Calling all bands, vocalists, solo artists, drummers, and instrumentalists. If you live in London, chances are you will be aware of the many different North London rehearsal studios available to you. If not, then there has arguably never been a better time to discover what Camden and other constituencies in the area have to offer from a musical and events perspective.
Many locations cater for a wide variety of artistic preferences. However, not all will be suitable for your own needs.
Here, we detail our essential 4 tips to optimise your North London rehearsal studio session for maximum productivity.
1. Know Your Drum Rudiments
For both casual and professional drummers, this is perhaps the most important aspect of drum practice to consider. Once you know what they are and how to implement them, you’ll be able to express yourself with infinite creative freedom — here are the 4 most common rudiments to consider.
SINGLE STROKE
The single stroke rudiment is: right, left, right, left, right, left.
This can be played at any speed you are comfortable with. It’d be worthwhile practicing slowly initially and then trying to speed up. You can always practice this technique to the beat of a metronome or to one of your favourite songs.
DOUBLE STROKE
The double stroke rudiment is: right, right, left, left, right, right, left, left.
The double stroke rudiment is typically used for the classic drum roll, also known as the ‘double stroke roll’. Again, you should practice this method as slowly as possible at first. When you have started to become more comfortable, try and practice faster and faster every time.
PARADIDDLE
The paradiddle rudiment is: right, left, right, right, left, right, left, left.
One way to remember this is by breaking up the word ‘paradiddle’ like this: pa-ra-diddle. Think of ‘pa’ and ‘ra’ as single beats, and ‘diddle’ means a double beat.
THREE STROKE
The three stroke rudiment is: right, right, right, left, left, left.
That’s three beats in each hand. Again, you should try practicing these slowly, then build up as much speed as you can.
2. Location, Location, Location
We have already touched on the myriad options available to musicians in the North London area. Without going into too much detail, there are so many different kinds of rehearsal rooms to choose from, that it is often a difficult decision making a booking that suits you and your band members’ needs.
For our money, the North London rehearsal studios provided by Pirate offer everything needed for a hassle-free rehearsal at some of the most affordable prices in the capital. Their Camden studios, in particular, are some of the newest and best-equipped studio spaces in the UK.
A typical practice studio includes guitar and bass amps, drum kit, condenser microphones, comfortable seating, customisable air conditioning and photo- and video-friendly mood lighting — all provided free of charge with your booking.
3. Fine-Tune Your Itinerary
This is a really important one. In order to make the most of any rehearsal studio session, it would be really beneficial to draw up an action plan ahead of time. Assign actions for every participant that takes into account breaks, riffing, and any potential time you may want to spend recording the segments of your tracks. Identify the focus areas for this session in particular, and give yourself enough leeway to be able to achieve your realistic goals in the timeframe of your booking.
Even if you are simply jamming with friends, giving yourself some basic objectives and a gameplan of sorts will help you to optimise your rehearsal time.
4. Walk The Talk
Rehearsal studio sessions provide the perfect platform to discover what it is about your act that makes it unique. It’s your time to express yourselves and work on that all-important stage presence. Embrace your weird and wonderful — behind closed doors, anything goes.
Similarly, these sessions are a great opportunity to try something new. Perhaps you need to confirm your setlist ahead of a live gig, decide on your ideal stage formation, or find out once and for all just how high your lead vocalist can take it for the crescendo.
