The Perfect Musician

Rehearsing Ethics

Rehearsing Wrongly:

                Do you know it’s possible to be rehearsing but be doing it wrong? What if you have been having the wrong rehearsals for the past 5 years? And that’s why you have been rehearsing but you’re not getting as good as you should b.

Do you know rehearsing wrongly does the same harm as not rehearsing at all? Now let me explain.

Many singers in a bid to get better at go and look for songs from fantastic vocalists like J.Moss, Fantasia Barino, Karen Clark-Sheard, Jonathan McReynolds, and they start scoring all the slurs and riffs, etc. do you however know that you shouldn’t be where you should start from as a singer? If you don’t understand the basics of breath control, all those heavy techniques from pro singers may just make you feel like you’re doing something when in fact you’re not getting any better. If you don’t have well trained ears to recognize key and switches, why go for higher learning? Take it step by step. Don’t be in a hurry. If you can’t boil just rice, how then can you compare with that big restaurant you enjoy their food most? I believe you get my analogy?

                You are a drummer, and once you get on the drums you just start rolling up and down and making noise. Simple groove you can’t keep consistent, after 90 secs you can’t follow a simple loop to the right metronome, brother leave Calvin Rogers alone and learn the basics before going to that level. That’s not the rehearsal you need now. Work on your timing, understand how to play each genre differently and also how to avoid going off progression when you want to increase your tempo. All great drummers started from the basics.

                Many singers need to focus more on their timing, attacking songs well, and staying on key. Instead of rehearsing those basics, they want to sound like Yinka Davies. You can’t go into College, if you haven’t passed through High School. Ordinary arithmetic is hard for you, how then can you pass a test on Calculus?

                Take it step by step. For the Keyboardists, leave Snarky Puppy alone. Work on playing well on all keys first, at least the major chords, work on scoring, rehears how to follow singers without doing too much. I am amazed when I see keyboardists that can’t hold a simple chord pattern down for a song. All they start doing is run scales and solo.

Some choirs should be rehearsing how to sing with the right charisma, not all these modulations. Leave modulations for later. Your singers can’t even pick keys yet.

Rehearsal must add something new to you

Any rehearsal you have in your choir or as an individual that doesn’t add anything new to you, that you didn’t learn new things, that you didn’t leave there stretched was simply a waste of time. You can’t be better except you’re stretched out of your comfort zone. Confirm from my choir members, you can’t leave a rehearsal I’m handling without learning at least 10-25 new things. That’s an overload right? It’s better. You will leave with your voice stretched, your body stretched, and your mind stretched. Guess what, when you’re stretched you don’t come back the same state. You get better.

Rehearsals are not activities you do to prepare for performance, they are activities you do to develop your skill. If you’re in a choir, by the time you’re leaving choir rehearsals, you should learn new things. Not just about learning new songs, but new things. Music Directors, please do your job in this regard. There must be something you didn’t know about singing, harmonies adlibbing, arranging, etc. before that you know now.

Rehearsals require patience

Don’t be in a hurry. There are things you will be rehearsing in your team and it may take weeks or months for people to get. Just keep repeating the exercises as often as possible. Be patient with your people as they learn. No one becomes good in a day.

 You may try to hit those notes today, and it is taking weeks, don’t stop, keep at it.

Charisma, Stage presence, sing interpretation, it’s with time. Be patient.

You’re trying to increase your speed on the piano, keep at it.

 You want to have stronger strokes on the drums, keep at it. Be patient.

 These things happen over time and consistency.

                                                                                                                                    Be_Inspired!!!