Working band - and learning new songs

[The Dark Lord]

How do other bands learn new songs? I'm talking cover songs here in a pub band.

After a couple of years playing about 3 times a month, my three piece combo (guitar, bass, drums) don't rehearse any more. We just learn the songs as per the record, discuss the changes we'd like to make - and then the first time we play 'em live is on the night of the next gig.

We try any tricky bits during the sound check and then, if we're okay with them, we just go and play 'em live.

One thing that helps is our drummer is a full-time pro who teaches, plays with us and with an orchestra. We pay him for every gig. He listens to the songs, writes up his own sheet music - and plays EXACTLY that. That's a bit help, as we have a stable basis on which to play. It's also part of the problem - as we would have to pay him to attend rehearsals .... so we don't.

It makes for very energetic songs and, after a few plays, they just become part of the set.

Anyone else do this? I guess this is pretty commonplace?

[KevB]

It's probably easier with fewer people, I think the issues go up almost exponentially the more people you have in the band unless they are all really on their game. I'm currently in a four piece and would like us to get together occasionally to work up new material but they are a tight bunch who won't fork out for even a short session at a moderately priced rehearsal room. Result? yes we work out stuff individually and then try it out on the night and since I joined in Feb we have introduced a maximum of just FOUR new songs into the set which I think is woeful, I think it would all be speeded up a lot with occasional rehearsal sessions. All that seems to happen for weeks is we talk about possible new songs, I go away and learn them and then weeks later the others are still just talking about those same songs...by the time the singer has even got half the lyrics to memory it's been so long I've virtually forgotten it again.

[tauzero]

That's pretty much the intention with my bands (well, one rehearsal and it should be in) but it never happens. I suppose it depends how straightforward the song is and whether there's any defined ending to it (always a bugger, that).

[6v6]

IME it really comes down to who you're playing with and their experience level - if you can all play intuitively and improvise a bit then playing stuff with no rehearsal is fine, but some folks freak out when things go a bit off-piste live which results in embarrassing train-wrecks rather than a fun jam around a new song...

[Adrenochrome]

I have done it in the past but only where everyone else in the band is a good musician. It's also pretty much what you do for a normal dep gig, so not much different. To be honest out current drummer, excellent band member/gig booker/PA fixer etc that he is, ain't quite up to it. Plus we do a lot of covers in various drop and open tunings, so there's usually a bit of sorting out to do before we have a go at a song for the first time.

[molan]

With ease of transferring MP3 files and adjusting songs to suit vocalist requirements by using Audacity etc I think this is becoming much more everyday stuff.

I know a guitarist whose band have been doing this for something like 15 years - in the early days the singer would just phone people and play the song down the phone to them and then they'd play it at the next gig

[aende]

Nope - we learn separately and rehearse everything thoroughly; all about the backing vocals. Some of the stuff we do is complex and bass/guitar sometimes fills for synth parts, so effects need to be setup.

**We get ~£400 per gig for pub gigs and ~£1000 + for wedding and corporate. So, needs to be rehearsed and right - like 'Hey Jude', we have a process for a sing-a-long or if the crowd aren't gonna do that.

If there are kids present, then we get them to sing 'Price Tag' by Jessie J.....

So, it is more about a professional/flexible thang.

Edited November 12, 2013 by aende

[leroydiamond]

playing in a covers outfit myself, I know exactly what you mean. Similarly the group I am in tend not to rehearse and try new songs on the fly during a gig. More oftent than not it works well enough, but personally I prefer to rehearse regularly. When we take on a technically challenging song, I insist on rehearsal to insure it will be right on the night. I feel that any gigging band should rehearse regularly, as it can only be advantageous in terms of performance. However my experience is that covers bands in particular, for whatever reason find it difficult to put the time aside for regular rehearsal.

[dougieb]

We usually decide what 'new' songs we are going to do, learn them individually then play at a rehearsal or soundcheck.

[gjones]

It depends on the level of gig you're doing. If it's a pub gig in front of half a dozen drunks and you're getting £100 and a couple of free pints, it's ok. If it's a wedding or a corporate gig, then I doubt you'd be asked back if that was the bands attitude. I've played with bands as a dep where the songs sound nothing like the originals (sometimes because they're not even playing the correct chords). I personally think that if you're going to play music it should sound like you've put (at the least) a bit of effort into the end product.

[The Dark Lord]

Interesting to see that this is a normal practice. We think it works well and adds to our energy levels. There's a certain buzz about doing new songs ...... e.g. we are playing House of Fun by Madness and Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles for the first time this Friday and have been frantically swapping notes about whether the bass or guitar will carry a representation of the keyboard and or horn section parts. It gives us a buzz when it comes off ........ hasn't failed so far, although we've only been doing this "on the fly" thing for about a couple of months. Probably possible as we have become quite tight as a band.

Incidentally, there have been songs that we have dropped at the soundcheck - worked on and played next time 'round.

I don't think we are "just a pub band playing in front of 6 drunks". We get about £200 to £300 per pub gig. We're getting a bit of a reputation so can often charge high for repeat gigs. Had a couple of party bookings for higher than that recently - but what they want is exactly what they have just seen in the pub ..... a real high octane energy.

I fully get that if you play something like a corporate gig or a wedding, then being slick and professional is paramount - and that rehearsal can add to that.

However, we're a pretty tight outfit with top drawer gear all 'round and very good skill levels and that in itself is effort that goes into the end product surely.

We also DON'T play songs exactly per the original. We do that deliberately. Of course, it sounds like the original and you can sing along to it - but we make no effort at all to make it sound identical.

[JTUK]

It depends what you are trying to do with the songs and how simply you play them..or how simple they are.
Gtr and bass don't really have too much of a conflict but you need to be careful with keys and gtrs as they might nick the same part.
Also, if you copy your part and just try and fit it together and expect everyone else to do the same..then that can be easy... or it coulod be
a complete train-wreck...
Some parts are fundemental and core, some aren't...

I'd be loathe to trust some drummers to get the feel of a song right.... so this is where you will want to 'direct' them.
It applies to other instruments as well...

If you are doing standards, then everyone can busk them, but some songs are more intricate than that....
If you are just a three piece it depends how well the gtr can handle the top of the song....and chances are the songs are going to be easier and lend themselves to that anyway.

Edited November 12, 2013 by JTUK

[Lozz196]

In my punk covers band, The Daves, we decide on a song, learn it individually, then go through it at rehearsal. 2 times through, we know either if it`s good enough already, or that we`ll never get it (only happened a few times, but hey, we`re not perfect). From then mainly it`s a case of making sure the vox are ok, who is doing what bit on the backing vox etc, and if a tricky solo, the lead guitarist (who is the one in the band who needs the most practice) has time to get it spot-on.

In some ways I`d like to be in a band that was able to just turn up and play after having learned the songs individually but as a lot of the fun for me comes from rehearsing the former would be more of a "we can" rather than "we do" scenario.

[JapanAxe]

One rehearsal does it for my 3-piece. On rare occasions we might go over something at another rehearsal, but that's usually if issues have arisen on a gig.

Mind you, I put mp3s, lyrics, and a lead sheet in folders on Dropbox that we can all access, so effectively we are all playing from the same hymn sheet!

Edited November 12, 2013 by JapanAxe

[aende]

Quote the dark lord: Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles for the first time this Friday and have been frantically swapping notes about whether the bass or guitar will carry a representation of the keyboard and or horn section parts

The bass line on walk like an Egyptian does not fit the drum exactly - it is a slightly separately groove - noticeably odd. You have to groove yourself to the timpani run near the beginning.

[The Dark Lord]

Yeah. I noticed that. I have been playing with the snare rather than the kick drum.

[Norris]

Most stuff we just learn at home then gig it straight off like the OP. Occasionally we will rehearse if a song is particularly complex, has a lot of vocal harmonies, or we want to re-arrange it a bit.

Having said that my covers band has probably had a joint rehearsal 3 times in 8 years. Most stuff (if we don't just play it live from the off) can be sorted with a quick run through in the sound check.