Improve Your Rehearsal Enjoyment

Bass players often spend much of a rehearsal waiting or counting rests. No wonder we often get yelled at – too much idle time! I’m sure you’ve heard from teachers that you should listen to the other instruments – try focusing on the viola or second trumpet. And that’s a great! 

Here are some other tips for you to get more out of rehearsals.

-Bring a little notebook. When I was in graduate school at Champaign-Urbana I knew that afterwards I’d be teaching in the public schools. The orchestra conductor there was great so I kept a little notebook and wrote down phrases and wordings he used. I paid more attention and became a better conductor. 

-Practice! No, not out loud. But I find rehearsals a great time to work on vibrato. Try using a slower vibrato or see how relaxed you can be. Try focusing on having your vibrato be continuous between notes.

-Notice players technique. As a teacher I’m always looking at the upper string players technique to keep sharpening my violin teaching. Notice posture and then observe yours.

– Notice the conductor’s stick technique. Most musicians at some point have to lead an ensemble so here’s ‘free’ time to do observations. See what works and what doesn’t.

-How is the attitude of the other musician’s? Negative? Then look at yourself and try to be positive.

Thanks for reading and for more tips check out MostlyBass.com