Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 150 Location: Ibaraki, Japan
Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 7:52 am Post subject: Rehearsal Tips
I'm looking for some ideas as to how to make my band rehearsals more effective. What kind of things do other boardmembers do? How do you organise your time? Any interesting ways of approaching songs or parts of songs you're having difficulty with? I'd be really interested to hear any suggestions you have.
Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 8:42 am Post subject: great thread
Thanks Salty , as anyone can see i am so bored actually that i stick to this forum on a daily basis ( but i'm not at work like a bunch of you !!!)
Tip #1 : Do all the tunes slower than they are and focus on the groove,
then do all the tunes like if it is your last day on earth (as fast as u can) but still focus on the groove . HINT : Listen to puple Haze 1967 (regular Hit)
and listen to Purple Haze Woodstock. U can do it with a lot of artists ( even Robben, Baarrrrffff).And obviously do it right on the tempo. But , it's like to have a wider vision of a tune , and according to situations and audiences you can set a code within the band , like " ok we do the studio version, or the live version , or the WILD one "
Tip #2 : Sometimes tell to the band you are not gonna stop on the first clam.(the show must go on)
Too make a long story short : Always assume you're doing a giant arena
even in a rehearsal situation .It's a little exagerated , i agree. Or allow people to come at the rehearsal (but not so often)
If you don't rehearse craziness or spontaneity you will never make it crazy or spontaneous. For me that is a matter of fact.
Tip #3 : Check out the amount of alcohol running , no more than 3 beers .
Tip #4 : LSD is not bad sometimes ,
Tip #5 : When doing a specific part NEVER forget to start one or some bars before (according to the part) and finish one or more bars later, otherwise you will never be able to nail that part in the song , you will only nail that specific part (What a big deal).
Tip #6: Try to play a reggae like a rock and a rock like a reggae : hey joe from willy deville.
From all i said the main thing is to rehearse as a BAND and not a bunch of people having rehearsed tunes . Trying to get a Great vibe out of 3 or 4 or more individuals for me is more than doing a tune note for note with no clams. But hey i love jimi . _________________ http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_music.cfm?bandID=147748
Last edited by Bluelobster on Thu May 19, 2005 9:24 am; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 150 Location: Ibaraki, Japan
Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 1:30 am Post subject:
Cheers, Blobby! Some great tips. I'll definitely try them out at our next practice. The slow/intense idea is something I'll definitely have to try. I'd really like to hear what other members have to say, too. I'm particularly interested to hear how people approach introducing originals to a band.
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 10:03 am Post subject:
Develop a common language. How many times have I seen folks try to describe a passage to each other, and get all frustrated. Even if you can't sight read, musical notation is wonderful for coming to agreement on how a passage goes. Especially in time. One-two-and, blam. That's where it goes.
Work it out. Don't just jam away and expect everyone to remember. Agree that your going to go for 16 bars, or until the drummer plays this certain fill, or the guitar player ends his solo with a signal or certain lick. Again, you don't have to write down full blown charts, but make a little cheat sheet that lists were everything goes, and is agreed to by everyone before starting the song. Don't rely on everyone's "feel" unless it's deliberately a jam like song. Then work out signals. Likewise, go through the cheat sheet/chart and agree that the second chord is Am before starting the song. This eliminates that "What where you playing? Play that again, I'm playing this, you're playing the wrong thing" that derails so many rehearsals.
Asign an arranger. Rotate the duty among folks who are interested. Agree that the arranger will create everyone's parts. When he says the second chord is Am, everyone is going to play Am. If there's massive dissagrement, work out a system (beforehand) on how to settle it. Bring the original to rehearsal if necessary so you can refer back to it if necessary. But let each member learn how to arrange. There will be much more respect when folks learn how the other instruments are played, what is possible on them (and the person playing them) and how they fit in the arrangement.
All of these things are done by top drawer professionals. But you don't have to be a bunch of conservatory trained LA session cats to adopt some of the successful strategies. And you don't have to lose your "feel" or the bands special spark. But do you think the Dixie Dregs, or even Robben's bands, just jam away on one song for a month until it comes together? _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 150 Location: Ibaraki, Japan
Posted: Sat May 21, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject:
Aeolian wrote:
Develop a common language. How many times have I seen folks try to describe a passage to each other, and get all frustrated. Even if you can't sight read, musical notation is wonderful for coming to agreement on how a passage goes. Especially in time. One-two-and, blam. That's where it goes.
Work it out. Don't just jam away and expect everyone to remember. Agree that your going to go for 16 bars, or until the drummer plays this certain fill, or the guitar player ends his solo with a signal or certain lick. Again, you don't have to write down full blown charts, but make a little cheat sheet that lists were everything goes, and is agreed to by everyone before starting the song. Don't rely on everyone's "feel" unless it's deliberately a jam like song. Then work out signals. Likewise, go through the cheat sheet/chart and agree that the second chord is Am before starting the song. This eliminates that "What where you playing? Play that again, I'm playing this, you're playing the wrong thing" that derails so many rehearsals.
Asign an arranger. Rotate the duty among folks who are interested. Agree that the arranger will create everyone's parts. When he says the second chord is Am, everyone is going to play Am. If there's massive dissagrement, work out a system (beforehand) on how to settle it. Bring the original to rehearsal if necessary so you can refer back to it if necessary. But let each member learn how to arrange. There will be much more respect when folks learn how the other instruments are played, what is possible on them (and the person playing them) and how they fit in the arrangement.
All of these things are done by top drawer professionals. But you don't have to be a bunch of conservatory trained LA session cats to adopt some of the successful strategies. And you don't have to lose your "feel" or the bands special spark. But do you think the Dixie Dregs, or even Robben's bands, just jam away on one song for a month until it comes together?
Thanks very much, Aeolian. What I tend to do with originals is make demos using Garage Band on my Mac, using a keyboard or the loops already in there to put down rough bass and drum parts, and then hand them out to everybody to give them a chance to work out their own parts. I like your idea of everybody taking turns to arrange the songs. In our case, everybody tends to work out their parts independently and they sometimes don't fit. Everybody takes the tune in a different direction.
As for Steve Morse and the Dixie Dregs, I love their stuff and think Steve's an awesome player but I've always thought he was a bit too much of a control freak in the composition department. I much prefer Miles' approach, present the basic ideas and see what the musicians do with them.
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