Tell me if this has ever happened to you.

You spent hours on your own as a string musician, perfecting your scale runs, dialing in the perfect tone, leveling the volume output of your multiple channels, and effects. Then, you go to rehearsal, join you band members, and the crystalline tone and presence you developed sounds muddy, or blows everyone out of the building. Sound familiar?

It happens. It happens because instruments together cannot sound like they do in a vacuum. Multiple guitars (and yeah, even bass guitars when they’re not mixed right into oblivion) have to complement one another. A band may have two guitar players with perfect individual tones, but once they’re in the same room, they’re a half- or quarter-tone away from one another and the collaboration is just garbage. Furthermore, anyone trying to sing over the combination is completely lost between the notes (like the infamous Runnin’ with the Devil soundboard).

Just like instruments, the multiple voices in a band have to match up, even when the band is simply delivering gang vocals. Tone isn’t the only aspect of a vocal delivery. Two members could technically deliver the same tone, but pitch and timber can make those voices clash worse than a flat fifth.

Vocal performances are just like musical performances. No one can operate in isolation and expect that what they’re singing is going to perfectly match the other singers in the band. String instruments occupy exact places in the musical spectrum, and voices do, too.

Band members who play together should rehearse together with the exact tone they’re going to use on stage. They should also practice singing together before they take the stage and expect that every note and phrase will be just fine. No band wants to deliver perfectly practiced guitar harmonies only to sing in a manner that sends listeners out of the concert hall. Take the time to harmonize. The results are fantastic.

You practice to improve your individual performance. Rehearse to perfect the band’s performance. Then go slay ‘em when you hit the stage together.

Ever skip a rehearsal night because certain band members can’t be there? Do those band members sing? Is it possible to get the singers together alone to work on harmonies? If it is, don’t overlook that opportunity. Instead of a night apart, the singers in the band can work together on the tweaks and tuning that accelerates the group from mediocre to magnificent. Harmonies can be tricky, and they take work, but the results are absolutely worth the effort.

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