hey i'm startin' a band any advice??

[yazakar]

i really need sum advice all the brothers help out plz

[ddwilkins]

Make sure you find poeple who can work together and accepts one anothers constructive criticizm.

Sorry, I didn't read your post in the theory thread.  Thomas is right, you need to have a foundation before you start something.  If not, you're going to look foolish.  Practice, Practice, Practice, and then start a band. 

[thomas1168]

OK YOU POSTED THAT YOU CAN NOT EVEN PLAY ON THE OTHER POST
SO PLEASE TELL ME HOW YOU ARE GOING TO START A BAND MAN

SEE SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT BECAUSE THIS IS A CHRISTIAN SITE THAT YOU SHOULD BE EASY

I AM COMING FROM THE REAL AS A TEACHER ALL OF THE LESSONS THAT I HAVE LEARNED GOOD AND BAD

I AM NOT TRYING TO BE MEAN I AM STATING TRUTH TO YOU

EXAMPLE I HAVE BASS POST OF SLAPPPING BASIC SLAP IN B
WELL MAN THAT MAY SOUND LIKE ALL THAT BUT ITS NOT I LEARNED TO PLAY THAT MARCUS STUFF FROM THE JUMP AND THOUGHT I WAS DOING SOMETHING
UNTIL A GOOD FRIEND CAME ALONG AND TOLD ME HOW BAD I SUCKED

NOE I COULD COULD OUT SLAP 8 OF 10 PLAYERS BUT HE SHOWED ME THAT MY THEORY KNOWLEDGE AND MY TRICK WOULD NOT CUT IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS SO BACK TO THE PRACTICE ROOM AND IT TOOK YEARS TO GET JUST ONE LEVEL UP

MAN PLEASE LISTEN
GET SOME SERIOUS PRACTICE, STUDING
JUST SIT AND LISTEN TO WHAT THE BASS IS DOING IN ANY SONG YOU LIKE
 

[dayspring]

You are embarking on a real serious journey that is frustrating, aggravating yet one that can be one of the most exhilarating and rewarding experiences.  If I were to give my advice to you in sermon form (and be homiletically sound at that same time), here is my three point sermonic advice for starting a band:

1. Prayer - for guidance, wisdom, strength, the players to put the puzzle in place and anything else.  Use the FACTS model of prayer if you need to:

     a) FAITH (Hebrews 11)
     b) ADORATION - Tell God from your own soul how good God is and make sure God is the center of your prayer, not any of your deficiencies, needs but God. Affirm God--we live in a world that ignores God so in your prayer affirm GOD!
     c) CONFESSION - put out there anything that hinders your intimacy with God and hand it on over to God
     d) THANKS - make sure you thank God for what you already been blessed with before you ask God for anything else.
     e) SUPPLICATION - now do what Paul says in Philippians 4 - make your requests know to God

2. Practice - meaning each individual must be committed to growth by
     a)  taking lessons (be it private instructions or learning something new via DVD's, surfing the net, etc.)
     b)  practicing daily and
     c) attending rehearsals, prepared (lessons and daily practice) on a regular basis

3. Patience -- you'll need this but if you have the first thing first (prayer), this will definitely follow. 

All the best in your endeavor and I pray that it will work out and you will know for God will be glorified and God's people--edified!...PEACE!

[MikeGee]

Get together often, often and often. The more you play together and grow together. The easier it'll be to learn songs or cover up for each other mistakes. The P word has been used a lot. So do it a lot. PRACTICE!

[Andrzej]

Depends how far you want to take it.  If you want to do it just for fun then take a more relaxed approach and have fun.  There really isn't much advice I can give there...set your own rules.  If you want to try and make a professional career out of it this is the 1st rule...don't suck!  Let me break it down:

• Be confident in your own ability -  That counts for both your technical ability and song writing application.  That only comes from the skills and theory knowledge that you have learnt.  As a bass player your job is an important role in producing a tight sound, so make sure you are well voiced with your instrument and make sure your timing is up to scratch also.
• Find a tight drummer -  Together, you guys will form the rhythm section...everyone else in the band is reliant upon you to keep groove and pace.  As long as you guys are tight with each other half the job is done already.
• Work with musicians that you can trust, get along with and are reliable -  Everyone has their own flavours and ideas.  You have to come together on mutual ground and respect each other’s musicianship and creativity.  If you can't do that then you won't be able to make good music or be productive...bottome line!
• Practice, practice, practice! -  You will need to have a huge amount of patience when starting a fresh band.  Finding your feet when it comes to putting together your style requires practice.  Some may say to establish your style before you start.  I tend not to agree with that.  Let things progress naturally in a way that you feel creative and feel comfortable with, but that can take time and a lot of hard work and you have to be prepared to put the man-hours into it.  Set up a regular time and place where all of you can come together and be strict about it.  Don't limit your bass playing to the band.  Keep practicing your instrument just in the same way as you have always done and seek to be a better musician both personally and for the band.
• If an idea doesn't work...forget it and move on -  If it feels like you are flogging a dead horse you have to learn to have the ability to say 'stop'.  Take a tape or digital recording tool along to the practice sessions and document everything that you do and listen back to it in your own time.  What may sound great at the time may sound awful later when you have fresh ears.  Listen carefully to your own music and be critical even at the risk of bruising one or two ego's.
• Don't get too far ahead of yourself -  Don't start booking gigs within a few weeks of the band forming.  Once you have written enough songs to cover a 1hr set choose the best songs out of that and break it down to a 30min set and practice it over and over.  Spend a good month or two (or even longer) just doing that before you even start thinking about stepping onto a stage.  Get the songs tight and well rehearsed.
• Pray before you play -  This was a motto that I had with my last band, but continual prayer is essential.  Keep God with you at all times.  The devil doesn't like God's people taking a step of faith, especially when it comes to music (I talk from experience!).  Cover yourself and protect yourself with prayer and don't let your guard down.

That's all you really need plan to do at this stage.  Getting your performance confidence together comes with experience; so don't get too worried about that for a while yet.  Becoming a good performer takes time and don't get too harsh on yourself when mistakes happen whilst on stage.  Forget about management, promoters, record companies etc...  If the band is steering in the right direction all that stuff will come much later.  Get the right people to do the right job is the first step and the rest will follow.  Don't take yourselves too seriously.  We all dream about headlining at Madison Square Garden, but your focus should always be God and the tools he has given you to create good music.  He will prepare the paths for you.

I have worked in the industry for many years now...from grassroots upwards to professional levels.  I have learnt a lot of 'do's' and 'don’ts' in that time and if you want to take it all the way you have to understand that you are responsible for very little control over what you do...no matter if you work in the Christian or Secular industry.  If you have any questions you want to ask me please feel free to email me using the address on my profile.  I will help as much as I can.

God Bless!