How often does your band rehearse?

[chris_b]

No band I've been in for the last 26 years has rehearsed unless there was a specific problem that couldn't be talked over. That's been about 6 rehearsals since the early 90's.

[Monkey Steve]

3 minutes ago, Nicko said:

In response to the OP sounds like the band is looking for reasons to rehearse rather than gig.

We try to get together once a week, but with busy lives it seems to be once a fortnight for 3 hours.  Having said that we are a covers band and have 35 or so songs.  Recent sessions have all been polishing stuff that we're not happy with or learning new stuff.  We have a gig coming up next week, and practice this week will be a full set run through - that will be the first time we've played some of the songs since our last gig.

We agree what we're going to work on before the session, but often get sidetracked by our singer insisting on trying songs she really wants to do.  I think i preferred it before Whatsapp messages started flying around such as:

Singer 2 days before session "We should try XXXX"

Me "We have four new songs on the go, don't really have time to learn it properly before next gig"

Drummer "I agree. Four new songs is enough"

Singer "But its really easy"

Guitarist "Yeah, three chords"

Singer "Even I can play it"

Me "My parts not easy"

Singer "Shall we try anyway"

Me "F*ck off, or perhaps learn the bassline yourself".  Bite lip.

So last practice ended up with half an hour playing songs I haven't had time to learn properly.

 

I feel your pain - one lead guitarist in particular used to try this all the time, never managing to learn the songs that he didn't like, and instead finding ways to introduce his selections ahead of what the band had already agreed to do

The only way it changed was a grand show down with me taking the "f*ck off" route - just refused to learn them until everything else we'd already agreed on was finished

unbite that lip and let her know what you really think about her passive/aggressive games

 

 

[dave_bass5]

Im in the same boat. We have a rehearsal booked for Thursday. We have a short list of about 10 songs we want to try. Guitarist has been quite on this front since the list went out (it didnt come from him but he is normally in charge of the lists for rehearsals). Turns out he has just gigged with a band from work, and has now added two songs he had to learn for that gig, to our list for Thursday. Both songs i have never heard of. Ive said not for this week but i know he will be 'jamming' them at every opportunity. Drummer will join in and me and the singer will just stand there waiting our money tick away.

[jazzmanb]

Some bands just want to do all the pre gig stuff forever.I've no interest .When I've looked for bands if they aren't gigging I give them a miss .

we get together if a dep singer is coming in or a new song added ,one rehearsal,thats it 

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

Im in the same boat. We have a rehearsal booked for Thursday. We have a short list of about 10 songs we want to try. Guitarist has been quite on this front since the list went out (it didnt come from him but he is normally in charge of the lists for rehearsals). Turns out he has just gigged with a band from work, and has now added two songs he had to learn for that gig, to our list for Thursday. Both songs i have never heard of. Ive said not for this week but i know he will be 'jamming' them at every opportunity. Drummer will join in and me and the singer will just stand there waiting our money tick away.

I hate being at rehearsals where that jamming crap wastes time and money. If there's no need for it then don't do it. I tend to view rehearsals like work. I'm there to get a job done and sooner its done the quicker we move on.

Altho i get on really well with this particular band i'm not there to socialise except when its a coffee break in a 6hr session.

Our rehearsals are generally pretty good tho, productive and fun at same time so its all a bonus. Probably the only band i've been in like that but i just love playing the 70's Glam Rock songs.

Dave

Edited October 8, 2019 by dmccombe7

[odysseus]

One session a week 3-4 hours - original material.  Writing and rehearsing new stuff unless we have a gig at the weekend, in which case we run through the set.

[seashell]

My main band only gigs about once every six weeks. We'll rehearse once a week (3 hours) in the 3 or 4 weeks leading up to a gig. We enjoy the rehearsals as we're all mates, and the rehearsal studio is very convenient,  clean, comfortable and reasonably priced. Can't be bad! 

However, at the moment I'm getting more gigs with the band I dep with, but I don't get the luxury of a rehearsal at all! It's OK though as they're a Rolling Stones trib band and do most of the songs in original key etc, so I can just slot in fairly easily (she says, crossing fingers and toes for the next in just over a week!)

[FinnDave]

We rehearse about once every other gig. The band members don't live near each other, so the average journey to the rehearsal rooms is about 90 miles. 

[dmccombe7]

1 minute ago, FinnDave said:

We rehearse about once every other gig. The band members don't live near each other, so the average journey to the rehearsal rooms is about 90 miles. 

WOW that's a bit of a jaunt to rehearse.

[DJpullchord]

Don’t you guys get sick of the songs, running through them again and again?

It’s bad enough gigging, let alone more repetition of rehearsals. 

[seashell]

6 minutes ago, DJpullchord said:

Don’t you guys get sick of the songs, running through them again and again?

It’s bad enough gigging, let alone more repetition of rehearsals. 

Yes, sometimes I do! But I like to get to the point where I can play them without thinking.. almost literally in the dark. Which did come in handy one time when all the lights went off during a gig. Probably only for a few secs, but it seemed like an eternity, and we still kept on playing! 🙂

[dmccombe7]

We only rehearsed every week while we were putting the main set together to get us started. Its a combination of other band commitments and wanting to learn new songs for up-coming gigs ie Xmas songs that we now do a 6hr session every 3-4 weeks altho holidays have thrown things out a bit.

For some odd reason i've been doing some of the same songs for past 18mths since we first started and i still love playing them as part of our 70's Glam Rock show. Having a bit of fun at the gigs and audience interaction thru the singer make gigs that bit more enjoyable compared to just standing in pubs playing the run of the mill same old same old songs.

I guess i just really like the era of songs i'm playing. 

Dave

[steantval]

Usually once a fortnight, we are very lucky that our vocalist has his own very large studio and we can rehearse at his place whenever we need to.

 

[bassfan]

About 4 times a year..... but we are out every week and sometimes throw in a new song or 2 to see if they work.

i was once in band where the band leader (of sorts) wanted weekly rehearsals... it’s too much in my opinion. 

[FinnDave]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

WOW that's a bit of a jaunt to rehearse.

We're spread out between Leeds, Nottingham, London and Oxford (and a few places between) Leicester is close to being the geographic centre, and one of the guys has studios there…what we spend in traveling is compensated by top quality free rehearsal space.

 

[FinnDave]

1 hour ago, DJpullchord said:

Don’t you guys get sick of the songs, running through them again and again?

It’s bad enough gigging, let alone more repetition of rehearsals. 

Every gig we play has a different set list - obviously, songs get repeated but in different version and different order (a lot of them run straight into the next). Keeps us on our toes and the audience interested.

[Crawford13]

13 hours ago, odysseus said:

One session a week 3-4 hours - original material.  Writing and rehearsing new stuff unless we have a gig at the weekend, in which case we run through the set.

My band is pretty much the same as this.

[mrtcat]

Only when we have to learn a first dance request - which is rare now that we charge £150 per song to learn. 

Couldn't be doing with weekly rehearsal.

[BrunoBass]

13 hours ago, DJpullchord said:

Don’t you guys get sick of the songs, running through them again and again?

Yes. 
 

The addition of new songs keeps things interesting but there are some songs that we’ve played at every gig and rehearsal since I joined the band four years ago. We tend not to rehearse those (I could probably play them in my sleep) but even gigging them I’m counting down the seconds til they’re done. But they’re crowd pleasers, so we’ve got to play them.

[Guest oZZma]

twice a week, four hours each. We have some longer "full immersion" reharsals now and then(7-8 hours), when we have the occasion. I would have liked to reharse more, but my drummer is a shift worker, he's still doing the best he can.

[BrunoBass]

15 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I hate being at rehearsals where that jamming crap wastes time and money. If there's no need for it then don't do it. I tend to view rehearsals like work. I'm there to get a job done and sooner its done the quicker we move on.

Exactly this ⬆️

[itu]

We've had a steady day - Thursday at 19oo - when we play together. There is no hassle in trying to find some time to play. It is Thursday. Period. If you can not get there this time it is OK. But no endless threads in email or wassup, just one day and one time. This has worked for 31 years. Same place, same time. No rehearsals in the middle of the summer, but +40 meetings a year.

Another band that tries to play together has LOTS of problems trying to meet once a month. Is it Monday or Saturday? Yes! So which week? Or dear...

[dmccombe7]

12 minutes ago, itu said:

We've had a steady day - Thursday at 19oo - when we play together. There is no hassle in trying to find some time to play. It is Thursday. Period. If you can not get there this time it is OK. But no endless threads in email or wassup, just one day and one time. This has worked for 31 years. Same place, same time. No rehearsals in the middle of the summer, but +40 meetings a year.

Another band that tries to play together has LOTS of problems trying to meet once a month. Is it Monday or Saturday? Yes! So which week? Or dear...

Perfect 

[FuNkShUi]

1 hour ago, mrtcat said:

Only when we have to learn a first dance request - which is rare now that we charge £150 per song to learn. 

Couldn't be doing with weekly rehearsal.

Yeh we have started doing the same. 
It ended up like we were only rehearsing to learn 1 song we would never play again.

[TimR]

What do people do in a 3 hour rehearsal?

Probably time to remind everyone what a practice is and what a rehearsal is. 

Practice takes two forms. Learning the material at home, or going over tricky bits together.

Rehearsal is playing songs from beginning to end to make sure you can all play them. Normally just before a gig. 

If songs aren’t gig ready and assuming you have practiced the arrangements and they work, then the people who can’t play the tunes need to practice their parts at home. No amount of rehearsing the whole band together is going to fix people who haven’t practiced their parts.

Band practice should be limited to targeting only the parts of the songs that need practicing.

Tell him to record a rehearsal on his phone, take it home and listen to them, identify where the problems are and make a hit-list for the next practice.