How to Run a Better Band Practice

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Links to each tip
1. Practice with a purpose 0:21
2. Prepare for the purpose 1:02
3. Record and analyze 1:55
4. Get an outside ear to listen in 2:17
5. Leave your ego at the door 2:49
6. Practice till you can't get it wrong 3:28
7. DON'T PLAY WHEN SOMEONE ELSE IS TALKING! 4:05
8. Create "weird" musical exercises 4:35
9. Show up on time 5:11
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Instagram @samuraiguitarist
Snapchat @samuraiguit
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Guitarist/Songwriter/Samurai

Born in the Manitoba prefecture of Canada, samuraiguitarist, Steve-san Onotera, honed his discipline under the study of the country's most powerful musical sensei.

Bred on rock, raised on the blues, trained in jazz, samuraiguitarist creates incredibly innovative videos that showcase his talents on the guitar.
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[unaperrson]

I tried playing guitar with a metronome, but I found that a plectrum was much easier.

[ahmadmoussa]

Worst thing that ever happened to me: we had band practice and no one showed up. Literally none. No drummer. No vocalist. No bassist. So i sat down and practiced for 2 hrs. Quit the band after that. The thing is, that we really had potential, and we weren't half bad, but when you can't get your shit together and aren't ready to sacrifice time and energy on practicing then you might as well not be in a band. Cool vid though, cheers man!

[zackaryshafer]

if you are jamming Rush tunes make sure you have "enough beer and a big enough drum kit" - love this guy

[thatoneguyonyoutube]

Me and my band are very consistent with practice, every Tuesday between 7 and 10 pm. We'll go through all our songs once, then we'll work on anything we agree needs work on. We'll then take a 5-10 minute break for us smokers to have a cigarette and a drink, then we'll jam for a while, see if we can work on some ideas we've all brought in. Then we go through all our songs again. When we pack up and get ready to bugger off home we'll do a "what sucked? What rocked?" thing, where we talk about what we could work on more or what we collectively think is ready to play in front of people. We are a very structured band.

[Spazzsticks]

You should run a guitar school and call it the shred dojo xD

[sammorgan]

To expand on tip number 6, amateurs practice till they get the part right, professionals practice till they can't get it wrong.

One exercise my jazz professor and I would do is to take 5-10 guitar picks (coins also work very well) and line them up on the space in front of you (desk, stand, piano, anything works). While working on a lick at say 100 bpm, he would have me play the lick. If it was up to his standard, he'd move one pick to the right. If I got it right again, he'd move the next pick/coin over to the right. Yet, if I missed the lick or something wasn't to his liking, he'd slide the pick from the right side, back to the left. Once I had all picks on the right, he'd kick up the BPM to 115, and we start the process over.

This is a great way to visualize your practice, and to practice with purpose. Just my two cents.

[stevenmcnally]

I use to be a youth worship leader, and I actually used to do those odd exercises. my favorite was one where I'd point my guitar at someone and they'd have to sing till I pointed at the next person. this developed confidence in all my band members, and even highlighted a few hidden vocal talents on top of being a ton of fun.

[PhilipBennett]

Point 7 - YES, 1000 times YES. Noodling (we call it noodling in the UK) when someone else is talking is SOOOO annoying and instantly puts me off working with people.

[mitchmarq]

I've been trying to start a band with some friends.
First practice: one person (lead guitarist) came and we made a tune that's almost memorable and probably could be recorded as an instrumental.
Second practice: no one but me came. I spent the time trying to figure out my dad's loop pedal to solo off my own riff. Didn't work.
Third Practice: Keyboardist and our friend who thinks he's starting a rival band (with no one in it and no songs) showed up an hour late. We couldn't even sound remotely musical until the guitarist left, but the keyboardist played something by the Piano guys and I played this old fiddle-song on bass and it worked amazing. And i taught him guitar even though neither of us play it.
Fourth practice is the day after tomorrow. Wish us luck.?!

[IBeOutHere]

Never been in a band.. *holds back tears*

[mrjosh]

I used to use number 8 a lot with one of bands. I would start playing the song at twice the tempo, or start at the end of the song and go through it backwards. It always through my band members off guard but we knew the material so well we could play it in our sleep! We also worked out what we would do if something went wrong during the song like "if my string breaks during this song we'll have a bass solo" and things like that.

[whaleguy]

BTW, we just had the worst band practice ever this past weekend. Our drummer called an hour before to say he would not be showing. We told him we were going and he was welcome to show up when/if he wanted to. Once we got to the practice space, we found another band there shooting a video which was supposed to get over in 15 mins but suddenly, they came over and said they needed another two hours. They had also taken all the power strips and the drum kit outside the practice space for the shoot. Left with no way to plug in and the practice space in a mess, we just walked out. The drummer never showed and we all agreed it was time to get rid of him. So the plus side is we got rid of our weakest link :)

[dylanmagararu]

I recently started a band and your videos have really helped us in all areas. So, thanks. Big fan.

[brucebernardini]

You have a great site! Thank you! Been playing 40+ years on bass and upright. Thank you for all your info, you are quite gifted on your guitar.

[JulioJustiniano]

Isolating problems is the most important thing. The other day at practice the singer and rhythm guitarist couldn't make it, so since we already booked the room the drummer, bassist and I focussed on playing all our problem spots over and over again till we nailed it. There's always something someone's gotta work on, so I dont get discouraged if for some reason someone doesn't show up. Shit... once the drummer didnt make it, so I played back tracks from youtube videos through the PAs.

[nathanbarr]

Just wanna say thanks for these helpful videos. Everything I’ve learned an I do now I take in from you. Thanks man.

[dylanedwards]

It's been sort of difficult as a band in the start-up stage to find and agree on goals and organize our time. Sometimes we get together to rehearse a song we've already put together but then that ends up turning into and unplanned writing session and then we have myself and the bassist trying to learn parts from each other and the drummer has nothing to do. This video helped me realize the importance of discussing what we want to accomplish in a session beforehand and doing our best to stick to that plan so that we make the most of our time together.

[allaboutthatbassdrum]

Solid advice that I’ll be taking with me to practice tonight. I think I’m going to get there early too, and have a serious sit down with everyone and find out what each one of us wants to get out of this. Cause if we’re not in the same page with our goals, we may as well be in different books altogether.

[warlocke]

I thought it was called Rehearsal?



Has my life been a lie sensei?

[axelnielsen]

You talk a lot with your hands and I really enjoy it actually