4 Ways To Optimise Your Band Practice
Love it or hate it (we hope you love it) practicing is an essential part of ensuring your band is ready for the stage. We can guarantee that even huge acts such as Iron Maiden and Foo Fighters get together from time to time to work on their set. Better to iron out any creases early in the practice room rather than Wembley Arena, right?
So what can you do to ensure you're getting the most out of your rehearsals?
Here are 4 free, quick and easy ways to optimise your band practice.
1. Action Plan
American Founding Father and Inventor Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you're planning to fail.” This can be no truer than in the practice room. Hit rehearsals with a few small and achievable goals in mind to make the most of the time you have together. It could be to nail a tough middle-8 section; it might possibly be to run through your set list from start to finish without a pause. Studies have shown that people who set themselves realistic short term goals are more likely to remain focussed, energised and achieve their long term ambitions. Surely this must include musicians right?
Let's also not forget that time is money in there. So instead of wasting your hard earned cash planning what to do on arrival; you could already be half way through that new number you're working on.
2. Learn Material Beforehand
Again, as we have already said time is money. So why not learn new material at home for free? This way it doesn't matter if it takes you ten minutes or ten hours to learn your part. With the power of the internet you can find manuscripts, online tutorials and tabs for pretty much any track out there. But what about original songs I hear you ask? Well, video messaging software such Skype is a great tool for musicians to interact with one another and share ideas from the comfort of their own home. If each band member can walk into the rehearsal space knowing their own individual parts you'll save yourself a hell of a lot of time, frustration and most importantly cash.
3. Break Songs Down
Breaking a song down into smaller bitesize chunks can make a seemingly difficult tune easier to handle. Concentrate on perfecting each section at a time until you are all happy with how it is sounding. When each member of the band feels they've got that it down, move onto the next one etc. This way you'll be able to really nail each individual part instead of sloppily stumbling from section to section; never really mastering any of them. We've all witnessed a seemingly professional sounding band instantly turn amateurish by tripping over a neglected tricky bridge or awkward verse. Use your rehearsal time wisely, be honest about each section and tighten up your set in no time.
4. Turn It Down (No, really)
We know the spirit of rock and roll is all about pushing the limits and breaking the rules. But just hear us out. Many rehearsals start in the same fashion where each member sets up their gear, dials in their tone and matches levels with each other. Cue first song. Suddenly the guitarist can't hear themselves properly so they twist the master a notch to the right. Wait, so now the bassist can't hear his/her part so they push the volume knob a little further to the right. Okay, now it's the singers turn to sneakily lean on the fader and slide it up a few dB. Before you know it you've ended up with the equivalent of sonic soup in there with everybody fighting for space to be heard. The result being an audible mess where nobody can really hear a true representation of what they are playing.
If you're struggling to hear your part try asking everybody to turn down a touch, adjust your playing style or dial your EQ to fit in the mix better. There's a time and a place to crank it up but you'll get much more out of a rehearsal if you can actually hear what is going on. This way you'll be able to spot imperfections easier, talk to your band mates whilst playing and save yourself a sore throat the next morning.
Hopefully these tips and tricks could help to save your band time, energy and money during your future rehearsals. Remember to keep it honest but don't forget to have fun in there. We look forward to seeing (and hearing) you down at our place soon.
V&V
