Just Back from Practice

[Gunner]

I just got back from our first Band practice. I met a bass player and a Drummer a while ago who love Classic Rock and they made a commitment for a couple of Christmas Gigs. They asked me to join them and said a great rhythm player was joining up. We all got together tonight to practice at 4:30pm. We started off by "tuning" our instruments and then decided to play Highway Star together and I thought we sounded pretty sick for sure. I brought a small hand held dictaphone with me so I decided to try to record our brilliance as we played Highway Star again. We tried a few ACDC tilts and we seemed to be jellin. We took a break and the only song that got properly recorded was Highway Star. We listened to the tape and guess what? WE SUCKED !!! We weren't even properly in tune, the drummer would slow down and then speed up and the Vocals were way off key. We're not in Tune at all!!! It sounds like we're all in different rooms doing our own thing. WTF??? I know I'm not the greatest tuner in the world , but man was I off. Technically, each of us know how to play our respective instruments OK, but collectively we're a disaster and nowhere near ready for a Gig of any sort. Needless to say we're all disappointed and heavily depressed and immediately erased our first recording. LOL. The one Gig is on the 19th (a school dance)and the other on the 20th(small coffee house). We're thinking about calling in sick. I'm going to ask one of the older guys I Jam with to come over and give us a hand getting in tune, but he can't help us with the rest of it. For all you guys and Gals in bands, surely you've run into this problem before. How do you get 4 guys to start playing "together" as a unit??? I'm perplexed! (and a tiny bit embarrassed)

[Boleskinehouse]

I answered you at MLP.

[Gunner]

Originally Posted by Boleskinehouse

I answered you at MLP.

I was hoping for a better answer here. LOL

[Gunner]

Actually Boles Dude you can help me with one thing, what kind of Tuner would be best for the group? Any recommendations? Thanks.

[Boleskinehouse]

Any kind of strobe tuner is good. I would get something better to record with too.

[Gunner]

Thanks.

[Sancho]

Something like a Korg Pitchblack or Boss Tu2 is all you need.

Now, let me get this straight : you expected to sound perfect from the first rehearsal?
Practice, practice, practice!
If you guys get in tune, and come together every day until the gig, you should do fine.
If you planned on doing one or two rehearsals leading up to the gig, you might as well call in sick.

Seasoned pros can get together and sound great right off the cuff.
The average player can't...

[Bizarro]

Originally Posted by Sancho

Something like a Korg Pitchblack or Boss Tu2 is all you need.

Now, let me get this straight : you expected to sound perfect from the first rehearsal?
Practice, practice, practice!
If you guys get in tune, and come together every day until the gig, you should do fine.
If you planned on doing one or two rehearsals leading up to the gig, you might as well call in sick.

Seasoned pros can get together and sound great right off the cuff.
The average player can't...

I think Sancho has covered it very well. Practice is the key. You are all individuals and must somehow cross the threshold in becoming one cohesive unit. It takes time. But starting "in tune" should be a priority.
One more point, as a former professional drummer I have to warn you to keep an eye on that Drummer of yours. Try some very simple songs with basic beats and see if he can stay in rhythm for any length of time. If you can borrow a metronome, use it. If he still cannot maintain the beat you may be in some difficulty. On the otherhand, this was your first practice and everyone probably had the jitters including the king of the kit. Good luck and report back soon.

[Gunner]

Originally Posted by Sancho

Something like a Korg Pitchblack or Boss Tu2 is all you need.

Now, let me get this straight : you expected to sound perfect from the first rehearsal?
Practice, practice, practice!
If you guys get in tune, and come together every day until the gig, you should do fine.
If you planned on doing one or two rehearsals leading up to the gig, you might as well call in sick.

Seasoned pros can get together and sound great right off the cuff.
The average player can't...

I didn't expect us to be Led Zep but I did think we could get through a song with half decent sound. I know its going to take lots of practice and I appreciate that advice. I spoke to the drummer and he admitted being off his game and he's bringing a metronome for Thurs practice. I'm going to shop for a tuner and tune them all up myself. We're picking out a few very simple (and short) songs and hopefully we'll get through them OK. We're not giving up, that's for sure. Thanks everyone for the advice! Gunner

[rybass]

If your drummer and bassist have time talk them into coming in early or staying late and just practicing simple rhythm work together; on the beat, off the beat, on one and three, etc. Just real simple at first and later they should start jamming together and working on their rhythm and reading each other. If the two of them are together and confident they can hold the rest of the band together if things get out of control. Watch some of the Zep live clips and you can hear when page and plant start rambling but jones and bonzo stay together and even watch each other from time to time.

As far as tuning; try your best to be tuned to each other. You can be off a bit but if the whole band it off a bit in the same direction it will sound together. Some tuners especially cheap ones can be a bit off but try setting one guitar as the control and the other guitar and bass tune to him. Because you are together it will sound acceptable until everyone can get good tuners.

Stay positive it will come together as long as you put the time in and don't get discouraged.

[Nicole Rose]

you going to post clips?

[Gunner]

Originally Posted by Nicole Rose

you going to post clips?

Not yet. LOL. Trust me Nicole, you don't want to hear clips yet. LOL. Can you give me some advice on what type of recording device to use? Right now I'm using an old hand held dictaphone with micro cassettes. It kind of sucks......like us. If you can recommend something that works but is relatively inexpensive that would be a big help! Thanks.

[jonesy]

For $15 these Korg GA-30 are accurate and easy to use, I have 9-10 year old students that tune up just fine with them. As far as jamming together as a band and Gel-ing, your bass player and drummer need to be on track for starters, if that is not happening doesn't matter much what the guitars do it will sound off...

[Nicole Rose]

Originally Posted by Gunner

Not yet. LOL. Trust me Nicole, you don't want to hear clips yet. LOL. Can you give me some advice on what type of recording device to use? Right now I'm using an old hand held dictaphone with micro cassettes. It kind of sucks......like us. If you can recommend something that works but is relatively inexpensive that would be a big help! Thanks.

i've been thinking about what you coudl use to record, and there really isn't much that's not priced out of your range probably. but there is a small portable recorder that combined with a decent mic could be used. i'm going to try and find it for you today cause i dont' remember what it's called.

[Nicole Rose]

i think this is what i was thinking of, but it's a bit more pricey than i thought.

Buy TASCAM DP-004 Pocketstudio Portable 4-Track Digital Multitrack Recorder | Multitrack Recorders | Musician's Friend

[Bizarro]

PM me Gunner. I may have what you need to record and I don't use it so its yours if you want it. I am in Canada so you do not have to worry about customs etc. I will even carry the cost of shipping for you.

[Gunner]

Thanks Biz.

[Gunner]

Just to let everyone one know our Dance Gig got cancelled last night because of the friggin Blizzard. So tonight will now be our First Gig at the Coffee house. It'll be more low key, but we're ready..........and its stopped snowing, finally.

[Nicole Rose]

break a leg gunner

[Gunner]

Thanks Nicole! We did OK, none of us cried or ran away. The small crowd (maybe 45 people) appeared to be reasonably appreciative of our music. Most importantly we decided to stick together and really give this our best effort in the New Year. Finally, the first Gig is out of the way with minimal embarassment. I'm happy.

[huey]

Originally Posted by Boleskinehouse

I answered you at MLP.

Originally Posted by Gunner

I was hoping for a better answer here. LOL

i saw this thread too