Andrew Rostas, one of our Melbourne music lecturers, has spent a lot of time in rehearsal, both as a musician and a supervisor.
All too often, he has seen large amounts of time wasted, because bands & ensembles have a misconception about what rehearsal is. Because musicians are often time poor, it's important that they make rehearsals productive and maximise what little time they have together.
The following is a list of things that he's found to greatly assist in making rehearsal time more efficient. The less time that is being wasted, the more likely musicians are to give time to a certain project.
- Set Goals.
- Leave with Homework.
- Keep Notes of things to work on between rehearsals, so you come to rehearsal prepared.
- Don't practice things you can work on alone. Rehearse with the whole band.
- Provide Charts/Lead sheets. If none exist, create your own.
- Listen to what is happening when all musicians are playing together. This is how you can address conflicting rhythms. It's not just about what works for you. You should also record rehearsals on portable devices and critically listen.
- Acknowledge when you make a mistake so it's not necessary to revise with the whole band.
- Be punctual.
For more detailed explaination of the points above, head to the full article
on Andrew Rostas blog