SquadLeader
Gold Member
Hmm...not really.
Assuming there aren't many McD employees who actually massively enjoyed what they were doing in the 90s...
Musicians who don't want to rehearse
- Thread starter rogue_drummer
- Start date
Hmm...not really.
Assuming there aren't many McD employees who actually massively enjoyed what they were doing in the 90s...
gretsch-o-rama
Senior Member
Not sure Im understanding or getting this post....Im strictly talking about money, with no intended offence against anyone who worked at mcdonalds or enjoyed working there... I never worked there because I wasnt capable.
Sesshoumaru
Member
I don't think those kind of hard core cost vs benefits make very much sense on this type of issue where the motivator is the end result (how well do we perform) vs. the most "cost effective" way of attaining maximum value.
I've been on almost every side of this issue. I've been apart of rehearsals that take 15 min, some over the phone conversations, in the car on the way to the venue (hip hoppers will understand that), and full blown dress rehearsals. Part of a group dynamic is knowing that its not completely about yourself. A guitar player I know used to always say "its the difference between being in tune and being in tune with everybody else".
But hey I also agree that its possible to be too rehearsed.....so what the eff do I know?!
gretsch-o-rama
Senior Member
Definitely not saying don't rehearse. I guess Ive always thought that if you do your homework AND spend a lifetime playing your instrument, the playing should be the easy part.
Midnite Zephyr
Platinum Member
I like to practice and rehearse. It's really my only chance to play the drum set. In the originals band, we practice usually twice a week. But, we are not just practicing, we are creating because our practice is usually an improv jam. I never really know what we're gonna play until we play it.
In my other band, the cover band, we only practice once per week. It's mostly to polish the songs and just to play because we enjoy playing music. It's just another chance for me to play drums during the week and get out of the house. Then again, in the "cover band", we have about 10 or 12 really good original songs that we play too. Most are in 2/4 swing, but I've had to write all my own parts with their help. These parts are not written on paper though, but I play them pretty much the same way every time.
On Tuesdays, sometimes I'll sub for another drummer, lately more often than not. They play from 3:30 to 6 pm, then I go to my originals band practice at 8 pm and we practice until about 1 am.
I actually enjoy practice more than gigs. Imagine that.
In my other band, the cover band, we only practice once per week. It's mostly to polish the songs and just to play because we enjoy playing music. It's just another chance for me to play drums during the week and get out of the house. Then again, in the "cover band", we have about 10 or 12 really good original songs that we play too. Most are in 2/4 swing, but I've had to write all my own parts with their help. These parts are not written on paper though, but I play them pretty much the same way every time.
On Tuesdays, sometimes I'll sub for another drummer, lately more often than not. They play from 3:30 to 6 pm, then I go to my originals band practice at 8 pm and we practice until about 1 am.
I actually enjoy practice more than gigs. Imagine that.
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Duck Tape
Platinum Member
I guess it's because I've not played with pros or in cover bands but I have always felt that my bands sounded like crap without practice and really benefitted from playing together once a week.
I don't think the bass player from my last band would have even picked up his instrument if not.
I don't think the bass player from my last band would have even picked up his instrument if not.
SquadLeader
Gold Member
Forget it....it wasn't salient really.
I was just making the point that to be paid £5 an hour for playing the drums is more tolerably in my mind than being paid £5 an hour for working at McDonalds....ie. one is fun, sometimes a hobby, the other is hard graft for peanuts.
No offence was taken, or in turn intended.
Aeolian
Platinum Member
I think there is some different terminology at work here. There are original bands that write, arrange, refine and nail down compositions and there are folks who noodle in the basement/garage for hours thinking they are "creating" something. And then get back together a week later and try to remember what they did. Maybe 6 months of this and they can play it more or less the same way twice and feel they have a "song". If that satisfies your musical juices then enjoy yourself. But I can't call it rehearsal. Even people playing covers can have variations in how they go about it. There are folks who get together and spend hours figuring out how to play a song, sometimes arguing incessantly about how this or that part goes. And there are people who have learned their parts and parts of other instruments that they may have to fill in depending on the make up of the band, get together hash out who's doing what and any extending or rearrangement, and run though it a bit to agree on a feel. Often they don't even play the entire song, just the bits that people have concerns about.
When I played 6 nights a week for a living we rehearsed 5 nights (actually early morning after the doors were closed) a week. That was we added 5 songs a week to the book. You did your homework and wrote out what you were going to play. 15 minutes of comparing charts to agree on the timing of things, harmony of what different people were doing, extending the song and so forth. Then sit down and run though the song once to see if it sounded like it looked on paper. The lead singer handed out the vocal arrangement (we had agreed beforehand who was singing lead and people basically knew what part they were going to sing in backgrounds) and a couple of run-throughs with the vocals and it was in the book.
At the varsity level there are dress rehearsals where sound and light cues are dialed in.
My last corporate band would rehearse once a week for a couple of hours. Usually to add a couple of new songs or something that had been requested for a gig. Sometimes we would develop a musical idea that someone had thrown out on a previous gig. But most of the time those things would evolve over the gigs as people were inspired in the moment that tossed in a hit or quote that got picked up on and became part of the evolution of the arrangement. Nobody would make a left turn, that kind of thing would be brought up at rehearsal. e.g. how about we splice this other song in here after the bridge, a transition like 'this' would work. And so on. If that kind of dynamic isn't going to happen, I'm not really into sitting there playing the same part over and over again while other people try to figure out what they should be doing.
When I played 6 nights a week for a living we rehearsed 5 nights (actually early morning after the doors were closed) a week. That was we added 5 songs a week to the book. You did your homework and wrote out what you were going to play. 15 minutes of comparing charts to agree on the timing of things, harmony of what different people were doing, extending the song and so forth. Then sit down and run though the song once to see if it sounded like it looked on paper. The lead singer handed out the vocal arrangement (we had agreed beforehand who was singing lead and people basically knew what part they were going to sing in backgrounds) and a couple of run-throughs with the vocals and it was in the book.
At the varsity level there are dress rehearsals where sound and light cues are dialed in.
My last corporate band would rehearse once a week for a couple of hours. Usually to add a couple of new songs or something that had been requested for a gig. Sometimes we would develop a musical idea that someone had thrown out on a previous gig. But most of the time those things would evolve over the gigs as people were inspired in the moment that tossed in a hit or quote that got picked up on and became part of the evolution of the arrangement. Nobody would make a left turn, that kind of thing would be brought up at rehearsal. e.g. how about we splice this other song in here after the bridge, a transition like 'this' would work. And so on. If that kind of dynamic isn't going to happen, I'm not really into sitting there playing the same part over and over again while other people try to figure out what they should be doing.
Anon La Ply
Diamond Member
Yep, +1 too and then add some. Band practices are fun and social without all the hassles of gigging.
Personally, I like recording more than anything but others in the band love gigs and hate recording so I'm outvoted.
Midnite Zephyr
Platinum Member
Yes, I go through a lot of this. I'm still developing myself too, so we all tolerate each other.
Gigging is a little hassle when it never pays. Sure, these guys are getting their jollies because they haven't done it as much as me, but I've had a 'career' of gigs that don't pay. I have to look for benefits such as free alcohol, good food, easy parking, not too far away, do I have to wear pants?, etc. That's why I prefer parties.
I like recording too, and I especially like listening to the song with great sound quality immediately after we play it. Technology today is so amazing.
Anon La Ply
Diamond Member
On the button, Bon! Don't play a lot of parties these days - we're not exactly a get up and boogie kind of band.
BradGunnerSGT
Silver Member
What you are describing ("holding each other's hands") is getting together to practice, not rehearse. Practice is what you do on your time, rehearsal is what you do on the band's time. Getting together to run through songs, tweak the arrangements, work on certain parts together so that everyone is on the same page.
DrumEatDrum
Platinum Member
I don't get people who don't want to rehearse.
Unless the musicians on are the very top level of players, you can usually tell when listening to band if they've rehearsed a lot, or not.
Back when I was in original bands, we would rehearse 3 times a week. One band in particular, people were consistency blown away by our live show because we were so much more cohesive than most bands around town.
Unless the musicians on are the very top level of players, you can usually tell when listening to band if they've rehearsed a lot, or not.
Back when I was in original bands, we would rehearse 3 times a week. One band in particular, people were consistency blown away by our live show because we were so much more cohesive than most bands around town.
gretsch-o-rama
Senior Member
Studio musicians careers have historically been built on that they can walk into a studio( that they agreed to show up at) and play (and sound good) with any player that may be there. I don't see how playing live should be a lot different than that. In fact, the live players I've enjoyed the most are the ones with a ton of "studio" experience....
Sesshoumaru
Member
How can't it NOT be different?
Its the difference between shooting a movie and acting in a Broadway play. Rehearsal is a time not just for going over who plays what...when and how...its time to learn each others space, feel, and energy. Now there's a point where I think rehearsal by itself wont carry a band but it can still reveal some weaknesses.
Music by the numbers usually suck. Its the combination of what each person brings along side their professionalism that makes the "magic" happen. Rehearsals can draw it out or show the group that its missing.
There's a reason why 99.98% of James Brown covers SUCK and SUCK BIG TIME!!!
okay okay...so that's a bit of a tangent. The point is, pure professionalism and advanced skill isn't always enough for a great performance. Heck, that's true even in the corporate world.
Dr_Watso
Platinum Member
I know what you're saying, but there's a lot of intangibles you cannot get from a studio drummer you've never met. They just learned the song, didn't participate in building it, haven't had much time to come up with the perfect parts, and more importantly, they aren't "really" playing with the band as a unity thing. Usually it's either all click tracked, or just laid down with scratch tracks. Studio drummers definately have their place, but that place will never be as a end-all replacement for band drummers who put in group practice time and get super tight with the guys they are playing with.
SquadLeader
Gold Member
Anon La Ply
Diamond Member
Ditto! With a band in my teens every band practice was a party. There'd be up to a dozen friends hanging around getting wrecked as we'd play. In hindsight it was good gigging practice but at the time it was just all silly. Since then practices with every long term band I've been in have had that friendly spirit, although obviously more disciplined (usually
I've sat in with more serious musicians a number of times and have been surprised at the harshness with which they treated each other - as harsh as the most hardball managers at work ... the "I'm here to make music, not make friends" kind of attitude.
Each to their own but that's not for me, although it is an interesting feeling to make great sounding music with someone with whom you share a mutual dislike.
Dr_Watso
Platinum Member
Yuck. I'll play with damn near anyone who can hang, but unless I was getting paid a lot, that kind of "music not friends" attitude would be an automatic deal-breaker for me.