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Starting A Band
By andy | August 11, 2007
Being able to jam with your fellow band mates is one of the most rewarding and sweetest thing any musician could ask for. Nothing could possibly beat the pleasure one derives from combining the different musical talent from each band mate and playing to a same tune. Picking suitable band mates to share your passion with can be a daunting or even endless process. (Our musical taste changes with time, don’t we…) For the beginning musician, I’ve put together an article which should solve most of your queries in how to start a band. Read on!
1. Recruit your personnel. A trio or a four man group is an excellent way to start - 1 or 2 guitar player, a drummer, and a bass player (possibly a keyboardist as well). There are tons of new players out there dying for people to play with. One great way to recruit players is by posting on forums or advertising through flyers or sticking notices along a busy street.
2. Create a song list. You and your band mates will want to agree on some songs that you all like and want to play. For starters, five songs is a good number.
3. Learn the chords and words to those songs! The Internet is full of lyrics and chords for your favorite songs. Just do a Google search giving the name of the song and the words lyrics or chords. If you’re ambitious, sit down with a recording and try to pick out the chords yourself by ear. There’s no better ear-training in the world.
4. Now put it all together. Gather your band mates and their equipment in your practice room and run through your five songs. You might want to bring printouts of the chords and lyrics.
5. Make a place to play (*This is not your practice room* This place should be a professionally set up area where you can get a feel of how it will be like when you are playing live at gigs or events). Most great bands start out in the garage. Get some fans to circulate the air if you live in a hot area. Another idea would be to rent a storage shed for your band to play and store your gear. Make sure this place have sufficient power points for all your gears. If you are able to pay, book a jamming studio. Get your band mates to fork out the booking fee evenly. This way, you save yourself the hassle of worrying about electricity, ventilation, and transportation of equipments as a studio already have all these in place. Bring your own guitar with you if you prefer using it over what the studio provides!
One way to save on studio fee is that you have a little warm up rehearsal first over at one of your band mate’s place before heading down to the studio. This rehearsal is meant for preparing yourself and your band mates over what’s gonna happen in the next few hours (depending on how long you booked) at the studio. Have a run through of your playing list. Have an objective to accomplish at the studio. Have a strip down practice of each song (maybe with 2 guitars, or just one guitar strumming the chords while the singer sings…Idea is to get everyone in the mood)
6. Your band needs a sweet name. Spread your name, talk with other people about the band and create a simple website. Offer to play free at every gigs available. You need the exposure first and foremost!
Topics: Tips and Tricks |