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Effective band rehearsals—our tips for making progress
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Regular practice and rehearsal is a must for any good band. Only with the necessary preparation can you cut a good figure at the live performance and wow the audience. To make sure that your band rehearsals are really effective, you should not lose sight of the effectiveness. But what exactly characterizes effective band rehearsals? And how can the intensity of a band rehearsal be increased? In this article, we'll give you some important tips and show you how to make your band rehearsals even better:
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- Die optimale Vorbereitung auf die nächste Bandprobe
- Habt ein gemeinsames Ziel
- Warum Verlässlichkeit für die Band so wichtig ist
- Das A und O: Absprache und Kommunikation
- Wie sich zentrale Aufgaben klar verteilen lassen
- Weitere Tipps für eine gelungene Bandprobe
- Mit dem richtigen Mindset zu neuen Erfolgen
- Jetzt selbst bei deinen Bandproben durchstarten!
The optimal preparation for the next band rehearsal
As a rule, bands make a lot of plans for their rehearsals. In principle, that’s the right thing to do—after all, you have big goals. However, extensive plans alone are not enough and can even cause frustration if you don't get everything done. So put your focus on the preparation. That way, you can go into the rehearsal in a structured way and know exactly what you want to do today, and above all, what you can realistically accomplish. The more time you spend organizing and discussing during the rehearsal, the less time you will have to actually rehearse. So break down the big goal into small parts beforehand and take a few of them for each rehearsal. This can mean, for example, deciding which songs you want to play. Or which riff to work on. Or even if the focus should be on songwriting. Your goals—your plans.
Conflicts can also be avoided with good preparation. Who takes over which parts? Who prepares what? And who really wants to play the new favorite song? Clarify such questions beforehand, so that you can concentrate on the essentials during the rehearsal. A band that harmonizes well anyway has a clear advantage here, since quarrels and other problem areas are often avoided. Sympathy among bandmates is therefore a basic requirement for effective band rehearsals, so the focus is on the success of the rehearsal.
Have a common goal
Effective band rehearsals are often geared toward fixed goals. Whether it's a band contest, an audition, or even a possible record deal, having a common goal is important and helps to "pull" the band rehearsal together. By the way, you can read more about band contests for newcomers and their importance here. For many bands, it's clear goals like a contest that will turn the tide, because without an effective rehearsal, there's no winning in sight. A crucial tip for even more effective band rehearsals is therefore to prepare specifically for competitions or similar events in order to work as a team towards a larger goal. Smaller performances, such as a school event or a gig in front of friends, can also help to build up the desire to rehearse effectively.
Why reliability is so important for the band
Another common problem that makes effective band rehearsals difficult is reliability. With a pre-arranged time, it is crucial that all band members are also on hand to start playing. Problems such as spontaneous cancellations by individual members further complicate planning and contribute to turning the schedule upside down again. Punctual attendance of the complete band will allow you to take full advantage of the practice time. In addition, everyone should be well-prepared, have practiced their parts, and have everything they need with them.
The be-all, end-all: agreement and communication
As already mentioned, a band should get along with each other as well as possible, in addition to general arrangements and organization. Often bands are formed out of a circle of friends, which makes the mutual interaction much more friendly and relaxed. This kind of friendly interaction is exactly what’s needed in a band so that you don't miss out on the fun. However, with the following tips, you can expand this basis even further by organizing yourself well and not taking things too loosely through your friendship:
- Create a WhatsApp group for important agreements
- Also keep each other up to date digitally
- For professional bands we recommend a planning board
- Digital apps and tools can replace an analogue board
- Agrees fixed practice times with on-site presence
- Plan regular performances to put what you have learned into practice
Another good trick for more effectiveness in your band rehearsals is to have the equipment right in your rehearsal room and leave it there. This way, there can be no excuses when it comes to being present at band rehearsal. At the same time, it takes a lot of pressure off the band members, because they don't have to carry the heavy equipment from place to place all the time. Of course, you have to take your instruments home to practice, but amplifiers and such, as well as a drum kit can be permanently located in the rehearsal room.
How to clearly distribute central tasks
In order to manage and plan your tasks in a well thought-out and professional way, it is a good idea to clearly divide tasks within the band. This way, everyone has their own responsibilities and knows that no one else will take care of them. If everyone is already informed about the procedures and peculiarities of the band rehearsals, there will be no unsightly delays in the process on site. It's best to simply agree on who will do what during the band rehearsal beforehand so that the rehearsal can remain effective at all times.
More tips for a successful band rehearsal
In addition to all of these tips for effective band rehearsals, we have a few more tips that can help you get ahead in your rehearsals. If possible, consciously distinguish between rehearsing and practicing. Here’s why: Before every rehearsal there is practice! Each band member should already work on themselves and the songs at home. Also helpful:
- The right equipment While you usually only need your instrument or your voice to practice at home, there is much more to rehearsing. Additional equipment such as amplifiers, guitar stands or other recording technology are part of every rehearsal room. Good equipment is also useful for effectiveness during the rehearsal so that you don't have to fight for space, accessories and other tools on site or get upset about technology that doesn't work.
- The active preparation A decisive criterion for successful band rehearsals is active preparation at home. So you shouldn't wait until the day of the band rehearsal to get the guitar out of the basement or dust off other instruments. The band rehearsal aims to deepen what has already been learned together in the band and to prepare specifically for future performances. This time is far too good to compensate for the lack of practice of individual members.
- Long-term songwriting Many bands devote themselves not only to active practice during their rehearsals, but also to songwriting. It is important not to get stressed despite the limited time. The goal of songwriting is not to write just any song. Take your time and if it doesn't work, you'll get the song out again with fresh ideas at another rehearsal.
- avoid delays Even if all members of the band showed up on time for band rehearsal, that doesn't tell the whole story about effectiveness. So there is a lot of potential for distraction. Mobile phones, new topics of conversation or visitors are the most common disruptive factors that need to be minimized during band rehearsals. Of course, the focus is on having fun, but still think about your common goal.
With the right mindset for new successes
Basically, playing in a band is always something individual that nobody forces you to do. For this reason it depends on the right mindset to be successful in your band rehearsals. Only with the right mindset will you really enjoy what you do and bring the necessary ambition for successful band rehearsals. Above all, together in a group, the focus is on having fun and working together to achieve new goals. The day of the performance then rewards each member for their own effort and makes you want to take on many new band projects.
The joy of sharing a hobby or even a profession with your friends is still one of the most important experiences of being in a band. Should you ever get the chance to play as a supporting band for a bigger act, the effort will have been more than worth it. How big the chances for supporting bands are and what you have to consider for your band, we have already explained here in this article. One thing is clear: effective band rehearsals are the basis for this.
Get started with your band rehearsals now!
Band rehearsals are not always the most exciting part of making music together, but they are clearly part of the way to the top. For this reason, make sure that the band rehearsals are taken seriously by all participants in order to have noticeable success. If you want to exchange ideas with other musicians about effective band rehearsals, you can do so here at mukken at any time. With our ads for musicians, we offer you the chance to expand your network, collect new contacts and optimize your band rehearsals.
Originally published on October 17, 2022, updated on February 3, 2023
Main topic: Belting - a singing technique with two medal sides
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