A lot of bands rehearse with such consistency that you could set your watch by it. That’s a good thing – it shows dedication. You should be well rehearsed so you know your songs thoroughly and can give the best possible performances that you can give.

There are, however times when you can and should skip rehearsals for something more important – like to play a show. Besides the obvious benefits of playing a show (i.e. exposure, possible payment, etc.), any pro will tell you that playing live is one of the best ways to improve your playing, both as an individual and as a band.

There really is no way to practice that truly simulates playing live. You have to be on, because it’s for real and getting used to that pressure is essential to performing at your best. It builds confidence and gives you the experience that you need to get better. By playing more shows instead of practicing, you can see where you need work and concentrate on those areas; thus when you practice you’re more productive.

These are pretty much the only reasons to make practice a top priority:

• - You’re a new band and aren’t nearly as tight as you should be.
• - You have a new song (or songs) that you need to work on.
• - You’ve booked a tour and you need to work on your total performance.
• - One of the members is new, or is having a hard time with some of the songs.
• - You haven’t played in a while (shame on you).
• - You’ve identified a weak area that you need to improve on.

These are about the only reasons that you should forgo a show for more practice, but you shouldn’t make it a habit. Other valid reasons may come up as well, so you really need to use good judgment when they come up. Still, you shouldn’t let there be too much of a lapse in live performances, as they are your bread and butter. Get through these delays in as short a time as possible and move on.

Again, experience is the best training there is.

What do you do when something goes wrong? Any number of things can happen up there and how you deal with them is an important part of your total show. Screw-ups happen, it’s a fact of life and you need to accept that and move on. When something goes wrong in the middle of a performance you have to be at a place where you can recover quickly and forget it happened.

The only way to do this is to go out and play. Don’t let practice be an excuse for not getting experience.