| |
| |
|
Music Information |
|
|
|
How to Start Your Own Band
Every once in awhile a guitar student will express a desire to be in a band someday.If this is your ambition too, then read on. Whether you're a guitar player or not doesn't really matter. If you are a talented singer or musician then the question is, do YOU want to be in a band? In this article you will find some helpful ideas on how to get started in that direction. One of the first things you will need to do is gain EXPOSURE for yourself. This can be as easy as following three simple steps: 1. Tell everyone you know that you want to start a band.(Word of mouth advertising is one of the best advertising strategies) 2. Make a flyer to put up around town (in music stores, at schools, on bulletin boards, etc.) 3. Place a classified ad in all the local newspapers Here is an example of something you might say in your advertising: "Lead guitarist seeking individuals interested in starting a Christian Rock band. Looking for a lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, bass guitarist and drummer. The emphasis will be on sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ through music. If you have a desire to use your musical gifts in this way, please call (give your name and phone number) for an interview." You can make the ad as detailed or generic as you need to. The important thing is to have a clear idea in your own mind of who you want in your band. Do you need a bass player, singer, drummer...? What type of qualifications or experience will you expect? Is age a factor? Jot down a list of questions to ask and keep it by your phone. When someone does call, you will be ready to have the interview right on the spot. Try to make your questions require only a very short reply, or yes or no answer. That way, it will be easier for you to take notes. If someone looks like a good potential band mate, get their phone number and tell them you would like to call them back after you are through holding your interviews. Try not to keep people waiting too long (between 2-4 weeks) if possible. When you're ready, review your notes and decide who you want to call. Set up a time that is convenient for everyone you've selected to meet at YOUR CHOSEN LOCATION. This is important if you want to establish yourself as the originator of the band in order to maintain an influence on its direction. I should insert a word of caution here. You might want to "play it safe" by not inviting them to your home until after you get to know them a little better. After all, they are strangers, but it's your call of course. You may want to keep the first meeting with your new band members very low key. Use the time to make introductions, share past experiences, set goals, discuss ideas, etc. This will give you the opportunity to gauge whether you think each personality is going to be able to work together and get along. Avoid egocentric people like the plague as they will just create friction with other members of the band. Assess everyone fairly, but realistically. It's better to get rid of a bad apple right away, rather than allow them to spoil the enthusiasm for the rest of the group. After your first band meeting, you can aim for the next one to be an informal "jam" session. At this time you will be able to get a feel for whether the group is going to gel or not. But don't be too hasty in your decisions! I remember one time "auditioning" for a band and being so self-conscious that I just couldn't relax and enjoy the experience. It was a local band that I had known of for some years and often desired to be a part of. Even though I had already acquired quite a bit of experience performing on my own, this was different. It was someone else's "thing". Nothing seemed to go right! After I got home that evening, I was sure they would never call me back. The surprise was, they did! However, the second time wasn't much better, but they decided to give me another chance and invited me to come back one more time. It's a good thing for me, because the third time was the charm. Our voices and music blended so perfectly that I just knew I was in. I share this story so that you might give your new fledgling band some time to get off the ground. If nothing seems to ignite a spark after giving it a fair amount of time, then you might want to reconsider your options. That's something only you will be able to determine. Well, that's about all there is to it really. Once you've got your band members picked, you're ready to start making music! If you have some original tunes, be sure to share them with the others. See if anyone else in the group has written any songs too. Be open, honest and ready for almost anything. If you establish your own priorities first, it will help you to stay focused through whatever ups and downs may come along. And always remember, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." FREE Reprint Rights - You may publish this article in your e-zine or on your web site as long as you include the following information: Kathy Unruh is a singer/songwriter and webmaster of ABC Learn Guitar. She has been writing songs and providing guitar lessons to students of all ages for over 20 years. For free guitar lessons, plus tips and resources on songwriting, recording and creating a music career, please visit: http://www.abclearnguitar.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Music - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Born into musical family, Michael Jackson is as big as ever today Michael Jackson was born Michael Joseph Jackson on August 29, 1958 (making him 47 as of year 2005) to Joseph and Katherine Jackson in Gary, Indiana. He was the seventh of nine siblings. Self-Expression Without Criticism When I was 9 years old I played the Saxophone and thought I was pretty good at it. Unfortunately, I had a teacher who didn't think so and he went out of his way to make sure I knew how he felt. Free, Legal Music Online Almost everyone has heard about the massive crack down on Internet music piracy that has been occurring over the past few years. Napster was taken down (although it has now returned as a pay service), other file sharing programs now require users to pay for a license and the RIAA and other similar organizations are doing their best to hunt down copyright offenders and put an end to their crime sprees. Try Some New Music! Stuck in a music rut?It happens. After listening to your favorite song 1,379,614 times, you will, eventually, get sick of it. Quick and Easy Violin Mute One of the reasons I picked up the violin was because it was easier to travel with than a guitar (not that I haven't found some nice travel guitars, but that's another story). It fits in an airplane overhead and is easy to carry!However, I want to be considerate of the folks in the rooms around me when I'm playing in my hotel room. Ouch, It Hurts When I Sing! When I first set out to write this article about voice problems in singers, I was looking for two experts from contrasting fields of medicine - "medical" and "holistic". What I found, instead, in the first practitioner that I interviewed, was a delightful mixture of the two. The History Of Drums - A Journey Of Sound Music and musical instruments are an extremely important part of human history. The use of rhythm and song has long been used to express meaning, and feeling and accompany rituals. Social Networking and Music: MySpace Puts It All Together in a Virtual Community Today's music fan interacts with a "community" that is far larger than anyone ever dreamed possible before the widespread personal use of the Internet. This social networking is changing the way people market and sell music and it's doing so on a global scale. "Who Else Wants to Get Screwed When Signing a Recording or Songwriting Deal?!?!" You've got your recording (or songwriting) contract in hand and everything's coming up roses, right? You get your check, finally, but it's not quite what you expected. If you sign not knowing what's owed you then you might be shorted some well-deserved income. Automatic Control of Chords CORRECT PRACTICE IS INDISPENSABLE!Your success or failure at the keyboard may well hinge on how quickly and accurately you can memorize a new chord. To be really efficient at this you must use your eyes, your ears, and the muscles of your hands. Tips on Performing Your Music for Others Have you ever dreamed of performing a piece you created for others. Imagining that they are captivated and held spellbound by the music? If you have, you know that it can be a long road from actually coming up with something, practicing it, and then giving it to an audience. How to Get Past Creative Blocks When I first began playing the piano and improvising, there were times when the music just wouldn't flow. No matter what I did, I couldn't make it go any further. How to Create Interesting Textures A lot of new age piano music consists of repeating patterns, or textures in the left hand while the right hand improvises a melody. This approach is really a good one! It frees you up to create in the moment. Writing Hit Songs There are a lot of factors to writing a hit song. First, you should focus on writing a good song. Would Chopin Have Passed A Music Quiz? Q. My children are very interested in playing music. 6 Tips for Organizing Your Music Files If you're a digital music fan, you probably have problems organizing your music file collection. For me, I used to have hundreds of MP3 files lumped in one folder in my hard drive. Launch Pad Introduces Subliminal Who would have ever thought that a call out for a guitar player from the audience would turn into such a wow! Beginning the night off at Launch Pad playing excellent covers of Eagles and Jimi Hendrix it could only follow by something as extraordinary as beat boxing.Subliminal was the one who amazed me and everyone else by doing what famous beatboxing legend Rahzel is known for, which is spitting out the chorus and the beat at the same time using only his vocals. How To Dress Up Naked Music On The Piano What in the world is "naked music?"You know it when you hear it, but the words that describe it sound strange, don't they? We've all heard of popular music and rock music and gospel music and jazz music, but naked music?Naked music is simply the notes on a piece of sheet music. It's "naked" - not dressed up or arranged at all. Independent Music Promotion on the Web: 3 Steps to Success Let's face it, the wildfire spread of web-based portals designed to introduce independent music to the world has created a bewildering array of opportunities and costs. So where do they all balance out? When does the cost of signing up to yet another music promotion service yield results? What results are we looking for anyway?The key is to make your web promotion targeted, systematic and rich. What is Music? That's a fair question!Basically, you can call music any noise that is set to either a rythm as in percussions or that follows a melodic line of some sort.Our early ancestors sitting outside the cave by the fire, after a hard day of gathering and hunting food, probably made music by tapping bones together or blowing in sea shells.
|
|
home | site map Visit our other sites: GamesBlog | GamingDepot | GimmeaRide | GimmeNetwork | Golf Biz | HotorNotGame | I Want Computers | I Want Games | I Want Hosting | I Want Music | I Want Security | JokeBox | ScriptShock | Wantedfonts | Webalize |
| © 2006 |
