Before you book a practice room, here are a few things you may want to think about.
The rehearsal process is the backbone of any band, orchestra or group performance. For every gig you go to see, while the band may only be on stage for an hour, many, many more hours have been put in during rehearsals to make the performance a success.
Effective rehearsal management is crucial for getting the best out of the time spent rehearsing. Inexperienced musicians and bands often waste many hours by not managing their time effectively. Planning rehearsals, setting targets for what is to be achieved out of each rehearsal and sticking to deadlines all help the rehearsal process run more smoothly. We rehearse to:
Develop songs into band compositions
Get songs up to performance standard
Experiment with new creative ideas
Bond as musicians within a group
If you want to be a member of a brilliant world-class band, then what you need to do is practice and rehearse. Practice your instrument at home and get shit hot. Make sure the other band members do the same, or fire them from the band and replace them with musicians who are equally as determined as you.
In the paper The Art of Doing: Geographies of music, suggested: “Rehearsals assemble the elements of a musical event, offering an experimental space where sounds are put together and taken apart, played with, argued over" (p.874, Society and Space, 2007).
Preparing for the practice room
Warm up before the rehearsal. Always remember to warm up before a rehearsal. This will ensure that you are ready to rock the second you get there. 20 minutes or so of warm-up before you leave home for the rehearsal are just what you need. If three band members have to wait for one to warm up, the efficiency of the rehearsal is already in danger, so don’t forget to warm-up and this way you will be able to enjoy rehearsals and to make the most out of them.
Preparing for your music rehearsal means arriving on time. If you are late, you will simply annoy all the other band members by making them wait for you. Being on a time is definitely a great mood setter. Plan the days of your rehearsals accordingly and do everything you can to make sure you get there on time! Start setting up the gear the minute you get there! This is the best and most efficient thing to do.
By doing this, you will be able to start the actual rehearsal as soon as possible. If you know that your gear takes a few minutes to warm up, you should even consider arriving early. Valve amplifiers for instance change their tone as they warm up and you will usually have to wait for at least 20 minutes for your valve amplifier to warm up properly. If you know something takes time to set up, try to get there a few minutes early and get it done!
Hired musicians
Rehearsals are not just limited to band members but are also an effective way of working with hired musicians who may not be familiar with the songs. For example, it makes no sense to have backing singers at the rehearsal while you are going over the arrangement with the rhythm section. Being respectful of others’ time will make them fresher and more productive when they come in.
Build from the bottom up. Rehearsing the rhythm section (bass & drums) first will allow you to really focus on their individual parts. You may hear problems you didn't know existed because they were covered up by the arrangement or the sound of other instruments. Once you have sorted these issues out, you can now add the additional musicians and work with them in a more focused manner.
The outcome of rehearsing your band should be that you are ready to perform a live gig. It doesn't matter if you’re playing support for a band at your local pub, you want to pull off your gig in style. Gigging will improve your skills and you will become a tighter live unit. Another benefit of rehearsing your live set is that you will be better prepared to record an affordable demo.
Exactly how do you rehearse? Is there a best way of doing it? And what do you do to draw the line between effective, efficient rehearsal and mere messing around? First things first...
Band leader
Although bands seem to be cooperative and collaborative associations, in reality, they can work more effectively if someone is in charge of how the music is arranged and performed. An additional benefit is that the music can be pushed in a more creative direction than if it is allowed too much 'organic' growth.
Discipline needs to be encouraged and sometimes it needs to be imposed. So, who is going to be the band's enforcer? Well, it depends whose band it is. If you're like 99% of gigging bands out there, you won't have agreed this and written down the agreement yet. Now is a good time to think about this. Whose band is it? And who are merely band members?
In general, the person who wrote the song should be in charge of rehearsing a song. When a band member introduces a new song to the band and the band members agree to play it, that person can have the responsibility to prepare and distribute a chord and lyric sheet.
If there are multiple writers in the band, then they should take charge of their own songs. If the song is a cover of someone else's material, then the person who brought it to the band's attention should take charge. A good leader will accept the suggestions of the band members and incorporate them into his vision for the song.
Let's assume it's your band, because you have the van or the practice room, or perhaps you write the songs. Whichever way, it seems that you have the role of encouraging and, if necessary, enforcing rehearsal discipline to get things done.
The first thing you will need to do is to get rid of anything that wastes time. When the band members meet for a rehearsal, clearly they will want to chit-chat. They can do this while they are setting the equipment up. If necessary, start the rehearsal with a cup of tea so that everyone is fully chit-chatted before you start, and then once you have started rehearsing there is no more chit-chat - not until the break, and then no more after that until the end. The simple management of chit-chat will double your effective rehearsal time and strengthen its intensity.
Goals
There are many ways bands rehearse, and how you rehearse may vary, depending on your goals - both long and short term. Clarity on your rehearsal goals will help clarify your band’s collective sense of direction, and help you all get on the same page. Bad rehearsal practices will likely lead some members to feeling that this time is unproductive and that the band is going in the wrong direction. Good rehearsal practices will bring your band to its highest level, and everyone will have a clear sense of what you’re working towards.
Planning your rehearsal
Planning is the key to productive rehearsals. Everyone in your band should arrive ready to contribute. Every tune needs an advocate, and if that’s your role, you should distribute charts or recordings in advance, so everyone has time beforehand to work out a part that’s appropriate for their instrument. Communicate your rehearsal goals in advance by circulating a list describing what you want to accomplish.
Conduct the rehearsal according to the schedule. Strive to begin practicing right on time with a group warm-up. Use the schedule as a guide, but make sure to attune yourself to the band's needs. Allocate extra time to sections that need work, while spending less time on better-sounding sections. If you are also acting as a lead performer, make sure to take control of each song's direction. The band should respond to cues from the lead performer, not the other way around.
A musician described his rehearsal schedule on the Talkbass web forum: We almost always spent the last five minutes of rehearsal agreeing on the agenda for the following rehearsal. One member followed up with a written agenda emailed to the others later that night or the following day. This took some planning and discipline. Often I would have to email mp3 copies of a song I wanted us to learn to the other members 10 days before rehearsal so that we could agree to learn it, put it on the agenda and distribute the chords and lyrics sheet at the end of the prior rehearsal. It actually helped reduce disputes about new songs. Most people won't do that kind of planning and prepare a recording and a chords and lyrics sheet more than a week in advance unless they really want to learn and perform the song.
Obviously these kinds of processes require a collective commitment among band members, and they need to be modified to fit the peculiarities of individual circumstances. They can also be simplified if your band is a leader-with-sidemen rather than a partnership. And if being cool and laid-back musicians is more important than agreeing on a few methods to make your music easier to learn as well as sound better, you'll never agree on these suggestions anyway.
Productive rehearsals depend on everyone having respect for everyone else’s time. Arrive prepared, organize your session, and focus on the business at hand. Have clearly defined goals that support your band’s overall goals. Good rehearsals are key to your band’s success, so be protective of this special time, and be deliberate in making it productive.
Planning your time
To help you create a realistic plan after about three hours it’s time to stop rehearsing. In a three-hour session you can expect to be able to work up two or possibly three new tunes. If you must get through more material than that, take at least a half hour break between three-hour sessions. Everyone should break at least for a few minutes every hour or so. Singers and wind players require more frequent breaks.
Overplaying can lead them to injury, which can takes weeks or longer to heal. Let them sit out or mark (play quietly, leaving out notes), if the rest of the band wants to press on, specify two different times for the rehearsal: the time when the space will become available for setup and the “downbeat” or start time, when the band should be ready to begin playing. Anyone who needs extra time up front should arrive early.
Drummers need extra time to set up, as will whoever is recording the session. Acoustic string instruments (guitars, banjos, mandolins, acoustic basses) need time to adjust to the room conditions so that their tuning stabilizes. Brass players need some time to warm up their lips. Everyone should be aware of how much time they need before the rehearsal begins, and should plan accordingly, so that they are not intruding on other band members’ time.
Some bands like to begin rehearsals by jamming on an easy groove over a blues or other simple form, or by playing a tune you all know well. Warm up your ax and your fingers. Musically, say hello to your bandmates. Do this for fifteen minutes or so, and then get down to business. This is fun, so beware of jamming for too long at the expense of accomplishing more critical business.
Be sure to have some drinks and snacks on hand, to keep people from wandering away from the premises and taking too much time in getting back. No alcohol, please, unless having fun making noise is more important to your band than doing focused, productive and thoughtful work.
Have you ever thought about how you’re using the rehearsal time you’re buying? Probably not. Have you ever done the following:
Gone for a cigarette break? (15 min)
Had to wait for the guitarist to learn a lead solo while the rest of you have a cigarette break? (30 mins)
Spent time playing with effects settings? (20 mins)
Restrung your bass / guitar (20 mins)
Waiting for the vocal to find and download lyrics on their phone (5 mins)
Gone out to buy stuff and drink/eat it? (30 mins)
Talking about your personal problems (20 mins)
If all these distractions take place during one rehearsal, that's 2 hours 20 minutes. When you have 3 hours of rehearsal time every week, but you spend more than half the time learning parts / playing around with settings / trying to be heard over the guitarist “testing” their distortions / having cigarette breaks every 20 mins, etc – it will take you TWO weeks to have ONE weeks worth of rehearsal. And it’s cost you twice as much for that one rehearsal too.
You may also find the band members becoming frustrated with that one member that is the cause of the waste of time and, after kicking them out, will have to start from scratch to bring them up to speed. So it makes a lot of sense to be prepared when turning up to rehearsals and be prepared to work solidly through a majority of the rehearsal time.
Record your sessions
Some bands like to record the whole session, and others prefer to record just the “final performances” of each tune. You don’t have to get too fancy. Just a general room mic or two and a laptop is fine. You just want a record of your arrangement and groove decisions to give everyone something to practice with afterwards.
Ideally, you should distribute these recordings to everyone in the band shortly after the rehearsal. Recording to a computer and converting to mp3 makes distributing files easy. If recording is your responsibility, set up the recording gear before the band shows up. The goal is to make productive use of everyone’s time, so don’t let the recording process get in the way of this.
Playing live is your best rehearsal
When you prepare with as much intensity as you play live, you will be able to book time in a recording studio and walk away with a demo worthy of getting a gig. However, it is important not to assume everything is going to run smoothly during rehearsal. If you feel the songs are starting to lose a bit of life, book a gig before going in to record.
The energy of the crowd and performing on stage will inspire spirited performances. All the technical issues you worked on in rehearsal will show up in the dynamics of the performance.
It is a good way to prime the attitude you will be looking for in the recording studio and deal with lacklustre performances.
Maintaining momentum
If interest is waning for a particular song, change to another. This will refresh interest so you can revisit it later with a fresh attitude.
If a musician is struggling with a part, it is best to either simplify it or they work it out in their own time. This will limit the frustration of the other musicians.
The pressure of time and money in the recording studio can easily lead to getting something "recorded" instead of something "special".
Rehearsals and live performances prior to making studio recordings allow the band to perfect their sound and songs. By working out all the performance matters, you will be better prepared to deal with the recording studio environment.
Band rehearsals will help:
Musicians learn the song arrangement
Establish the best tempo for each song
Focus on individual parts and the way individual instruments work together
Find the best instrument, tone or sound for each part
Get creative input from the musicians to help enhance the song
Determine any additional resources that might be necessary for an upcoming recording
Create a reference demo so each part can be referenced in a recording session
Health & Safety
Observing health & safety guidelines pervades our everyday lives. So it is no surprise advice on protecting your hearing has been drawn up. Guidelines produced by the British organisation Sound Advice recommend the following health & safety actions can be taken:
Risk Assessment: It is important musicians can hear each other without excessive loudness. Carry out a noise risk assessment and ensure exposure to sound is reduced as much as possible during rehearsals. There are various ways to achieve this.
Use a suitable venue: Make sure the practice room is suitable for rehearsal. Wherever possible use a purpose-built and acoustically treated practice room. Using a larger space might mean noise exposure is reduced. Rooms with low ceilings and reflective parallel walls result in excessive noise and reverberation. Where possible, use a space with more height and increase the separation between players more than there will be in the performance venue. Aim for at least 17m3 per person with a ceiling height of at least 7m. This will generally provide sufficient volume for noise levels to be maintained at acceptable levels.
Mixture of repertoire: Schedule a variety of loud and quiet music during a rehearsal to reduce the overall exposure. Try and allocate noisy instruments and passages into separate rehearsals.
Quieter rehearsal levels: Aim to rehearse at a quieter overall level unless the group is trying to achieve a 'balance' in the actual performance venue (soundcheck). Limit the time spent when trying to get a balance before returning to the quieter rehearsal level. When repeating sections to iron out problems, musicians should try to play quietly, except for those who need to be heard at louder volume levels. Try to avoid rehearsing when extraneous noise is increasing the overall exposure to noise.
Time-out: Exposure to noise can induce high stress levels in individuals. Consider allowing time-out for individual musicians and crew by letting them to leave the rehearsal for a short time if they are feeling stressed by the noise. It might also mean the seating position of one or more performers needs to be reassessed. Ensure non-essential people, such as riggers or cleaners, and musicians who are not rehearsing, are excluded from the rehearsal.
Hearing protection: Some players who might find it difficult to perform using hearing protection can be comfortable using it during rehearsals. Using hearing protection during rehearsals could be particularly useful if loud passages are being repeatedly rehearsed.
Screens: Screens should only be used as determined by the noise risk assessment. The can be positioned to isolate and dampen louder sounds. The positions of any screens should be noted if the room is to be re-set between the final rehearsal and the performance. Screens are often used in recording studios.
Practicing at home
Band rehearsal and personal practice time have different outcomes. When the band is all in one room, it is not the time to learn your solo or noodle around on your guitar. That time was any time prior to rehearsal. Rehearsal time should be spent getting your live show together and building a stage presence. Unless of course you are writing new songs and everything changes then.
Practicing on your own is a key part of improving your skills as an artist. You should obviously know how to play your material, but playing it note-perfect every time will only come with practice. Practicing at home on your own enables you to fine-tune your part and sharpen-up your songwriting. Iron out any kinks in your playing so you can make the most of playing together when you rehearse.
As a professional musician, you should aim to get to a stage where you can sail through the songs and concentrate on how you express them. Leaving notes ringing or placing more emphasis on certain parts of a phrase can make a simple verse or chorus stand out. If you’re a singer, make up phrases on the spot to fit the melodies you’ve written. If you forget your words when you’re in front of a crowd, singing complete rubbish is better than standing with your mouth open looking for somewhere to hide.
Things to bear in mind
Don’t go overboard with the volume. Keep it decently loud. There is no reason why you should overdo it with the volume. Too much of it will be disturbing even for band members. Just make sure what you are playing is clearly audible and that’s it. There’s no reason to go beyond that level.
If appropriate, use the metronome. The metronome will make your timing perfect. It might take a while to get used to it, but soon enough you will see just how useful using a metronome is. If you use a metronome, timing and band synchronization will reach a whole new level after just a few rehearsal sessions.
Don’t cut corners. If any member of the band has made even a slight mistake, the best thing you can do is to start over and repeat that part. Don’t start from the beginning of the song, focus on correcting the mistakes. Just make a habit out of this and your performances will improve dramatically. This doesn’t mean you have to be rude to the member who made the mistake. Simply get used to starting over without saying a word. No reason to kill the mood!
Have some fun. Rehearsing is not just about continuously trying to achieve a higher performance. Take a break from the actual rehearsal and have some fun. Improvise and jam with your band. Jams are fun and they really boost your creativity. And who knows, maybe the next casual jam holds the idea for your next super hit.
Write your ideas down. It often happens for someone to come up with a cool idea based on improvisations. If you don’t want to forget your cool new ideas, make sure to write them down. You can go for the old fashioned way of noting them on paper or you can simply use a recorder. Just do whatever works best for you.
Always plan your next rehearsal. Just before you leave from the rehearsal, make sure everyone knows what they have to do till next time: what to practice, what to learn, what to bring along, etc. If you do this, rehearsals will just keep getting better and better.
It is important to be aware of the time and how long you have got left. Quite often band rehearsal rooms will book bands in one after another so it is always good practice to factor in packing away time into your session to ensure you are ready to leave when your time is up. You would expect that from bands if they were before you so other bands are no different.
When you're all done and ready to leave ensure you are paid up with the space. Ensure any rubbish is in the bin and the room is looking how you found it for the next band.
How often should we practice?
If you’re in a group, arrange to practice at the same time and day(s) every week. Avoid weekends if possible, because family events or people heading out for the weekend can disrupt or postpone practices. It is also far more likely that one of you will be feeling worse for wear if you meet during the weekend, meaning less productive sessions. If you're a solo artist you may find it helps to set yourself regular times to work on your songs and practice playing. Try and stick to them. If you want a second opinion try setting aside time with a friend or another musician to bounce ideas around.
It’s worth booking yourself into a practice room in blocks so you’re all committed to rehearsing your set over subsequent weeks.
Some practice rooms can only be booked for a minimum of three to four hours, which can be a pretty gruelling length of time if you’ve hit a creative block.
However you choose to hone your skills, set yourself the goal of being the best prepared person ahead of your next group rehearsal.
New ideas
Aim for each member to come to practice with a new idea or basis for a song. As you get used to playing and writing in practices, you should try developing a song from this small idea by jamming together. To start with, they might be directionless, repetitive or just plain noise, but once you get used to each other’s playing styles improvising like this can be a great way of creating new material.
When should we book a practice room?
Wait until you’ve built up your repertoire before booking a practice room. Building up a “set” of songs can take time so you don’t want to get bored playing the same two songs repeatedly each time you rehearse. It can be tempting to keep playing your newest songs because they’re the most exciting to play, but don’t neglect your old material. Make sure you can play all your songs at the drop of a hat. You never know when you’ll need to pull one out of the bag for an encore.
Once you have 6-10 songs more or less complete, it is time to find yourself a permanent base to rehearse as a full band. For example, using their local pub gave Pulled Apart By Horses not only a room to practice but also somewhere to store their gear.
Practice whenever you get a chance.
コメント