In the music industry you’re going to be faced with circumstances where you’ll need to know how to perform and rehearse both by yourself as a solo and with an ensemble. Both methods of performing and rehearsing are very valuable to know and practise for aspiring artists and professional musicians. There are benefits for the two methods, but with those benefits come challenges as well. Having the skills to perform with a group is just as important as having the confidence to perform solo. The common denominator for both methods of performing and rehearsing is the fact that big decisions need to be made. However, different things need to be considered for either solo or an ensemble. This article will be comparing the methods of performing and rehearsing with an ensemble and performing and rehearsal as a solo.
Starting with the pros and cons of rehearsing and performing with an ensemble. Choices need to be made by the whole group. To start with one of the most difficult aspects of working in an ensemble, decisions are very difficult to agree on in a big ensemble group. Of course, the number of members in an ensemble can be from a trio to usually four or five members, any more than that in my opinion is too much but can be suited for some specific genres better. The decision-making process can be very stressful for those who struggle with group work.
Stress has a big impact on your focus. Stress, especially when we experience it on a regular basis, takes a significant toll on our minds and bodies. It can make us feel more irritable and constantly tired, and it impacts our ability to focus. Chronic stress can also interfere with our sleep patterns, appetite, and libido, and it can also exacerbate a range of health conditions.[1] These important areas of your daily routine and lifestyle will, if badly impacted, also impact your performance quality as well as other aspects of your life. With a large group there will obviously be multiple styles, opinions, personalities etc. and it can be very difficult to agree on things such as song choices, lyrics, instrumentation, performance order, and more.
Another aspect that can be difficult when working with an ensemble is that it can be difficult to keep the group on track and focused. Typically, when there is a large group of people, in any circumstances, they want to socialise. Which is perfectly fine, if you can stay focused on the task at hand. However, it can get out of control sometimes when everyone is talking over one another and it gets hard to get a word in. No one wants to be the one to boss everyone around and tell them to get back on track, this can lead to disagreements. A solution to this would be to be cautious but straight forward with your suggestions and instructions. Just be prepared for someone to respond not so well. Handle the situation with a calm and constructive method.
Another point to make is the very likely possibility of clashing personalities. Some people prefer to lead and call the shots while some like to go along with the group consensus. Although, this could work out perfectly. There are usually more circumstances where there is more than one person who prefers to lead which can cause angry disagreements and a split group, or no one wants to lead or make their opinion known and no one can even make a suggestion. It’s very important that you have a good mix of leaders and followers. There is nothing wrong with both of these personalities, however, it’s always good to, if you’re someone who prefers to lead, take a breath and let someone else talk and listen to other people’s opinions. If you’re more of a follower it’s good to suggest things more often and make your ideas known to the group, you might have something great to say.
On a more positive note, there are plenty great things that come with rehearsing and performing in an ensemble. First of all, the more people, the more ideas and input. You have so much more inspiration and opinions when you work with a group. Lyrics, chord progressions, instrumentation, structures you would have never thought of are suddenly so accessible when you’re working with so many people. Another benefit is that not everything falls on you.
When you’re rehearsing or performing by yourself there is a lot of pressure because everything is dependent on you. Whereas with a group it’s a shared load and therefore less stressful for the whole group. This can help with the progress of everything when you aren’t stressed and you have other people to depend on as well. Without stress, your brain can focus more on tasks, and therefore, can put more effort and quality into that task and product.
As well as a shared responsibility, you also have shared resources. With multiple people in an ensemble, there are multiple musical talents/abilities made available to the group. For example, if your wanted to perform a piece that had a strong electric guitar lead you would surely have someone who played the guitar in that ensemble. The same thing can be said about vocals, drums, piano, bass etc. With more people there are more voices and instruments. This helps make the piece sound fuller and more elaborate. The fact that you are working with more people is also a good source of motivation. I have personally found that when you are able to socialise with co-workers or peers in between work, it assists with finding the motivation to work on the task at hand. This may be different, however, for other people. Some people find more motivation when they can focus on themselves and themselves alone. Which brings us to our other method of rehearsing and performing.
Rehearsing and performing as a solo is drastically different to doing so as an ensemble. Everything is solely up to that one person, and therefore, the quality of their performance is all a reflection of that one person. The first challenge that comes with working as a solo is the stress. Everything is laying on that person’s shoulders, everything depends on them and they don’t have peers to share the load with as you would in an ensemble. The stress of doing everything yourself could impact your final product, your performance. Stress affects your ability to focus as well because your brain is trying to think about too many things at once and while some may say “oh, well that’s just multitasking and that’s more efficient” there have been legitimate studies that show that multitasking diminishes your ability to focus on a task properly. Multitasking reduces your efficiency and performance because your brain can only focus on one thing at a time. When you try to do two things at once, your brain lacks the capacity to perform both tasks successfully. Research also shows that, in addition to slowing you down, multitasking lowers your IQ.[2] This shows that a person working as a solo may require some assistance with certain tasks to avoid having to sacrifice their performance quality due to multitasking and stress. Another non-beneficial aspect of working as a solo is the issue of not finding motivation to rehearse. For some people, they prefer to be surrounded by peers so they can be motivated to perform tasks and do work. Therefore, when someone like this is choosing to rehearse and perform as a solo, they may struggle to stay on task or be interested in their task. This can also work in favour of someone who enjoys spending time by themselves and working by themselves, so this isn’t strictly a disadvantage. The last challenge about this method that I will be listing is the limited resources when working as a solo. When you’re a solo you have you and yourself alone as a resource, whether you’re singing or performing an instrument solo. This means that if you require accompaniment of any kind, you need to source it out instead of automatically having that resource there as you would in an ensemble. Even though these challenges may seem difficult to overcome there are solutions to be found.
The are plenty of benefits that come with choosing to rehearse and perform as a solo. While you may have the weight of the quality of your performance resting on your shoulders you also call the shots and make the decisions yourself. You don’t need to negotiate with anyone (unless you have to seek approval from someone you are answering to) and can make the decisions easily and without quarrel. This is something that may make the whole process move quicker than it would if you had to discuss every choice that needed to be made with multiple people. This is something that I personally prefer about working as a solo. You have the freedom to make decisions specific to your personal preferences of genre, style, artists, instrumentation and possibly even composition choices. The result of your performance relies on you, and while that may be stressful it can also be a relief. You only have yourself to worry about by being the only one performing. You only have to worry about your voice, instrumentation, music etc. Another benefit that comes as a result of working as a solo is the fact that you can focus on your personal quality more. You can spend more time refining your skills rather than worrying about multiple people at the same time. You can also easily organise rehearsal time since you only need to work around your own schedule and no one else’s. All these things, I personally find, are benefits that assist with making your end product as great as you aspire it to be.
Both methods of rehearsing and performing, solo and ensemble, have their challenges and benefits. This doesn’t mean one is better than the other overall. It completely depends on personal preference; some may prefer to work as an ensemble while other may prefer to work as a solo. Both options are good and can have amazing outcomes. I wrote this article based off personal experience and I found that it definitely helped to have to have that to reflect on so that I could fairly compare these two methods. Overall, there are many different outcomes when it comes to rehearsing for a performance. It not only depends on your method, whether that me solo or ensemble, but on the amount of effort you put into it regardless.
[1] Cohut, M. (25/10/2018) How Does Stress Affect the Brain? [Internet] MedicalNewsToday. Accessed from: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323445.php [Accessed 23/5/2019]
[2] Bradberry, T. (8/10/2014). Multitasking Damages your Brain and Career, New Studies Suggest [Internet] Forbes. Accessed from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2014/10/08/multitasking-damages-your-brain-and-career-new-studies-suggest/#20c9098456ee [Accessed 22/5/2019]