So fed up!

[ubit]

3 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

 

Sorry, but this is tripe. Practicing/rehearsing something so you know it instinctively is what makes you get it right.

 

 

Get a grip. You learn from your mistakes. Clear enough?

[TimR]

5 minutes ago, ubit said:

 

 

Get a grip. You learn from your mistakes. Clear enough?

Technically when it comes to music, the only thing you learn is which parts you need to practice.

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[bassman7755]

26 minutes ago, ubit said:

 

 

Get a grip. You learn from your mistakes. Clear enough?

 

To explain what said before a bit further, what I've observed in the past is that bands than don't practice/rehearse (at all or not particular songs which "everyone knows inside out") experience "drift" rather than actual mistakes i.e. the songs change over time and usually for the worst. Nuances get lost, songs degrade from having their own unique groove and edge to song-x-played-in-the-generic-style-of-the-band.

 

I imagine at some point we've all seen a really boring covers bands where the chords and melody change but not much else throughout the whole set. Of course that's an extreme example but a lot of bands suffer from this to some degree. Its a trap I've fallen into myself thinking "oh this song is so easy I/we don't need to practice it" and then having actually listened to the original having not done so for years sometime I'm actually quite shocked at how much essence of it has been lost and how much a travesty of it our version of it has become.

Edited October 27, 2021 by bassman7755

[Doddy]

40 minutes ago, Bassfinger said:

Merely adequate may be ok for your outfit, all power to you.  Nevertheless, we feel our audience deserve the very best we can give them, and there is no substitute, nowt, nothing, nada, for pratice when it comes to delivering excellence. 

Being 'merely adequate' has nothing to do with not having regular rehearsals.  Like I said in an earlier post, the bands that I play with who are the busiest have never had a rehearsal for as long as I've been with them. It's not like they are playing pubs either- it's nearly all decent venues or theatres. It also becomes difficult to rehearse a band when it's members are spread around the country, so a quick run through of any new stuff at soundcheck and it's ready to go. If you have good players in the band, it doesn't take much to get things right.

[TimR]

9 minutes ago, bassman7755 said:

I imagine at some point we've all seen a really boring covers bands where the chords and melody change but not much else throughout the whole set. Of course that's an extreme example but a lot of bands suffer from this to some degree.

 

I'd hazard a guess that those bands never heard of dynamics internal or external. If you're playing with good musicians that should never happen.

 

Songs evolving is why covers bands are popular. Otherwise just put a CD on.

Edited October 27, 2021 by TimR

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Muzz]

42 minutes ago, bassman7755 said:

 

To explain what said before a bit further, what I've observed in the past is that bands than don't practice/rehearse (at all or not particular songs which "everyone knows inside out") experience "drift" rather than actual mistakes i.e. the songs change over time and usually for the worst. Nuances get lost, songs degrade from having their own unique groove and edge to song-x-played-in-the-generic-style-of-the-band.

 

I imagine at some point we've all seen a really boring covers bands where the chords and melody change but not much else throughout the whole set. Of course that's an extreme example but a lot of bands suffer from this to some degree. Its a trap I've fallen into myself thinking "oh this song is so easy I/we don't need to practice it" and then having actually listened to the original having not done so for years sometime I'm actually quite shocked at how much essence of it has been lost and how much a travesty of it our version of it has become.

 

I can see that this might be something to worry about in a tribute band, but I've always seen 'drift' as 'interpretation', and nuances can be added (and groove and edge, too), and it could be argued that the more a song is practiced by the same bunch of musicians, the staler it gets.

 

I've listened to lots of songs we cover, and thought 'Well, I don't play it quite like that any more', but if I'm happy with the result, then that's all good. Very often, my band will play a song by a band that has more musicians, or the original has overdubs of more guitars, or keys, or biiiig backing vocals, or even brass sections; how do you keep nuances like that in the first place, without having all the musicians? (See 'tribute band' above, for the exception).

 

Lots of negativity in your post (drift..nuances get lost...degrade...generic...essence been lost...travesty'), I don't think that's anything to do with rehearsals, more to do with the musicians. If the musicians aren't bringing anything to the song, it's more to do with them than any amount of rehearsing...

 

You might be overthinking this...

Edited October 27, 2021 by Muzz

[Supernaut]

43 minutes ago, Jus Lukin said:

There's a strange undercurrent of passive aggression here. Need lots of rehearsals? You must be rubbish! Don't rehearse? You must be rubbish!

 

I.e. The way I do it is best and everyone else is wrong! 

[bassman7755]

2 hours ago, TimR said:

 

I'd hazard a guess that those bands never heard of dynamics internal or external. If you're playing with good musicians that should never happen.

True, there an ability level above which this doesn't happen so much but that accounts for a fairly small minority of players and bands in my experience.

[neepheid]

I'm happy to accept other people's take on the value or otherwise of rehearsals/practice as long as I'm not looked down upon for having an alternative opinion on the subject.

 

I like rehearsals and I find them beneficial. I speak only for myself. Don't like them, or don't see the need for them, absolutely fine also.

[Dan Dare]

6 hours ago, ubit said:

Get a grip. You learn from your mistakes. Clear enough?

Oh really? That's why nobody ever does the same stupid things over and over again, then...

[gjones]

On 25/10/2021 at 13:57, Trueno said:

Also no.

Here’s how it works for me…

Everyone practises their stuff at home until they absolutely nail it.

Then we get together rehearse until the band nails it.

Then we gig.

 

Does that always happen? No… but you can always hope.

I joined a band just before covid and spent 18 months “nailing it”. Now the band seems to have morphed into some sort of social club. 

 

 

I know the feeling.

[lozkerr]

On 25/10/2021 at 16:49, neepheid said:

In my experience, weekly rehearsals are vital for staying sharp and tight.  No amount of solo swotting can make up for the feel of how things hang together when we all play together.

 

This ^^^^ During lockdown, we picked another fifteen songs to add to the repertoire and diligently beavered away learning our parts. We all found some parts dead easy and others a tad more challenging. My own doddle was the Cure's In Between Days - easy peasy bass part but a toughie for the drummer. But when we were able to get together again, everything that was as tight as a gnat's chuff against the original recordings fell apart when we tried to put it all together. 

 

We sorted it all out of course, but there was no way we could have gigged those songs without ensemble rehearsal. Getting to know each other's idiosyncrasies helped to iron out and anticipate problems, plus having regular rehearsals - we rehearse every fortnight with the expectation that everyone will put in the necessary effort outwith those evenings - has planted the band in everyone's mind as a regular commitment.

 

[ubit]

9 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

Oh really? That's why nobody ever does the same stupid things over and over again, then...

 

 

 Most normal people learn from their mistakes.

[Dan Dare]

3 hours ago, ubit said:

Most normal people learn from their mistakes.

 

Always assuming they even know they've made mistakes in the first place. 

[Nail Soup]

I'm undergoing some culture shock in this area.

My old band (now on long term hiatus after two members left) used to practice regularly and it was expected to turn up having only semi-learned the song. We'd fix the rest in practice room, sometimes could take a while. It didn't help that 3 of us sang both lead and backing vocals and with two guitars we never knew in advance who would do which vocal part or guitar part. That was worked out in the practice room.

 

My new band which I joined just before lockdown and is now re-activating have only occasional rehearsals. We had one 4 hour rehearsal before lockdown at the end of which the BL said "see you at the first gig"! ( but there were no gigs due to covid) Big change for me. So we all learn our stuff at home and polish up in a single session. It helps that its one vocalist (me), one guitar (BL), one bass and one drums.  

 

Both bands are punk and new wave covers.

[Marvin]

If I were in a band playing the same set week in week out I'd not feel it at all necessary to have practices or rehearsals. My problem is I've got a shockingly bad memory. I have to play something A LOT to remember it to the point where I'm confident I can just play it at the drop of a hat. Dakota by the Stereophonics is probably one of the simplest songs you could play, but I couldn't tell you what the 4 (or is it 5?) notes you play on the bass are for it, I've not played it for...some time.

 

The thing that niggles me are the 'amateur' bands (who think they're professional) that are so cockey that they boast that they never need practices as 'they make the songs their own'. What this actually  means is they can't, or can't be arsed to, play the song properly, or to properly arrange their own version. An example of this is a band I was asked to dep for recently, the drummer of which I was in a band with a few years ago. I've seen them, they play rock covers in a rock style...but because the guitarist/singer can't play any of the guitar solos they just don't bother with them. Take then Go Your Own Way by Fleetwood Mac. The drummer told me that the guitar solo part was done a capella with just bass and drum...I have no idea what that even meant. They could get away with it, to some extent, when it was an all female trio due to the large number of dirty old men and leches at venues. However, now the original bass player has left, the remaining two have had to resort to asking grotty old farts like me to play bass...I don't think the attraction value is there anymore