Part Two: No Time For Practicing?

BY MEGHAN VANCE • November 13, 2023

While it’s important for musicians to consider whether they have enough time for practicing before accepting a gig, there will be moments when there isn’t enough time to adequately prepare for a first rehearsal. Perhaps you’re suddenly called to fill in for someone who is sick. Perhaps you had a family emergency that demanded your time. Perhaps you’re presented with an opportunity that you know you shouldn’t turn down, despite the limited time. How can you ensure that you don’t waste your fellow musicians’ time in rehearsal? What can you do to prepare the best you can with the time you do have?

PREPARE BY LISTENING

In part one, listening was the first step, and this really doesn’t change. You still need to understand the piece as a whole and understand how your part fits into that whole. However, especially with limited practice time, you want to continue to listen as much as possible. Ad nauseam. Listen to the music while driving, exercising, doing chores or bookwork. Lydia Leong, on Violinist.com, writes “To avoid getting just a single interpretation stuck in my head, I make a playlist with as many different versions as I can.”

PREPARE BY DETERMINING WHAT’S POSSIBLE

Play through your song, or songs, one time as best you can. Use that run-through to initially evaluate your playing ability. The following questions may assist you in your evaluation:

• Are there sections that you can already play at speed?
• Which sections can you nearly play?
• Which sections will be impossible to work up in time for the rehearsal?

After you have evaluated your playing ability, focus on the sections you can actually prepare, rather than trying to tackle an entire song. Then, if you have time, work on harder sections so that you can prepare them for subsequent rehearsals.

PREPARE BY PRACTICING TRANSITIONS

What transitions might be difficult for the group? Transitions are often technically or musically difficult. Identifying where the transitions are can often provide you with a quick way to find some of the hardest spots in the repertoire. Use the questions below during your score study to help you find some of the transitions that you may need to spend time practicing.

If you’re solid at the transitions, you can help ensure the ensemble always stays together, even if you can’t play all of the notes on the page. In addition, most transitions are short (often 2 to 4 bars), and can therefore be practiced in short amounts of time. This makes transitions not only important, but also achievable for your limited schedule.

PREPARE BY PRACTICING THE WHOLE SONG

You won’t be able to adequately prepare your part up to speed for the entire song – that’s the whole point of this article – but you do need to be able to (at the very least) keep your place in the music while the group rehearses. If you can keep your place successfully during the rehearsal, you may improve during the rehearsal. You also may be able to identify where your next practice passages should be after the rehearsal.

To help you prepare to keep your spot in the ensemble’s first rehearsal, use a metronome or the rehearsal track to practice the entire song. Your goal is to make sure you can stay at tempo without getting lost.

Next, determine what you should play as you keep your place in the music. Maybe you can’t play the whole chord up to speed, but you can play the bass notes or the melody. Maybe you can’t play the fast notes, but you can play the first note of each measure. Think about what would help the group most, and then practice it. Try to play something consistently throughout the song, and add in those transition and easy sections when you find it is possible.

PREPARE BY THINKING THROUGH NON-NOTE PROBLEMS

There are some problems that can be solved without playing a note of music. Jeannie Deva, for Music Connection recommends that ensembles “don’t neglect practicing performance skills such as movement on stage, microphone handling, etc.” These kinds of problems must be agreed upon as a group, so asking about them can be a helpful way to use rehearsal time when the music isn’t really ready.

PREPARE TO BE PROFESSIONAL

Damian Keyes writes “Make sure to have everything ready and waiting to go before you start rehearsals.” If need you extra material to help you make it through the rehearsal (such as a simplified part), bring it.

Above all, don’t make excuses. Nobody ever has as much time to practice as they would like. If you find it necessary, briefly explain your circumstances to the rehearsal leader before the rehearsal, and then get on with the work instead of wasting more time with talk. Remember, it’s not about you: rehearsals are for the group.