General Music Chat

Jook had posted a link to a Youtube of Sonny Rollins sharing his views on practicing.

maybe this is a better place to have a discussion on that.

Rich, i BOTH agree AND concur.....

My feelings on practice, "individual"

When I practice, I practice what I don't know and then incorporate that into what I do Know. Individual practice is a zen and self-contemplation of what the mind perceives as music.

Practice only carries on to the stage as a intervention affecting a performance. If you do not practice very well then your stage performance will not go very well.

Practice as a group...........that's just a note by note thing.

el linko to Sonny....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmrwLpErkNw

I play guitar when I get together with my drummer. That's my practice, rehearsal, recording session and most importantly, mental therapy.

Gotta love having a baby!

In regards to practice:
If you're one of those guys who says "I don't need to practice," then you're probably not trying anything out of a narrow zone of comfort.

Practice is what you do on your own and Rehearsal is what you do with others. The more Practice you do then the more everyone will get out of Rehearsal. Real Musicians Practice constantly. It is sometimes called keeping your chops up. those who claim they need no "Practice" are not musicians they are merely Self-Proclaimed Idiots. In my opinion.

I agree with vampier. Practice is for you, rehearsal is with your band.

i suppose an argument could be made that semantics are at play here.

i.e. how does someone DEFINE 'practice'?

most def, that's what i do when left to my own devices and i'm working on keeping my chops up and trying to broaden the base from which i draw on to create when performing (at practice/rehearsal AND on gigs).

PLANET JAZZ never rehearses/practices nor does The 121's (truck stop house band)....but MERE MORTALS Bluegrass Band usually gets together once a wk to......PLAY.

we refer to it as "practice".... in the strictest and most literal definition of the word....it's not "rehearsal" in that we spend almost as much time introducing and trying new tunes we've written or recently heard as we do "rehearsing" material we have down. some of these new tunes make it into our performances...many do not. and then there's the time we spend shooting the sh*t and talking politics....yeah, we're all a bunch of stinko lefties!

but i do agree that if you're in a cover band or any group that's performing other people's music...if you know ahead of time what songs you're gonna be working on and addressing at a rehearsal/prct....in the best interests of being effecient and getting sh*t done....show up as prepared as you can.
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vamp, i wholeheartedly agree w your use of capitalization to infer importance here....

Real Musicians Practice constantly.

Planet Guy ...very relevant what you stated. I remember when in High School we would have "Practice" or stay late for Practice. These were Team activities ... FootBall ... BasketBall ... Wrestling and Track and Field. It is a matter of semantics I agree. Your description of what your Band does is practice in many aspects. I could never do that but then I do not do Jazz. My Rehearsals are always structured but we speak of two entirely different things here although in the end both are performances.

It might be interesting to hear what others think and what they actually do in such instances. Good Topic.

are we speaking about practice as learning how to be getting the notes played perfectly note for note precision, or practicing to be a good improviser which a jazz guy like planetguy does or are we talking about practice as getting the kinks worked out of compositions like most cover bands are? .. correct me if I am wrong, but I think planetguy has stated they never do the original jazz tune the same twice? as most jazz bands do.. maybe practice involves reading cues from other members of the band practicing spontaneity by just practicing reading others (band members) "gestures" .. when I listen to Lee Ritenour playing a live version of "Rio Funk" it sounds nothing (well, at least not exactly similar) like the album as could be expected from a jazz guy.. when I hear Journey doing "Don't Stop Believing" live in concert it sounds eerily the same as the album note for note .. so I presume a jazz band practices differently than a rock band, jazzers are practicing instinct..LOLf

When I arrange a song I do it note by note so that I can play it the same way every time. Some chops require a lot of repetition to get muscle memory working. I enjoy arranging a song so it would be pointless to play it differently each time once I get it down where I like it.

When I play in a band I seldom play a song note for note every time unless everyone is on the same page..

I find it so much more difficult to play note by note than it is for me to "jam" a song. But I still practice patterns to keep my fingers from freezing up. I write enough material to keep me busy most of my "inspiration" time.

Semantics, for sure.

rehearse
verb (used with object), rehearsed, rehearsing.
1. to practice (a musical composition, a play, a speech, etc.) in private prior to a public presentation.
2. to drill or train (an actor, musician, etc.) by rehearsal, as for some performance or part.
3. to relate the facts or particulars of; recount.

verb (used without object), rehearsed, rehearsing.
4. to rehearse a play, part, etc.; participate in a rehearsal.


practice

verb (used with object), practiced, practicing.
11. to perform or do habitually or usually: to practice a strict regimen.
12. to follow or observe habitually or customarily: to practice one's religion.
13. to exercise or pursue as a profession, art, or occupation: to practice law.
14. to perform or do repeatedly in order to acquire skill or proficiency: to practice the violin.
15. to train or drill (a person, animal, etc.) in something in order to give proficiency.

The only time I get nervous before a gig is when I haven't prepared for it with a lot of practice AND rehearsal.

I can be practiced up, but if there has not been enough rehearsal I will be a lot less confident onstage and it shows. I would not be nearly as bold a frontman if there is the remotest possibility that the band is about to embarrass me.


.

Whatever works for the band, works.

that.


no two bands or musicians are the same. on one end of the "scale" are folks who function best w very well defined and mapped out plans. on the other end are those who just need a thumbnail sketch and are adept at finding the path as it presents itself.

not saying one is right or wrong....better or worse. only that it's best to stick to script w regards to who WE are and how WE best function.... AND what gives us the most enjoyment/satisfaction.

Planet guy ... this is your best Thread in my opinion. Most excellent and my compliments to all who have posted. The conclusions are things we should all remember. And what the Hell .. no harsh words, insults or mocking. I Love it.