There are probably a million ways to rehearse your band and your music for your gig.  Every musicians’ art is personal and emotional and presentable to the public in a very unique way.  In addition, what might play well in a town like New York City, might not play at all in another part of the country and under different music scenes and audiences.

I have been playing in the New York City scene for a decade or so, and I have noticed some issues to consider for this particular music scene and I feel that some bands could improve their chances of highlighting their art if they rehearsed in a way to consider some of the factors in playing a live show.  Here are some thoughts on the preparing for the gig.  Please post comments below if there are other strategies that you have encountered.

THE MUSIC

The main event.  People come out to hear your music, so be sure that the music is rehearsed and tight.  Be sure that the accents in the music are together and that the music has dynamics.  Or if it doesn’t have dynamics, be sure that that is on purpose.  The tighter the songs, the better the feel, and hopefully the music will have attitude and energy and you’ll be able to connect with your audience.

In rehearsing the music, I’ve found it helpful not to play a song the whole way through at first, but only rehearsing a “trouble spot” first.  I believe it keeps band members from falling into the rut of just playing the songs by rote during rehearsals and more into crafting the songs.  When you rehearse parts of your song, instead of just getting together and playing, you get band members to start listening more to each other, and that is really important.

SOUND BALANCE

One of my pet peeves about seeing live music is that the balance is never right.  In fact, you’d be lucky to find a sound person at a club who will actually do very much besides turn the PA on.  One of the problems is that less experienced bands play with too loud of a “stage volume”, thereby tying the hands of the sound person who will just try to cut down on the feedback.  If you are at a club with a good sound system, have a chat with the sound person and try to keep your stage volume low enough so that it doesn’t blast.  Sound issues are always difficult, but allowing the sound person to balance your sound for the room is better than the band members trying to do it with their amps.  Inevitably they’ll compete with each other and it’ll be messy.

THE PATTER

Patter are the little remarks of the show that keep things moving, or introduce the band, or keep the audience otherwise occupied while your band is switching instruments, tuning, or just transitioning from one song to the next.  It may be more involved where there is a direct connection with the audience, or as simple as “the next song is….”.  Either way, it is important to think about it at least once and maybe more, because there is often times when there is a lull in the proceedings.   Your guitarists strings may break, or your sound person might be getting feedback, or your drummer starts to OD.

Now, your performance may not need patter at all.  But it is a good idea to have something to say in your back pocket in case something goes wrong, and you are staring at an audience waiting for music that you are temporarily unable to perform for them.  I find that if you are playing at a bar, drunken audiences always appreciate a dumb joke.  Tell the dumb joke, and before the boos, and hisses get too bad, count off the next song.

THE SHOW

Open up.  Rock out!