Grateful Dead Music Forum

i just had a completely awful practice and desperately need some advice. we did the first song and it was great, probably the best version of that particular song we've ever done. then the second came and the energy was just totally gone and the rest of practice flatlined.

how do you guys warm up for practices of ensure that you'll play well. i've been getting tons of up and down practices and i'd be very happy for a happy median

Practice isn't always supposed to be fun. I know with my band, sometimes its easier to push thru the fuck ups, but then what are you really accomplishing. What we do is start with a song or two from the previous practice. Then we work on something for about an 1 hour- 2hr of some new stuff. We're always looking for ways to mingle songs> jams together, so most of the fun for me is in the discovery of new avenues to play in during these passages.

Well, the idea of practice is to work on the parts that aren't working too well for everyone. So, maybe after that jam you could have gone back and all together figured out which parts people were confused on - and break it down and work on those individual parts over and over until everyone feels good about it - then go back and try the whole song again.

The #1 problem I've experienced with practice...



It's not fucking practice it's rehearsal.

Practice on your own damn time!

<rant>

That's it in a nutshell.

People walk in with half-assed attitudes, don't know their parts, struggling to stay in the song, fucking up, etc....

What happens then? Besides screwing up the song they can't listen to anyone cuz they don't know their part. So it sounds even worse.

It's supposed to prepare you to play out live.

Just my $.02

strumminsix wrote:The #1 problem I've experienced with practice...



It's not fucking practice it's rehearsal.

Practice on your own damn time!

<rant>

That's it in a nutshell.

People walk in with half-assed attitudes, don't know their parts, struggling to stay in the song, fucking up, etc....

What happens then? Besides screwing up the song they can't listen to anyone cuz they don't know their part. So it sounds even worse.

It's supposed to prepare you to play out live.

Just my $.02

best 2 cents i ever heard. i practice for hours upon hours every day. my bassist doesnt play bass at all between practices. my drummer keeps his stuff at my house so he can only practice by listening to music, but still he doesnt have theory and stuff to deal with. my worst problem is that i have no foil to play against of get ideas from

totaly agree, i always practice, then i come into practice, and the other guitarist is working on finger excersices, and he has the dumbest ideas, and always tries to bring them out, and say there different but there not. Personally i hate "rehearsals"

Guys, kinda depends on the band's dynamics and personalities, doesn't it? Sounds like a couple of you have some problems in you selections of who to play with. Why ??

Sometimes it just happens... someone isn't feeling great or whatever. But if it's a chronic problem, try to identify if someone's dropping the beat... in my last band our drummer was always doing this on more adventurous tunes and a metronome in his headset did the trick. Other than that, my current group likes to slow things down and take it easy - imagine doing Bertha in the laid-back '77 version as opposed to the rocking late 80's - to get a grove going. Dunno, sometimes works for us. Good luck!

strumminsix wrote:The #1 problem I've experienced with practice...



It's not fucking practice it's rehearsal.

Practice on your own damn time!

<rant>

That's it in a nutshell.

People walk in with half-assed attitudes, don't know their parts, struggling to stay in the song, fucking up, etc....

What happens then? Besides screwing up the song they can't listen to anyone cuz they don't know their part. So it sounds even worse.

It's supposed to prepare you to play out live.

Just my $.02

Amen to that!

Now head to my bassist's house and shove this novel idea down his throat so he'll understand!

Great advice six, thats why my last band failed. I couldnt stand being asked the chords to Casey Jones a hundred freakin times. Practice on your own god damned time, otherwise you are wasting everyone else's time.

My band sounds exactly like what gratefulphish was describing with the drummer leaving his shit at my house and the bassist only playing when we jam. ITs really fucking frustrating.

With regards to the selection of band members I see it as having many dynamics. In short here is what I look for in bandmates:
quality individual
a friend
reliable for gigs and rehearsals
someone still growing as a musician
open minded to new ideas
passion for the music
thick enough skin to take a careful critique
intelligent enough to convey thoughts, advice, critique
somebody who practices on their own time

When I look over that list I can say that band members who I've felt that way about usual met all those accept the last one.

strumminsix wrote:With regards to the selection of band members I see it as having many dynamics. In short here is what I look for in bandmates:
quality individual
a friend
reliable for gigs and rehearsals
someone still growing as a musician
open minded to new ideas
passion for the music
thick enough skin to take a careful critique
intelligent enough to convey thoughts, advice, critique
somebody who practices on their own time

When I look over that list I can say that band members who I've felt that way about usual met all those accept the last one.

That's a great list of qualities to look for. I'm really lucky in my current situation because I discovered after living across the alley from him for five years that my neighbor was a great drummer. Brought in the singer/guitarist from the group I was last in and neighbor brought in an old friend on bass. The most important thing was that we were all looking for the exact same thing out of playing, which was to hang with like-minded middle-aged fathers with young kids... we have a real understanding of and empathy for where we are all coming from and our expectations of each other are based on that, and the music kind of takes care of itself. Without atrificially heightened expectations, there are certainly fewer disappointments!

Man, life is just too damned short to try to fit square pegs into round holes...

That list for bandmates has really cheered me up!!

I'm not a great musician but i love playing and what I do do is go home and practice.

I know some real good musicians who dont seem bothered and lack application

I can never work that out I'd give my right arm (well maybe leg) to be able to play that good!!

To get the most out of practice,tape everything.
Try to be subjective when listening back to determine what areas need work on.
Timing?
Out of tune?
Bass guy still cant figure out "Sugaree"?
Sometimes it can be a real eye-opener.
Does anyone else get tired of being the guy who prints out music for everyone,practices when the other guys aint,and other general hand holding and butt kissing I gotta do to get the people to jam?
Lately I have been going outside my circle of friends to find other peps to jam with.
R U Kinds own Fretful Dave has been a godsend 'cause he knows a ton of tunes and can sing.
Thanks Dave!

try jammin to a simple blues riff for a while, thats always fun