You’ve got the first part covered – you’re familiar with the songs. The only thing different is the instrumentation and the arrangement. But, what a difference that can make!

For example, I normally perform as a duo with my wife, but we often have other musicians sit in with us. All of a sudden, the arrangement has changed. Even though we may have performed a song hundreds of times, auto-pilot no longer works. Now, we have to listen carefully to the other musicians and adjust to what they are playing. Sometimes it works out great, other times, not so much.

You have an advantage in your situation in that you’re still in the rehearsal stage. That’s what rehearsals are for. Find problems in the arrangement and the interaction between instruments and musicians.

Particularly with jazz, there is a strong element of improvisation, but there is also a strong structure that each musician works within. Rehearsal is the time to get the structure set and familiar so that everyone can move around comfortably.

While you are singing, you are the most important instrument. While it’s almost second nature for each musician to feel like their part is the most interesting and most important, most would agree that the vocal is the focal point.

Still, you’ll also sometimes get an attitude of “you’re just a singer, I’m a real musician.” (This can apply to drummers, too.) Be aware of this and don’t take it personally, but also realize that you all need to work together as a band.

With that in mind, the first thing you need to do is make sure you can hear yourself. The instruments you’re working with are not subtle or quiet. You need to have proper amplification and monitoring.

Once that’s taken care of, the next thing you need to be aware of are cues within the arrangement that point to your starting note. Mostly, this will just mean hearing the arrangement enough to hear your part coming.

At first, you may need to ask the other musicians to run through (and repeat as often as necessary) the measure leading up to your entrance until it becomes very familiar. If you still have difficulty, record this part of the rehearsal and practice on your own time. (Notice: there is a difference between rehearsal and practice.)

The rest of the band should be agreeable to this, since this is the purpose of rehearsal.

The longer you play together, the more you will consciously and unconsciously hear the way each musician leads into your section. It may vary between performances, but there will still be a recognizable transition.

I hope this helps. Enjoy your music!

While the music is enjoyable for all music lovers, it seems that probably more than half the audience is composed of musicians, many of them professionals themselves. It’s that good!

My wife and I try to get there whenever possible, even though that means a hundred mile drive each way. When we can’t get there, the live streaming saves the day.

The article mentions some of the great performers, such as Wendy Waldman and Jack Tempchin, who play there occasionally. But there are also many others who keep coming back on a fairly regular basis.

Some of these include James Lee Stanley, Freebo, Stephen Bishop, Aaron Wolfson and more.

Our particular favorite is Severin Browne with the 1st Friday Band. On the first Friday of each month (8/6/10 coming up!), Severin and his crew “start it up.”

The 1st Friday Band usually consists of Gary Popenoe (harmonica), Alex Del Zoppo (piano), Mike Bisch (bass), Jeff Kossack (percussion) and David Stone (drums and uke).

For those in the Southern California area, Kulak’s Woodshed is located at 5230 1/2 Laurel Canyon Blvd. in North Hollywood.

If you can’t make it in person, but sure to catch the webcast … the links are in the article above. (Won’t be there myself this month … got a gig!)

- Brian, Tips For The Band admin

I wish I had the definitive answer and advice for you about procrastination. Like you, and like many creative (and not so creative) people, I also have a problem with procrastination. But is it really procrastination or is it that there’s always something else more pressing that needs to be done? (At least that’s what I always claim.)

In other words, you need to prioritize … and commit.

A few years ago, when a songwriting workshop my wife and I regularly attended was discontinued, my wife made a commitment to write a song a day, without fail. She now has several hundred lyrics written.

By consistently writing everyday, whether it was good or not, she has progressed from very amateurish and awkward lyrics to where she now writes very creatively.

Of course, some of these are junk, but many are gems. Now she’s working on picking the best and adding music. (Lyrics were her weak point … she’s a very capable musician.) She stuck to her goal, now the goal needs to be moved to the next level.

So … here goes …

Make a list of your goals, and then take a look at how you’re spending your time. This will show you what your priorities really are.

Do you spend hours surfing the web? Then that’s a priority. Is it really important to you? No? Then make an effort to spend your time on your real priorities.

Take that list of goals, prioritize them, and make a commitment to work on the top one or two every day.

If you have time, rotate through the other goals, doing them on a less frequent, but still steady, basis.

The main thing is to take control of your life, and take action … really DO something.

I’ll finish here with a related quote from American author/editor Peter De Vries: “I write when I’m inspired, and I see to it that I’m inspired at nine o’clock every morning”

- Brian, TipsForTheBand.com