Module Five Lesson One: Mastering Rehearsals: Tips and Insights To Elevate Your Performance

Module Five

Mar 30

GO DEEPER:

If you’re interested in how much time it takes to rehearse for different types of performances, check out this blog post here on my website. You’ll also find a simple formula you can use to calculate the time you’ll need for yours.

TRANSCRIPTION

For many of us, rehearsal remains a means to an end, a necessary chore to get to the main event, performing. But what if rehearsals were something you looked forward to? What if they gave you energy rather than depleting it? What if they had the same potential as a performance for creating connection and community?

What if they were just plain more fun? I asked my musician friends what made their rehearsals productive and enjoyable. From mindset to preparation, communication to practical tips, here's what they shared with me, and what I've learned on my own musical journey. Everything that will make your rehearsals the best they can be.

Mindset

Before you meet up with other musicians, let's talk about your mindset. What kind of energy and intention will you bring into the rehearsal space? There are as many different answers to that question as there are people on the planet, but there's one word that describes the kind of energy that will make your rehearsals the best they can be.

Enthusiasm.

Buddhist monk and teacher Pema Chodron says it well.

“Enthusiasm works like a miracle ingredient that brings eagerness to all we do. Without enthusiasm, we might push too hard or give up altogether. As the Zen master Suzuki Roshi put it, What we're doing here is so important, we had better not take it too seriously.
The key is finding this balance between not too tight and not too loose, not too zealous or too laid back. Pema was writing about enthusiasm as it relates to spiritual practice, but I think her words apply to anything that we practice. The energy and intention you bring to your rehearsals matters. If you're too tight, anxious about your abilities, your preparation, or singing in front of others, you won't be open, relaxed, aware, and ready to learn in the moment.”

If you're too loose, unprepared, unfocused, or not invested in the project, the music suffers, and you'll waste precious life-energy and time. When you come to rehearsals prepared, open, relaxed, and enthusiastic, your energy and intention will make the vital work of rehearsing more productive and fun.

Genuine enthusiasm is also contagious. Yours will help to lift the energy in the rehearsal room. If you're leading the rehearsal session, the quality of your energy is even more critical. You set the tone for the work and how it will get done. An atmosphere that's focused. Kind and playful is the most conducive to learning and creativity.

So how do you cultivate genuine enthusiasm? I mean, that all sounds great, but how do you actually do it? First, know that it's a capacity you can build. Make it your intention. Hold it as your north star. When you start to feel anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed, Notice your body tightening. Step back, take a few deep breaths, and then ask yourself what's causing the tension.

If it's negative self-talk, like it usually is for me, well, you're only human. Thank your anxiety for trying to keep you safe, and then gently but firmly tell it to take a back seat so you can move on. Often, focusing on the practical things you can do to prepare for your rehearsal will quiet the negative self talk.

Our minds are like two-year-olds. Tell a toddler not to do something, and you'll focus that child like a laser beam on the forbidden activity. But when you refocus a child's attention, they'll be off and running in the direction you want them to go. Here are some things you can do to prepare for rehearsal and focus your mind on what matters most.

Rehearsal Preparation

First of all, know your material inside and out. When you feel confident about the music, you'll be more relaxed. And when you're more relaxed, you'll be a better listener and ensemble player, able to hear how your part fits within the whole. Know your objective. Just like in your solo practice sessions, it's a good idea to have goals for your rehearsal.

Learning songs for a gig or recording session, creating new material, or working on choreography or just stagecraft are just a few objectives. You and your bandmates could focus on. If you're the band leader or music director, let the other musicians know in advance what you want to achieve during your time together, and make sure you send everyone the written or recorded music well before, so they have time to prepare.

Arrive early. Productive rehearsals start on time. Get there early enough to say hello to everyone, set up, and get centered so you're ready to sing and play at the agreed-upon time.

If you're the band leader, make sure you communicate the rehearsal start time clearly. Let everyone know that they're supposed to get there, set up, and be ready at the appointed time.

Now it's time to get the work done. Where do you begin? Let's say your main objective is to learn new material or tighten up older songs. Here's a possible rehearsal order and a few tips for making the most of your rehearsal time.

Rehearsal Order

Create momentum. Create momentum by rehearsing the simplest song first.

Use it as a warm-up for everything. everyone's brains and bodies. Now that you're warmed up, it's time to tackle the most challenging song on your list. Always rehearse the most difficult music while everyone's still fresh. Keep going through your list of tunes, and after you've successfully worked on the most labor-intensive song, the rest will seem a lot easier.

Make sure the beginnings and endings of every song are tight. They're what the audience remembers. If you don't have time to run through an entire tune, just rehearse how you start and end a song, and you won't have any train wrecks on stage. Record your rehearsals and then listen, with the band if possible.

If there's a problem spot in a song and you can't figure out what the issue is, Record it and listen back. It's so much easier to hear what the problem is when you're not trying to listen, sing, and play simultaneously. You can also record each song's final run-through and then email them to everyone after rehearsal.

People can listen on their own, fix their mistakes, and identify what needs to be worked on to make the song better the next time you get together.

Record without the vocals. This is such a great tip. Ask the band to record the songs you're rehearsing without you singing. Besides giving you a recording to practice with, they'll find out how well they know the songs.

I think it's important that they hear the melody, line, and lyrics in their heads whether the vocal is there or not, then they'll be playing the song and not just their part. When everyone's playing in service to the song, it changes the entire performance. Fills will go where they belong, not on top of the vocal, but around it.

Dynamics become more purposeful, supporting the lyrics and emotional content.

Stagecraft

The final phase in creating a performance is the one most often overlooked, stagecraft. People hear 80 percent with their eyes. Unless you're rehearsing to be in a pit band where no one will see you, creating a visual experience for the audience that's unique to each song is essential.

Just as there are dynamics in music, there are dynamics in visual presentation. The lighting, where you stand or sit, whether you move or stand still, hold a mic in your hand, or have it in a mic stand, all add to the song's interpretation.

If space allows, set up and rehearse in the same configuration that you'll perform in. You might not be able to spread out in your rehearsal space like you would on stage, but at least you'll get a chance to get used to the ergonomics of your setup.

Finally, videotape the band in rehearsal to see whether or not your performance enhances the music.

You'll learn more about stagecraft in the next module, but I wanted to mention it in this lesson too.

People often leave out this essential stage of rehearsing due to a lack of time or recognition of its importance.

How Often & How Long To Rehearse

When I asked some of my musician friends how often and how long they rehearse, I received a wide range of answers. Some people don't rehearse at all. Others have once-a-week, five-hour-long rehearsals where they run songs back to back without a break. So, how often should you rehearse? Well, it depends.

Your performance goals, the other players’ availability, and the kind of music you play are all factors. Are you preparing for a performance or working on your musicianship? Learning an entire set of tunes or just adding a few to your repertoire? Are you playing jazz standards, pop cover tunes, or original music? Are the musicians you perform with amateurs or professionals? Generally speaking, the higher the level of musicianship, the less time you'll need to rehearse. But the time you do have will be at a premium. The more professional the musician, the busier they'll be. An hour to about an hour and a half is what you can expect.

Inexperienced players will need more time to get songs performance-ready. Rehearsing for two to three hours is more typical.

If you're interested in how much time it takes to rehearse for different types of performances, check out the Go Deeper section of this lesson. You'll also find a simple formula you can use to calculate the time you'll need for yours.

Side Note About Paid Rehearsals

Here's an important side note about paid rehearsals. Professional players need to know whether or not they'll be paid a separate fee for rehearsing. When booking musicians, make sure to make the terms clear.

Snacks!

Snacks. If your rehearsals tend to run long or are unpaid, providing snacks and beverages is an excellent way of saying thank you to your musicians.

Plus, it'll keep their blood sugar pumping so their brains have some energy to run on.

Noodling

Noodling. No noodling, please. When you noodle on your instrument or have side conversations during rehearsals, it's harder to hear the person who's running the session and for your bandmates to focus.

Rehearse With A Sound System

Rehearsing with a sound system. Unless you're rehearsing opera or running through songs with just one other person on an acoustic instrument, use a sound system when you rehearse.

I learned this one the hard way. In the early days of our band, we rehearsed without a sound system. Trying to sing over a 12-piece R&B band left my voice ragged and raspy and contributed to the nodules I later developed. A full-size sound system isn't necessary. Even a small monitor and microphone will help you hear yourself and save your voice.

If you're the bandleader and doing some talking in between songs, it's critical to be amplified. Talking is harder on your voice than singing. If you use a microphone when you speak, your voice won't have to work so hard.

Three Things That Will End Your Rehearsals On A High Note

Finally, how do you end your rehearsals? To make sure everyone leaves on a high note, try these three things.

Clean up the rehearsal space together. Pick up your trash, water bottles, etc., so that whoever is hosting the rehearsal doesn't have to clean up after you leave. If it's a communal rehearsing space, leave it in even better shape than you found it for good karma points.
If you have band meetings, try to schedule them separately.
Rehearsals and band meetings both take a lot of energy, but they're different kinds of energy. It's better to have them separate. But if that's not possible, get them out of the way before you begin making music. Make sure everyone knows about your meeting ahead of time and that it's on your rehearsal itinerary.
Schedule the next rehearsal. If the next rehearsal isn't scheduled already, take a moment to get it done while you're all in the same room or confirm that it's on everyone's calendar.

Wrap Up

In this lesson, you've learned how an enthusiastic mindset, thoughtful preparation, and a few practical tips will make your rehearsals more productive and fun while potentially deepening the connection to the music you make and your bandmates.