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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Bands and artists → band formation
as far as i think to form a band is a tough job dont you think and i have been planning and trying to form one for a while but everything goes down in the dumps...especially forming girl bands....if you guys have any tips or suggestions or peices of advice please share it with me....thanks
saba
Saba,
I think age has a big part to play in this. Younger people tend to want to start a band yet they don't have the funds/jamming sapce/equipment.
If you are in this catagory try finding other bands that could help out.
When I was in my teens..... long time ago..... My drummers big brother rented a house to jam in. He lived there with the bass player. The whole house was wall to wall equipment there was nobody that would complain about the noise.
Well seeing as we were about 15 at the time they would let us use their equipment. We had our own guitars and a few cheap amps but that was it. This house was great. Lots going on......well I won't elaborate on that but lets just say you should maybe look around for mentors that could help you out.
Look in the papers as bands often place adds when they are looking for members.
Find a music school and meet others.
Start spending lots of time in a local guitar store, you will start to see the same faces over and over and you could start new friendships
Just some suggestions, Good luck,
thank you so much for ur help mherbert and a very intersting story there...actually i am doing my A levels and i am the deputy of the music society in my skool....it has been a dream to form a band but nobody from my skool seems to be interested...i am 18...is that too young? 
ive got my father to provide me with all the equipment i want and he can help me with the funds....he has recording experience and had his own band when he was my age....and it is through him i learned to play the guitar....oh well...eventually everything will turn out to be good
thanks again i really appreciate you writing a big paragraph for me
saba
Hi Saba,
I am, I think, a little older than MHerbert, and strangely my early playing experience in the UK is very similar to his in Canada.
This was during the 60's I think one of the big difference between then and now is that, in my day, if there was a dance to be held and it was going to be to records then hardly anybody turned up. If a live group (band) was playing then the dance hall was packed even if the group was only mediocre. There was therefore more incentive to form a group. It is a shame but nowadays nearly every dance is to records, they even invented a new name for it - 'a Disco'.
Roger
Wow, sounds like you've got a lot going for you... And 18 is DEFINATELY not too young. I had a guitar duo when I was 16. I've been (and still am) involved in all kinds of projects, even at my toddering age.... One thing I can definately tell you is that you have to know where you're going. I think it was Walt Whitman (an old US president) who said: The world gets out of the way of the man who knows where he's going" (something like that--we, of course, edit to include "woman")
SO, if you don't mind a little advice from me, it comes in the form of questions (all overlap each other):
Do you have a musical concept/direction? If you don't people will come and quickly fade away
Do you know what you want to say? "Cloning" is good for learning, but not original, although it's a good place to start sometimes. But that's not the same as covering other peoples' music which is always a great idea. You can say a lot with other peoples' music, and get lots of support so long as you're not just trying to sound like the original (that's what I mean by cloning)
Do you have a repertoire? Is it cohesive? What I mean is, if you're too ecclectic, people are interested with one song, bored the next...
Most important question: are you going to do it anyway, even if no one is around to help you out? (If this answer is "yes" people will
want to join your project because they have someone who's leading.
As mherbert said, find a music school, guitar store, hang out. Make new friends.
Sounds like you need to meet people who are into it the way you are. If you're really lucky you'll meet musicans who know more than you, and you'll get to learn lots too. When I was younger, I tended to want to be with the hipper kids, and finally, at a party, a "fringe friend", who I thought was a bit of a goof, was playing guitar, I started singing, we sounded good together, he encouraged me to learn to play, and it just went from there. A nice singing duo with 2 guitars. I played nylon, he played one of the original Ovations. Lots of gigs-small ones- I was underage so outside of coffee bars, school functions, park festivals etc., we couldn't do much until I was older. I eventually moved into jazz music and he wasn't into that... The point I'm making here is: gravitate to people who are serious and who play your kind of stuff, no matter how they look, dress, act, fit socially. Don't waste your time on people who just "wannabeastar!" and concern themselves too much with the trappings of a music career. They're mostly destined for the bedroom mirror... It's all about the music. The rest will come to you...
Now that I think about it, the music school idea is the best one. I teach in a MS and a guitar teacher and I are always crossing departmental boundaries. Putting students together for concerts and such. Good for his students and good for mine. Try this idea. You'll definately get connected to serious people. OK. I'm gonna stop now. Hope I haven't bored you, and that it helps, if even a little....
.../gin
that was a very intersting story there gin...is that your name?...and thanks for the advice and no i didnt get bored..im a people person...love to hear what they have to say....and what you say roger is totally true...music dosent have the same impact as the music in the past used to have...in my opinion people are recycling old music..just adding a few things hear a new beat there and you have a new song which will go old in just a few days...the oldies are the best..
thank you again
saba
I think that we need to make a distinction between artists/musicians and others that are just entertainers. There are still great artists creating new music. Greenday comes to mind, as does Dave Matthews, The Verve.....the list goes on.
I do agree that there are many entertainers re-mixing old music and making quite a lot of money doing it. On the other hand the original artists are paid royalties. When Run DMC re-mixed Walk This Way by Aerosmith it revived their carreer and exposed them to a whole new generation. Sounds like a win/win situation to me.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Bands and artists → band formation
