How to Start a Band, Part I
Choosing the right personnel and style for
growth, happiness, and success
by Christopher Sung
OK, so you've turning out to be a pretty good musician.
You've been banging on your instrument for a little while
now, and things are starting to come together. One of
the natural urges at this stage of development is to
want to share your talents and passion with other
people. In short, it's time to start a band. In a
series of articles, I'll be outlining some of the more
important concepts that you should keep in mind along
the road to starting, growing, and promoting your band.
In this installment, I'll be covering the initial steps, such
as choosing personnel and deciding on a style.
There's a large overlap between the people you
choose, the
creative "vision" of the band, and what music you'll
eventually play, so each section contains
references to all of these concepts when appropriate.
How do you know if you're ready?
There's no right or wrong time to start. While it is
obviously easier to get your band
stage-ready if all its members are experienced and
good players, some of the best bands started at a time
when none of its members had any real grasp of their
respective instruments. They simply had a desire to
make some music and see what happened. Along the
way, they obtained the necessary skills to progress into
a tight-sounding, professional musical unit. This is an
important point to keep in mind because as vital as
practicing your instrument is, it can be equally
beneficial for your playing to simply rehearse and play
music with others on a regular basis. Pat Metheny has
often said that for him, playing a 1-2 hour show is the
equivalent of 7-8 hours of practice time. Your mileage
may differ.
Who will be in your band?
Finding band members is not the easiest thing. You
might find them in other aspects of your life - a
teammate in a sport you play, a friend from math class,
or a co-worker who works in another department. Keep
in mind that when you start up a band with someone,
you are essentially committing to spending a decent
portion of time with them on a weekly basis. If you can't
stand them in other situations, it's going to be even
worse during rehearsal. The people that you choose
should have the type of personality that promotes
friendship, because ultimately, creative differences will
arise, and things can get ugly if there's a lack of respect
in the band.
| "If
you're skeptical about this notion of 'band dynamics',
ask someone in a band how hard it was for them to
agree on a name..." |
More often than not, bands start because of informal
jamming between friends, until they meet people who
play other instruments and decide to hook up. When I
was 14, I started jamming Zeppelin tunes with a fellow
guitarist. We played together for almost a year before
we met someone who was a drummer. He had a
friend who thought he could sing, but it turned out that
he was a better bass player. We used the classifieds
to find a singer, and six months after meeting the
drummer, we were playing parties. In general,
everything is pretty loose and fun in the beginning
because there are no expectations. But if or when you
decide to address more serious questions like
developing a repertoire or playing out, then the group
dynamics of the band can become an issue. If you're at
all skeptical about this notion of "band dynamics", ask
someone you know who's in a band how hard it was for
them to agree on a name - then you'll see what I mean.
Equally important is how well your potential bandmates
play their respective instruments. If one member is far
more advanced than the others, this can be both a
good and bad thing. My experience has been that the
better a player or songwriter one is, the more they feel
the need to dictate the musical and creative vision of
the band. If you find someone like this and you like
their vibe, then stick close to them. However, if you
have very definite ideas about what direction the band
should take, starting a band with this type of person can
be a formula for dissension and bitterness. In general,
most bands have one member who provides the bulk
of the musical vision. In the Smashing Pumpkins, this
is Billy Corgan; in Oasis, this is Noel Gallagher. Some
musicians can function in this type of environment,
some cannot. It's up to you to figure out if this type of
situation is likely to exist, and if so, who's going to be
playing what role, and how happy they're going to be
playing it.
These are just a few things to keep in mind regarding
personnel. Obviously, some of these issues are
dependent on what kind of state your band to be is in.
Absorb the relevant info and tuck the rest into the back
of your mind. You might need the insight at a later date.
What type of music will you play?
There's a common ground that needs to be reached by
all members of the band in order for everyone to be
happy, and for the band to be successful. There needs
to be a common musical vision about the type of music
your band will play. This is perhaps the hardest part.
This goes hand-in-hand with what your repertoire will
be (I'll be covering repertoire in another installment).
Again, if you're just starting out, make sure there's a
couple of tunes that you can agree on. If you're already
thinking that you're going to be an originals-only band,
you might want to still start out by playing some covers
to get acquainted musically. It's hard enough to
evaluate how well you sound as a band, and it's harder
when you're starting off with someone's original tunes
and don't even know how they're supposed to sound.
Another thing to keep in mind is that whenever
possible, you should play to the strengths of your band
members. If there's a good lead guitarist, then hard
rock or metal might speak to their strengths. If the bass
player is good at slapping, you might think funk or
funk-metal. The more comfortable your band members
are with the musical genre you're going to play, the
better the band's going to sound. This is another thing
to keep in mind when choosing the right members for
your band.
Well, that's it for this installment. Hopefully, you've
found these tips and insights to be of some value. In
the next installment, I'll be covering the process of
choosing repertoire and alerting you to some of the
band politics that inevitably ensue. Till then, stay on the
lookout for great musicians you'd like to play with, and
ask them if they feel like jamming some time...
