selection and efficient use of group rehearsal time. I can't tell you how many hours I wasted working on learning a song only to get to group practice and find out that no one else learned the song. The sad truth is that members of your group can easily sabotage a particular song if they don't like it or it's above their skill level. I think it';s important in the early stages that all of you are 100% honest about what songs you want to play/like and what you're capable of playing. If the song is fun and within each members skill set, it's much more likely going to make it into your set list. As for group rehearsal, I've read many times on this forum that the time to learn/practice a song is on your own. When the full group his together, that's rehearsal. Jam sessions are fun and learning songs as a group can be fun, but when you have limited time together its not a recipe for building a three or four hour set list (obviously this applies more to cover bands than original bands). One last thing, once you have a good dozen or so songs down, you'll be surprised how quickly you start adding songs. It really does get easier (again, this really only applies to cover bands). Best of luck to you and your band.

 

[ThirstyMonkey]

The biggest mistake bands I've been in make is they tend to confuse rehearsal with practice.
Practice is what I do at home
Rehearsal is what the band does once per week.

Great minds? theduke1 beat me to the punch. But this really is rule #1.

 

[PHILTHYinNC]

Also, don't get too hyper-focused on three songs, unless you're going to play those three songs, and only those three songs at an open mic in two weeks or so. Learn the parts and rehearse, but the goal is to learn enough songs to play one or more sets. IMO, as soon as everyone knows their parts and all that's required is rehearsal to "polish" them, add another couple of songs and practice those at home. When you get to practice, run through the songs you've already learned, then rehearse the new songs. Once you're satisfied that everyone knows their part, add some more songs, even if you haven't fully polished the ones you've already learned.

Otherwise, you could end up practicing in the basement for three years and never play out because you've only learned six songs in that time. For me, I like to learn and practice the entire set list at home as quickly as possible and spend rehearsal time polishing the songs and getting tight.

 

[Burwabit]

Once you get an hour of solid material, try opening for other bands. You won't get paid but you will make friends with other groups and get good feedback on where you are and what needs more work.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

All good advice above. Some red flags I've run into:

Player routinely shows up to rehearsal with nothing learned. This guy will kill you.

Player want to do a stylized cover without bothering to tell anyone. Basically he wants to live metal even if you're playing Righteous Brothers. Doing it once as a joke is fine, making a habit is no good and indicates he wants another gig.

Incompetent guy wants to run things. Owns PA, but takes no less than 2 hours to get it set up before you can even start at rehearsal. Every week. My experience with this guy was that he couldn't learn his gear, and was defensive and combative when you tried to help, and eager to blame when things went wrong.

Now that I look over my little list, I realize that you should just avoid narcissists and you should be good.

 

[RedHatter]

The biggest mistake bands I've been in make is they tend to confuse rehearsal with practice.
Practice is what I do at home
Rehearsal is what the band does once per week.
That's not to say if I or a band member is struggling with a piece of a song we help each other.
But IMVHO each member should know this week's tunes before rehearsal.
God luck keep us informed as to your progress
Duke

This is exactly why I posted to begin with. I knew the importance of practicing alone several times a week before/after getting together, but I hadn't thought about it in the terms you've laid out. Thanks!

 

[RedHatter]

So I'm by no means an expert, but I think early on there are two big issues that hamper a groups development. Song selection and efficient use of group rehearsal time. I can't tell you how many hours I wasted working on learning a song only to get to group practice and find out that no one else learned the song. The sad truth is that members of your group can easily sabotage a particular song if they don't like it or it's above their skill level. I think it';s important in the early stages that all of you are 100% honest about what songs you want to play/like and what you're capable of playing. If the song is fun and within each members skill set, it's much more likely going to make it into your set list. As for group rehearsal, I've read many times on this forum that the time to learn/practice a song is on your own. When the full group his together, that's rehearsal. Jam sessions are fun and learning songs as a group can be fun, but when you have limited time together its not a recipe for building a three or four hour set list (obviously this applies more to cover bands than original bands). One last thing, once you have a good dozen or so songs down, you'll be surprised how quickly you start adding songs. It really does get easier (again, this really only applies to cover bands). Best of luck to you and your band.

Thank you. We've picked three songs that each person likes, 'bar songs', if you will - Simple Man, Green Eyed Lady, and Psycho Killer. Each are fairly simple for our level of skill (or lack thereof, haha!), and we're basically just piecing things together as we go. We're not in a headlong rush, but rather, since we're just beginning we're trying to take things slow and easy.

 

[RedHatter]

Once you get an hour of solid material, try opening for other bands. You won't get paid but you will make friends with other groups and get good feedback on where you are and what needs more work.

This is one of the spots we're fortunate in. While we have a couple of local places that have already said that they'd let us play on a weekly basis if we wanted, I work with the drummer for a decently-known local band that plays in downtown in a large city that is nearby. They play almost every weekend at medium to large venues and this guy has already said many times that if we'd like to open for them then it wouldn't be a problem.

 

[RedHatter]

All good advice above. Some red flags I've run into:

Player routinely shows up to rehearsal with nothing learned. This guy will kill you.

Player want to do a stylized cover without bothering to tell anyone. Basically he wants to live metal even if you're playing Righteous Brothers. Doing it once as a joke is fine, making a habit is no good and indicates he wants another gig.

Incompetent guy wants to run things. Owns PA, but takes no less than 2 hours to get it set up before you can even start at rehearsal. Every week. My experience with this guy was that he couldn't learn his gear, and was defensive and combative when you tried to help, and eager to blame when things went wrong.

Now that I look over my little list, I realize that you should just avoid narcissists and you should be good.

Speaking to your first point - we've already run into this. And booted him. He was an okay guy, but he constantly complained the entire time we were rehearsing. He was on rhythm guitar, and frankly, our lead is strong enough that we didn't really need him to begin with.

 

[Downunderwonder]

One strong guitarist and a capable keys player who doesn't need to play bass, good to go. It sounds like the guitar solos will be your most determining factor, after the vocals, in song selection.

 

[Space Pickle]

i am the most at sucking

 

[RedHatter]

One strong guitarist and a capable keys player who doesn't need to play bass, good to go. It sounds like the guitar solos will be your most determining factor, after the vocals, in song selection.

Indeed.

Keys already knows to keep his left hand alone, and I will sing.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Indeed.

Keys already knows to keep his left hand alone, and I will sing.

not many singing bassists! There is a thread of songs that have easier to bass along parts if you are less than a prodigy.

 

[RedHatter]

not many singing bassists! There is a thread of songs that have easier to bass along parts if you are less than a prodigy.

While my singing voice is... less than desirable, the alternatives that we have are much worse. At least with me singing we won't (I hope!) get boo'd off stage! Haha!