Rehearsal spaces as objects of municipal intervention in Québec
Rehearsal spaces as objects of municipal intervention in Québec Martin Lussier International Journal of Cultural Policy, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2026.2645725 Received 29 Oct 2025, Accepted 11 Mar 2026, Published online: 14 Mar 2026 ABSTRACT This article examines how municipal cultural workers in Québec interpret musicians’ rehearsal spaces. It also considers how and why these spaces matter—or could matter—to their cities. Based on interviews with municipal cultural workers (such as cultural development officers, arts and culture managers, and leisure administrators), the study identifies four main ways rehearsal spaces are understood: as part of the cultural industries, as sites for leisure and amateur practice, as spaces supporting community development, and as largely invisible counterparts to live performance venues. These interpretations shape how municipal actors evaluate the importance of rehearsal spaces and whether they warrant public intervention. Although such spaces are widely recognized as essential to musical creation and artistic labour, they often remain marginal within urban cultural planning because of their limited public visibility. This article argues that symbolic representations play a crucial role in shaping municipal engagement with music infrastructure. The relative invisibility of rehearsal spaces ultimately reveals broader tensions in cultural policy between visibility, cultural infrastructure, and artists’ working conditions. Keywords Music practice ; Music rehearsal ; Leisure ; City ; Cultural Worker Article Complet Dernières Publications Tous les contenus publications Rehearsal spaces as objects of municipal intervention in Québec mars 11, 2026/Voir l'Article
Espaces de Répétition à Montréal
Espaces de répétition à Montréal Martin Lussier ; Lucile Ouriou Les Cahiers de l’Atelier de Chronotopies Urbaines. Volume 1 Numéro 2. ISSN 2816-9220 Automne 2022 ABSTRACT Comprendre les espaces de répétition à Montréal est une tâche significative. Jouer d’un instrument, chanter, mixer, créer des beats, c’est avoir une pratique localisée, dans des endroits qui à la fois la rendent possible et la contraignent.Nous avons voulu mieux comprendre ces espaces pour saisir les conditions matérielles dans lesquelles les pratiques musicales se déploient pour saisir ce qui se passe hors des salles de spectacle pour saisir les pratiques musicales montréalaises dans leur multiplicité. Ce que vous avez devant les yeux est un retour sur la première étape de cette recherche : un questionnaire portant sur les espaces de répétition. Vous trouverez donc ici quelques-unes des réponses offertes par les musiciennes et musiciens aux questions qui leur ont été posées. Vous trouverez égalemet des entretiens avec des personnes oeuvrant dans les milieux musicaux à l’extérieur du Québec. Ces entretiens permettent de mettre en perspective la situation à Montréal…Enfin, des bédéistes offrent un regard différent sur les espaces de répétition qu’elles et ils ont fréquenté pour leur pratique musicale. Leurs témoignages BD permettent de plonger dans trois expériences contrastées. BD par Rick Trembles, Skip Jensen et Aurore Juin. Keywords Music practice ; Music rehearsal ; Leisure ; Montréal Article Complet Dernières Publications Tous les contenus publications Rehearsal spaces as objects of municipal intervention in Québec mars 11, 2026/ Rehearsal spaces as objects of municipal intervention in Québec Martin Lussier International Journal of Cultural Policy, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2026.2645725 Received 29… Voir l'Article Espaces de Répétition à Montréal octobre 9, 2022/ Espaces de répétition à Montréal Martin Lussier ; Lucile Ouriou Les Cahiers de l’Atelier de Chronotopies Urbaines. Volume 1 Numéro… Voir l'Article
International Journal Of Education & the Arts. A journal of research and scholarship
De nombreuses recherches s’intéressant au travail de création et à l’apprentissage en musique se penchent sur ce qui se passe au sein des espaces de répétition. Dans certains cas, les descriptions portent également sur l’espace lui-même. « ‘Hey, hit an E.’ The tuning began and the players embarked upon a journey. The destination was unknown but the search for a song was the ultimate goal. For these musicians there are many paths to this goal and their only compass seemed to be the sound of the music. The initial rehearsal revealed the collaborative nature of their music making as well as a high level of talent and a serious approach to study. Once the equipment had been carried in and set up, each band member began to prepare for the session. Roal, the guitar player, began to tune; Mike, the bass player, set up his tape recorder to record the session for study at home; Jack assembled his percussion equipment, tuning his snare drum and adjusting his auxiliary instruments. Conversations ensued regarding various pieces of equipment in the rehearsal room and their functions as well as the hunt for the proper equalization (Note 3) and intonation for each instrument. The rehearsal room, located in the basement of Jack’s home, was dedicated to music rehearsal and recording. Along the wall, was a Marshall stack amplifier next to a 16-track digital recorder and effects boxes. A large “road box” filled with stands and cords rested next to the drum kit and, when needed, served as container and chair. Cords were strewn along the floor connected to microphones that were strategically placed in various areas of the room. » (Davis, 2005) « This physical journey of carrying in and setting up equipment can be a daunting task, however it became routine. These opening moments were also a time of rich discussion for the band members, both socially and musically. Humor seemed to encase these conversations as they discussed new ideas for the music they were about to play or music in general. These lighthearted beginnings seemed to be the adhesive in the mosaic of their relationships––establishing a safe, non-threatening, positive environment. It was clear they enjoyed being together. » (Davis, 2005)
Fingernails, Food Bowls, and Fries
Students Trash the Robertson Practice Rooms Dans de nombreux espaces de répétition partagés par plusieurs musiciennes et musiciens, la propreté et l’entretien général des locaux est un enjeu qui s’impose. Un article issu du journal The Oberlin Review, couvrant l’actualité du collège d’Oberlin et de la ville située en Ohio, revient sur la propreté et le traitement des locaux de répétition du conservatoire du collège, mais aussi sur quelques tactiques utilisées par les musiciens et musiciennes: « the trashing of Robertson is the most visible scar of a much deeper wound — that some Conservatory students fail to recognize that the rooms and equipment they use are shared among their peers. » (Thomas-Patterson, 2022) « […] the trash problem in the Conservatory practice rooms serves as an uncomfortable reminder of the disregard some students have for the labor of Conservatory custodians, who work late into the night after many students have left. » (Thomas-Patterson, 2022) « […] students have developed creative ways to ensure that rooms they want to use are reserved in their absence. Each practice room door contains a small window that allows others to peer in and check whether the room is available. Students frequently place jackets on raised music stands to obscure an outsider’s view into the room, thus preventing others from being able to determine whether the room is available. » (Thomas-Patterson, 2022)
V.com weekend vote: Where do you most often practice your instrument?
Un éditorial de The Violinist.com souligne l’importance des espaces de répétition pour les violonistes (et les autres musiciennes et musiciens). Celui-ci accompagne un petit sondage sur les espaces utilisés par les lectrices et lecteurs, dont la tendance au début juin 2022 montre une nette préférence pour « a special corner of my apartment or house »: « Practice is probably the most important part of learning, progressing and maintaining skills on the violin – or any instrument. But you have to have a place to practice! » (Niles, 2022) « […] a fancy practice area does not equate to effective practice. I’ve had some pretty effective practice sessions in weird places like empty hotel gym rooms, back rooms in churches, outdoors at camp, and of course, in the basement. » (Niles, 2022) « Ideally, a practice place has sufficient space, a backdrop of relative quiet, and enough privacy to allow uninhibited trial and error. It should be a place where no one will pound on your door and yell, « Stop that racket! » Even more ideally, it’s a pleasant place, with good acoustics, a nice window, maybe even a piano… » (Niles, 2022) « If you live with other people and you practice at home, then naturally you have to work your practice space and time around the other people who live in the house, in case they are working, sleeping, talking on the phone, etc. » (Niles, 2022)
Practice Makes Perfect : When Retail and Rehearsal Studios Combine
Un article paru en 2018 dans le magazine Music Merchandise Review (MMR Magazine), souligne l’émergence des studios de répétition et le marché potentiel que ceux-ci représentent pour les boutiques d’instruments de musique et d’équipement. L’auteur souligne que ceci a mené certains détaillants à offrir des partenariats avec des espaces de répétitions et même à ouvrir des boutiques « pop up » spécialisées à l’intérieur même de ceux-ci. « Even as recording studios fade in number and significance, rehearsal studios are on the upswing. Those often-grungy rooms that every teenage musician whose parents didn’t own a garage or a dry basement had to turn to for band practice […] are on the decline. Instead, as live performances continue to be the economic driver for music, rehearsal studios are the new currency – places where bands can create not just better sound, but also build shows that include their own lighting and special effects. » (Daley, 2018: 60) « They’re also becoming the places where musicians hang out and interact […]. The rehearsal studio is music’s new rooftop bar, and MI retail can find a place in this cultural shift » (Daley, 2018: 60) « Retailers are the front-line resource for rehearsal-studios start-ups and upgrades – there is no data on the number of new rehearsal studios, but a quick look at any town’s local alt weekly classifieds will reveal the steady growth in this sector, and every time a new one opens, everyone already there has to up their game, with new amps and better PAs. The connection for MI retail is obvious, once you recognize how the rehearsal sector is mushrooming. » (Daley, 2018: 60) « […] the biggest attraction is the ability to pick to some extent amongst a store’s copious selection of equipment. That’s why we’re seeing brands like Fender, Gibson, Shure, and Taylor setting up mini-shops of their own inside larger rehearsal complexes. Where better to put their wares in front of customers? » (Daley, 2018: 60)
A fight to stay put in ‘Allston Rock City’
À Boston, la scène musicale locale fait face à un défi alors que Sound Museum Rehearsal Complex, l’un des grands espaces de répétition, est menacé de déménagement suite au développement immobilier du quartier. Un reportage paru en avril 2022 dans The Boston Globe revient sur la situation. « Allston-Brighton has long been the heart of Boston’s music scene. Now, some musicians who practice at one of the neighborhood’s biggest remaining studios are making a last-ditch bid to keep it that way. » (Probert, 2022) « It’s the last straw for the music community […]. If they truly demolish this building, I have to leave Boston … I can no longer afford to have a studio or work here. » (Ellsworth, dans Probert 2022) « I don’t think people understand that there’s an element of accessibility and affordability that needs to exist for musicians to exist in a neighborhood […]. I don’t think it’s feasible to expect that a community of thousands of artists are just going to be OK with their workspace being relocated to the opposite side of the city.” (Grieco, dans Probert 2022) « Following the recent closures of other music institutions in the area […], the loss of a major rehearsal complex in Brighton will “effectively destroy the music community in Allston-Brighton” » (Probert 2022) « […] the impending loss of the [rehearsal space] reflects a larger issue about where the arts stand in Boston. The city has made little effort to protect arts space from the voracious demand for real estate, and artists are getting the message about priorities. » (Probert 2022)