babbalute wrote:
I like a band to sound tight which can only obtained by playing together plenty.
I beg to differ. If that was true, I'd be the loosest player in the world. ? How many times have you seen someone join a band on stage as a guest and
nail it without any practice at all? Bands that spend lots of time practising songs are all doing their own personal practice in band practice sessions. If your timing is good and you know the notes, everything else clicks.
Otherwise your band might exist of all guests getting together to play a few songs they all know.
Which describes most jazz and classical gigs. I don't know if it's the same in other parts, but here in CT, most jazz bands are pickup bands - someone gets a gig then phones around to find band members - so you see the same members in any one of a dozen different bands. List of standards, members have veto powers (if they really don't feel like playing
Autumn Leaves for the millionth time) but rarely exercise them. They don't practice together.
Most pop and rock music is even simpler to "fake" - ask any cover muso. It's all two to four chord sequences in common time, mostly in the same few keys and with a limited number of rhythms. Granted, there are those songs which have iconic bits in them that you have to play note-for note, but for the most part, if you have good timing and the right chords you can fudge the rest
...if you play with conviction. Stamp your own style of playing on it (and bring the band along for the ride) so you give the audience what they want - something familiar, but with a personal twist.
