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Rehersal time?

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Harrytulipan

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I've been noticing one thing about ensemble playing: some people in ensembles/bands see rehersal time as practice time.
They often do not know the tune(s) that well before going to the rehersal. They say that they are not really sure how the tune goes.

Why do people go to rehersals without being familiar with the tunes?
I'm starting to think that they are doing this on purpose.
Do some people only like to learn in groups?
I am a person who find group learning very difficult and I find that combining rehersal and practice is very difficult. It might be easier for a bass player to come less prepared than for us accordionists.

I also never really like group lesson for accordion. Learning together is difficult for me since we all have our own difficulties and strenghts that we must focus on.

My guess is that some people choose to learn in groups because it is a social thing.
I guess it is more fun if they make it a social thing even if it is harder to learn that way.

What do you think about this?
 
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Harrytulipan said:
I've been noticing one thing about ensemble playing: some people in ensembles/bands see rehersal time as practice time.
They often do not know the tune(s) that well before going to the rehersal. They say that they are not really sure how the tune goes.

Why do people go to rehersals without being familiar with the tunes?
I'm starting to think that they are doing this on purpose.
Do some people only like to learn in groups?
I am a person who find group learning very difficult and I find that combining rehersal and practice is very difficult. It might be easier for a bass player to come less prepared than for us accordionists.

What do you think about this?
Click to expand...
There is a simple explanation: these people have a very special accordion case that cannot be opened when it is at home. It only opens and lets you play the instrument when you are away, for a rehearsal or performance. I don't know exactly how it works as my accordions always came with a carrying case or bag that does open at home... ;) ;) ;) ;)
Seriously, for many people their ensemble or band is 99% for use as social gathering. They do bring their instrument because that is the main way to be a member of that social club, but they have no further interest in playing when they are not in the band.
 
debra said:
There is a simple explanation: these people have a very special accordion case that cannot be opened when it is at home. It only opens and lets you play the instrument when you are away, for a rehearsal or performance. I don't know exactly how it works as my accordions always came with a carrying case or bag that does open at home... ;) ;) ;) ;)
Seriously, for many people their ensemble or band is 99% for use as social gathering. They do bring their instrument because that is the main way to be a member of that social club, but they have no further interest in playing when they are not in the band.
Click to expand...
It could well be that people are more interested in socializiing than playing music.

But I see this behaviour even if a person is very interested in playing their instrument.
Are some people jut bad at practicing alone? Is it hard for some people?

I know a bass player who find it so mych easier to make music on his computer than practicing playin bass. He is a person who works professionally with people who have difficulties breaking down tasks and organizing.
I doubt that he finds practicing difficult in itself. It is perhaps a little boring or not something he is used to, I guess.

I think too many people are not tought how to practice alone. They probably do not know what to focus on. They need other people around them.
What do you think?

With some people I see this: they can play the tune but not when they do it in the band.
Why would that be? Did they perhaps practice playing the tune in a different way than they do in the band or did they never focus on learning the tune without startin to play too fast or too slow in some parts of the tune?
 
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In most of the
bands I've worked with the rule is simple.... if you haven't practiced and know your part don't waste others time by turning up at rehearsal..
Last part of rehearsal is generally suggestions of tunes to be learnt by next rehearsal and then everyone pitches in to help anyone needing guidance....

Or ...the band hasn't rehearsed at all, perhaps never met each other but the expectation then is that all players have practiced at home and know the changes before a gig and competent enough to wing it.....this group of musicians normally joke. "rehearsal... isn't that why we practiced at home all those years"

I guess that's why there are 'standards'
 
Another pet peeve is 'noodling' between tunes. I played with a guitarist who seemed to not want any silence ever. As soon as a tune ended, he would start noodling. He was a good guitarist and good friend, but I only did one gig with him.
 
JeffJetton said:
It can be this way for any gathering of humans, not just music ensembles. People sometimes show up for book club meetings without having read the book, for example. And if you ever had to do a group project in school, well...

-grave-so-they-can-let-me-down-one-last-time-0e740.png
Click to expand...
Don't actually want to read the book?
 
losthobos said:
In most of the
bands I've worked with the rule is simple.... if you haven't practiced and know your part don't waste others time by turning up at rehearsal..
Last part of rehearsal is generally suggestions of tunes to be learnt by next rehearsal and then everyone pitches in to help anyone needing guidance....

Or ...the band hasn't rehearsed at all, perhaps never met each other but the expectation then is that all players have practiced at home and know the changes before a gig and competent enough to wing it.....this group of musicians normally joke. "rehearsal... isn't that why we practiced at home all those years"

I guess that's why there are 'standards'
Click to expand...
We seem to have many situations here. It is not simply practice vs rehersal, I think.

We have practice, a friendly jam and rehersal.
I think rehersal and friendly jam can be confused with eachother.
For a friendly jam a GT (gin n tonic) would be lovely, at least for me.
Rehersal is actually a kind of practice; you are practicing playing together, right?

What is the difference between a jam and a rehersal? For both you play through songs.
What focus should a rehersal have?

I've seen or been in rehersals where you just play the tune over and over. That did not help.
They or we were just jamming. It just hapened that they or we played the tune more than once.

For a rehersal you cannot focus on fixing a specific person's issues or problems. I guess you just tell the person to deal with that away from rehersal time. Focus on technichal issues won't work. Neither would focusing on all the issues of playing together.
Then what can or should you focus on?
 
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a rehearsal normally has a purpose and a program that will be communicated beforehand
a jam most likely has a jamleader, and a genre, but not a set program

as with most things, it all depends on the situation

3 weeks ago we had a rehearsal for a walkthrough of a theatre piece with horn section and all
it was in Paris - a 5 hour drive from us. The only opportunity for the walkthrough was to drive there in the morning, rehearse, and then drive back late at night. If somebody right then and there had decided not to be fully prepared to rehearse, there would have been a PROBLEM. most likely involving door slamming.

periodic rehearsals of a little band with a static repertoire will have no such problems, and most likely focus on the social aspects
 
Harrytulipan said:
It could well be that people are more interested in socializiing than playing music.

...

With some people I see this: they can play the tune but not when they do it in the band.
Why would that be? Did they perhaps practice playing the tune in a different way than they do in the band or did they never focus on learning the tune without startin to play too fast or too slow in some parts of the tune?
Click to expand...
Indeed often socializing is more what people are after...

But some people are just not very good with grasping music and playing it correctly.
Long ago we had a band member who could play some impressive solo pieces (using both hands, fast notes, etc.). It really sounded impressive and familiar, but if you tried to figure out what the time signature might be of the piece being played, ... good luck with that.
In the band this same person had trouble playing with the others, and with a 4/4 he could master 1 whole note per bar, 2 half notes, and maybe 4 quarter notes, but anything else was close to impossible. A measure that started with a rest, impossible. Triplets, impossible. Something like 1 quarter note, then a half note, then a quarter again, impossible... Some people just cannot grasp the length each note should have, and that makes playing in a group very difficult. Solo, if you just listen to the melody and ignore the rhythm, no problem...
 
I think people only choose group lessons because they are way cheaper.
 
There's also the question of different expectations of how much practice you need before the songs are ready for rehearsal. Depending on the instrument played there are varying levels of what would be considered the finished song. The rhythm section can prepare quicker than soloists and then you have to add vocalists which is completely different.
 
Said debra: "Some people just cannot grasp the length each note should have..."
So very true, and, for me, it can ruin some otherwise good performances.
There are also those for whom legato is legato and staccato is staccato "...and never the twain shall meet."
 
losthobos said:
A violinist friend once said at a rehearsal
"Ok lads, that's enough.. we've come hear to rehearse not jam. Jam is both a sticky and lumpy substance and the audience aren't paying for that"
Click to expand...
and then you said: you know what sticky and lumpy substance people do pay for????



ok bye!
 
I have been taking accordion lessons and been in rehersals but I have never been told that we should write down a specific practice or rehersal plan. Do we need to do that?

I'm starting to think that I have never been told to write down such a plans because teachers do not know how to write a practice or rehersal plan and thwy require having concrete goals in mind (we might not always know what our concrete goals would be).
 
'Rehearse' suggests that the player has been given material to prepare and become familiar with before attending a group practice. Not to do that 'rehearsal' work is simply bad manners and if the group's aim is, say a recording or even a performance where tickets are sold, then that person should be dispensed with/replaced. Ego is also an element for a few 'players'.
 
boxplayer4000 said:
'Rehearse' suggests that the player has been given material to prepare and become familiar with before attending a group practice. Not to do that 'rehearsal' work is simply bad manners and if the group's aim is, say a recording or even a performance where tickets are sold, then that person should be dispensed with/replaced. Ego is also an element for a few 'players'.
Click to expand...
Very true, played in a band many years ago where one member who acted as a leader in and would accept bookings then would like to surprise everyone with last minute song requests from the clients. We would often get the sheet music on a Thursday, play it through twice and be expected to play it flawlessly on the Saturday. I think that this was his way of shining at the expense of the rest of the band.

Needless to say, that situation didn't last very long and we parted ways which is sad because it's very difficult to find other musicians who want to be in an ensemble.
 
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