How To Have Productive Rehearsals

 

By

 

JOSIP PESUT

(www.josippesut.com)

 

 

I am sure that anyone who started a band and feels unsatisfied with the result of rehearsals will find something useful in this article, since I wrote it from the experience of having 2, and even 3 bands at the same time, and many rehearsals. For some time there were always some ups and downs with rehearsing, but with the time I managed to ensure that the rehearsals I had were always as productive as they possibly could be.

 

Before the rehearsal

 

You should learn to play all the parts or songs that you have planned for rehearsals along with a metronome by yourself. Be a self-critic, to avoid making mistakes that you won't be able to fix on the spot later. Prepare all your ideas and write them out or record them, and even send them to your band peers, so they will be prepared for what you're about to work on. If you have some solo spots, make sure that you don't look for notes or options of how to play them at rehearsal. That really should be done at home. Make a loop of chord progressions you have to solo on and practice with that. The only exception to this should be a complexly constructed solo that involves all band.

 

Also before rehearsal always:

• Ensure that you get enough sleep the night before.
• Warm up your fingers.
• Don't be late, especially if you pay for rehearsal time.
• Have respect for your band members' time and they will respect yours.
• Take care of all important phone calls and potential distractions before entering the rehearsal room.
• Make sure that you have taken care of other basic stuff as well, such as changing strings etc.
• Be sober.

 

During the rehearsal

 

The worst thing that could happen at a rehearsal is when someone arrives in a really bad mood. It reflects on everyone else, and the music itself. If something is irritating you, find out why, and calm down. Don't snap at your band peers, because they might not be the source of your problem. Negative energy can be a real band-breaker.

 

Set up your sound. I suggest you study the physical nature of the sound of your instrument, and learn how to make a healthy sound for rehearsals. Don't allow yourselves to play in the noise. And make sure you don't play too loud. You must have a good mix so everyone can hear themselves and each other well. Often more noise occurs with bad equilizer settings than with loud playing. Be informed about making a good sound setting or have someone set it up for you. Have this problem fixed in the beginning otherwise it will drive you to deafness and uncreativity.

 

When you're working on your new stuff, be open to everyone's opinion, even if your're about to play the song you wrote yourself. Have everyone put a part of themselves in the song and listen to everyone's ideas, because they just might provide something to the song that you might have missed or hadn't thought of yourself. When some band members have to work on the part they play together and that doesn't involve you, don't make noise with your instrument, you'll distract them a lot, and it can get on a nerve easily. Rather think about other ideas you can provide for the song.

 

Always. ALWAYS stop whatever you're doing if you get a really great idea, and write it out or record it immediately, because no matter how good it might be, there is an enormously big chance that you will forget it. Don't allow yourself to fall into that trap. I lost few ideas that way, and I totally regret it. It is also advisable to record your whole rehearsal in some way, especially if you're writing new songs. You might find lots of potential material in those recordings.

 

When you have fully practiced out a song with your band, and it is technically ready, don't keep on playing it while standing still like a statue. Get into it, jump, move, dance, play with your guitar behind your back, play with your guitar on the floor, play with your teeth, with your tounge, whatever. You should get to the point where you actually don't even think about what you play.

 

When you get to playing live, especailly if you play energetic music, there is a certain problem you may encounter if you don't heed my advice. The problem is that when you play, you turn the crowd on, and when you turn the crowd on, they turn you on even more. So you want to do all the theatrics that you should've done and practiced at rehearsals, but you won't be able to do them, or you will make tons of mistakes trying to do them.

 

Turn on your lights and get a small light show for your rehearsals. Feel and go into it like you're on stage, in front of thousands of people! You'll find this very interesting and amusing, and it will spare you making bad mistakes on the stage. Even make a small choreography of your live shows if necessary, and go into details. Think what might happen on stage, and try to work out any problems in rehearsals, before unwanted consequences occur on stage.

 

To get the best out of your rehearsals:

• Don't waste time.
• Don't go into senseless jams.
• Don't have a cigarette break every 5 minutes.
• Don't get stuck in some non-music related chat for too long.
• Don't take long breaks.
• Concentrate - don't let your mind wander. Be there 120%, or at least 100%, and you'll notice the difference.

 

After the rehearsal

 

If you have the time, go for a drink with your peers and talk about everything you've done at rehearsal. Review all your ideas, and talk about what you are going to do next. Give yourselves some direction for the next rehearsal. Resolve any problems that exist between band members now, and not during rehearsals. And have a good time, establish great personal relationships. If you enjoy being with your band outside the band, you will enjoy it even more when you're in the band. And everyone who'll hear or see the band will notice that, and it plays a big part in success.

 

 

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