The Difference Between Practice and Rehearsal

I’m sure we’ve all heard this and all instructors have said this: “There is a difference between practice and rehearsal!”

But even if it we all know what it means, let’s say it again to see if we’re all on the same page and for those who need to hear it, maybe we can benefit from hearing this concept once again so we can take our playing to new heights!

So as a student, if you get a piece of music for an exercise, warm up or show beats, you want to go home, learn it, memorize it, run reps and try to improve as much as possible before you show up to rehearsal.

When you go to rehearsal, you rehearse the music you have practiced at home and everyone gets a chance to see how they fit in to the ensemble and focus on blending, balancing and playing clean with everyone.

Rehearsal however is not a time to learn music and run reps that should’ve been done at home.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t “practice” and run reps at rehearsal, as long as it is in addition to the reps you have already done at home. But if you haven’t practiced at home and you use rehearsal time to practice, then that, in essence, would not be ok.

So, if you already know this information, how can you evaluate your level of preparedness when you go to rehearsal?

How can you run even more reps at home so you can show up to rehearsal, playing your beats at an even higher level of execution?

As an instructor, what’s another way you can reiterate this concept to really drive this point home with your students?

If you would like further perspective, make sure you watch the video below: