starting a band, any tips?

[dayydrum]

hahaha . help ?

[johnbamber]

Make sure you guys just have fun with it... don't get hung up on politics between members of the band, drama, or any little stuff... just relax and let the music take control. Don't sweat the small stuff, this is one of those things where the "fun" factor is much more important than anything else.

[Mysterious Stan]

If you are all pretty new to it you could start by doing a few covers (probably better to start simple.) That way you can see the skill levels of your fellow musicians and how they perform and write music as well as their musical interests if you dont know them too well. But yeh just enjoy it, good luck!

[drummer]

Make sure you guys just have fun with it... don't get hung up on politics between members of the band, drama, or any little stuff... just relax and let the music take control. Don't sweat the small stuff, this is one of those things where the "fun" factor is much more important than anything else.

Great advice John. I was going to say the same thing. So many young bands have personality issues. Just try to be diplomatic and get along. Big egos often collide. Have fun and enjoy the ride!

[drumrbychoice]

Patience, Patience, Patience...
And welcom DD!

[totti]

Enjoy your jamming time....
Never too late for coming to the band practice.....
And yeph.....
Band is all about brotherhood and united....
Never be too individualistic here....

[crazydrummer]

yes..what these wise scholars said....

one thing that always ticked me off was the one guy that wanted the band to play all of his favorite music, which usually was stuff that wasn`t crowd pleasers...sometimes its better to play sweet home Alabama to keep the crowd in it, instead of playing a rush tune that half of the people wont even appreciate....

[StaticSmoke]

get some really sick heavy metal music and guitar pro (so you can figure out how they are playing it). youll find that heavy metal has a lot of really sick sounding riffs and drum fills/beats that arent neccesarily too hard if you find the right ones. i dont care if you dont like the screaming, thats not why your listening to it.

[Shazane]

get some really sick heavy metal music and guitar pro (so you can figure out how they are playing it). youll find that heavy metal has a lot of really sick sounding riffs and drum fills/beats that arent neccesarily too hard if you find the right ones. i dont care if you dont like the screaming, thats not why your listening to it.

Well said.

If you want something simple but still interesting try Iron Maiden. Of course I don't know the skill level of any of your band members or what kind of music you even like. But you can't go wrong with Iron Maiden.

[Roaddebris]

Advise?

1) show up on time (early doesn't hurt either)
2) know the material
3) have your kit/set tuned and ready to go beforehand
4) don't make your bandmates wait on you because you are unprepared an/or flakey - everyone knows that's the lead guitarists job.

[Northern Redneck]

Find players who have the same aspirations you do.
Start by learning some covers.
Keep practices organized.
Do your homework. Learn your parts at home by yourself, use band practice for putting it together. Nothing worse than sitting at band practice while somebody learns a song.
Set a goal and stick to it. ie playing your first show by a certain date. I like to book a show as soon as we get all our players in order, the pressure makes everyone work harder.

[Northern Redneck]

yes..what these wise scholars said....

one thing that always ticked me off was the one guy that wanted the band to play all of his favorite music, which usually was stuff that wasn`t crowd pleasers...sometimes its better to play sweet home Alabama to keep the crowd in it, instead of playing a rush tune that half of the people wont even appreciate....

We have always had every band member pick a song for the next practice. That way everybody gets songs they like on the set list. But remember when choosing songs to take the singers voice into account. If the song is out of the singers range or style dont do it.

[begtimm561]

dont talk, start a beat, once you get it going, change the dynamics, test your members, test your self, see what you can do. then once you have a riff you like, go over it, get it right, next you know, you got 3 of 4 songs memoriazed in about in hour.

[bassist learning drums]

Great advice!!
Some things I like to use are:
Show up to practice with the material learned, Brainstorm a list from everyone and let everyone select the songs that interest them, Dry erase Marker board - they come in handy for a lot of things, Schedule practice that is convenient for everyone, Record practices if possible - sometimes warm up jams can yield new originals, and be positive and encouraging to all members. A lot of hard feelings will destroy the band quicker than you can say, "We've got our first gig".

[cadesonT14]

dont get hung up in trying to get big and forget why you started the band. Have fun with it and don't get too serious. Make sure everyone in the band is in it for the same reason that you are and make sure you are good friends with everyone in the band.

[lhebs0]

Just jam. get together with whoever you know who plays, or who has cool style and jam!! kick ***! i'm getting horny for jammin

[DoubleKickMick]

So many wise words, you need to take note of everything that is written. Diplomacy, Be Prepard, Dedication, Have fun. Once the fun is gone BOOM the band is gone. Hit hard!!