Best way to build a tight band

[LorenzoL]

Hey fellow bassists:
I’m in a fairly new 5 piece bluegrass group with some real potential. Everyone gets along well, all are dedicated to become better and grow as a band. We used to have twice weekly practices but lately are lucky to get in one 2 hour weekly practice. We gig out twice a month. After a gig recently we had a meeting where it was brought up that our timing has been off for some while and everyone went around to describe how much personal practice/instructor time they put in daily/weekly. I happen to be the only one that doesn’t have an instructor or a set practice schedule. I just do what’s necessary when I fell I need it. My question is can a band create a tight well timed sound with limited physical group time?

 

[sean_on_bass]

I think its a yes and no. A tight group starts with tight individual musicians who have good time on their own. If there is a weak link it can bring the whole band down. On the other hand you can have good musicians that just don't gel well, and have trouble negotiating a groove.

Ideally you just need to make sure your own time is good, first thing. This can be done by playing to a metronome and seeing how you do. Other members of the group should do the same in their practice time. You can even bring the metronome into the band rehearsal for the band to play to which may help. Identifying the weak link in the band can also help, sometimes its just one person who needs the work.

I'm guessing weak time has brought down alot of bands, so its good you all are working on it. Weekly practice is more than enough, and two per week is just downright excessive.

 

[craigie]

It’s also important what you practice and how you practice it both on your own and with the band. Picture JB’s band. They gigged and rehearsed incessantly. At practice though JB would doc them pay lol. If you just run through the songs you’re not really going to accomplish much compared to if you focus on things until they are perfect.

 

[Munjibunga]

Each member needs to listen to each other member while playing. For bass players it's especially important to hear the drummer and vice-versa. The tightest bands I've been in were ones in which the drummer and I played off each other. Eventually you know where the other is going, even on new songs. If the rhythm section is tight it's nearly impossible for the rest of the band to go astray.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Yes. I think one rehearsal a week is good. After each rehearsal, decide what tune you will do next week. Each member learns their parts on their own, so rehearsal time is used to put the pieces together - there is no excuse for people not to be prepared - however they want to do it is up to them.

 

[GrapeBass]

Practice and gig as often as you can.

 

[Lobster11]

The tightest bands I've been in were ones in which the drummer and I played off each other. Eventually you know where the other is going, even on new songs.

Right, but that "eventually you know..." part implies lots of hours of playing together. One gig a month plus weekly 2-hour rehearsals might not be enough to get/stay really tight.

Evidently OP's band used to be tighter before they cut their rehearsal time in half. It seems to me, then, that the obvious answer is either more gigs or more rehearsal time -- or just don't expect to be as tight as you wish you could be.

 

[LowNloud1]

I record every practice on a Tascam DR-05 recorder. I send the best recording of a song to the other members after each session. It accomplishes a few things, if the other members are open to listening.

It provides a way of practicing at home with the band (i just back off the low end).

It serves as a reminder of where the rough spots are in the song andhelps tighten things up..

We often try a song with more than one singer singing lead. We do a take, go home and listen to the recordings I send out to decide who sounded best.

It provides feedback on the progress of the band.

If you have a mix board available, it can provide a recording to use as a marketing tool.

Best $69 bucks I have invested and even though the band was reluctant to use it at first, now they ask me to record every session.

 

[Lobster11]

I record every practice on a Tascam DR-05 recorder. I send the best recording of a song to the other members after each session. It accomplishes a few things, if the other members are open to listening.

It provides a way of practicing at home with the band (i just back off the low end).

It serves as a reminder of where the rough spots are in the song andhelps tighten things up..

We often try a song with more than one singer singing lead. We do a take, go home and listen to the recordings I send out to decide who sounded best.

It provides feedback on the progress of the band.

If you have a mix board available, it can provide a recording to use as a marketing tool.

Best $69 bucks I have invested and even though the band was reluctant to use it at first, now they ask me to record every session.

+1 to recording rehearsals and gigs and listening back to them, for all those reasons. For me, the biggest benefit is that they "serve as a reminder of where the rough spots are." That's often all I need to avoid repeating the same mistake I've made previously, or motivate me to practice a particular part before the next rehearsal.

 

[delta7fred]

Record rehearsals and put them on a shared Dropbox site or similar cloud storage.

If everyone listens to the playback and does their homework the improvements from one rehearsal to the next can be very impressive. It soon becomes very apparent who listens to them and who doesn't, just make sure you do!

I record all rehearsals with a Tascam DR-40 hand held recorder (there are a host of others similar), edit out the best version of the songs from the .wav file using Audacity, convert to mp3 to save space and up/download time, and upload to our band shared Dropbox folder usually as soon as I get home from a rehearsal.

Tips
Keep notes of what files contain what songs.
Use mono recording to save even more space (and time).
Stop and restart the recorder every 3 or 4 songs to keep file sizes manageable.
Start editing out the songs at the last .wav file and work towards the start to get the best version if there are multiple versions.
Use a mains power supply to save on batteries.

 

[StyleOverShow]

Practice and gig as often as you can.

Playing out puts the pressure on. I call it the crucible.

I too record rehearsals and find them useful, but not all players agree.

In the end it is about listening, playing together as one. Better players get there quicker.

 

[craigie]

I record every practice on a Tascam DR-05 recorder. I send the best recording of a song to the other members after each session. It accomplishes a few things, if the other members are open to listening.

It provides a way of practicing at home with the band (i just back off the low end).

It serves as a reminder of where the rough spots are in the song andhelps tighten things up..

We often try a song with more than one singer singing lead. We do a take, go home and listen to the recordings I send out to decide who sounded best.

It provides feedback on the progress of the band.

If you have a mix board available, it can provide a recording to use as a marketing tool.

Best $69 bucks I have invested and even though the band was reluctant to use it at first, now they ask me to record every session.

Very diplomatic of you to send the best take and not the worst

 

[delta7fred]

Playing out puts the pressure on. I call it the crucible.

I have always said one gig improves you as much as 10 rehearsals, it has a way of focusing your mind.

I too record rehearsals and find them useful, but not all players agree.

Not all players like to be recorded, usually because they like their mistakes to be gone and forgotten.
Not all players can be bothered to listen to the recordings.
In either case it is best (IMO, YMMV of course) to move on as they will not change.

In the end it is about listening, playing together as one. Better players get there quicker.

This ^
If they will not listen to the recordings then don't expect them to list at rehearsal time either (IMO, YMMV of course).

(I have recorded almost every rehearsal I have had since 2003. After a couple of rehearsals most people get used to being recorded and most find it beneficial, those that don't are not interested in improving (IMO etc)).

 

[Renaissance]

I think it's crazy to assume you are the problem because you don't have a regular practice schedule or teacher. They may not be pointing a finger but since you mentioned it, it must be in someone's mind. You may have the best internal timing of them all.

Record and listen. I record everything we do and post the recordings to a seperate website I built for the band. Getting your bandmates to listen is another problem but at least you'll have something to work with on finding the problem.

To answer your question: I don't think physical group time together is the best indicator of how good a band can get.

 

[craigie]

This could also create a spin-off thread about “how best to run a rehearsal?” and I’m sure that’s been covered a lot.

Since with my duo my band mate only wants to typically run songs A to Z I’m not interested in rehearsals. It just makes me his backing track. I’ve asked for rehearsals just to focus on harmony but we rarely do that. So I just practice at home and it’s more effective. Helps that we have midi backing tracks lol which act as pretty much a crutch. No time issues or form issues. Without that, totally different story.

With a bluegrass band you’d probably be best to just practice the tricky parts which is where the recording suggestions are golden. You’ve got the evidence on tape to be able to stop in the middle of a song and say “you muffed that up last week” if the same mistake happens.

I remember one guy Dino would muff up a unison line withbth guitar player. Get them to each play it and they’d do it right. Together and Dino would muff it up every time. We could all hear it but him and he wouldn’t for the life of him believe us.

 

[madbass6]

Hey fellow bassists:
I’m in a fairly new 5 piece bluegrass group with some real potential. Everyone gets along well, all are dedicated to become better and grow as a band. We used to have twice weekly practices but lately are lucky to get in one 2 hour weekly practice. We gig out twice a month. After a gig recently we had a meeting where it was brought up that our timing has been off for some while and everyone went around to describe how much personal practice/instructor time they put in daily/weekly. I happen to be the only one that doesn’t have an instructor or a set practice schedule. I just do what’s necessary when I fell I need it. My question is can a band create a tight well timed sound with limited physical group time?

no way around it, practice makes perfect!!

 

[db59]

+1 to recording rehearsals and gigs and listening back to them, for all those reasons. For me, the biggest benefit is that they "serve as a reminder of where the rough spots are." That's often all I need to avoid repeating the same mistake I've made previously, or motivate me to practice a particular part before the next rehearsal.

+2…..personal experience…live playing(awesome)….listening to recording..not so much

 

[QweziRider]

My question is can a band create a tight well timed sound with limited physical group time?

Absolutely. My primary band is comprised of people who don't even live in the same states, and often (with various subs) not even in the same ends of the country. Needless to say, we never rehearse and it's still the tightest, most potent band I've ever worked with. Maybe a tweak of something here and there in a sound check (like a new tune, maybe), but that's it. We have mp3s of the show and are expected to make it work as the mp3s are executed or we won't get hired much in the future. It just works when you have people who will put in the time on their own when needed and listen to each other like crazy during the shows.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

depends on the band members..

 

[interp]

Lots of folks have mentioned this but it bears repeating. No band can be tight unless every single player—not just the drummer—takes personal responsibility for time and tempo. That requires every player listening to every other player, all the time.