Putting together a band

Originally Posted by: shahnenHi I am a teenager who is starting their first band. I have a drummer and I am a guitar player. I was wondering what are some qualities I should look for in a singer and a bassist and what are some things I should keep in mind while playing and rehearsing and in general. Thank you so much.



Shahnen

Let your other band members know about the level of commitment you expect from them and the amount of work everyone has to put in to make it work.

You definitely want to find bandmates who are interested in the same music style. There are also a few websites that help musicians find each other. Bandmix comes to mind, also you may get lucky in the musicians section of craigslist.

The importance of a good singer can not be underestimated, they can make or break a band, and I believe talent trumps showmanship, though they both help.

For instance in the following video from the Faces, Ronnie Lane starts singing the first verse of the song and by all accounts is doing masterful job, the band sounds great and his singing is quite good. However.. once Rod Stewart takes the mic and starts singing you can instantly sense the difference between a good singer and a great one. To my ears there is no comparison. If you can find a singer with that touch of magic, you are indeed quite lucky.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLhoLkTyNkM

Now, assuming you are still in high school, I may be wrong, your choices of bandmates will be limited somewhat by age, and distance, but still be selective as much as possible.

Enjoy the Ride!

TAT

Originally Posted by: YitbirdJust play and have fun if your wanting to play out get a gig booked and go for it your going to embarrass yourself anyway the first time or so. Go play for free and let things develop. If you try to practice and become good you will fail instantly because you yourself will never be satisfied with your playing so if you wait til you become satisfied your band will collapse. I am now 62 and every band that I played in that made money and I did make a living doing it learned about 15 songs maybe in 2 to 3 sessions and went out to play. Those bands grew and made money. The bands that worked for 6 hard months never went out to play never got good enough. Plus we threw chairs at each other LOL I know when younger I threw a guitar or two, have fun.

Wise words! I wish I knew this a year ago :).

Originally Posted by: gypsyblues73That band was put together from Craigslist. If you put an ad on there (and it is a great resource for finding musicians) make sure you stipulate what age and skill level you're at. You don't want a grizzled 40-year old pub veteran showing up to audition!

Craigslist can be tricky. I would say troll soundcloud, facebook, twitter, vimeo....there are a lot of creative platforms out there now. You can hear what some other people are already doing and reach out and try to connect if you think they would be a good fit. You should also have some sort of account or personal website with your own music so they can in turn hear what you have to offer. It's not a one way street afterall. But it is a delicate process and it takes time and energy....and often luck.

This thread reminds me of my high school bands in the late 70s, I had to teach the "bass players" how to play their parts...lol...of course those were guys who couldn't play guitar and tried bass instead...word of advice:If someone comes to you and says "I'll play bass, it's only 4 strings, how hard can it be?" then, unless you have alot of patience or want to learn bass lines yourself, RUN!!...I know this post isn't much help but it made me laugh thinking about my past

When it is to finding a band, the first reality is guitar players are a dime a dozen. That said, they also lead the band. If you are going to do that, you better know what you are doing. If your not there, every band is looking for a bass player. That's a good way to build band xp.

Now that we are through that phase, you want a good band, get a good singer and a good drummer. That's what people listen to. Great example, Green Day, Billy Joe couldn't play a solo to save his life. He was a good singer, had a good bass player, great drummer. Now they are in the Hall of fame. Could say the same for nirvana, and a thousand other bands.

So first off, beyond all else, find a good singer. Then find a good drummer (and by that , the best drummer I ever worked with was 60 years old, didn't have a bunch of solo riffs, he was a solid metronome.), of course that won't happen if you aren't pro. A good drummer can always find a band. If you got chemistry with a good singer, they will be interested, then its all on you.

One more note, get a great singer, yeah but, really, get yourself a great performer. Ozzy didn't stand a chance against Dio as a singer, Alice Cooper? David lee Roth? Kid Rock? Bob Dylan? Forget singing, its all about being shifty, being powerful, being larger than life. If you can't get that, yeah a great singer will work. That said, don't fire the performer for the singer. Easy mistake to make. Of course your going to go with the better singer, and 9-10 times you'll be right. Its the exception that makes the rule.

I can definitely give you a list of advice of things to watch out for when building your band. Unfortunately, I'm still trying to put one together myself. It's been quite a struggle, but here goes my advice from my personal life:

1. This is assuming you are wanting to make a career out of music and your band. Make sure you really get to know other musicians the best you can. What is really their #1 goal in life? Do they give up on things easy? Do they actually love music so much that they're willing to do anything to make it the center of their work life?

Too many times I fell into that "anybody will do for now" mode, and it has only dug me deeper into a hole each time. When you are the only one in the band that is sure that you want to go full force with this, it creates all kinds of frustrations. Be picky with who you get. But remember, being picky also means investing a whole lot more time (and possibly money) to get out to the right places to find the right candidates.

2. Obviously, you have to make sure they're reliable. Any little tell tale sign of lack of reliance is a red flag. Trust me. This is something I'm way too familiar with.

3. Also be sure that you yourself are the type of musician that the musicians you truly want in your band are looking for. Building up self is the key thing. The kind of people you attract most will show you a lot about yourself. Scare away the ones you don't want, and only attract the ones suited best for YOU! (This advice is something that definitely gave me a swift kick in the rear, and something I'm still working on)

Of course, if you're not that serious about music, then none of this matters. I am assuming that you are dedicated since you are posting and asking about advice. Also, I'm sure by now you have something going since this post is quite old, but I wanted to put something just in case LOL.

Here's another twist, we are a group of 60 -65 retired folks putting together a Classic Rock Band, been working for a few months now putting together (3) sets of songs that we really know backwards and forwards, good mix of dance and sing along songs. Practice, practice, practice, thought we had it down but realized one day (after recording a session) we were missing a critical piece. We never practiced our back-up vocals! Huge mistake, our songs sounded empty and in disarray, although we have very good musicians and a decent lead singer. Here's another tip, record your practice sessions.

I started playing open mics just to get my feet wet in the performing aspect of being in front of people. That can be nerve racking the first few times! After months of playing, and then eventually hosting open mics, I built relationships with a number of musicians. There was a local band that lost their frontman and was looking for a replacement, so I was offered that slot.
I wasn't even looking for a band and I "fell" into one just by being out there performing on my own, and appreciating fantastic music that others brought.

The point is, you have to put yourself out there as much as possible. Maybe consider hosting your own open mic at a local coffee shop. There is a lot of info online about hosting open mics. If you stick with it, you will meet some very talented musicians and doors will open.

I'm glad to see you're doing this so young. I was in my late 40's when I got around to playing live music and I've been playing since I was 12.

Best Wishes!
Troy

I feel like above all, the person should fit in with your group. By that I mean, they should have good character, similar morals and worldview, similar style in music, and easy to get alone with. Their personalty should also fit your band. (For example, if you have a headstrong choric in your band, it's probably not a great idea to get another headstrong choric.) Obviously they should be skilled musically and in their instrument. But it is a lot easier to improve musically or stylistically as opposed to changing someone's personality, which you likely can't.

The reason this is so important is because even if you have an AMAZING person musically, but you guys clash as people, there will always be tension, strife and conflict in the band; thus making it hard to go anywhere. However, if you have a decent musician that you get along with and enjoy as a person, that individual can always improve themselves musically. And on that note, they should always be teachable, that goes back to character. You don't want someone supper arrogant or stuck in their ways.

Bottom line, talent is good, but character and personalty is key.

Hope that helps!

Great tips guys. Loving the collaboration!

We also have an article in our blog with some tips to get you started as well:
https://www.guitartricks.com/blog/Starting-a-Band-Part-I

We hope you guys enjoy!

I played professionally for 30 years.In the beginning the most heartbreaking obstacle is keeping a band together musicians are idealists and get their feelings hurt easy. Most want their own set list but they want to gig really bad. However after several months in the garage or likewise out performing the love of their own unique taste takes over. You won't hear it often instead you'll hear. My wife changed shifts and we don't have a babysitter. Or my shift changed etc and on and on. Occasionally you'll here the truth "this material ain't my style I just can't do it sorry." Lol. Decide your goals and your material. Do your homework on perspective musicians.ask them multiple times can you do and love this jaundra. If you get a yes that's just half. You have to do a few songs for them. But to be successful you have to be willing to do the music that drives the crowd crazy not material that you want.the only exception is if you write and perform original material. The trick if doing covers is the songs that drives the band and the crowd. This takes time and it's complicated by pooling talent from musicians who just want to compile the songs you all collectively know and go collect the gig check. For many it's a needed income and their only motivation. They'll always hop to the first band that's working the most and to be successful and keep a group together you have to learn to recognize them. Sometimes you'll even need to use them temporarily to work for you when someone quits without notice. It will happen. It's easy to get so quagmired in keeping everyone happy that you lose your love for the thing and can't express yourself musically . Your the leader you took the initiative. You will find the blend between your ideas dreams and what sells itself on stage. If you find a group who you carefully caringly manage and that will trust you, your on your way. The payoff is the large crowd hands in the air screaming so loud you can't hear yourself think lol. Don't ever sacrifice that feeling for family and friends screaming for somthing mediocre cause they always will. High energy always. It's like taking off on vacation in a car you're neighbor had to jumpstart for you. Your gonna get stranded so get your battery now lol. Your goal is to impress that seasoned musician who walks in to your gig. You'll notice him as soon as he walks in. You want that guy to say those cats are badass!!!! You can name any town and their will be many many many good musicians in it. My home town there's a couple thousand but in every jaundra only a half a dozen bands getting all the good gigs. Put a bad band out gigin and you won't get a second chance for years. A bad band young and good looking now a days can get a lot of attention but it won't last and fellow musicians won't forgive you and work with you for a long time. The skills honed til it's tight has to be there. Good luck you can be years ahead if you micro manage the band the venues and the whole process without anyone knowing you are. Form friendships with the venues and bars. Sincere ones and keep in touch regularly even if your not back there til next month sit down with and learn their dos and donts. Often the manager and the owner are very different. That has to be managed carefully . Think about and perfect all of this and more while you spend the next few years in the garage getting the sound right. When you get close begin working on the performance too. It won't magically appear first time out and you don't want your first impression to be "great band but they all just stand there. Good luck I'm excited for you . I got too old for getting home at daybreak or I'd still b out there. Still have my axe when I need it for some therapy..

Ahhhh! Your first band. I have been a gigging musician for 45 years. I'm 59 years old now and have played with many many musicians and in lots of bands. Get guys you get along with and have fun! I have been in bands that were really good musically but there was friction and it showed on stage. The most successful band I was in soundwed OK but we had a GREAT time and all got along. That was important when we were on the road together playin 4 nights a week. Just have fun and the crowd will too. Good Luck Joe

Some other things to keep in mind:
1. When making ads (whether for flyers or for online) make sure you list your age and location. You don't need a 60-year-old from 3 hours away answering your ad.
2. Be clear about your intentions. If you're making a band just for fun you don't want to weed through applicants that are looking for something more serious, and vice-versa.
3. Don't get too hung up on genre interests. Some of the greatest bands were compsed of musicians that weren't necessarily into the same exact thing.
My students have found these things helpful. Hope they're helpful for you as well.
Twang!