What is expected at a "sit-in" practice?

Shenaniflan

Shenaniflan

Nov 8, 2022
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#1
I'm stretching myself, switching from blues to heavy metal, learning fast picking. I'm good enough to play Muse, but not good enough to play The Color Black by Dayseeker without a lot of practice.

I have the opportunity to play with a metal band. I have a recording of the set and with a lot of practice can do a decent job probably.. but they today asked me if I'd come in for a sit-in practice and I just think that I'd embarrass myself I'm not prepared. I was going to learn their songs but then set them aside to learn the Dayseeker song.

I've done this before. Said that I was better than I was and just worked really hard behind the scenes. Harder than anyone realized. And it's such short notice. I'm thinking that I'm just busy today.

But if a sit in practice comes with very low expectation, then maybe I should go?
 
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#4
IME - the band wants to know where you are with the material, so they can decide if you're going to be where you need to be come showtime.

If you're seriously under water, be straight with them so as not to waste anyone's time.
If you go, do the best you can. Maybe that means playing eighths instead of 16ths some of the time, but do not mess up the groove; maintain the feeling.
Be solid and on the beat always. If they call you out on the speed, acknowledge and say you're working on it.
Know the song forms and the changes. If you have everything down but the speed, that will come with practice. But if you think there may be bits you can learn, do not pass up a learning opportunity.
 
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#5
Sounds like they want to rehearse with you, a sub, who will be “sitting in” with the band. At least that’s how I’ve heard the term used. Is that the situation, a gig that the regular bassist can’t make?

If they’re asking for a practice with less than 24 hours’ notice and you haven’t learned the material yet, I’m not sure this rehearsal is a great idea. The rest of the band will have it down perfectly, right? Their expectation could be that the group will work out a few trickier parts and run through the rest to make everyone feel more comfortable and avoid a complete train wreck wherein someone is wholly unprepared…

Also, you can ask their expectations. Tell them that you don’t have it ready yet. Definitely don’t pretend that you have it down if you don’t; they’ll figure that out right away when the playing starts.

Better to learn the parts on your own time, in my opinion. If I went to a rehearsal for my band and a potential sub showed up who didn’t know any of the set, I’d be unhappy. That’s a wasted meeting.

Good luck!
 
#6
There's no way we can predict their expectations. You have a much better feel than we do.

You don't give us any timeframe details, so no way to judge if you SHOULD have been ready (by my standards) or if they are expecting too much, too soon. For me, a couple of weeks is usually plenty of time to be ready to run through most if not all of three sets.

Personally, I prefer to do a run through rehearsal just to find out what their peculiarities are (everybody says they play it just like the original, few actually do). But that would have been scheduled early enough to have had time to prep for it. I'm not a fan of last minute schedule changes, but if I wanted the gig I'd try to accommodate. But this would be a bit of a red flag; they said I needed to ready by Z and now they want me ready by X.

My approach is to get as much material figured out as soon as I can, not really grind on the difficult stuff (unless that was specifically requested) until I know I have the job. ( I know this is not an audition, but I'd treat it that way.) I don't know the specific song you're referring to, but I would let them know that I need X days/weeks to be ready on that/those particular songs. I find that working them a little each day (along with the other songs) is my best approach to harder pieces - it's way better than trying to grind on one song for hours on end.

Under my method, I'd be able to show up to a rehearsal and get through a lot of their material and tell them I haven't quite got X,Y,Z ready yet. This gives me a chance to feel them out and them a chance to be comfortable that you'll fit. IMO, it's better that you show up with 3 or 4 songs ready than to not show up at all.

Ultimately, I'd communicate with them and see what they prefer - maybe they don't want to waste time on a very short get together. Maybe they just want to get a fell for what they're getting.
 
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#8
Haha a little more context. I only started taking with them on the 25th which is 3 days ago haha. I watched the YouTube of their set and about died. So talented! Also, the only clip I had to share was me playing blues with some.. maybe not 20 or 30 somethings.

They asked how old I was. I dodged the question. (I'm 54 but identify as 34 in my brain.)

I told them I'd only been playing bass for 3 years but that I studied music my whole life. I told him also that I work really really hard.

If a sit-in just meant that I was sitting and watching them play maybe strumming a note or two on the downbeats. I probably could do that. But with the other potential obstacles of me being both female and maybe of the cougar persuasion.. I just want to come in guns blazing ready to rock
 
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#9
Shenaniflan said:
I'm stretching myself, switching from blues to heavy metal, learning fast picking. I'm good enough to play Muse, but not good enough to play The Color Black by Dayseeker without a lot of practice.

I have the opportunity to play with a metal band. I have a recording of the set and with a lot of practice can do a decent job probably.. but they today asked me if I'd come in for a sit-in practice and I just think that I'd embarrass myself I'm not prepared. I was going to learn their songs but then set them aside to learn the Dayseeker song.

I've done this before. Said that I was better than I was and just worked really hard behind the scenes. Harder than anyone realized. And it's such short notice. I'm thinking that I'm just busy today.

But if a sit in practice comes with very low expectation, then maybe I should go?
Click to expand...
Well, if you haven't learned the songs yet, you might just have them start questioning your abilities.

If they want you to just hang out and hear them play, go for it.


I had an audition one time that got me not in the band. Strictly because I didn't know the material when I showed up (I wasn't given anything to learn before I was asked to show up). I didn't do very well. But, whatever.
 
#10
Okay guys, as usual you've been an insane amount of help!

My hunch is that they told me to play dayseeker just to make sure that I even liked that kind of music. Because the clip I sent them was of me playing some traditional blues.

This is what I said: Not today.. next Sunday? Normally a great time, just have plans I can't cancel today sry

(My plans I can't cancel are figuring out their fricking songs.)

He said no problem

I said: Cool. I'll work on your songs then? Unless you are planning on doing the Dayseeker as a cover? I've figured out the bass, but not up to speed yet. Fun part, my god!

....
I sound cool and confident, right? Not the whiney little inexperienced baby bassist you all get to see. Haha

And I *will* nail those songs!

Thanks! Peace,,
 
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#11
Sounds like you’re not sure of the expectations and that’s a sure fire way to disappoint the group and yourself. I auditioned for a band that wanted me up and running before I was able, and went in anyway hoping I could buffalo my way through it. I went down in flames. I love to be able to see a band in action before playing with them, so if that’s what sitting in means, do it. If it’s show up and be great on the spot, I’d personally decline. That’s not the way I shine. Good luck, hope it works out!
 
#14
If I were you my goal would be to have at least one or two things down pretty good that you can play with them and that will give an good idea of what it would be like for you to be playing in that band (both for you and for them). Their songs would be ideal but one or two in the genre is also okay as long as they also know it well enough to jam on it and see how you all sound together. They're not likely expecting you to come in knowing their whole set in a week or whatever but they will want to know that you can handle the music and get up to speed reasonably quickly, and that both you and they like the vibe. Aside from that, in my experience it is often quicker to pick up metal songs in person that might be heavily based on raw memorization of sequences of riffs as opposed to working off more typical chord changes and structures, so a rehearsal session like this is a good place to take some notes and ideally ask for a few pointers on specific parts to help to learn the bulk of the material faster (and, again, if they have been playing metal for a while they'll probably expect that you are likely to learn this way at least in part, and they might be expecting you to be able to do so).
 
#16
After being in bands on and off for over half a century, my lightning-fast mind finally stumbled upon this truth: Every practice and every jam--no matter how informal--is an audition, whether it's a new band for you or it's a band you've been with for years and you're best buds with.
 
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#17
no clue what a sit-in practice really means, but i'd go prepared to play some songs and play them well. i would think the most important thing is they want to see that you can play some metal. it's not an easy style to play IMO, and there are alot of people that think they can play it but really can't.
 
#19
yes definitely if you got the time...your gonna be in this band ultimately, soo there's gonna be days you're all gonna noodle around and learn more material, so go hangout!..Yeh, practice at home, rehearse with band, but your not always gonna be spot-on...be a team player and family with complete strangers. If your into it, let them know...gotta start somewhere, get to know them and their playing style etc.
 
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