With great freedom comes great responsibility.
With two rehearsals remaining until performances, many bands are working hard on prep and polish. Within this process, several bands have hit areas of frustration that they didn’t foresee. For Level 1&2 Rockers, this means working closely with instructors to smooth out rough patches that create significant stumbling blocks for young musicians. It also involves a good amount of self-critique and diagnosis: creating the opportunity for bands to key into the music as they play and identify when something is off.
The band Undecided has been rehearsing When I Come Around by Green Day and Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones. After a close listen, the band recognized that Satisfaction sounded a bit off and determined that the tempo was dragging. They worked with Habiba to let the drums and bass drive the song rather than cueing off of the vocals. With their guitar player gone on vacation for several weeks, they were also struggling to finetune their songs with a key piece missing.
The MetroGnomes have been working on Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar and Sunshine of Your Love by Cream. All band members went home with tempo charts last week and clearly did their homework: their timing was rock solid and they’re doing a great job of listening to each other!
Last Light selected Blitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones and Barracuda by Heart. Although Barracuda is a challenging song, the band has worked hard to nail down the structure. The big challenge for many of these players has been to really commit to spending time outside of rehearsals to practice, so they can use their time together effectively.
Instructors regularly work with all three of these bands to help with internal communication. Most musicians go into a band format not realizing how important this piece is.