During a fun rehearsal on Tuesday afternoon, I discovered a few differences between American band practices and Scottish band practice.
First of all, we spent the entire afternoon working on two songs. It's not because anyone in the group was slow or anything. (They definitely still use the same three chords over here as they do back home.) We just kept working on "the arrangement," something that isn't always the focus back home.
Or rather, back home we seem to do more work separately, then come together to sort out the details. For example, when Peter has a new song, he'll send an MP3. Then we all listen and learn our parts separately and work on dynamics during band practice, playing it a few times to get the feel of playing it together. Still, we must have played those songs twenty times at rehearsal on Tuesday, something I know has NEVER happened during an American rehearsal I've been involved with.
Somewhere in between is probably best. Still, I didn't grow weary. The music was good, and it had been so long since I'd played with anyone, it was a welcome change from playing the saw in my office.
The other difference between American band practice and Scottish band practice: I was offered a cup of tea first thing. And after a quick break, more tea, this time with biscuits (cookies) was served. I can really get behind this tradition. So proper! No Wild Turkey before Scottish band practice. Or maybe I'm just playing with the wrong band...
First of all, we spent the entire afternoon working on two songs. It's not because anyone in the group was slow or anything. (They definitely still use the same three chords over here as they do back home.) We just kept working on "the arrangement," something that isn't always the focus back home.
Or rather, back home we seem to do more work separately, then come together to sort out the details. For example, when Peter has a new song, he'll send an MP3. Then we all listen and learn our parts separately and work on dynamics during band practice, playing it a few times to get the feel of playing it together. Still, we must have played those songs twenty times at rehearsal on Tuesday, something I know has NEVER happened during an American rehearsal I've been involved with.
Somewhere in between is probably best. Still, I didn't grow weary. The music was good, and it had been so long since I'd played with anyone, it was a welcome change from playing the saw in my office.
The other difference between American band practice and Scottish band practice: I was offered a cup of tea first thing. And after a quick break, more tea, this time with biscuits (cookies) was served. I can really get behind this tradition. So proper! No Wild Turkey before Scottish band practice. Or maybe I'm just playing with the wrong band...
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