| Better Band Tips |
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Trying to build a band from scratch? I've got some ideas for
you to mull over.
by Coreen Vey Putting together a band is not as easy as it may seem. The first thing you need to keep in mind is everyone's committment to the band. Do you all have the same taste? the same vision? Someone in the band may have to be your "cheerleader" when times get rough. Make sure you have somewhere to practice. We always hear that practice makes perfect, so you better put that speech into form. The best bands in the world have practiced at home, in garages, at county fairs, anywhere they can get any time to play. We've seen artists from Johnny Cash to Destiny's Child playing at home, at small-town venues, to sold-out stadiums. It's a graduated climb, everybody, so make sure your hiking boots are on. I found this article that has some Do's and Don'ts about band etiquette, and it may prove helpful, in the least these tips will be in the back of your mind when dealing with your bandmates: 1. Don’t be too big. Neither the band as a whole or any individual in it (drummers and vocalists, pay attention) should play or sing so imposingly that the [audience's] participation is superfluous. 2. Do calibrate the band to the situation. Consider the size of the [venue]...One common response to a shy congregation is to add another guitar or turn up the band. But the counterintuitive answer is more often the right one: turn it down. 3. Don’t add instruments to the band just because you can. 4. Do create a core band that consistently provides the basics. Musically, the three things a congregation needs most to sing well are a discernable melody, a steady tempo, and a clear bass line. A well-played piano does all three quite easily. An acoustic guitar, on the other hand, offers only rhythm and harmony. However, let the guitarist sing (or add another soprano instrument on melody), and plug in the crucially important bass guitar, and you’re all set...When you supplement the core band additional instruments, do so for purposes of texture and color, not mass and volume. Get your band into the habit of thinking “less is more.” No one is getting paid by the note. 5. Do listen carefully to what else is going on and then have players create only one piece of the overall sound. Think you can create a band that respects audience, bandmates, and the actual music you're playing? Try following these tips, and post a comment later letting me know if they worked for you. Source: Building a Band: Putting together people, players, and parts by Ron Rienstra http://www.reformedworship.org/magazine /article.cfm?article_id=1343
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