Reflections of a Musician in Business #3: Making the most of time together

Trying to co-ordinate work, personal commitments and rehearsal space availability to organise a full band rehearsal always seems to be a challenge worthy of a TV miniseries.

A full band rehearsal is where you get the chance for magic – for those moments of connection where you all look at each other and go “Yes!”, but that time can be limited and it can be very frustrating – and costly – if not spent wisely. 

In an ideal world we would have all the time we need to rehearse together in a professional studio but in reality there are practical constraints we need to work around.

There are obvious parallels to our 2020 work realities and increasingly global teams.  How can we make the most of limited opportunities to be together?  The members of Clusterfunk are based all around Australia and over the years we have collected some tips to make the most of our rehearsal time.  Here are the top 3:

1.    Do the homework. It seems simple but planning what we’re going to rehearse, and in what order, helps everyone to prioritise their individual rehearsal.  We take time in advance to write out the format, lyrics and chords with clear notes for intended changes from a reference version so that all the band are on the same page.  At work, I try to make sure the objectives and agenda for a gathering are clear – especially now given opportunities to get together can be limited.  I’ll try to consider what is a productive order to approach intended topics, and send focused pre-briefing material to set context and common ground.

2.    Pay attention to logistics and contingency planning. Over the years I’ve learned to double-check locations and bookings.  I’ve also compiled a survival kit that includes guitar strings, 9v batteries, leads, adaptors, Band-Aids and a small toolkit - all have been used to save the day at various times.  At work, we have all suffered from the frustration of the room double-booking, the technology not working, or no whiteboard pens being available.  There is a real cost and effort impact, and if a client is involved then our reputation could be at risk.  I like to do a logistics run through and have some low-tech contingency plans in place just in case.

3.    Have fun! The whole band jamming together is where the “Aha!” moments arise.  I remember the first time Clusterfunk played Dakota (amazing song by the Stereophonics) in the rehearsal room.  It was magic.  The whole was so much more than the sum of the parts, and it is still a signature tune for us many years later.  We have a lot of fun rehearsing together and that sense of fun allows us to experiment, play and be open to ideas.  Work meetings and workshops can and should be fun as well – this is the opportunity to draw out everyone’s ideas and contributions and see the response real-time.  I love to bring in some humour or a different perspective to help set the tone for great collaboration.  At a client workshop last year we brought along Bingo cards to help check we had covered all the topics, and have a little fun.

Just last week we had our first Nothing Too Serious rehearsal for a while with a plan to finalise 6 new songs we’d been working on – and the lead singer couldn't make it due to a diary mix up.  Luckily we had a contingency plan - I got to sing all the new songs!

Nothing always goes perfectly to plan; but preparing in advance allows us to play and enjoy our time together, and maybe turn mistakes into magic.

I hope these reflections resonate with you. Let me know! I'd love to hear from other #bizmusos and get your feedback.