Essential skills for being in a band

[A-Branger]

as everyting in life.... dont be an asshole

if you are friendly and easy to work with and a good overal person, then your spot is secured. IF th band(or even one person), dont like your "friendly attitude" then you were better off without that band, then they were the assholes and you prob never gonna call that specific guy ever again for any future bands in years to come no?... see what I mean?, dont be that guy, you never know who would you encounter later in life

one of the reasons studio musicians gets called back over and over, is because they are easy to work with. Same goes with studio assistant, any tipe of helping hand, assistant job, live sound, roadie, or in your case a band member, even a replacement guy. I got friends who they arent technically the best players out there, but they are part of the band just because they are nice ppl. They always being the guy who get called to do merch, until one day they needed a replacement for a gig and boom now hes in the band

be a nice guy


also like meany other have said. Learn to swallow your words and to take criticism, and how to give it too. Iin other words, elave the ego behind



and practice!, learn your stuff and practice.... no matter how good guy you are if you cant learn the songs... duh just dont be the guy who drags the practice and waste time becasue you ddint learn the songs.

A band practice is NOT to learn the songs, is to practice playing the songs as a band to amke them sound tighter and better

 

[Wrecklyss]

On a personal level: be a team player, set the example of what you expect.

Be a team player: help the drummer carry in his kit, walk out into the room and check the FOH mix, watch the other guys in the band (eye contact is essential for tightening key changes, bridges, and solos when learning new songs or playing live). Adjust your amp to sound good with everyone else; what sounds good alone at home may get buried in a mix with others or bulldoze through important bass or drum cues and screw everyone else up. You're trying to be an element of a bigger sound, not a solo act.

Set the example: if you want others to show up on time for practice, be early consistently. If you want your ideas heard out, listen when a band mate has an idea of their own. If you want professionalism, don't show up late, drunk/hungover/high and make excuses (or not even have the courtesy to let everyone know you're running late).

On a technical level: set the room up appropriately and have a backup plan.

Volume wars suck. One of the biggest culprits is sticking your amp/cab on the floor right behind you. You're blasting away at the back of your calves, but people across the room are in danger of developing acute tinnitus. Your ears aren't behind your knees. Point your amp at you and have it several feet away to give you a better idea on how loud it actually is in the room. My band likes to song write circled up and rehearse (upcoming show) by taping out the size of the stage of our next venue on the floor and set up in the space we're given.

If it has a battery, have a spare on hand. Have spare cables. Test your set-up before a rehearsal (definitely before a show). I once re-arranged my pedal board which caused interference; I ran cable straight to amp for that gig because it was more important to not have distracting interference noises all show than to use a cool effect for a 20 sec part in some of the songs here and there. Be ready to adapt: if performing live is a goal, know that Murphy is coming for you!

Playing in a band is awesome if you have the right attitude, and will make you a stronger musician. Good luck!

 

[fantom]

Treat a band the same way you would treat a job. Team performance is based on have common goals and working together. Getting into arguments usually means you don't have the same goals. So be very explicit about your goals.

How much do you want to practice?
Should people learn parts at home or together?
Are you writing together or pitching individual songs?
How do you resolve disagreements?
Are you playing free shows and partying or trying to get paid?
How do you split costs and payments?
Are you playing covers at all?
Does anyone want to tour or just play some local shows now and then?
Are you ok with drinking/drugs/video games during practices and shows?
etc.

There are no right or wrong answers to any of these questions. The sooner everyone is aligned, the sooner you can functionally work together. This applies to more than just bands. And above all, do not be the guy that comes into an established band and points out everything they are doing "wrong".

 

[UV7BK4LIFE]

Having fun with friends. Most important. All other skills are things you will learn. You're not going to memorize 24 posts anyway while playing with a band.

 

[ixlramp]

I understand what you are asking for, and the advice is fine and good, but ultimately i believe in the 'punk' attitude that there are actually no 'essential skills'. However i really do mean 'ultimately', and mean this philosophically, and do not criticise the giving of advice =)

 

[lewis]

nothing seems to work in my experiences. However you approach it, its more likely it will fail regardless.

You either hit jackpot with a lineup and it just works without needing to change, or you dont and it never does. It honestly seems that black and white.

- ive tried super casual - didnt work
- ive tried super professional - didnt work
- Ive tried being the main song writer to get stuff done - didnt work (burnt myself out under pressure after years)
- Ive tried taking a back seat and letting everyone else contribute - didnt work because everyone else was lazy
- Ive tried being blunt and outspoken - didnt work. Social media has made everyone sensitive so it ruffled too many feathers
- Ive tried biting my tounge and letting a crazy amount of BS slide - didnt work. Got taken advantage of

you honestly cant win.
After 15 years of this, im at a stage where I literally just want to turn up, play songs already written, and go home again. I simply cant be fucked anymore. I dont want to deal with band politics, certain mentalities, song writing pressures, and any of the other nonsense that comes with band life.

 

[Frosty the Snowperson]

nothing seems to work in my experiences. However you approach it, its more likely it will fail regardless.

You either hit jackpot with a lineup and it just works without needing to change, or you dont and it never does. It honestly seems that black and white.

- ive tried super casual - didnt work
- ive tried super professional - didnt work
- Ive tried being the main song writer to get stuff done - didnt work (burnt myself out under pressure after years)
- Ive tried taking a back seat and letting everyone else contribute - didnt work because everyone else was lazy
- Ive tried being blunt and outspoken - didnt work. Social media has made everyone sensitive so it ruffled too many feathers
- Ive tried biting my tounge and letting a crazy amount of BS slide - didnt work. Got taken advantage of

you honestly cant win.
After 15 years of this, im at a stage where I literally just want to turn up, play songs already written, and go home again. I simply cant be fucked anymore. I dont want to deal with band politics, certain mentalities, song writing pressures, and any of the other nonsense that comes with band life.

You can win. But also, losing is almost guaranteed. Maybe the best attitude is to be prepared to contribute everything and to also work around everyone else's limitations. It will burn you and swallow you, but if you are already burning up, and have low expectations, you can meet those expectations with enough iterations.

 

[budda]

nothing seems to work in my experiences. However you approach it, its more likely it will fail regardless.

You either hit jackpot with a lineup and it just works without needing to change, or you dont and it never does. It honestly seems that black and white.

- ive tried super casual - didnt work
- ive tried super professional - didnt work
- Ive tried being the main song writer to get stuff done - didnt work (burnt myself out under pressure after years)
- Ive tried taking a back seat and letting everyone else contribute - didnt work because everyone else was lazy
- Ive tried being blunt and outspoken - didnt work. Social media has made everyone sensitive so it ruffled too many feathers
- Ive tried biting my tounge and letting a crazy amount of BS slide - didnt work. Got taken advantage of

you honestly cant win.
After 15 years of this, im at a stage where I literally just want to turn up, play songs already written, and go home again. I simply cant be fucked anymore. I dont want to deal with band politics, certain mentalities, song writing pressures, and any of the other nonsense that comes with band life.

No band lasts forever. That shouldnt even be a goal .

 

[lewis]

No band lasts forever. That shouldnt even be a goal .

who said it was?

 

[budda]

who said it was?

That was the gist I got from your "every band fails" post.

 

[lewis]

That was the gist I got from your "every band fails" post.

"more likely to fail in a band" isnt the same as "every band fails"

 

[budda]

"more likely to fail in a band" isnt the same as "every band fails"

No. But you painted a picture of "nothing works no matter what you do" and all the diy/independent bands with years under their belts disprove that.

 

[bostjan]

I've enjoyed pretty much every band I've been in, even though they all eventually fell apart. If I can look back and think "Yeah, I'd do that again, in spite of whatever bullshit happened," then, in my assessment, the band was successful, I guess.

As for making money, I've made more money in dinky little cover bands than I have in even the most active original bands I've done. Especially if we were playing someplace big opening up for whatever F-list national act, we were almost always spending more time and money on promotion than what it was ever worth financially getting paid from the show and the merch sales. If you want financial success, I suggest joining/putting together another AC/DC tribute band. Call them "AC damned DC" or whatever stupid name that requires zero effort, wear the short pants, buy a cheap Epiphone SG (probably better QC than a Gibson anyway), and then just wait ten seconds for the phone to start ringing. BAM! - Money in the bank.

If you want people to listen to your original music, then, well, I just don't think we live in that day and age anymore. It's an inaccessible goal.

But, back to essential skills- I don't think there are any essential skills to be "in a band." Remember Finch? They were screamo, I guess, before it was called that. They made it big. I'm pretty sure at least one of the guys in the band didn't know how to play. I saw them open up for Staind and one of the guys was not even plugged in (before you @ me, yes, I know what a wireless looks like, and I was close enough to the stage to see that the jack was completely not plugged into anything. Also, finger movements) yet he was in the band. Also, wasn't there a guy in the Mighty Might Bosstones who was in the band but all he did was jump around and get people to clap? Not that it's not a skill, but I guess any skill at all could be used to justify membership in a gigging band. If I were looking for members of my band, I'd mostly want people who contribute something and are not going to be a pain in everyone else's butts. That's mostly an attitude thing. You play hambone and you want to be in my band, and you have a super positive attitude? Sure, we don't do country, but why not? If it gives us some sort of marketable angle with which to work, it could be a mistake to assume it's a bad idea.

 

[lewis]

No. But you painted a picture of "nothing works no matter what you do" and all the diy/independent bands with years under their belts disprove that.

in my case it didnt.

all im trying to showcase - is dont expect delusions of Grandeur

 

[Boofchuck]

in my case it didnt.

all im trying to showcase - is dont expect delusions of Grandeur

If anything it sounds like we should expect delusions of grandeur. But I do get your point.

 

[lewis]

If anything it sounds like we should expect delusions of grandeur. But I do get your point.

haha true

 

[budda]

in my case it didnt.

all im trying to showcase - is dont expect delusions of Grandeur

I like to think that talking to any touring artist immediately smashes illusions but who knows how many people ask those in the shit of it.