Rehearsal or Practise

This article is an editorial and expresses the opinion and experience of the author. Please post comments in the discussion page. Thank you.

This originally appeared in my blog - March 2005.

Rehearsal or Practise

Just a little break from the "Is it too expensive" line of thought

Here is another compelling benefit of the Personalized Amplification System.

Last night when I got home from the gig, I unloaded the car, and without a moment's hesitation, I set up the Bose System so it would be ready to go for practise/rehearsal. Okay it was simple because I have the (mic, line in, power, remote) sitting where I normally set up the unit.

There are a couple of reasons this is good (for me).

• I am playing/singing a lot more since getting the new system (enjoying both more), even at home.
• It is important to emulate the performance mindset, when rehearsing.

My point... With the Bose System, you can set up your performance environment (at home) in a snap. I used to come home from a gig, and shove all the pa gear into its storage space, because it was inconceivable to drag it in, and then set it up again. Eventually I bought a second PA system that I left permanently ready to go, and an identical system I took to gigs. This eventually included guitar amps and processors. Over the top perhaps but...

Here's the benefit: You have to store your system somewhere when not performing. It only takes a few moments to "store" it assembled and ready to play.

A few thoughts that might explain why this is important to me.

Do you rehearse or do you practise?

In her brilliant book You Are Your Instrument, Julie Lyonn Lieberman tells us (paraphrasing) that in those moments of performance anomie, that sense of being lost or out of place, most musicians unconsciously revert to "practise mode". She advises us to practise purposefully, as though rehearsing, as though performing. Why? So in those moments in performance, where we lose our sense of the immediate, we can revert to the state of mind in which we rehearse - committed, engaged, and playing for the audience.

For more thoughts on this please see: Practise Practice Rehearsal Simulation

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