This past Wednesday night during Pellegrine's weekly jam night, there were a number of musicians in the house, and a lot of networking and musical discussions going on.
Naildriver drum man Kevin Siegel and I started talking about band practice regimens, and things we did at our respective group's practices. Kevin told me one of the things his group does during practices is to cycle through troublesome passages of songs nonstop until the passages become automatic and tight.
I brought this idea to my own bandmates when we practiced on Friday, and we started cycling through one song that gives us problems from time to time. Sure enough, after hammering through the main problem area of the song nonstop numerous times, it became pretty automatic to us by the end. We plan to revisit this same song and cycle through it again at our next practice to make sure we stay tight with it.
Anyway, this gave me the idea for this thread. What things do you do to make practice sessions more productive? What practice strategies work most effectively for you? Even simple ideas might be something that some of us have not tried yet. Feel free to share your tips!
"Practice!?...We're talkin' about PRACTICE!"
practice
we always start off with a song we can play in our sleep. First off, feels good to start off and sound tight, also make sure we didn't forget it at all. We then work on our troublesome songs, if there is a particular part, we will go over it til we feel comfortable. We have found though, even songs we know well, one practice we may have a total brain fart on it and sit there baffled, saying we "we know this, why we screwin it up?......?????, duh".
S.S.D.D.
I look at practice like a dress rehearsal for the weekend.
I'm a father of 3 and have tons of things going on after school with the kidos, and a lot of guitar students during the week. I'm pretty stiff lipped about not waisting time. I see Practice as the band in a whole getting the song (Songs) tight and right. If you don't do your homework and learn the song before practice..we don't try it.
We devote at least one day a week 3-4 hours.
The first thing we do is the book keeping and logistics of it all (a meeting)...whats needed for the show..how are we getting there...times...etc.
If we have a show the coming weekend, we go over the set in its full glory.
breaking down problem spots...transitions to other songs..stage presence...and such
If we have a weekend off...we grab a couple new songs during the week via text...learn them..and try them.
Its all about homework. Don't be the person that comes to practice and needs to be shown how the song goes, and what to play. I know I've done it..and it is not fair to the other members waiting on me to get the riff or chording..
Personally
Learning a new song, I get the chords on line and print them out.
I have a Laptop in my music room connected to a small sound system that will play the song (Usually from YouTube) and I play along.
I look forward to practice a lot...Letting off steam from the week and preparing for what's ahead. That way when the show comes...We put it all on the table.
I'm a father of 3 and have tons of things going on after school with the kidos, and a lot of guitar students during the week. I'm pretty stiff lipped about not waisting time. I see Practice as the band in a whole getting the song (Songs) tight and right. If you don't do your homework and learn the song before practice..we don't try it.
We devote at least one day a week 3-4 hours.
The first thing we do is the book keeping and logistics of it all (a meeting)...whats needed for the show..how are we getting there...times...etc.
If we have a show the coming weekend, we go over the set in its full glory.
breaking down problem spots...transitions to other songs..stage presence...and such
If we have a weekend off...we grab a couple new songs during the week via text...learn them..and try them.
Its all about homework. Don't be the person that comes to practice and needs to be shown how the song goes, and what to play. I know I've done it..and it is not fair to the other members waiting on me to get the riff or chording..
Personally
Learning a new song, I get the chords on line and print them out.
I have a Laptop in my music room connected to a small sound system that will play the song (Usually from YouTube) and I play along.
I look forward to practice a lot...Letting off steam from the week and preparing for what's ahead. That way when the show comes...We put it all on the table.
I personally love to go to a band practice. With the Sharks we'd always start off just jamming a bit. someone would start a beat or riff and then we'd all go with it. let loose and warm up a bit. then it was on to learning the new tunes - we'd go over the new song at least 8 to 10 times or until we got sick of it. we'd learn anywhere from 3 to 5 a practice and then go through the current set one time, review the first songs we learned and then call it a day.
`( f e n d e r)`
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ToonaRockGuy
- Diamond Member
- Posts: 3091
- Joined: Tuesday Dec 17, 2002
- Location: Altoona, behind a drumset.
You kinda have to do what works for your group dynamic. For Naildriver, it is certainly going over passages, riffs, or songs over and over until it gets to where we need it to be.
Bottom line is this: One of the things that we as a band hear all the time (and are very grateful for) is people remarking how tight we are as a band. That comes from putting in the work in the rehearsal room, period. What we do is certainly not rocket science, although playing with the mad genius that is whitedevilone can make it seem that way at times. But we all recognize the need to have a focused rehearsal every time we get together. Sure, we cut loose, we talk and bust on each other, we have a few beers and chill together, but we focus and rehearse, and won't drop our standards on what we do. We know that if we don't do the work, it will show on stage and in the studio. We refuse to let that happen. We want to be the best that we can be, play with bands that will push us to be better, and put out the best music we can possibly create. None of that comes without work.
Recently, we have begun to just riff and jam for a few minutes at the beginning of rehearsal just to warm up and throw some ideas out there. It is a cool experience, and allows us to toss our personal influences into the metal stew and see what happens. It really does get the creative juices flowing, and once we stop, it makes getting down to work much easier. Our practices usually run for around 3-4 hours, with some of us staying to keep jamming after that.
Making music is awesome, playing with the cats that I am fortunate enough to play with is unbelievable, but no band ever got good by just sitting there. Put in the work in the practice room.
Bottom line is this: One of the things that we as a band hear all the time (and are very grateful for) is people remarking how tight we are as a band. That comes from putting in the work in the rehearsal room, period. What we do is certainly not rocket science, although playing with the mad genius that is whitedevilone can make it seem that way at times. But we all recognize the need to have a focused rehearsal every time we get together. Sure, we cut loose, we talk and bust on each other, we have a few beers and chill together, but we focus and rehearse, and won't drop our standards on what we do. We know that if we don't do the work, it will show on stage and in the studio. We refuse to let that happen. We want to be the best that we can be, play with bands that will push us to be better, and put out the best music we can possibly create. None of that comes without work.
Recently, we have begun to just riff and jam for a few minutes at the beginning of rehearsal just to warm up and throw some ideas out there. It is a cool experience, and allows us to toss our personal influences into the metal stew and see what happens. It really does get the creative juices flowing, and once we stop, it makes getting down to work much easier. Our practices usually run for around 3-4 hours, with some of us staying to keep jamming after that.
Making music is awesome, playing with the cats that I am fortunate enough to play with is unbelievable, but no band ever got good by just sitting there. Put in the work in the practice room.
Dood...
One great way to learn a song inside and out is to de-construct it and flip around. I've learned, and come to really like, a lot of songs by playing a completely different version from the original. I'll listen to the recording to get the chords, then shut if off and make it my own. That really helps me with memorization, too.
If you want to play well fast, practice slow. When you slow a fast song or passage down, it magnifies the spaces in between and kind of highlights the timing. You can really work through weird timing things and just get the whole band tight when you play slow.
If you want to play well fast, practice slow. When you slow a fast song or passage down, it magnifies the spaces in between and kind of highlights the timing. You can really work through weird timing things and just get the whole band tight when you play slow.
