I decided to take the plunge to play with other musicians and signed up for School of Rock. Format is 45-minute one-on-one class once a week and band rehearsal once a week for an hour and a half. It is a four-month “season” that we work on a setlist and end the season with a live performance at a bar/restaurant. I think there is also a live ”preview” show after month 1. There are two schools near me and each school has two groups to choose from (each group with a unique setlist). The first one had the choice of setlists between Paramore and Best of 2010’s. The second school had the choice of setlists between Ozzy Osbourne and British Invasion. This was a pretty easy choice for me…British Invasion is the closest thing to my musical tastes. First rehearsal is tonight. There is a pool of musicians and different musicians are casted for each song. There are 3 bassists in our pool and there will be about 15 songs on the setlist. The first song assigned to me is Can’t Buy Me Love by the Beatles. They assigned the songs last night, so not much time to prepare, but I asked the Director for Can’t Buy Me Love last week (he said thanks for letting me know your preference and we’ll consider it) and I started breaking it down and practicing it in case my preference was granted. I feel lucky it was granted or else that would be an awkward first rehearsal with one day to learn the song. That is the only song I need to prepare for in anticipation of tonight’s rehearsal. It looks like I will also be assigned All Day and All of the Night by the Kinks and Train Kept A-Rollin’ by the Yardbirds, but that is not final. Not songs I would have picked out so this will definitely get me out of my comfort zone. Also, I’ve been playing fingerstyle all this time and it sounds like those second and third songs are probably played with a pick. So, the time has come to start practicing with a pick. I’ll probably start the Kinks song with a pick and see how it goes as that one seems to be the easier one. Also, plan on volunteering for Honky Tonk Women as I want to have a Stones song assigned to me and that is my favorite song on the setlist…looks like that one is up for grabs as the bassist assignment is blank. This should be a fun experience.
Enjoy it. I did SOR Adult program a year ago. It was a great experience.
Sounds like a good time!
All Day And All Of The Night, what a great song!
What’s the full set list?
They’ve only released 5 songs and that is what we practiced in last night’s rehearsal. The rest of the songs should be assigned this week. They gave me a verbal heads-up that I “may” get assigned the Yardbirds song and one from the Kinks, but we shall see as they first wanted to see me play. Last night we did:
- You Really Got Me (required a volunteer for bass)
- Can’t Buy Me Love (assigned to me)
- My Generation - The Who (assigned to another bassist)
- Sunshine of Your Love - Cream (assigned to another bassist)
- Honky Tonk Women (required a volunteer for bass).
I was prepared for Can’t Buy Me Love. A guitarist volunteered for bass on the first song. When Honky Tonk Women came up, I told the Director that I’d like to volunteer for it after I learn it and he pushed me to get up there and take a stab at it without any preparation. So, I did and it was fun as hell, even if I was just playing a barebones bass line…the Director was telling me the chord progression during the instrumental on the fly so that helped.
My big takeaway from the first rehearsal was that I was surprised at how good everyone was. I thought people would show up not knowing their parts because of the songs being assigned so late, but everyone showed up and rocked out. I was VERY surprised by that. Tons of multi-instrumentalists who were filling in the volunteer spots on the songs- bassists playing drums, guitarists playing bass, it was wild. This particular group has been playing together for years and they were very cool about having someone new in the mix. Very encouraging. The 3 Directors in the room knew their stuff and had great attitudes. One of the bassists used to gig regularly and killed the Cream song. The other one did an awesome job in one day taking on that beast of a song (on bass) - My Generation.
As the least experienced musician in the room, I am motivated to really learn my songs so that I can keep up. Which is pretty exciting to me. Really happy about the first rehearsal.
I do something similar in the UK called Rock Project. Not sure about the you ‘may’ get a song or a guitarist deciding to take a bass part. We follow 3 school terms. At the start of the term everyone nominates 2 songs and the tutors randomly select a song each week and everyone gets to play. At the end of term we do a pub gig and one end of year gig at a music venue where we decide between us who is playing what and post gig the final session or 2 are a jam where people can swap instruments.
I used to play in my local School of Rock adult program. British Invasion was our first season. It was cobbled together pretty quickly so it was a small setlist. It’s pretty wild to look back at that first season and realize how far I’ve come since then. We played
Can’t Buy Me Love - The Beatles
The Kids Are Alright - The Who
You Really Got Me - The Kinks
For Your Love - The Yardbirds
All Day and All of the Night - The Kinks
Hope you have fun with it!
I’ve considered signing up for SoR but was concerned I might be the only 45 yo with a bunch of kids which would be kinda creepy. I might take another look and ask how popular their adult stuff gets.
Not all of the schools have an Adult Program. But, if they do, ages will range from 20 - 65+. I joined as someone in my late 50’s with one month on the bass (thanks to Bass Buzz) and fit right in. Having your own band is more fun when you are ready, but this is a real great way to test the waters. Do it!
There are zero kids in my Adult Program group at the Coral Springs, FL school. Not sure about the demographics at other schools. If there were some twenty something year olds (there aren’t), that wouldn’t bother me a bit…we’re just jamming as a group of 15-20 musicians once a week. I was complimenting one of the lead guitarists and the woman next to me said, “well, he’s been playing guitar since 1964.” I am 52 and a lot more than half were older than I was. There may have been a few thirty-somethings, but maybe not even that. You can always ask the Director of your local SoR what the age mix is. The vast majority of the people in my group have been playing together at SoR for years.
good to know
My first season there we had only 1 person under 30. Most other seasons ages ranged anywhere from 20-60. Everyone got along really well. Didn’t feel creepy or weird at all
Have fun with it. I’m another graduate of the U.K. Rock Project.
I was wary at first, heading towards my first session but realised within 10s of arriving that the adult group was 30+ (with no obvious upper age limit!)
It led me directly to getting a place in a gigging band - a story often repeated - it’s all about connections.
Some others seem to prefer to stick with the Rock Project or SoR type sessions, others prefer to make those connections and head off in a band.
The main thing is to have fun - there is nothing quite like playing in a group with other musicians:-)
It’s a shame that there’s nothing like School of Rock or Rock Project in France. There are SoR groups in Spain (2 in Madrid and 1 in Barcelona) and Portugal (2 in Lisbon and 1 in Faro), but that doesn’t do me any good. Too bad.
My brother is a professional musician and he and some friends do a rock retreat in my home town every summer. I’ve done the last two summers and have had a blast. Learning songs on your own is one thing but playing with a band and sounding good is another great experience. Followed by a gig where the crowd is super supportive is a real confidence booster and motivator to keep going.
So glad to hear you enjoyed the experience. A little over a year ago I did the exact same thing. Beatles vs Stones was the setlist. There were only 2 bass players so I got Can’t Buy Me Love, Come Together, and Yer Blues by the Beatles and Gimme Shelter, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, and Satisfaction by the Stones. I was so nervous at the first rehearsal with all these people I didn’t know. But quickly made friends and had a blast every Sunday at rehearsals. Had so much fun at the final show at one of the local bars that I signed up and did it again. 90’s Grunge and Alternative Rock. I ended up being the main bass player and got to perform 13 of the 15 songs in that set.
I highly recommend doing the SoR adult program if you can. It was a great way of finding out how it feels to perform and play an instrument live on stage in a band in front of bar full of strangers.
I’m now in a band with a group of guys my age (60’s) getting a setlist of 70’s thru 90’s classic rock songs rehearsed and ready for gigs this spring and summer.
That is awesome…happy to hear that you had a great experience at SoR and that it set you on a path to having your own band. Enjoy and best of luck with rehearsals and gigs!
I thought School of Rock was just a Jack Black’s movie 
Good to know there are some in Madrid! Do you think going there is considered treachery if you are already in a band?
They all have already performed live less than a year ago. +20 years ago in my case. Would be good for practice as I’m reading here!
In my opinion? No. All gigging is good for the soul and for improving skills. As a Christmas present to yourself, join an adult group at one of the two SoR’s in Madrid. 
