Start A Band

Playing music with other people can be one of the best ways to quickly improve your playing and all-round musicianship. Here are 10 ways to kick-start your band in 2016

Ignore your doubts

Getting in a room to play music can be nerve-wracking, and it affects us all. “What if I’m not good enough?” “What if I mess up?” These are the kind of doubts that can stop us from ever progressing further with our goals. Crush the fear and do it! You will mess up, but that’s what practicing is for.

Make time

One of the biggest obstacles in putting a band together is actually getting started. It’s easy to convince yourself that you don’t have time. We say just do it. Practicing twice a week might not be realistic, but start with small steps; one or two practices a month for two to three hours shouldn’t be too difficult, and while it can feel like a chore, playing music with other people is great for relieving stress!

Find your bandmates

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran who’s getting back in the game, or a first-timer looking to develop the collaborative side of your playing, you’re going to be looking for a crack team of like-minded folk. You may already have some people in your sights. If so, approach them. If not, scour your local music shop, papers and Gumtree listings. Sites such as Meetandjam.com allow you to search for musicians in your area, and also set up your own profile. If all of this sounds like too much work, you could always skip some of the details by looking for an existing band to join!

Learn some songs

Once you have your potential band together, avoid the awkward ‘first date’ feeling at your first rehearsal by picking three or four covers to learn beforehand. Even if you don’t plan on being a covers band, it’ll break the ice. Be open to trying some songs you don’t know/like too – it could inform an unexpected new direction for your band.

Choose a practice space

The amps will be knackered, the PA too quiet and you’ll most likely get a shock off the mics, but this is the sweatbox where you’ll realise your master plan. You should feel relaxed, and immersed in your music, rather than the doom metal band next door. Look for somewhere in reach of every band member, and shop around for the one which works best for you. Some include backline hire, others don’t. Some will let you book by the hour, some will have set slots. Some will let you pay by band member per-hour – excellent if you’re a trio or duo!

Don’t let ‘direction’ get in the way

It’s important to approach a band with a certain amount of ‘vision’, but try not to let it overrule everything. Compromise is the name of the game. Some of the best developments will be unexpected (instrumentation, genres, arrangement, etc) and if you allow them to happen, you’ll sound like yourselves, rather than just copying your favourite band.

Don’t obsess over gear…

But do think about it! There’s no better excuse for buying some new gear than starting or joining a band. Take a look at your gear, and if you feel like you need to upgrade a part of your rig then do it, but don’t go mad. Perhaps use some milestones as incentives if it helps – for example, once you have three gigs under your belt, buy that new amp you need!

Book a gig!

Once you’re happy that the band isn’t going to kill each other, book a gig. Call in a favour, hype yourself to promoters, do whatever you can to get on a bill. Obviously you’ll need to give yourself a realistic amount of time to learn or write a 30-minute set, so maybe look ahead by a six to eight weeks. There’s nothing like a bit of pressure to get your band off the ground. It’ll force you to make decisions, and help build the momentum you need.

Go and watch live music

This is particularly important if you haven’t played live in a while, or maybe even ever before. Get out to local gigs and open-mic nights and pay attention to the way that other bands do it. How do the audience react? How does the set flow? What do you like or dislike? All of these things will help shape your band’s dynamic into a fearless live engine!