No Band Rehearsal?

[Rush Burkhardt]

Given the choice, a PROFESSIONAL will ALWAYS practice!

[Jeff Mando]

Years ago, an old timer pointed out to me the distinction between practice and rehearsal -- "practice is when you don't know the song and are learning it and rehearsal is when you already know the song".........

A small point, probably similar to saying, "are you finished eating?" or "are you done?"

[David L]

Given the choice, a PROFESSIONAL will ALWAYS practice!

Given the choice, a REAL PROFESSIONAL will play a PAYING gig.

[farmerjones]

I LEARN new stuff.
I REHEARSE old stuff.
I PLAY both new and old stuff.

I hate the word, practice. Too many nagging and finger wagging ghosts in my passed.

Some get to a level where they are fluent in Music as a language as much as your Mother tongue.
Some don't, but that doesn't mean they can't play quite well.
Like folks that speak English, there are well spoken sophisticates, and plain spoken folk, and every level in between.

The part about weather or not they decide to stand up in front of others and play, because it's an acquired skill, I sort of keep separate. I've played with nose-bleed good players that have never played on stage. I've played with some pretty dicey one's that gig all the time. I guess I'm saying, I see no distinction or equation that determines how skilled somebody is or should be before they get on stage. Sometimes I think there should be, but who am I to say?

[Rex Hart]

Thanks all for the input, Some good points made on both sides. One pet peeve I do have though is when someone decides to use band rehearsal time to work out their break. I always considered practice to be when you are at home refining your technique on your instrument and rehearsal as refining the mix off all members into an ensemble that hopefully is presentable in the end

[mandowilli]

We had a no noodling during rehearsal rule in place for a few bands I have been in. It gets everyone to focus but there are those among us who absolutely CANNOT STOP NOODLING!

[Ivan Kelsall]

Many years ago when Bill Clifton was still living in the UK,i asked him about how banjo players came up with their breaks - ''do they make one up on the spot,or do they practice making a break up''. Bill told me that nearly all the banjo players that he knew 'composed' their breaks & didn't come up with them 'on the fly'. I suppose that having come up with a decent break,a musician can 'work' the same break a number of ways - 'variations on a theme'. However,personally,when playing a 'classic' Bluegrass number,i'll stick as close as possible to the break the way it was originally done. Usually that's part of what made them a 'classic' number in the first place. I can't imagine playing Flatt & Scruggs' famous song ''I'll Never Shed Another Tear'' without playing Earl's famous banjo break 'exactly ' as he did it. No matter how good the mandolin player is,& how good they can play Bill Monroe's mandolin part in 'Rawhide',the banjo break is usually a huge letdown. I've not heard one banjo player play Rudy Lyle's break 'as it was recorded', & it robs the performance ''for me'',
Ivan