How To Run An Effective Band Rehearsal

Does your band setup load in and set up in 15 minutes? Most bands don’t because they extend this part of rehearsal to include the hanging out part of being in a band/friends ((yes, load-in and setup are part of a scheduled rehearsal). I get it, you guys are friends (hopefully) and you want to screw around and have fun, but rehearsals are about getting shit done. Grab a beer afterward or during your free time. Conducting professional rehearsals means the people are there to work. Working people get paid for their time and People getting paid for their time are expected to get shit done. So, give each other a hug, help the drummer unload and set up his stuff and then dive in because you are all punching a clock that you have to also payout.

Also, running an effective band rehearsal:

• leads to better band member retention because people don’t want to feel like they’re wasting their time
• leads to less stress between members because you have a feeling of preparedness come gig time
• Helps bands develop all areas of their careers besides just the live performance aspect

FIRST, HERE’S AN EXAMPLE 2.5-3.5 HOUR BAND REHEARSAL TIMELINE:

15 Minutes: Load in / Set up

• Everyone should help set up equipment. Just because you are done setting your stuff up doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do. Good for you, your flute is so easy to unload and set up. Don’t be the jerk that’s sitting there while the percussion section is setting up a 97-piece kit that’s suspended 20 feet off of the ground. It’s about camaraderie and efficiency. Unless there is some kind of union rules, go help and potentially learn a thing or two in the process.

15 Minutes: Warm Up

• Pick a designated warm-up song that is NOT on the setlist. It should be something that is most in alignment with the overall genre of the band. Think of something universal that covers all of the bases and the full range of instrumentation. Have something you always play and that you play well. The confidence of playing something you know backward and forwards will get things flowing well.
• While I’m talking about this…. Also, have a designated Sound Check song as well. This can be your Warm-up song if you want. It isn’t on your set list and you sound great playing it. It’s super lame to have a late sound check and then play something from your set while audience members are watching only to have to say, “We’ll be back in a little bit… and we’ll play the same song for you AGAIN.

30–45 Minutes: Intros and Outros

• Probably the least addressed aspects of rehearsing are the most important parts of the song… I don’t get why you would skimp here. If you flubbed the intro, loop it and repeat it until it’s perfect. Same thing with the ending. Everyone should know exactly how the song is going to start and end

20–30 Minutes: Transitions — the chorus to bridge, bridge to verse, ALSO…. Between Songs

• Any special drum fills? Any pedal clicks? Any Key Changes? Does someone need time to change instruments? When are people going to stop and strategically tune? Does the horn player need a chop break? Is the singer getting horse from high registers and needs some water? Do you need to introduce band members or thank anyone out there? Is there any sound that can be happening in between song transitions that can help keep the flow going… perhaps some keyboard or guitar ambiance, a drum beat… incoherent noodling does not count? Transitions are not the time to practice. They are strategic uses of space.

15 Minutes: Break

• Relax, and chat, but focus on discussing songs, parts, show, and band ideas. Don’t use this time to go smoke a joint in the alley. Stay focused and go pee if you need to.

45–120 Minutes: Run Set

• Try to keep the flow. Treat it as if you are playing the set to a live audience, but if there is some seriously wrong shit going on, stop and fix it. Don’t continue making errors thinking that they will work themselves out. They won’t and they’ll probably be magnified once you’re actually playing live.

15 Minutes: Load Out

• Same thing as load-in, just in reverse. If you have a designated practice space where you can leave your stuff set up, then use this time to move on to the Critique phase.

THE 3 MAIN PHASES OF BAND REHEARSING

These don’t necessarily occur during a single rehearsal instead of a span of rehearsals. Ie. you can work on building a setlist over a span of a few months while also alternating rehearsals where you jam and focus solely on new material.

1. SONGWRITING / JAMMING

• Standalone songwriting sessions should be held roughly once per month

New Covers and Songs

• You should ALWAYS be learning and working on new songs and/or covers
• You can either designate a single person or the person who brings the song to the table to disseminate any relevant tabs (hopefully sheet music someday), chords, lyrics, and youtube clips

2. BUILDING A SETLIST

• Do not work on any more than 4 songs during a rehearsal
• Don’t be satisfied if a song is just okay. It’s great that you can all finally make it from the beginning of a tune to the end, but you need to polish it into a gem. Make sure you’re all comfortable with a song so that it is second nature before moving on.

3. REFINING A SETLIST — DRESS REHEARSALS

• Play through the entire set as much as possible. Hold all questions and tweak things at the end
• Dress rehearsals are FULL rehearsals. Set up as close to your stage setup as possible. Once the clock starts, you should act exactly as if you are on stage without any stops.
• All Dress rehearsals will be videotaped and reviewed by the entire band

4-WEEK EXAMPLE REHEARSAL SCHEDULE (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

Week 01 — Songwriting / Jamming

Week 02 — Songwriting / Setlist Building

Week 03 — Jamming / Setlist Refining

Week 04 — Dress Rehearsals

ADDITIONAL ROLES

Besides Playing, Singing, and being the designated class clown timewaster, everyone should have one or two additional roles in a band. Since this post is just about rehearsals, I won’t talk about roles that don’t pertain to rehearsals.

Assignable Roles:

Schedule Organizer: Keep everyone on track and have a strategy for how you can make the most of your time together.

NoteTaker: Have someone designated to take notes on songs during rehearsal and make sure any changes are accurately recorded and that there aren’t any conflicting charts.

Librarian: Someone needs to be in charge of organizing charts and making sure everyone has their music, in the correct key, when it’s time to rehearse. I know, you’re the most responsible person in the world and you never lose anything it’s hard to trust someone else with your music, and you want to bring it home to practice….. make a copy and go spill coffee all over that version to your heart's delight. Band charts stay with the librarian.

Sound Engineer: Record rehearsals and take any important notes and corresponding sound/video files and disseminate them to the band 1–2 days after rehearsal.

THE CRITIQUE

• A band critique will be held after every rehearsal that should last about 5 minutes to see where the band is at, how things went, what should be changed, etc… This can also be done while you are breaking down the set if you are pressed for time, as long as the Notetaker makes sure to record any relevant information.
• Be honest, have some candor and provide constructive criticism. Nothing breeds mediocrity and lack of growth more than people that are unwilling to find the flaws in something and voice them out loud. How are you going to get better if you can’t find anything to get better about?

Additional Notes:

• All important rehearsals will be recorded
• Make sure you focus on what you NEEDto focus on, not what you WANT to focus on.