From Practice To Performance: A Singers Guide To Successful Rehearsals

With the world opening up for live performances, musicians are getting together for the first time in over a year to rehearse. This moment in time is a heady one. People. Together. In the same room even! After a year of practicing alone, making music again with others is a joy. Yet, for many of us, rehearsal is a means to an end. A necessary chore to get to the main event — performing.

What if rehearsals were something you looked forward to? What if they gave you energy rather than depleting it? What if they had the same potential as performance for creating connection and community? What if they were actually fun?

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or in the beginning stages of your music career, this unprecedented time is an opportunity to reset, a chance to re-imagine the way you rehearse with others.

Recently, I asked my musician friends what made their rehearsals productive and enjoyable.

From mindset to preparation, communication to practical tips, here’s what they shared with me — everything that will make your rehearsals the best they can be.

REHEARSAL MINDSET

Before you meet up with other musicians, let’s talk about mindset. What kind of energy and intention will you bring into the rehearsal space?

There are as many different answers to that question as there are people on the planet. But there’s one word that describes the kind of energy that will make your rehearsals the best they can be.

Enthusiasm.

Now, this isn’t the over-eager, rah-rah, fabricated enthusiasm of countless self-help books and positivity seminars. The kind of enthusiasm I’m referring to here is grounded and genuine. It’s the gentle undercurrent that carries you when you’re doing something difficult or potentially anxiety-producing.

Buddhist monk and teacher Pema Chodron says it well:

“….enthusiasm works like a miracle ingredient that brings eagerness to all we do. Without enthusiasm, we might push too hard or give up altogether.

As the Zen master Suzuki Roshi put it: “What we’re doing here is so important we had better not take it too seriously!”

The key is finding this balance between “not too tight” and “not too loose,” not too zealous or too laid-back.
”

— Pema Chodron, No Time To Lose

Pema was writing about enthusiasm as it relates to spiritual practice. But I think her words apply to anything that we practice.

The energy and intention you bring to a rehearsal matter. If you’re too tight — anxious about your abilities, your preparation, or singing in front of others — you won’t be open, relaxed, aware, and ready to learn in the moment.

If you’re too loose — unprepared, unfocused, or not invested in the project — the music suffers, plus you’ll waste precious life energy, and time.

When you come to rehearsals prepared, open, relaxed, and enthusiastic — your energy and intention will make the vital work of rehearsing more productive and fun.

Genuine enthusiasm is also contagious. Yours will help to lift the energy in the rehearsal room.

If you’re leading the rehearsal session, the quality of your energy is even more critical. You set the tone for the work and how it will get done. An atmosphere that’s focused, kind, and playful is the most conducive to learning and creativity.

So, how do you cultivate genuine enthusiasm?

First, know that it’s a capacity you can build. Make it your intention. Hold it as your north star. When you start to feel anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed, notice your body tightening. Step back, take a few deep breaths, and then ask yourself what’s causing the tension.

If it’s negative self-talk — well, you’re only human. Thank your anxiety for trying to keep you safe, and then gently but firmly tell it to take a back seat so you can move on.

Often, focusing on the practical things you can do to prepare for your rehearsal will quiet the negative self-talk. Our minds are like two-year-olds. Tell a toddler not to do something, and you’ll focus that child like a laser beam on the forbidden activity. But when you refocus a child’s attention, they’ll be off and running in a new direction.

Here are some things you can do to prepare for rehearsal and focus your mind on what matters most.

PREPARING FOR REHEARSAL

• Know your material inside and out.
  When you feel confident about the music, you’ll be more relaxed. And when you’re more relaxed, you’ll be a better listener and ensemble player — able to hear how your part fits within the whole.
• Know your objective inside and out.
  Just like in your solo practice sessions, it’s a good idea to have goals for your rehearsal. Learning songs for a gig or recording session, creating new material, working on choreography or stagecraft — these are just a few objectives you could focus on.If you’re the band leader or music director, let the other musicians know in advance what you want to achieve during your time together. And make sure you send everyone the written or recorded music well beforehand, so they have time to prepare.
• Arrive early
  Productive rehearsals start on time. Get there early enough to say hello to everyone, set up, and get centered, so you’re ready to sing and play at the agreed-upon time. If you’re the band leader, make sure you communicate the rehearsal start time clearly.

Now it’s time to get the work done. Where to begin?

Let’s say your main objective is to learn new material or tighten up older songs. Here’s a possible rehearsal order and a few tips for making the most of your rehearsal time:

1. Create momentum by rehearsing the simplest song first. Use it as a warmup for everyone’s brains and bodies.
2. Now that you’re warmed up, it’s time to tackle the most challenging song on your list. Always rehearse the most difficult music while everyone’s still fresh.
3. Keep going through your list of tunes. After you’ve successfully worked on the most labor-intensive song, the rest will seem easier.
4. Make sure the beginnings and endings of every song are tight. They’re what the audience remembers. If you don’t have time to run through an entire tune, just rehearse how you start and end a song, and you won’t have any train wrecks onstage.

Record your rehearsals and then listen — with the band if possible.

• If there’s a problem spot in a song and you can’t figure out what the issue is, record the song and listen back. It’s much easier to hear what the problem is when you’re not trying to listen, sing, and play simultaneously.
• You can also record each song’s final run-through and then email them to everyone after rehearsal. People can listen on their own, fix their mistakes, and identify what needs to be worked on to make the song better the next time you get together.

Record without the vocals.

• Ask the band to record the songs you’re rehearsing without you singing. Besides giving you a recording to practice with, they’ll find out how well they know the song. They should hear the melody line and lyrics in their heads whether the vocal is there or not. Then they’ll be playing the song and not just their part.
• When everyone’s playing in service to the song, it changes the entire performance. Fills will go where they belong — not on top of the vocal, but around it. Dynamics become more purposeful, supporting the lyric and emotional content.

STAGECRAFT

The final phase in creating a performance is the one most often overlooked — stagecraft. People hear 80% with their eyes. So unless you’re in a pit band (an ensemble that the audience can’t see because they’re in the orchestra pit or off stage,) creating a visual experience for the audience that’s unique to each song is essential.

Just like the dynamics in music, there are dynamics in visual presentation. The lighting, where you stand or sit, whether you move or stay rooted to one spot, hold a mic in your hand or have it on a mic stand — all add to the song’s interpretation.

If space allows, set up and rehearse in the same configuration that you’ll perform. You might not be able to spread out in your rehearsal space as you would on stage, but at least you’ll get a chance to get familiar with the ergonomics of your setup.

Finally, videotape the band in rehearsal to see whether or not your performance enhances the music.

(For a deeper dive into stagecraft, check out master teacher Tom Jackson’s work over HERE.)

HOW OFTEN TO REHEARSE

When I asked some of my musician friends how often and how long they rehearse, I received a wide range of answers. Some don’t rehearse at all. Others have once-a-week, five-hour-long rehearsals where they run songs back to back without a break.

How often should you rehearse? It depends.

Your performance goals, the other players’ availability and ability, and the kind of music you play are all factors.

Are you preparing for a performance or working on your musicianship?
Learning an entire set of tunes or just adding a few to your repertoire?
Are you playing jazz standards, pop cover tunes, or original music?
Are the musicians you perform with amateurs or professionals?

Generally speaking, the higher the level of musicianship, the less time you’ll need to rehearse. But the time you do have will be at a premium. The more professional the musician, the busier they’ll be. An hour to an hour and a half is what you can expect.

Inexperienced players will need more time to get songs performance-ready. Rehearsing for two to three hours is more typical.

If you’re interested in how much time it takes to rehearse for different types of performances, check out this blog post on my website. You’ll also find a simple formula you can use to calculate the time you’ll need for yours.

Important Sidenote: Paid rehearsals

Professional players need to know whether or not they’ll be paid a separate fee for rehearsing. When booking musicians, make sure to make the terms clear.

SNACKS!

If your rehearsals tend to run long or are unpaid, providing snacks and beverages is an excellent way of saying thank you to your musicians. Plus, it’ll keep their blood sugar pumping, so their brains have some energy to run on!

NOODLING

When you noodle on your instrument or have side conversations during rehearsals, it’s harder to hear the person who’s running the session and for your band-mates to focus. No noodling!

REHEARSE WITH A SOUND SYSTEM

Unless you’re rehearsing opera or running through songs with just one other person on an acoustic instrument, use a sound system when you rehearse.

I learned this one the hard way. In the early days of our band, we rehearsed without a sound system. Trying to sing over a 12-piece R&B band left my voice ragged and raspy and contributed to the nodules I later developed.

A full-sized sound system isn’t necessary. Even a small monitor and microphone will help you hear yourself and save your voice. If you’re the band leader and doing some talking in between songs, amplification is critical. Talking is harder on your voice than singing. If you use a microphone when you speak, your voice won’t have to work so hard.

ENDING REHEARSALS

Finally, how do you end your rehearsals? To make sure everyone leaves on a high note, try these three things.

1. Clean up the rehearsal space. Pick up your trash, water bottles, etc., so that whoever is hosting the rehearsal doesn’t have to clean up after you leave. If it’s a communal space, leave it even better than you found it for good karma points!
2. If you have band meetings, try to schedule them separately. If that’s not possible, get them out of the way before you begin. Make sure everyone knows about your meeting ahead of time and that it’s on your rehearsal itinerary.
3. Schedule the next rehearsal. If it’s not scheduled already, take a moment while you’re all in the same room to confirm that it’s on everyone’s calendar.

So there you have it — all the tools you need to make your rehearsals the best they can be. With an enthusiastic mindset, thoughtful preparation, and a few practical tips, you’ll be more productive, have more fun and deepen the connection to the music you make and the people you make music with.

And hey — there’ll be snacks ;-)

Do you have experience as a musician that’s different from what’s listed here? Please feel free to share your rehearsal journey in the comments below. I’d love to hear — and you’ll be helping other singers too!

I have a newsletter just for Singers. About twice a month, Vocal Notes wings its way to inboxes with inspiring, practical and empowering tips for navigating your vocal life. To sign up, head over HERE.