Being in a band can be some of the most fun you can possibly have if you are a musician. Starting a band and making it work will be much easier if you ask the right questions first and organize your mind to get the end result you want.
By thinking about each of these ideas, and taking your time to answer the questions completely, you will have done most of the hard work up front. Creating this starting plan for designing a great band makes it much easier to achieve what you want.
What kind of band do you want to play in?
Is it casual and just for fun, or is your band something you want to make into a professional performing career? A group of people that meet one night each week in someone’s garage for fun is very different than a band that performs three times per week and makes recordings.
What size band are you thinking of forming? Is it a small group, like an acoustic duo, or large like an eighteen-piece polka band?
Do you already know what instruments you want in the band, or are you open to including an instrument you may not have thought of if the player is really good?
What style of music do you want to play? Do you want to play a wide range of song styles, or are you intending to perform one specific style that really identifies your band? Is your band instrumental, or will you include singing as part of the show
Do you want your band to perform regularly in public? If you do, how often would you like to perform? One public performance ever six months is far less work than one performance each week. Do you want to play the same songs for every show? The amount of time it takes to rehearse for a different set of songs for each performance is far more than the rehearsal time for doing the same songs at each performance!
Do you want to write your own songs or perform songs that you’ve got recordings for? Writing your own songs and learning them can take far longer than learning a song you’ve already heard. However, if you want to write your own songs, that’s important, so include that in your plan for how much time you devote to the band.
Once you’ve got all these questions answered, it’s time to consider the other people in the band. This part can actually be more important than any of the questions you’ve already answered. Remember, for every opinion you have about what you want in your band, every other person has their own! Consider that ever person you add to the band will have just as many opinions as you. The more people you bring together, the more planning you have to do. It’s also really important for you to communicate clearly about what you want so other players can decide if they will be happy playing in your band. They need to be able to have fun and enjoy themselves in it if they are going to stay and play well.
Now that you’ve got your ideas thought through and know what you want, here are the three most important things to consider when you begin adding players to your band.
- How well do they play their instrument?
- How well do you get along with them?
- Do they want to contribute what you want them to contribute to the band?
These three questions will make more of a difference than any other thing in the success of a band. If you want the band to last and be a good experience for everyone in it, make sure that those three questions are always in mind. The longer the band stays together and performs, the more important the answers to those questions will be.
Now you’ve got all the critical questions answered, so it’s time to invite people to join your band. Do you already know some of the players you want, or do you have to find people you don’t know yet to make your band work? If you know them, ask them to join, and if they say “yes,” start playing together as soon as you can. This will get things rolling for your band so you can start having fun.
If you don’t know the players and have to find them, make a list of the instruments you need in the band and start talking to people you know about what you want to do. Find out who they know. That can be the best, fastest and easiest way to find people for your band. Musicians usually know other musicians, and they can also give you some information about the player ahead of time so you know a bit of what to expect.
If you have to advertise for players, there are many resources for this in local music papers and on the internet. Check in your area and see what’s available, then make a plan of how to keep track of people contacting you before to start inviting people. That will save you a lot of work as people begin contacting you to meet and audition.
Good luck and may your band always be a rewarding and fulfilling musical experience!
