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Band Practice: rehearsal and setlists

What you'll be able to do
  • Lead a rehearsal with an agenda, clear roles and a short list of fixes.
  • Write simple charts and a song map so everyone plays the same song.
  • Arrange a cover or an original: structure, dynamics, intros and endings.
  • Tighten timing, count-ins, cues and the gaps between songs.
  • Build a 45 to 60 minute set with a pacing plan and a backup plan.
  • Understand the basic music business steps: registering works, live performance reporting and licences (Canada's SOCAN is the worked example).
Words in this course 49Open the Vocabulary Hall
01

Leading a rehearsal

In simple words

Before this course: Start a Band & Play Your First Gig (course 11.3). In that course you learned to run a basic rehearsal. Now you will make rehearsal work like a good practice in sports: a coach with a plan, everyone with a job, and a short list of things to fix.

Key facts
  • Rotate a rehearsal leader. One person keeps time and the agenda each week. This stops long chats and arguments about what to play next.
  • Write an agenda before you arrive. Example for 2 hours: warm-up jam (10 min), song 1 problem spots (25 min), song 2 problem spots (25 min), full run of the set (30 min), notes and next steps (10 min), pack up (20 min).
  • Work on problems, not on whole songs. Loop the 8 bars that fail instead of playing the entire song each time.
  • Name roles. Time keeper, note taker (writes what to fix), recorder (starts the phone recording), and gear person (checks cables and power).
  • Phones away except for the recording and a metronome app.
  • End with a fix list. Each member leaves knowing their two homework items.
  • Protect your hearing. Rehearsals are often louder than gigs. Use musician earplugs (see course 11.3, lesson 6).
Step by step
  1. Choose this week's rehearsal leader.
  2. The leader writes an agenda with times and sends it the day before.
  3. At the start, hand out the roles: time keeper, note taker, recorder, gear person.
  4. Start the phone recording.
  5. Follow the agenda. When a spot fails, loop just those bars until it works twice in a row.
  6. In the last 10 minutes, the note taker reads the fix list out loud.
  7. Everyone writes down their own two homework items.
  8. Check: the next leader has the fix list and everyone knows their homework.
Watch on YouTube
5 band rehearsal rulesMy Recording Internship · YouTube · youtube.com
How to have better band practice or rehearsalsTim Buell · YouTube · youtube.com

Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.

LESSON 01Leading a rehearsal
LESSON 01 / ANIMATED LESSON / AI VOICE00:00 / 01:00
Read the video script
[Host] "Good rehearsals have a leader and a plan."
[Text on screen: Agenda. Roles. Fix list.] "Write an agenda, hand out roles, and end with a fix list."
[Screen: looping eight bars on a phone recorder] "Don't play the whole song again. Loop the eight bars that fail."
[Host] "Two homework items each, and everyone leaves knowing what to practise."
Try it now

Run one rehearsal with a written agenda, four roles and a fix list. Record it and keep the fix list in a shared note.

ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude

Copy this, open Claude, paste it, and Claude will walk you through the lesson step by step.

For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.

I'm learning "Band Practice: rehearsal and setlists" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Leading a rehearsal".

What the lesson teaches:
- Rotate a rehearsal leader. One person keeps time and the agenda each week. This stops long chats and arguments about what to play next.
- Write an agenda before you arrive. Example for 2 hours: warm-up jam (10 min), song 1 problem spots (25 min), song 2 problem spots (25 min), full run of the set (30 min), notes and next steps (10 min), pack up (20 min).
- Work on problems, not on whole songs. Loop the 8 bars that fail instead of playing the entire song each time.
- Name roles. Time keeper, note taker (writes what to fix), recorder (starts the phone recording), and gear person (checks cables and power).
- Phones away except for the recording and a metronome app.
- End with a fix list. Each member leaves knowing their two homework items.
- Protect your hearing. Rehearsals are often louder than gigs. Use musician earplugs (see course 11.3, lesson 6).

The exercise I'm working on:
Run one rehearsal with a written agenda, four roles and a fix list. Record it and keep the fix list in a shared note. ---

I'm stuck. Please:
1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example.
2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step.
3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Leading a rehearsal" from the course "Band Practice: rehearsal and setlists".

Here's what the lesson says:
Before this course: Start a Band & Play Your First Gig (course 11.3). In that course you learned to run a basic rehearsal. Now you will make rehearsal work like a good practice in sports: a coach with a plan, everyone with a job, and a short list of things to fix.

The activity:
Run one rehearsal with a written agenda, four roles and a fix list. Record it and keep the fix list in a shared note. ---

Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words.
Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Open Claude
My notes
02

Charts and song maps

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

03

Arranging a song

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

04

Tight timing, cues and transitions

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

05

Building a 45 to 60 minute set

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

06

Music business basics (with a Canadian example)

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

++

Final project

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??

Quiz

  1. What is the best way to fix a failing spot in rehearsal?

  2. What goes at the top of a chart?

  3. What does "build by adding" mean in an arrangement?

  4. Name two cue ideas for a tricky spot.

  5. About how many songs fit in a 45 minute set?

  6. What is the shape of a good set?

  7. Does it cost money to join SOCAN?

  8. How long do you have to submit a live performance notification?

  9. Who is responsible for the performance licence when a band plays a venue?

  10. What is the difference between the performing right and the reproduction right?

EX

Final exam

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.

CE

Certificate

This lesson is part of full access: every course and every level for one payment.