9 Tips For Successful and Productive Band Rehearsals - Make Them Count

There are certain days when a band rehearsal is just pure magic: every band member is in a great mood, the banter is firing, and everyone gets into an effortless creative flow. But, as you may know from experience, there are other days where the opposite happens: there’s no clear direction on how to spend the rehearsal, there’s a bit of tension in the air and you can feel an argument brewing, and the session ends with the whole band glum and the feeling that nothing was achieved. To ensure more of your sessions with your band look more like the former scenario, and without leaving everything up to the creativity gods, here are Headliner’s simple and easy-to-remember tips to go into rehearsals with the right mindset.

1: Respect the start time

It sometimes feels like musicians operate on a GMT+3 time zone of their own. But it’s time to address this stereotype of rock, jazz, and other genre artists being completely casual about everything. If you’re going to respect the music itself, then it doesn’t make sense to turn up half an hour or more late for your rehearsal. If you or other members of the band are the most guilty of causing a rehearsal to start late due to tardiness, it’s time for a short discussion where everyone agrees that the start time is sacred. To achieve the band’s goals, it’s very important to kick the session off in time. Especially if the rehearsal space is costing money!

2: Failing to plan…

On one hand, it’s important to cherish the fun and spontaneity of band practice and not to get too corporate about things. That said, it’s also very much worth being on the same page with everyone with a stated intention for the rehearsal and having a bit of a plan. If you’re practising for a gig, discuss which songs you’re rehearsing that day, which order, and which songs and sections need the most work and prioritising. If it’s a writing session, discuss which songs and ideas are being worked on. If your band is just getting together for a good old jam, just make sure everyone is aware of that. Communication will help foster a positive atmosphere and spirit.

3: The practice for the practice

Another simple way to ensure a rehearsal goes smoothly is a seemingly counterintuitive one, and that is to do your own prep beforehand. A guaranteed way to grind proceedings to a halt is if a band member hasn’t got a grip on their vocal/guitar/keys/drum part yet. Of course, mistakes are human and ironing those out is partly why a band gets together in the first place. But if you’ve done no individual work on your own part at all and are struggling, this is another scenario that could cause avoidable problems. You have got together as a band to learn to play the music as a unit, not for each member to sit and figure out their part.

4: For the record

For all of the reasons above and more, don’t forget to hit record, even if it’s just an app on your phone! Listening back will have so many benefits for the whole group and will be so beneficial for the following band rehearsal. And it can always be useful for extra content for social media, Patreon, or what have you.

5: Be mindful of over-noodling

You know the scenario: a band member is trying to give their thoughts on something, or the band are discussing what to move on to next, but the guitarist is in the corner having a loud and private solo. While warming up and a bit of playing in between songs is perfectly natural and can benefit the creative flow, it’s important to choose your moments and not play over your bandmate trying to speak or slow the rehearsal down when it’s time to work on something specific.

6: Don’t crank it to 11

It’s not just metal and rock band members that have a penchant for living life loud, this goes for a lot of musicians in general. We get it, but you can get into situations where the guitarist cranks up their amp, then the bassist turns their amp up to try and match it, and then the drummer is absolutely smashing the kit. Band rehearsals will quickly become redundant when everyone is diagnosed with tinnitus! Besides hearing damage, there are certain volumes where the rehearsal just becomes completely unconstructive, trying to speak above the noise is agony, and a harmonious session is lost. Mutually agree on volume settings and don’t stray from them. Balance is key here — not ear crushingly loud, but a nice audible volume is necessary also.

7: Keep the feedback loving and constructive and not…

…like a scene from Some Kind of Monster. In a nutshell, that documentary follows Metallica as they attempt to record an album while having a huge fallout and screaming expletives in each other’s faces a lot. Of course it’s important to discuss where things aren’t working and to give feedback, it’s just vital to not let it come across as harsh criticism or a personal attack. Try posing feedback as a question (“I’m curious, could you try playing it like this?”) or offering it up with a genuine compliment (“the bass is sounding so good on this track! For the bridge section, though, I was wondering if we could try…”). Hopefully your band are also your friends, so remember the cheesy yet golden rule of speaking to friends the way you hope they’d speak to you.

8: Do it for the Gram

For those who have social media accounts for your band, which is likely 99% of you and all of your pet dogs, a band rehearsal is a great time to get some videos and photos to share with your fans and followers. We know playing the social media game can be tiresome, but think of ways to make it part of the creative process. For example, if the banter is good that day, get some fun videos of the band joking around. The jamming and rehearsing makes for great preview and behind the scenes content. Best of all is to bring a friend or professional to do this for you, if it’s feasible.

9: Do it for the love

This is the cheesiest tip so far, but everything above is redundant without it. Make sure to form a band with people that simply adore playing and making music, and turn up for practice with that as your own primary goal. Not only does this make for a happy band, but you will form a deeper bond with listeners and fans as they instantly connect with the passion and love that clearly went into the music.

So there you have it. Hopefully, you never need to travel to your band rehearsal with trepidation ever again. Be realistic about this, some rehearsals will be joyfully exuberant, some will be comparatively flat, and the more occasional tense and grumpy ones are unavoidable — there’s no tip that prevents band members from being human! Just remember why you do this in the first place, and enjoy your band’s journey.