Week 1 - Record, Listen, Review Your Rehearsal 

Hi this is Richard from the Hothouse, "where music grows".

Please join me for the “Hothouse Rehearsal Tip of the Week”.

Each week I will be discussing various methods and techniques to help your rehearsals become more effective and efficient.

Record, Listen, Review Your Rehearsal 

• Since this is the first program a good starting point is always
  to take an inventory.  Where is each of the songs at in their development?
   
• Your next rehearsal…RECORD IT.  You don’t any need fancy recording equipment, Aunt Margaret’s tape recorder and a mic are perfect.
   
• After that rehearsal, set a date when all the band members can listen to the recording and commit to it.
   
• At this listening party take off your musicians’ hat, your songwriter’s hat and put on your listening hat.  This is the hat you wear when you listen to other artists’ music. This perspective will help you listen to your music with a subjective ear.  Pretend you are at pre-release listening party and the A&R rep asks you to write down your impressions and feelings about the songs you are about to hear.  Everyone in the band should bring pen and paper to your listening party and take notes.  Producers are especially good at listening to music with a subjective ear.  They’re able to “empty their cup” and let their bodies tell them if the song is reaching its’ potential yet.  They’re concerned with the big picture…the SONG. 
   
• Listen to one song at a time and then discuss it merits and shortcomings.  Take notes.  This is your music it’s serious business.
   

• Listen for tempo, for cohesiveness of sound. Listen to the music during the vocal sections with a critical ear.  Does the music support the vocal melody?  Does the vocal melody line need to be tweaked?  Does the bass and kick drum patterns sync up? For the songwriters, is the song I’m hearing matching up with the song I hear playing in my head?  And so on and so forth.   By cohesiveness of sound I mean each instrument being in agreement with the other instruments and the vocals of the song.  As a listener when your ear hears instruments playing over the top of other instruments in the song, especially during vocal sections, your mind just says “No”.
   

• Your job is to create new musical ideas to overcome any weak points in the song.  Then just try them out at your next rehearsal.  Communicate to each other what your musical ideas are for a particular section you’re working on and just try out each and every one of them.  Don’t try and decide which idea is best until you’ve heard it played as a band and given it your best shot.  Remember your body will tell you when you’ve got it right.  You’ll feel it.

Thanks for joining me this week for the “Hothouse Rehearsal Tip of the Week “. 

Join us at our Yahoo Group called hothousemusic

Send your questions or thought for topics and we’ll work on incorporating them into each weekly program.

This is Richard Morales signing off for the Hothouse Music Group.
See you next week.

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