Best way to build a tight band

[3bc]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but a band is only as tight as its weakest link. I have been to many a show at a blues or jazz club, or to charity events where the players have never met each other before and they sounded great, because they were all seasoned pros. I don't really buy into the concept of needing lots of rehearsal time to be in a "tight" band. You need guys who are all musically fluent and with great internal timing. A strict personal practice schedule, like the rest of your mates have is as important as rehearsal time. Both personal and group rehearsal are productive in different ways. I don't personally think one is more productive than the other, but I know which one is easier to arrange and knock out.

 

[Sparkl]

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.

I agree.

What I would add is that there actually isn't a fixed set of rules dictating certain procedure to make the band work or not. Some people do great if they practice alone along the metronome, for others, practicing together with the band as much as possible is key to success.

As impossible as it is to give a one sided answer to this specific matter I would say that it is very important to make the band work as a whole and not making it sound like there is a band on the stage where every band member plays something non related. What I am aiming at is the "core DNA of band groove". If the band really sits well together then it isn't as important to fix certain tempo fluctuations. I realize that the op is talking about timing issues but I want to specially emphasize the fact that tempo and timing relate a lot actually.

So optimally, a musician should strive to fix his/her timing with individual practice but then use every opportunity you can to practice with the band to really get to know each other and find a common rhytmic pulse, articulation, phrasing and tempo.

That is, of course, if you are aimimg at the "pro" level (I hate the word "pro" lol).

And this is something your instructor definitely wont be able to instruct you.

So yes, making the band tight is not a procedure but more of a long term (!!) PROCESS. The most important thing is not to give up when things go south


Happy gigging people and remember to HAVE FUN while doing it!!

 

[Joe Nerve]

I personally feel that for a band to become "tight", they have to become a cohesive unit. Rehersals together will do nothing but help build that tightness...

If the individual musicians aren’t tight players themselves (and do nothing on their own to develop their sense of groove and timing), all the rehearsals in the world won’t make a band any tighter. Replacing one musician in the band can make all the difference in the world regarding how tight a band is. Usually the bass player or drummer.

I’ll add that often times it seems the rehearsals are necessary because rehearsals are the only times some drummers get to actually play. In which case the band WILL get better by rehearsing 2X a week. The same I guess holds true if the other other musicians aren’t working on their own. But they don’t have any excuse.

 

[Stumbo]

Make sure that everyone has a good monitor feed.
Appointment one member to count off the songs and direct the band on stage. Agree on signals.
Hand signals?

The bass player and drummer need to be tight (know all the tunes backwards/forwards)

I’ll add that often times it seems the rehearsals are necessary because rehearsals are the only times some drummers get to actually play. In which case the band WILL get better by rehearsing 2X a week. The same I guess holds true if the other musicians aren’t working on their own. But they don’t have any excuse.

I worked with a drummer who never practiced with actual drums. He could tap his knees and use his feet to learn any song. I never heard him make a mistake or get off time in 2 years.

 

[202dy]

If somebody walks into a rehearsal without being practiced and ready then he's undermining, maybe even defeating the function of rehearsal. That player will always hold the band back.

When the band members sound like four or five stars or wannabe stars the band is not tight; when the band sounds like a cohesive unit with every bit supporting all the other bits and the audience can't help but groove with it ... that's "tight." At these gigs the musicians are looking at each other from time to time, grinning.

It was a rhetorical question. The answer followed. They either understand their instrument or they don't. They either know the material or they don't.

Sometimes people like to talk about knowing in "degrees" as in, they more or less know where the notes are or they more or less know the material. No band can be tight when one of the players has this problem. If someone says they know the material but they sometimes make mistakes they do not know the material. If someone says they know all the notes to the Nth fret they best not play music requiring them to go higher.

All of the other things being discussed in the thread are "workarounds" for musicians who either do not know their instruments or do not know the material intimately.

By the way, none of the ideas work save that they might be useful as a wake up call for the players.

 

[CalBuzz51]

This.

The OP said that it is a bluegrass band. I would guess that they don’t have a drummer. I’m no expert, but I believe a bluegrass rhythm section would be bass and mandolin rather than bass and drums.

If there's no drummer, likely the bass player is hitting the 1 and 3. Boom. Somebody has to be holding down 2 and 4. Chuck.

It could be mandolin, guitar, banjo, I've seen fiddle do it. Not every song follows this formula, but a lot do. Its challenging playing the bass in time well if the other end isn't holding it up.

 

[craigie]

Make sure that everyone has a good monitor feed.
Appointment one member to count off the songs and direct the band on stage. Agree on signals.
Hand signals?

The bass player and drummer need to be tight (know all the tunes backwards/forwards)

I worked with a drummer who never practiced with actual drums. He could tap his knees and use his feet to learn any song. I never heard him make a mistake or get off time in 2 years.

Sounds like me buddy when he’s driving with the steering wheel and the air fresheners. I once saw a guy at a red light with drum sticks....

 

[jthisdell]

You also may try using part of a rehearsal for some unstructured jamming. If you use every rehearsal to go over the same songs it can get kind of forced. Try taking some extended jams so you learn how to react to each other in a less scripted manner.

 

[Wisebass]

Make sure that everyone has a good monitor feed.
Appointment one member to count off the songs and direct the band on stage. Agree on signals.
Hand signals?

The bass player and drummer need to be tight (know all the tunes backwards/forwards)

I worked with a drummer who never practiced with actual drums. He could tap his knees and use his feet to learn any song. I never heard him make a mistake or get off time in 2 years.

Hi Stumbo

good post ...

gets a like but please don' t do that greenthigstuff in quotes I can' t read that!!!

greetings

Wise

 

[Wisebass]

Hi Lorenzo great thread lotsa fun reading it!!

Here is what I got from your post:

Everyone gets along well

all are dedicated to become better

So there should be no problem but...

our timing has been off for some while

which is a big "" for me!

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

Yes! That' s the good news

I just do what’s necessary

The bad news is that "just what' s necessary" is not good enough!!!

(at least it never was in the bands I played in)

Being a bassplayer in a band means:

A strict personal practice schedule

Get your homework done!!!! The others expect a real good timing of a bassplayer and they are right!

practice on your own when the band is not rehearsing

work on your skills, get your timing right, learn the songs inside out.

What can I say? Nail it!!!

over and over

...and over again!!!


and of course have fun! good luck!!!


may the bass be with you

Wise(b)ass

 

[murdockbass]

Sorry I did not have time to read all of the posts...

Q: How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

A: PRACTICE!

So many musicians (bands) want to think that they are the "exception" to the rule. When, in fact, they are the rule. Practice makes perfect as the saying goes for a reason. The time you put into your rehearsals are rewarded by better performances and knowing you killed it, rather than just close enough.

You get out of it what you put into it!

 

[Jimmy Pringle]

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.

I second this! I do the same and it is the best way to stay rehearsed.

 

[Bassbeater]

You can try practicing behind and to the side of the drummer, so you can watch the kick beater and gain that split second visual cue. That has helped me in situations where there is no chain of rhythmic command. Typically in a tight band the drummer leads, then bassist and percussion, then guitar and keys, then singer. Timing wise, that's the basic chain of a typical band setup.

 

[gmarcus]

record every practice and gig if possible and send the recordings out to the band. Listening to how you play goes a long way towards correcting all of those little timing mistakes.

 

[lfmn16]

If the individual musicians aren’t tight players themselves (and do nothing on their own to develop their sense of groove and timing), all the rehearsals in the world won’t make a band any tighter. Replacing one musician in the band can make all the difference in the world regarding how tight a band is. Usually the bass player or drummer.

I’ll add that often times it seems the rehearsals are necessary because rehearsals are the only times some drummers get to actually play. In which case the band WILL get better by rehearsing 2X a week. The same I guess holds true if the other other musicians aren’t working on their own. But they don’t have any excuse.

+1

I call this practicing on band time. People either learn the songs on their own time or on band time.

If everyone learns the songs, the simple songs shouldn't require any rehearsal, the complex songs might require minimal rehearsal to see how all the parts fit together. Although I like to some have some rehearsal time to work on the fine details, depending on the material, a group of pros should be able to play a gig with minimal or no rehearsal.

 

[Flip Rosenbaum]

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.

Are we still responding to the bluegrass band question? Rarely, does a true Bluegrass band have drums.

 

[bobsax]

Always make it fun beer can help

 

[Josh Kneisel]

We play together 4 or 5 times a week and rehearse to a click track.

 

[GrapeBass]

If everyone wore spandex, you'd have a really tight band

 

[Ukulelegeek]

We rehearse at least once a week, twice if we can slip it in. I think the main key is:
Listen to each other. That's they only way we stay together. We listen.