Band rehearsals / practice - how do you run yours ?

digitalscream

We rehearse every week, and it's generally me in control - we normally have a blast through the set, then work on any sound issues and move on to new songs and writing, tweaks to existing songs or stage ideas.

midlifecrisis

my current band have their own private permanently set up rehearsal room which means they've been lazy and waste a lot of time chatting and pissing about. ive always been of the opinion to learn the stuff at home then get together to rehearse what weve learned, they on the other hand want to just "try" stuff out, im fed up with it so im leaving after 2 months notice

Tom_Brookes

I'm in 2 bands, I think the last time I did a full band rehearsal with either band was some time in December. I know since September my originals band has done more gigs than full practices. My Blues covers band have practiced as the current line up, 4 times and we played a 2 hour set at our first gig the other weekend!

I really do wish people would commit to more practice as both bands are full of talented people so would be shit hot if better prepared! 

koneguitarist

Every year we have a rehearsal, but before hand we all agree which songs to learn(and which versions) and in what key. 

So when we get together, normally in Drummers front room. With no PA and small Backline and brushes or hot rods as opposed to sticks, we talk the songs through and try them twice then move on to next song. 

This way we go for the feel of the song first then tighten up the details up after. If it doesn't work within two attempts we move on. Normally if it's close we stick it straight into a set. 

thomasross20

Jalapeno said:

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 .....

Hahahaha!!

RocknRollDave

not_the_dj said:

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?

i make a point these days of sending out an mp3 of the version we're working from. It's not foolproof - "oh i couldn't open the file on my phone so i just went on youtube and found a live version" - but still...

nickp

I'm glad it is not just me  Actually we've got it worked out now - as you say make sure we all have the same version of the song.  

hotpickups

Sooo been there Bloody annoying I know. I send out links and mp3's if I have them as a point of reference. Invariably we change the key to suit our singer though. Once we play it through we invariably change the format etc. On occasions though some band member announces he hasn't learnt it but being good musicians they can fudge it through to a reasonable standard so we can do it. 

If they couldn't and waste the bands time and money for the rehearsal room they won't be in the band for long

Danny1969

Keys can be an issue too, some people just take the pitch as read and learn Mr Brightside in Db for example, rather than listening to the voicing and suss'ing the songs a semi down

RocknRollDave

Danny1969 said:

Keys can be an issue too, some people just take the pitch as read and learn Mr Brightside in Db for example, rather than listening to the voicing and suss'ing the songs a semi down

Yes yes yes! Good point. Has happened a few times, most recently with One by U2, which I forgot to mention to one of our guys is fretted in A but on the record Edge, as ever, tunes down to Eb, so we wanted to play it in A and he learned it in G#.

We dropped it anyway that night....and he's the kind of muso who could transpose it to any key you like on the fly anyway, but the point remains.

bigjon

Paul_C;485465" said:

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

This is my approach. I don't rehearse the band at all, just issue a spreadsheet 2 weeks before the gig, each song has separate columns for chords, structure, key/original key, tempo, drumbeat, youtube link.

PolarityMan

Danny1969 said:

Keys can be an issue too, some people just take the pitch as read and learn Mr Brightside in Db for example, rather than listening to the voicing and suss'ing the songs a semi down

This is a big problem for us, in our covers set we do a lot of metal so the variety in tunings on the recordings is immense, basically most variations of standard and drop tunings between A and E.

We stick to 2 tunings and transpose for most songs do the fingerings are the same as the original, but there have been various times where we have learned them at pitch but in different tuning to each other. Which isn;t awful as it spreads instrument changes out.

On other occasions though someone will learn it transposed and someone else will learn it to pitch. 

MoANjAm

Dropbox is a good thing to have, to upload the MP3's and get everyone to learn the same version.

In terms of having a band leader, if you want to come across as slick and professional then you need someone who is prepared to stop a song halfway through if something has gone awry otherwise your engraining bad behaviour. Then sort it and play the part that’s wrong again, till its gels. Then play the whole track again. And again. 

And by definition you can only do that if you know your material inside out. one you got it down like that it's so much easier to tweak things.

oktorockto

I made a keyboard player in my band cry once because i wouldn't tell him the chord progression for the song we were practicing in rehearsal. It was a reggae band: the most chords any song had was 4 i think, this one had 2 or 3 and every week I had to tell him the chords and I just got sick of it in the end and refused to tell him. He just burst out crying. He was a heroin addict which didn't help. He's in prison own after stamping on his girlfriend's face, nice guy...

kennedydream1980

We use click tracks in my covers band, mainly for keyboards/synths etc.

Once the track is made up everyone gets a copy sent (with a guide lead vocal, if there are any harmonies to learn the singer will add them onto the track as well ) and a description of the format. Everyone can then rehearse along to the track at home, everyone is responsible for learning their own parts. Me and the other guitarist normally have a brief conversation about who is going to play which part, and if there is a solo who will take it on.

If time permits the song is ran at soundcheck  otherwise it goes straight into the set.

cbilly22

Emp_Fab said:

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.

Benevolent Dictatorship!

I've often found that the guy that knows the material best or is playing well within his comfort zone is the one who leads rehearsals as it's easier for them to pay attention to the whole sound while others may need to concentrate on their own parts more. You also need to be brave enough to put your hand up to stop a song if things are not right but at the same time not driving everyone crazy by stopping songs for the tiniest thing. It's a fine line and it doesn't always make you popular but if you have like minded people they will usually see the worth in it.

You also have to draw the line between 'in the moment' mistakes and on going issues. eg, if one guy is always bang on but slips up or has an off night it's not really a problem. However, if they consistently make the same mistakes or the mistakes are clearly down to laziness or complacency you need to highlight it. How and when you highlight it very much depends on how well you know each other and peoples individual personalities. If you aren't sure how to bring something up there and then, hold your tongue and think about it. It can be a bit of a juggling act but if you are all on the same page and grown up about it it's usually ok. We've had an unchanged line up for 3 years, the same 5 guys from the first rehearsal so it's a lot easier nowadays.