Pre
Rehearsal Preparation
Hi
this is Richard Morales from the Hothouse Music Group.
Please
join me for the “Hothouse Rehearsal Tip of the Week”.
Each
week I’ll be discussing various methods and techniques to help your rehearsals
become more effective and efficient.
This
week our topic is: Pre Rehearsal Preparation
We’ve
seen how having a game plan can help the band stay focused during rehearsal and
track progress.
Pre
rehearsal preparation by each member of the band is essential.
-
Bring your
necessary equipment. Your instrument,
cabling and effects gear are a must.
Don’t laugh people have shown up for their rehearsal without their
instruments because “I forgot it”. Bring
pen and paper to take notes, remember your drumsticks, tuners, batteries,
strings and everything you’re going to need for your rehearsal. Some rehearsal studios, like the
Hothouse, have drumsticks, batteries, strings and earplugs for sale, just
in case.
-
Prior to
rehearsal each musician should do a maintenance check on their gear. Finding out during rehearsal your
instrument, cabling, or effects gear isn’t working properly is a waste of
your valuable rehearsal time.
-
Bring
chord charts for any new song ideas being presented to the band.
-
Set
rehearsal policies. Remember rehearsal
time is valuable. You don’t want to
waste it with distractions. Some
common distractions are:
-
Ringing
cell phones, and worst of all, is when they answer the call. Turn off your cell phone
-
Friends,
girlfriends and boyfriends should stay at home. Remember, rehearsal time is for the band
to be together perfecting your songs and sound.
-
Most pro
musicians would agree that alcohol and drugs during rehearsal is not a
good idea. I’ve heard them say “You
only think you’re playing better when you’re stoned”.
-
Take
regular breaks. Adult humans only
have a 45 minute attention span.
Also, ear fatigue can set in.
Coming back to a song with fresh ears can make all the difference.
-
Fiddling
around on your instrument between songs or while a part is being hashed
out by other members in the group is very distracting to your band mates. Stay focused on your rehearsal game
plan.
Agree
to these policies and stick to them and watch as your Performance and Recording
Ready song list grows.
You
are a band, a group of musicians. The
laws of nature say; “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Don’t fight Mother Nature. Substitute the word “song” for “whole” and
you get “the song is greater than the sums of its parts”. When the song
sounds great each member of the group will shine within it.
Believe,
Decide, take Action, get Results
Join
me next week when we’ll be talking about the “Types of Rehearsals”
We’ve
just opened up a Yahoo group called the Hothouse Music Group. Join the group by
submitting your email address below. You
can post your questions or ideas for topics there and we’ll work on incorporating
them into the column.
This
is Richard Morales for the “Hothouse Rehearsal Tip of the Week” sending it back
to you…See you then.
Vol. 3-06
Join us at our Yahoo group called the Hothouse Music
Group by submitting your email address below. You can post your questions or ideas for
topics there and we’ll work on incorporating them into the column.
Join us at our Yahoo
Group called hothousemusic
Thank you for joining me at the “Hothouse Rehearsal Tip of
the Week”, this is Richard Morales for the Hothouse Music Group….See you next week.
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