FA beginner’s guide to starting you own band
Starting, and then running, your own band can be broken down into 2 categories:
Starting a band with a group of friends, or colleagues, or instigating your own project.
The first group is usually organic in some form or other (you are already friends, you have the same interests), the second is instigated by you, challenging for a whole set of other reasons.
Since the first category is organic, let’s talk about the second category, starting a band your self. And let’s imagine its music to which you’ve written either the music or lyrics, or both. The genre is not so important here as the fact that you’ll be performing music that’s close to your heart.
Starting your own band
If you want to start your own band you have to know what you’re doing if you want to really get a great band together, yet again, whatever genre. The more you’ve got it together, the more the band has a chance of success. If you feel ready, but don’t have the real musical vocabulary for a band (writing musical charts, if needed, directing the band throughout the gig), but have the intuitive skills (you either write the songs or the lyrics, or both, and have a clear musical sense), then find a musical director, or MD. Look for someone you click with, who is “on the same page” of what they want from the band. How it sounds, how it feels, what it’s saying. An MD is a friend or writing partner or someone that believes in your project. Or someone you can afford to pay. An MD is often the keyboard or guitar player and does all of the above and generally keeps it all together.
Or you might have found a producer, or they’ve found you (related article below). The relationship you have with a producer depends on a lot of factors. The genre of music, your age group, how sussed/gullible you are, if you’re friends, or colleagues, or you are being “produced”. So once again, use your instinct.
You might decide to run the band yourself. This means, for example, ending the songs, counting in the band, knowing where you are in the song (related articles at the bottom of the page).
You need to read music, or play an instrument, or find an away to communicate your ideas (for example, there are many free music software programs where you can make a demo of the song.
Apart from being able to keep the band together during a gig, you’ll also need to have the business side together as well. Getting the gigs, paying the band etc. Once the band is under way it’ll develop and progress in its own way, the band will hopefully grow into more of a unit and the responsibility won’t be all on your shoulders. Initially, however, it’s up to you to get the proverbial ball rolling.
Generally, the higher the level of musicianship on your part, the higher caliber of musician will be drawn to the band. The word will get around. This is true at whatever level you’re starting, be it school, high school or whatever the scene the music relates to. So get lessons. Learn an instrument, even if it’s only rudimentary. You’ll know what the musicians are talking about, you’ll always know where you are in the song, which in turn gives you confidence and cred with the musicians, as in they will respect you and listen to what you’re saying. Band politics are a whole other topic, but it’s the same in any other area of work. A good manager creates a good working atmosphere, a bad one, the opposite.
If you’ve written the music in some form or other, then you’ll be invested in it emotionally. So, bottom line, you need to find people who have the same enthusiasm for the music as you do. If you all suffer from general apathy, then you are, I’m afraid, well and truly buggered.
How to find collaborators
Where you look for the musicians will depend on the musical genre and your own situation. If you’re in school or college, you’ll probably find each other through the social grapevine.
If you’re starting from scratch, aren’t part of a scene but have the drive to get a project started, then there are still a number of options open to you. Once again post on social media, do the research, put an advert in the local community social networks, put adverts in local rehearsal studios, put the word out any way you can. If you need an MD, audition a whole load of people and find a guitarist or piano player you really click with. If you can’t read music but have a good idea of the sound you’re going for, you’ll hear the right player. If they’re into the music, then hopefully they’ll want to help and get involved. If they’ve answered your ad, odds on they’re also starting out in the music business, or else semi pro and/or just having fun. Serious working musicians often have their own network – who they know, what they’re known for and specialize in etc etc, and often have no desire to be part of a start up. You might get lucky though, there are no hard and fast rules here. In my experience it’s having a real desire to do it, putting the effort into where you want to get to and the answer always coming in one way or another 🙂 It’s usually slow at first, but stick with it and it’s the snowball effect.
Doing the research and getting started
If you have some funds available and some training, then go to some gigs and hear the bands on the circuit, and see if you can talk to the musicians afterwards. If they’re not interested, then they might know someone of similar skill level who is. If you have a gig and can pay them, and even better a regular gig or interest online, then they’re more likely to be interested in your music.
I started my first band in this way. I put an advert in the paper for musicians, and then I got 100 phone calls. So I auditioned everyone (not having half a clue what I was doing, I later found out) and was advised to find an MD. As luck would have it there was a great pianist who had just moved to town and needed the work. I had a gig lined up from a friend, so there was regular money that came with the gig. This was a strong motivation. We all had a blast, as far as I can remember, the gig went well and started its own little scene and we did many gigs together. Then I met other musicians, when for example the band members had to miss a gig and so recommended a sub, etc., or people came to the gig and wanted to play with us.
So in this way I slowly got into that scene, started doing other gigs, other bands etc etc., just through meeting people. Everything very organic. Once I was in the scene, my lack of knowledge became apparent to me (what are they talking about, “D7″?), and so I went to college to learn music theory. However, I’d already been gigging for a couple of years by this time and had learnt a lot as I went along). Yet again, the snowball effect.
The next step
OK, so now you have your band. Quite often, you don’t have a gig because people need to hear or see you before they’ll book you.
If by chance you have a gig, then get a friend to record enough of it to post on social media. Little gigs are dwindling more and more these days, so take the opportunities, however they come, and work towards creating a social media presence. Build it and they will come:)
And , obviously, your goals are up to you, but know from the outset that trying to “be a star” creates a lot more hoops for you to jump through emotionally. If that happens for you, great, but try to make your focus having fun and say what you need to say truthfully. You’ll be making happy memories and gain cred amongst your peers, and with an audience.
It’s likely you’ll be doing quite basic gigs first of all, so a rough video and sound quality is OK. Record a rehearsal and see how it looks and sounds.
Also, mixing and recording your own music is also an option. Technology has come on amazingly, and with the right knowledge and with a good mastery of skill (for recording and mixing is an art unto itself), a simple computer set up can become a very sophisticated recording studio. There are many DAWS out there (I use Logic Pro X which is great, lots of apple support and forums, some great free plug in come with the program), a host of sound plug in, and online help to get you started.
Finding a music manager
OK, you’ve got a good band, you have footage you’re happy with, you’re gigging regularly, things are going well and everyone’s pretty much having a blast. So you start to think bigger and realize you need a manager. Once again, check his or her credentials. If your band is doing well, and you have a lot of visibility online, they might be interested in helping you. Bearing in mind, though, that with the advent of Spotify and the like, musicians mainly make money from gigs and merch (products sold at the gig or online). This can be frustrating but it’s just what is at the moment. Once again, the snowball effect and instinct is your main way forward. Be wary and take a big step back before you sign on any dotted line.
For bands, and musicians, find managers from all walks of life: Some are friends of the band, or started as fans of the music, or started to manage for one band, were good at it, and then gradually added to their roster until it became their profession, for example. Or they’ve found you online and love your music.
Maintaining visibility
To make a good living with music, you need to be at quite a high level of visibility. Sad but true. Get to know a bit about the music industry, know what you’re dealing with.
Nowadays many careers are built online. Record companies now mainly recruit once you have a noticeable online presence. But just posting your music on a site and not doing any networking at all very rarely reaps rich rewards. You need to draw people to your band, your website, your project. Hire someone to link all of the sites together, to post if needs be and keep tabs on everything.
There’s an amazing amount of music that’s out there. There are only a few really huge record companies left now, and the whole music business has changed and shifted from 10 years ago, for example. And there is A LOT of music out there, most of it available for free. We also live in a communication age, with our senses being bombarded left, right and center with information. So for your band to succeed, if you are focused and determined you’re giving yourself the edge.
Once again, persevere and you will always find your metier.
Related articles:
Finding a manager
How music is constructed
How to feel rhythm
How to ad-lib
Home recording