Band rehearsals / practice - how do you run yours ?

Emp_Fab

How do you run your rehearsal sessions ?  I'm trying to push my current lot to be certain they know the songs inside out before we waste time lugging all the gear into the practice hall, but it doesn't seem to be working.  There still seems to be uncertainties over the song formats (we're doing covers).  The other guitarist seems lost in several songs, the singer doesn't seem certain of the formats re the lyrics.

I don't want to get all schoolteacher on them but from what I can see, it's all down to them not fully learning the songs in advance.  The problem is then that I end up spending so much time playing musical director as well as 'bandfuhrer' that I don't get to concentrate on my own playing.

How do you run yours ? Is anyone in particular in control ?  How do you deal with people who are plainly playing the wrong thing ? etc.

monquixote

It's rehearsal not "learning the songs time"

John_P

monquixote said:

It's rehearsal not "learning the songs time"

+1     I've been known to get a bit stroppy and point out how unfair on everyone else it is if someone isn't prepared - often a sign of not being that interested in a song and it would be a lot easier to just say you don't like it.   If I can find the time to learn songs, everyone else can.

Having said that - in one of my bands, I email everyone an mp3 and a break down of the chords/structure just to make life simple. I'm going to make notes as I transcribe so its no big deal to pass them on .

PolarityMan

Depends what we've got coming up, if we've got a long gig coming up, like a 3 hour one we'll spend a lot fo time going over material, tightening up parts that need it etc. Similarly if we're about to record we'll practice the material we're going to record and work on tiny details and stuff like that.

If we have nothing up coming then we're more relaxed and generally jam and doss around a bit more. Im usually the who gets bored of the pointless doodling first and either pulls out a section that might become a song and work on it in a more structured way or suggest we play a few songs in a row.

RocknRollDave

Sometimes you have to have someone who is musical leader, to send out chord sheets/ structures/ mp3s in advance and to call out the changes in the rehearsal room if things are going awry.
I'm very much in the "DO YOUR BLOODY HOMEWORK!" camp, but there are the odd bits you can't quite get your head around sometimes that need a bit of work.

lloyd

In my band we go over tunes in our set list if there's a gig coming up and we're a bit more focussed, if no gig for a while then we'll jam new ideas and go over our newer songs. We're an originals band though.

If you're the band leader then maybe you need to be the one to send out the mp3's/chord sheets etc then if people don't learn them you could bollock them?

Bands almost always need someone to guide/bully the other ones-it can't be a democracy IMO-everyone has their job to do but sometimes you'll get a few coasters. 

Getting together with the band is either a rehearsal or a practice. It depends on the band too-if they just think they're pissing about and happy to do that but you're not then maybe you're in the wrong band or they are?

thomasross20

3 hours once per week. We do try to learn them in advance but there are always parts to be worked out. If we've a gig coming up we'll maybe do a second day one week. Our bassist is the leader but everybody gets a fair say. Nothing worse than spending time learning a song then get it dropped or find out nobody's learned it. Fortunately haven't really had that experience so far!

Roland

We rehearse every week, and run through a selection of songs in our repertoire to keep them tight.  Sometimes we re-arrange one on the fly, or try different harmonies.

When we learn new material then we each listen to it on Spotify or Youtube.  Live performances are particularly good for this.  I download the lyrics and knock up a chord chart and preliminary arrangement. 95% of transcriptions on the internet are faulty, so I often work from scratch and use Youtube to see what the guitarist was actually playing.  If I notice any mistakes in the lyrics then I correct them, but generally leave them to the singer.  We use this to check the key. Our singer has a wide range, but sometimes we need to move away from the original key.  If there's a defined keyboard part then I might score this out.  At rehearsal we run through the song a few times, trying out different approaches and harmonies, and agreeing the final arrangement.  Some guitar solos I learn.  Sometimes I insist that we play the song a few times before I decide what the solo should be like, then I go home and work one out.

stickyfiddle

In my old covers unit, it was very much learn at home, polish in rehearsal, focussing on cues, timings, starts, ends, vocal harmonies and any medley-type bits. Occasionally there would be a bit of "how does this go again? I thought it was double verse, single chorus, solo, double chorus" and then we'd get the mp3 on to check, or just decide ourselves how we were going to do it, but that was never more than 10 or 15 minutes per rehearsal tbh.

I don't think I could work with anyone who wasn't happy to go through that process, having done whatever the agreed homework is beforehand. Certainly not if it was a regular gigging band playing for money.

Jalapeno

PolarityMan said:

Depends what we've got coming up, if we've got a long gig coming up, like a 3 hour one we'll spend a lot fo time going over material, tightening up parts that need it etc. Similarly if we're about to record we'll practice the material we're going to record and work on tiny details and stuff like that.

This. And rather than a long gig - any gig

It's ok if there's no immediate performance to use a session to collectively learn a song.  As long as all are up for it.  There's no point doing note bashing if you only meet twice a year, might as well have a larf with Blues in A

My first band wasn't a covers one and the writer would turn up with a half-baked chord sheet, that we'd have to copy by hand, with lots of time signature changes un-annotated and then expect the rest of us to be immediately note perfect - wasn't fun at all (basically an ego trip for the writer to demonstrate how great he was and how crap we were).

robinbowes

RocknRollDave said:

Sometimes ALWAYS you have to have someone who is musical leader...

Band democracies don't work, IME.

You need someone who is in charge.

R.

DesVegas

If we are learning a new song we expect not to have it right until we have gone through it three times .. 

EricTheWeary

It depends! I have done two rehearsals and then a paying gig with a band never to be seen again, everyone learned stuff at home and we ran through the set, dumped a song that clearly wasn't going to work and clarified any confusion ( although still not the tightest gig TBH).
In my pub rock band the rehearsals were the point of the band really with gigs a vague distant goal so everyone just had to be familiar with the song to be learned and we spent some time on working through it. I really enjoyed that but the project collapsed under its lack of momentum.
For the new band we agreed a set list and are working through it. Learned 4 songs, IIRC, at home for the first rehearsal and have added a couple each week since. It isn't too serious but we are making progress nonetheless. Rehearsals are two hours - set up, play couple of familiar songs for level and warm up, go through new songs, fag/ tea/ urine break and go back over what we struggled with. It's fairly low level stuff but it is moving on. Everyone has day jobs/kids so learning a dozen new songs each week isn't on the cards. I don't think this would cut it for a pro or semi pro band but I am not playing guitar to pay the mortgage so I want to enjoy it.
I think for any band you do need some kind of MD. So, this currently seems to be me, sorting out the set list, reminders of what to learn, I plot out structures on a bit of paper ( verse, chorus, solo type stuff as this is where we usually get lost), send a link with which version we have in mind ( or two versions often eg can we do it like this but take the ending from this - although I'm playing 3 chord ska and reggae songs it ain't Mozart) and that kind of thing.
I think the other thing about pace is that the singer will probably dictate it to some extent. Learning guitar parts is usually quicker than lyrics. We are supposed to have learned Do the Dog by the Specials for tonight. Complete bastard lyrically and far too fast to sing off a lyric sheet so our singist will have to have it 90% down before we first rehearse it and I just had to learn a three chord guitar riff, short solo section and will wing the other solo bit.

Paul_C

I rarely bother with rehearsals these days - even last summer for a dep gig with a old band where there were two new songs I'd never played before

I do all my work at home on my own and rely on the rest of the band knowing what they're doing

Danny1969

I like everyone to know their parts spot on and if they turn up and don't know their parts then they probably wouldn't last long. I listen to everything and I like all the parts to be as close to the record as possible and that includes the drums, if the drummers playing the wrong part then it's gonna be pointed out and rectified. 

I don't like cheat sheets as you can't use em live due to the lights and lasers. It's gotta be stored in the old grey matter as soon as possible. And there's no music stands allowed anyway, 

Phil_aka_Pip

I very much prefer the learn at home and rehearse in the practice room approach.
However our band leader doesn't hand out proper lead sheets. He gives out lyric listings with guitar chords written above (sometimes the wrong) syllable with naff all timing info on it, which is unreadable. The bass player usually knows how the timing goes, so he helps me add barlines. Learning from youtube is not all that satisfactory as the bandleader's arrangements are often different to the original.
My parts are usually improvised from the guidance on the chord chart but over the last 6 weeks have started to settle down into something fairly predictable. I'm trying now not to rely on having the crib sheet in front of me, but I confess to still needing it because just telling me the title of a song doesn't cause automatic recall of the key, time signature, tempo, etc. Our bass player also plays in a big band and he's used to the idea of being given sheets full of dots that he's supposed to sight read.

PolarityMan

Jalapeno said:

PolarityMan said:

Depends what we've got coming up, if we've got a long gig coming up, like a 3 hour one we'll spend a lot fo time going over material, tightening up parts that need it etc. Similarly if we're about to record we'll practice the material we're going to record and work on tiny details and stuff like that.

This. And rather than a long gig - any gig

It's only cos for the long ones we do half covers and we don't play some of the covers that often. For originals sets under say an hour we are always pretty up to speed so don't really need the "focussed" practices. 

not_the_dj

Telepathy and intuition never worked for us, so we agree a list upfront, then all go off and learn them before getting together.

It's at that point when you realise the singer listened to the single edit and I listened to the album version, or all of a sudden the singer wants to change the key.

Good fun this being in a band lark ain't it?

jd0272

As long as we're all listening to the same version it's expected we have our bits learned for rehearsal.

We used to practice once pw, but stopped that in Oct. We've just ploughed through four gigs of late without rehearsal, so it seems to be working. We'll now only book the room if we need to run through a 'block' of new stuff or if something's a bit tricky and we're not confident of gigging it.

Jalapeno

Also a bit tricky when the drummer is listening to nothing but Genesis Live in Europe, and the other 3 are listening to Ziggy Stardust .....

ESBlonde

I think that doing their homework for them makes them very lazy. Pick the two/three songs for the rehearsal in advance and agree the version (use CDs or dropbox to link the actual arrangement). Everyone should turn up knowing their own part and the arrangement, it's not for you to tell tham what it is. Now sometimes you might have a different chord to someone else or negotiate on the actual bass note at a certain point, otherwise you are doing the song as provided. People will respect the act of revision better if it's their own work.
Always start the session with one or two well liked numbers from the set to chill the groove and then go over any 'accidents' that occurred at the last gig (bad endings, false starts, forgotten middle eights etc). Polish last times new material with a run through to get familiar.
Then approach new song one, if after a couple of runs it is apparent someone is not up to speed find out what the problem is. We all have bad weeks when the goldfish has died or the gas has been disconnected or the laminate flooring been laid. People who have a succession of excuses will be making those excuses to the whole band and wasting their time. If a song doesn't work for the band (it happens) or requires the arrangement to be reviewed now is the time for action.
Repeat the above for song Two.
Repeat the above for song three(?)
Decide which material will be on the agenda for the next rehearsal.
Run through each new song once to polish/familiarise.
Run through an old favourite to finish on a high.

Pack the gear and retire to the bar.