15.2 Rehearsals

Over the first term, Band C shaped and developed workable creative ideas during band rehearsals, meetings and private practice. In this unit 15.2 I will discuss how our band approached rehearsals, issues that we faced that may or may not have been solved, the conduct and topics of band meetings and whether or not my own private practice and preparation helped or even hindered our band rehearsal process.

We started off doing very regular weekly practice as a band, both on a Monday after school and on a Tuesday lunchtime before our double performance lesson. We used our Facebook group to arrange our rehearsals and discuss what we’d be practicing in that rehearsal. I was pleased to find that I didn’t have to act as a band facilitator as I have done in the past with other bands and projects outside of college. 

Everybody in the band actually posted and inputted in the group, making discussion very efficient and immersive. It served as a good place to post feedback after rehearsals too; my band-mates could easily suggest areas that we should aim to focus or improve upon next time. The Facebook group was very multi-purpose. Aside from organising and discussing band rehearsals, it was also used for discussion of song ideas and band image (discussing our outfits for live performances) in the run-up towards the end of term gig.

One of the main issues that started cropping up and reoccurring was that Aidan started a new job and became unable to attend rehearsals on a Monday evening which meant we lost a rehearsal per week. I specifically remember one time where Tim was unable to attend too, due to a meeting, and the band had to practice without the rhythm section and we really struggled to stay in time and we also realised that day just how much we relied on Aidan and Tim to actually keep track of our place in the song. We got lost on the structure of some songs in that rehearsal because of that. To be honest I think this issue was a fault of our own. I’m obviously not saying that it’s certain people’s faults that they couldn’t attend; however, what I am saying is that we needed to be better at practising in the absence of other band members. Upon reflection, improvements could have been mind, such as practising with a metronome (both during private practise and during band rehearsals that Aidan was unable to attend. Perhaps myself or someone else could have written out copies of song structures for everyone to read and learn so that we wouldn’t get lost without some members of the band.

Separate from the Facebook group, we did hold some band meetings where we could discuss things face to face. Band members’ conduct was very good at these meetings which allowed for productive discussion. There were never any moments were everybody was talking over each other. Everything was very informal and jokey and I think in some ways that’s a nice thing to have amongst band members but in some respects I do think that we were susceptible to going off topic into tangents about other completely unrelated things or generally just laughing too much. If we went into band meetings with a bit more self-discipline and a more motivated, work based mind-set then I think we could have discussed more. Something I think we should have done at meetings which would have been very beneficial is logging onto a computer and watching back our recorded performances from the previous week and discussing what went well and what didn’t go so well. It’s one thing to reflect on performances straight afterwards or in the evening on the Facebook group, but to actually sit down a week later and watch an actual recording would give a completely different perspective on our performance. For example, the sound actually sounds very different from the stage area than it does to other classmates seated in the room.

I felt that in general; my own private practice has never been a hindrance to the band rehearsal process. I have spoken in detail about my personal practice routine in unit 15.1 as well as unit 23.1 and I believe that personal practice is one of the key factors to effectively developing as a band. The famous phrase “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link” accurately reflects my opinions on band dynamics. It is important for band members to have had a similar level of preparation coming into band rehearsals so that no one individual is less practiced and knowledgeable than the rest of the band. In my own personal practice I use a variety of different websites as teaching tools: Youtube, Ultimate Guitar, Sognsterr etc in order to learn the songs we have needed to play in Band C in the first term. Where there was any disparity between the original track and the published tab, I would use my own ears to determine what sounded right to me instead. I find a lot of my learning stems from my individual interpretation of the track, rather than trying to play something note-for-note.

In conclusion, the first term provided Band C with many challenges that needed to be approached as a unit and on the whole I feel like these challenges were dealt with constructively and efficiently. With anything band-related I feel like there is always room for improvement. As I mentioned previously, our band could have been more focused and on-topic during band meetings and we could also strive to be more productive in the absence of other members for rehearsals. These are my thoughts and opinions regarding the whole process in the first term and how I shaped and developed workable ideas within my band.