datamusicata

I am performing twice this coming weekend. Saturday I will be doing a solo show to support my New Traces of the Old Road CD and my Live in Tehachapi double CD release, and Friday I will be doing a show with my partner, John Batdorf (www.johnbatdorfmusic.com). We will be doing an All Wood and Stones benefit concert for the Boy Scouts (as well as a few tunes from each of us solo).

Because John and I haven’t played together since January, we felt that it would be best to do a little rehearsal and that made me realize that there is a topic I may not have addressed here at Datamusicata: being prepared for a rehearsal.

I know that sounds redundant, but in actuality it is an important and professional thing to do. John and I are both professionals and even though we had not played these songs together since January both of us had the wherewithall to go over them before we got together so that our rehearsal was a rehearsal of us playing together and not one standing around while the other learned his part all over again.

Think about it. You get together for a rehearsal and if everyone has been working on their own, it only remains to blend the parts together, work out the kinks and just play. And playing when everyone knows what to do is just fun and also enables you to hone the work; fine tune it so that it is not only musical and fun but impactful as well.

If someone in the band doesn’t know their part and you all get together, as soon as you begin playing ensemble the band falls apart, and everyone stands or sits there while the weak link goes over and over his part, until he has it and then you start all over again.

Not only is this not the best use of the time, but it is remarkably discourteous and inconsiderate to the other members in the band. You are using up their time to do something that you should have done on your own.

Woodshed, practice and go over your parts. Show up on time, with your instrument restrung, tuned, reeded; warm up your voice; get your errands done before you get there; focus on why you are there and what you want to have happen; and make certain that whatever needs to happen happens to allow you to jump right in making music.

When everyone does that the rehearsals go great. When someone or more doesn’t pull their weight; doesn’t show up prepared then the seed of dissention are sewn and the bad vibes start hanging around the rehearsal hall.

It is difficult to make music together if you are pissed at each other. So do everything you can do to make certain that the bad feelings don’t show up; and a major part of that is being prepared.

It seems like I harp on this all the time, but being prepared is being professional is being successful is being financially solvent is being able to make music for your entire life.

What could be more of a blessing than that?