Productive Rehearsals

[Nicko]

Doesn't anyone on BC actually like "rehearsing" simply for the fun of it?  My current (covers) band is almost gig ready, we are improving the songs we know and adding more material, but even if we weren't I'd be happy to meet up and just play.

Last rehearsal started with the drummer asking wheter I#d prefer to play throughh the whole set list or work on specific songs - I could see the benefit in both but we agreed to work on specific songs anyone was having troble with.

Started with a new song which everyone had learnt.  Rough around the edges but not bad.

The singer worked on singing without referring to lyrics

The drummer had been working on adding fills

The guitarist wanted to work on the endings of a few songs

I worked on BVs - only he second time I've tried, and fills on a few tracks

We stopped for a break midway through, and jammed a new song suggestion at the end.

Best rehearsal we've had for a while even though we had no clear plan because we all came aay thinking we sounded bettter after the session than before.

I should add I do not practice at home.  I work on learning songs, or adding fills but playing bass along to pre-recorded track is deeply dull.

If you are gigging weekly theres no need to rehearse but frankly I wouldn't want to gig every week.

 

[Quilly]

17 minutes ago, Nicko said:

Doesn't anyone on BC actually like "rehearsing" simply for the fun of it?  My current (covers) band is almost gig ready, we are improving the songs we know and adding more material, but even if we weren't I'd be happy to meet up and just play.

Last rehearsal started with the drummer asking wheter I#d prefer to play throughh the whole set list or work on specific songs - I could see the benefit in both but we agreed to work on specific songs anyone was having troble with.

Started with a new song which everyone had learnt.  Rough around the edges but not bad.

The singer worked on singing without referring to lyrics

The drummer had been working on adding fills

The guitarist wanted to work on the endings of a few songs

I worked on BVs - only he second time I've tried, and fills on a few tracks

We stopped for a break midway through, and jammed a new song suggestion at the end.

Best rehearsal we've had for a while even though we had no clear plan because we all came aay thinking we sounded bettter after the session than before.

I should add I do not practice at home.  I work on learning songs, or adding fills but playing bass along to pre-recorded track is deeply dull.

If you are gigging weekly theres no need to rehearse but frankly I wouldn't want to gig every week.

 

I think there are 2 different types of rehearsals for me. One where you are getting ready for a specific gig where you have to run through everything, the other is more creative where you trying new individual songs to add to your repertoire. I find that anyway .

[dmccombe7]

As long as the band is making progress I enjoy rehearsals. Current band we all get along really well so rehearsing is still enjoyable. With some other bands maybe not so much and in some cases it’s been hard work and more a chore.

[Quilly]

18 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

As long as the band is making progress I enjoy rehearsals. Current band we all get along really well so rehearsing is still enjoyable. With some other bands maybe not so much and in some cases it’s been hard work and more a chore.

The moment you dread going to rehearsal is the day you walk away .

[dmccombe7]

8 hours ago, Quilly said:

The moment you dread going to rehearsal is the day you walk away .

100% spot on. If no enjoyment I don’t see the point unless it’s your livelihood and that changes how you view things.

[Sté]

Whatsapp is a great tool to communicate with the band.

And i can say i find all rehearsals usefull; cause out of the fun we have, band listening and tightness constantly improve by playing together. As we only make several gig a year, we need these moments. 

[DaveFry]

From the MU History site ;

1940
Many of the Union members who were enlisted joined service bands who became better than the civilian bands left due to having more time to rehearse – Melody Maker described the Squadronnaires as “the finest dance band in Britain.” (Baade, 89)

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The Monty Python sketch springs to mind : " Right , so does anyone else have anything they would rather be doing than marching around the Square ? "

[dmccombe7]

Not just about the destination, it’s the journey that makes it more interesting. 

I look at rehearsals as part of the journey towards playing Wembley Arena. 😜

Dave 🤩

[Stylon Pilson]

On 06/07/2019 at 12:23, Nicko said:

Doesn't anyone on BC actually like "rehearsing" simply for the fun of it?  My current (covers) band is almost gig ready, we are improving the songs we know and adding more material, but even if we weren't I'd be happy to meet up and just play.

Yep, and I love learning new songs too. My current band has a near-perfect two hour set list, but I want to keep trying new songs, even if they're "not as good" as the ones we've already got. Why? Because (a) learning new songs motivates me to practice regularly, and (b) having the ability to swap songs in and out of our set gives us the option to temporarily "bench" something that we're growing tired of.

S.P.

[Quilly]

6 hours ago, Stylon Pilson said:

Yep, and I love learning new songs too. My current band has a near-perfect two hour set list, but I want to keep trying new songs, even if they're "not as good" as the ones we've already got. Why? Because (a) learning new songs motivates me to practice regularly, and (b) having the ability to swap songs in and out of our set gives us the option to temporarily "bench" something that we're growing tired of.

S.P.

And in contract playing the same songs over and over is extremely demotivating. It’s been the cause of me walking away from bands .

[Lozz196]

On 06/07/2019 at 12:23, Nicko said:

Doesn't anyone on BC actually like "rehearsing" simply for the fun of it?  

Yes, I (and my band) do. We gig pretty much every week but as an originals band our set length varies from gig to gig so we have to have the not so often played material up to the standards of the always played so necessary in our view.

Additionally it’s where we get the weekly “news” from the singer over who he’s been speaking to about what, rather than have endless messages about merch/proposed gigs etc. It’s now a feature each week, much like - for those old enough to remember - on The Two Ronnies.

And lastly we just love playing our music, so being able to do so in the leisurely environment of the rehearsal room rather than the frantic gigging environment is a luxury.

[Bluewine]

On 06/07/2019 at 06:23, Nicko said:

Doesn't anyone on BC actually like "rehearsing" simply for the fun of it?  My current (covers) band is almost gig ready, we are improving the songs we know and adding more material, but even if we weren't I'd be happy to meet up and just play.

Last rehearsal started with the drummer asking wheter I#d prefer to play throughh the whole set list or work on specific songs - I could see the benefit in both but we agreed to work on specific songs anyone was having troble with.

Started with a new song which everyone had learnt.  Rough around the edges but not bad.

The singer worked on singing without referring to lyrics

The drummer had been working on adding fills

The guitarist wanted to work on the endings of a few songs

I worked on BVs - only he second time I've tried, and fills on a few tracks

We stopped for a break midway through, and jammed a new song suggestion at the end.

Best rehearsal we've had for a while even though we had no clear plan because we all came aay thinking we sounded bettter after the session than before.

I should add I do not practice at home.  I work on learning songs, or adding fills but playing bass along to pre-recorded track is deeply dull.

If you are gigging weekly theres no need to rehearse but frankly I wouldn't want to gig every week.

 

I think our position  on rehearsals, depends on the type of band your in,;

1.Bands that gig consistently

2.Bands that are for fun only and don't gig.

3.Pub/ Bar Bands

4.Bands that tour and do this for a living.

Age comes into the picture as well. I certainly don't have the same opinion or position on rehearsals at age 66 that I had at 26.

Blue

[Bluewine]

On 06/07/2019 at 08:14, Quilly said:

The moment you dread going to rehearsal is the day you walk away .

Walking away is not a viable option for some of us.

Blue

[Bluewine]

On 06/07/2019 at 06:43, Quilly said:

I think there are 2 different types of rehearsals for me. One where you are getting ready for a specific gig where you have to run through everything, the other is more creative where you trying new individual songs to add to your repertoire. I find that anyway .

We rarely rehease. We're having a rare rehearsal this week because we're adding 2 songs we haven't played in a while and have challenged us for the gig with The Charlie Daniels Band.

Blue

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Bluewine said:

We rarely rehease. We're having a rare rehearsal this week because we're adding 2 songs we haven't played in a while and have challenged us for the gig with The Charlie Daniels Band.

Blue

Think any regular gigging band shouldn’t need a rehearsal every week or so

[bubinga5]

Go the long haul. Ive been to 7 hour rehearsals before (with breaks). Its long but you get your parts down

[Quilly]

You know it’s gonna be a long rehearsal when you see band members pick up their instruments from where they left them last time . “What are the chords again “

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, bubinga5 said:

Go the long haul. Ive been to 7 hour rehearsals before (with breaks). Its long but you get your parts down

Got a 3hr one tomorrow night 9-12 then next 2 sundays are 6hr ones 12-6pm ready for debut gig with new band

Dave

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, bubinga5 said:

Its long but you get your parts down

Oh - Parts - I read that very wrong and was wondering how your rehearsals panned out...

[Monkey Steve]

On 08/07/2019 at 10:39, DaveFry said:

From the MU History site ;

1940
Many of the Union members who were enlisted joined service bands who became better than the civilian bands left due to having more time to rehearse – Melody Maker described the Squadronnaires as “the finest dance band in Britain.” (Baade, 89)

--------------------------------------------------------------

The Monty Python sketch springs to mind : " Right , so does anyone else have anything they would rather be doing than marching around the Square ? "

I used to play in a band with a drummer who had been a musician in the RAF.  During combat they would be stretcher bearers, so they had to stay fit and trained to a degree, but most of his day was spent rehearsing.  He was very, very good.  Not much formal training in the indy/punk/metal that we were doing, but he did spend a lot of time playing in the RAF jazz band

[Monkey Steve]

On 09/07/2019 at 19:25, bubinga5 said:

Go the long haul. Ive been to 7 hour rehearsals before (with breaks). Its long but you get your parts down

Tried this a couple of times, and on both occasions the band has run out of steam after four or five hours, and emerged broken from the studio, back into daylight like combat veterans with thousand yard stares.  We actually found them much less productive than the usual three or four hour sessions

[Guest oZZma]

3 hours ago, Monkey Steve said:

Tried this a couple of times, and on both occasions the band has run out of steam after four or five hours, and emerged broken from the studio, back into daylight like combat veterans with thousand yard stares.  We actually found them much less productive than the usual three or four hour sessions

We do it sometimes. We did it regularly when I worked abroad and we had to squeeze all the work in 2 days, but we still do it sometimes. I find It useful, because you can work a lot on ideas without breaking the flow and the concentration. I also find it fun to have a lunch break together pic-nic style, not a bad way to spend the weekend! 😀 If It was for me, I'd do a 7-8 hours reharsal every weekend.

Edited July 18, 2019 by oZZma

[dmccombe7]

We do the lunch thing too on the rare 6hr sessions and it’s a more relaxed rehearsal in many ways. Sore fingers by the end but that’s acceptable if I play hard altho these days I play a fair bit lighter

[Guest oZZma]

13 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

We do the lunch thing too on the rare 6hr sessions and it’s a more relaxed rehearsal in many ways. 

Yeah it is! No rush, all the time you need. That's great for the writing 

 

[Davo-London]

Rehearsed at church with a new leader the other day.

He came to the rehearsal with the music.  He helped set-up the band.  He told us which song to play.  He requested changes to the playing style (drummer and sax).  He made the singers rehearse alone.  We got through 8 songs in 75 mins and we all knew what we were going for the following Sunday.

It was the most productive rehearsal I've ever been involved in.  

Of course, this was one person's vision of what was needed.  But at least he had a vision and was able to articulate it.  Astonishing.  So my vote goes for having an old school leader.  

Peace

Davo