Tighten Up Yourself
While band rehearsals are typically a collective effort, too often individual members skimp on their personal responsibility to the music. What do you do in between practices to improve your performance? If you think simply being in a band is enough, think again. You need to practice your instrument, improve your skills, and work on the music so you can show up to rehearsal ready to go.
Lots of great musicians are self-taught–maybe you’re one of them, maybe not. But, it’s never too late (or too early) to learn something new about your instrument, or about music. Case in point: in the early ’90s, one of my students was Tom Hamilton, bassist for Aerosmith. Even after 20 years with the band, and having achieved a level of success most of us can only dream about, he felt it was time to learn some new skills, get a fresh perspective on things. We worked on techniques that directly related to his playing, and some things that were seemingly inapplicable, like jazz. He could have easily coasted at that point in his career, but his desire to improve himself as a musician was strong. My point? If you think you’re beyond taking lessons, you’re wrong. It’s just a matter of getting past your ego trip/insecurities and finding the right teacher. Get a recommendation from someone you know, or search out your local music guru. Just keep in mind that not every teacher is truly qualified. Stay away from TAB pushers or lick meisters–you can do that by yourself. Find someone that has a real musical education and teaching experience. If there’s no one smarter than you in your town, there are plenty of books and videos out there, or consider some online education from a reputable source.
While it’s helpful to focus on skills and information that relate directly to your preferred style of playing, it is equally important to broaden your musical horizons. Having a wide range of influences makes your music more interesting, and learning how to play different styles (or even other instruments) makes you a better musician. For example: I’m a bass player, but learning to play drums (I suck) has made my bass playing more grounded and in the groove. If you’re a hard-core rocker, consider learning jazz; if you’re a stone bebopper, learn how to play country. You’ll be amazed at how much seemingly disparate styles of music intersect with each other.
Enriching your musical life is an important pursuit, but you also have to practice your band material. Record your practices and listen to how you really sound–don’t hide in Fantasyland, face the truth. If there are rough spots, isolate them, and practice them slowly. You can invent exercises that work problem areas specific to your parts. In addition to your own parts, you should also know everyone’s parts–not just to understand how it all fits together, but because one day you might need to cover them if the other guitarist’s amp blows up on a gig, or someone doesn’t show up.
The big message is: Learn something about music. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking all you need to do is feel it. Sure, you need to feel it, but you have to understand what you feel to make the most of it.
Communication Breakdown Part II
Being in a band, playing music, writing tunes–it’s fun, right? Most of the time. Being involved with a group of people in a creative pursuit can also be a pressure cooker for emotions, insecurities, stress, and other draining shit. As a result of spending years locked away in their bedrooms learning how to play, many musicians have, shall we say, “underdeveloped” interpersonal skills. Hell, half of us would probably be locked away in a room involuntarily if we didn’t have the “I’m a musician” excuse. Cool, creative types can get away with being moody, temperamental, and eccentric–but take a room the size of a storage locker, shove in four or five of these nut jobs, add some high powered amplification, maybe some beer, some spliff, and you’ve either got the best time you can have without fluids being exchanged–or the worst.
Bands inevitably develop their own hierarchy–sometimes there is a clear leader, other times there is a power struggle, and sometimes democracy rules. Regardless of how a band evolves, effective communication is the key to getting the work accomplished without ending up hating each other. Here’s a tip: Separate the problem from the people. Musicians are very self-absorbed by nature (“No I’m not!”), and they tend to blur the line between what they play and who they are (jazz musicians are the worst offenders). So, if you tell the drummer, “Dude, that drum part totally sucks,” he hears it as–“Dude, you totally suck–and I slept with your girlfriend.” A more effective approach might be–“Dude, can you try something else there? Your part gets in the way of the vocals.” You’re not saying that it sucks (even if you think it does), but you’re clearly expressing a desire for a change, and giving him your reason. There are of course no guarantees as to how the drummer will respond to this approach (especially if he knows you slept with his girlfriend…), but it’s bound to create a lot less tension.
A lot of problems arise from people bringing their day-to-day baggage into the rehearsal. Getting a lot of grief from your asshole boss? Parents, spouse, significant other giving you shit? Yeah, it sucks, but leave it outside the door of your practice space. Bringing it in to the rehearsal almost guarantees that you’re going to download on somebody, and the cycle of crap begins. Make a group pact that your rehearsal time is exempt from the pressures of the outside world. You may find that leaving them alone for a few hours will make your problems seem more manageable.
If you are the band leader, whether by virtue of being the frontperson, primary business person, songwriter, or just the biggest ego, keep in mind that the other members are not your slaves, children, or employees (unless of course you pay them a salary, in which case this warning is still applicable). You know how you hate it when your manager at Burger King treats you like a peon? Remember how that feels and make damn sure you don’t treat your bandmates that way. They might just spit on your burger.
Miss Part I? Read it here.
Do the Tighten Up - Communication Breakdown
Rehearsals are about learning or writing new tunes, tightening up your existing repertoire, and working out the specifics of how your band plays together. Naturally, this takes time, but you can eliminate many hours of frustration if everyone speaks the same language, or at the very least, if one person can interpret for the rest of you. If you’ve ever witnessed or been a part of a rehearsal of trained professional players, you know how quickly things can happen–an entire show’s worth of material can be perfected in a matter of 3 hours. Yeah, the skill level may be higher than your average garage band, but it’s also a result of having a shared frame of reference. When the band leader says: “Take it 4 bars before the modulation, and this time catch the kick on the “e” of 3–and let’s try it with a 12/8 feel,” everyone knows what the hell he means, and jumps to it.
Okay, so it’s unlikely that your band will enroll at Berklee College Of Music, but it’s a good idea to sit down together and develop a standardized glossary of musical terms. First, make sure everyone relates to the form of a tune the same way; terms like intro, verse, chorus, bridge, solo, interlude, tag, and ending are all standard. Make sure everyone is clear about what each section of a tune is called, this way you can go right to it to fix things without having to play through the entire tune every time.
Remember the major scale–“Do, Re, Mi,” etc? Every note in the scale gets a number–1-8, with the in-between notes being called “sharp 4” or “flat 7” etc. Use these numbers to communicate chord progressions, chord structures, harmony parts, lead lines–any pitch-related information can be described this way. If your song is in E, the first step is to number the E major scale: E = 1, F# = 2, G# = 3, A = 4, B = 5, C# = 6, D# = 7. If the song goes from E to G then A, you’d describe the progression this way: “1 to flat 3 to 4” (G is flat 3 because it is one half-step below the natural 3 of the E major scale). You’ll be amazed at how quickly information can be exchanged using this system.
It’s important to understand the chords in a song–more than just the letters. If you call something an “A chord”, do you mean A major, A minor, A7, Amin7, A “power chord”? Be specific. If you don’t know what all those different chords are–learn them!
Learn about rhythms. Understand the difference between quarter notes, eighths, triplets, sixteenths; know what different feels are called: a shuffle, a half-time feel, double-time feel, straight eighths, swing eighths, etc.
Do the Tighten Up – Rehearsal Etiquette
Etiquette–for some, the word evokes images of sipping tea, pinky in the air, making polite conversation with a visiting clergyman in the parlor while listening to Mozart; but when you get into rehearsal mode, a little etiquette can make the difference between keeping everything running smoothly, and having to find a new drummer every other week.
Typically, bands spend hours and hours rehearsing, and much of that time is wasted. Not the “hang time”, I’m talking about the accumulated hours spent waiting for the lead singer to show up, listening to the guitar player wank through his latest Dimmu Borgir riff, watching the drummer unpack his kit from the last show, sitting around while the bass player searches for a 9-volt battery. Imagine how much better your music would sound if you put all that time into playing.
This is not a rule book, just plain old common sense. If everyone gets with the program, you’ll accomplish a lot more, and avoid a lot of negativity.
1. Be on time – Yeah, I know, you’re a busy person, it’s tough to stay on schedule. You know how bent you get waiting for the drummer? Now you know what they’re thinking about you when you’re late. Be ready to go at the scheduled rehearsal time–which means get there early.
2. Have your shit together – If you have to bring in gear, make sure you’ve got what you need. Would you show up to a gig without a cable or extra strings? If your gear is already there, make sure it’s set up, and working properly–sound check to get your tone and levels, and tune up.
3. Be prepared – Don’t you hate sitting around waiting for someone to get their part together? Don’t let that be you–practice at home and show up with your parts ready to go.
4. No noodling – So, you’re trying to talk to the bass player about a transition from the verse to the chorus, and the guitar player takes that as an opportunity to work on “Eruption.” WTF? Sure, you get pissed off, but how many times have you used a break in the action to work out your licks? When someone is trying to talk about the music, quit fucking noodling and let them talk!
5. Cell phones off – These days, people think it’s perfectly okay to take a call anywhere–at work, school, on a date, at your therapy appointment—at least try to make your band practice a priority. Put it on vibrate, if it’s really an emergency (which doesn’t include your girlfriend reminding you to pick up Micky D’s on the way home) deal with it, pick up your calls on a break. And, no texting!
While most of these suggestions seem ridiculously obvious, it’s surprising how many people never consider them. A little rehearsal etiquette will keep band attitudes on the good foot, help you accomplish more and develop a pro mindset.
Next Time: Communication Breakdown
Do the Tighten Up: Rehearsing Your Band
Okay, after months of scouring Craigslist, music store bulletin boards, and the musician’s classified section in the local weekly alternative rag, you’ve finally assembled the personnel for your band. The pieces are in place; all that’s left is to start rehearsing so you can forge a concept into actual music. It’s an exciting place to be–filled with great expectations, the electric rush of sensing you’re on the verge of making a dream come to life, and the promise of sold out shows, adoring fans, and a whole messa dollahs. Now, if your band can only survive the rehearsal process…
It’s sad but true; many bands never make it through the hell-fire of rehearsing. Egos, attitudes, personality conflicts, irresponsibility, incompetence, poor communication, schedules, day jobs, drugs, booze, significant others–the challenges seem endless. Getting a band through the early rehearsal stage is like raising a child–you know how most of us got fucked up before the age of 5? Our folks didn’t want to screw us up for life, they just didn’t know how not to. With a band, the initial rehearsal phase can set up a group dynamic that either kick-starts the creative process, or builds up resentments and bad vibes that never go away. The continued success of any band lies in their ability to maintain an effective rehearsal process. How do you want your rehearsal to run–like an inspirational gathering of friends with a shared purpose; or the outtakes from Some Kind Of Monster?
I’m not suggesting there is a single “right” way to rehearse; every band has it’s own structure and unique composition of people, each with their individual capabilities and personality traits. There are also different goals: are you rehearsing for your first showcase, a recording session, an audition for the Disney channel, or a reunion tour? While circumstances will vary, here are a few general ideas to start you thinking about more effective rehearsing:
1. Stay focused - Time is precious. You can bullshit about your day job afterwards.
2. Have a goal - What are you trying to accomplish? Think long-term, but also today.
3. Be prepared - What are you going to play? Sure, jamming is an important part of getting it together, but unless your band is strictly improvisational, it helps to have some tunes ready to work on.
4. Play nice–Yeah, lead guitarists are egotistical dicks, rhythm guitarists are frustrated lead guitarists, singers are prancing, uptight assholes, keyboard players are anal retentive theory geeks that can’t keep themselves from correcting everyone, bass players are brain-dead, drooling stoners that need to be reminded to breathe, and drummers are Neanderthal bone-heads that might have become hockey players if they could only skate backwards. Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s all find a way to get along shall we? Otherwise, consider this band another failed attempt at stardom.
Next week: Rehearsal Etiquette
