Nobody is serious! the problem of being a 16 year old aspiring musician

[peaveyuser]

This is thread for you to vent or give reasons on these situations.

I'm a 16 year old living in Montreal, and bass is my primary focus at the moment. i'd like to do a few gigs and possibly make a decent amount of cash so I can put time in the band and not have to do a part time job. But the main focus is to get a band going and practise then gig!

Say what you want (I know I still have work to do still), I know I may sound cocky but at my age group I am a good fairly competent bassist and get complimented for it around here. I can play in a band well and I don't see any lack in skill for my age, I don't just play roots, I learn the songs and I play them in time, not all of em are simple.

Anyways I find that so many people around this age are very unreliable. is it really this hard to start a band? i mean you try and start stuff but people end up postponing it, canceling it or acting like they are always busy. I never understood how some people say "yah I want to start a band" but then never end up agreeing to a set date and the fact that its only once a week. Then i have to act as the babysitter and ask if they'd like to practise, I always feel like I'm nagging them to do so, like they always have something better to do and tha band is not a priority at all.

I give up with that, I will remind a band once or twice about practise after that they aren't good enough if they don't want to set a date to merely jam, done with trying to play with people who are not serious.


I am constantly trying to expand my musical horizons and want to jam as much as I can, yet I never seem to be able to much. I've done it now I'm addicted its so fun and you learn so much.


Is it always like this or are the majority of teens just dip****s I am tired of hearing constant BS about "dude i want to make it big, music is what I want to do" or guys asking me to be in a band and then I feel like I'm being the leader by telling them we need practise.


Hopefully my current one will pull its pants up, if not I'll count on another starting as soon as a drummer gets his new set as his other one is sold, I dodn't have high prospects for that one though


Nobody can sacrifice three hours of their 168 hour week, its pathetic. Still no gigs.

[prizefighter]

it's like that where i live too. i'm 15 and even when the people i try to start something with seem to want to practice it ends up with practical jokes. it must just be us bassist who are more focused.

[BassBoy24]

wow, exact same situation here. i live in a smaller "ex-farm town" lol. pretty much a old farm town that is changing and growing. it is incredibly hard to find good bands. our town has its own venue but most bands are all from towns about an hour away. and there is maybe 5 local bands, but dont need bassits. and starting bands that do dont seem to serious. however, i have found a few people who are serious and we can actually get a near complete song in a days worth practice, which is cool. but in another year or 2 i should b off to L.A to atten Musicians institute for bass performance, so many many more oppurtunities should come my way there. but to answer the question (from my experience being 16 also with similar circumstances) everything you've said is exactly the same on my side. just keep playing and improving in personal skills until the right band comes along.

[peaveyuser]

Its because we actually care about music! we're not like the singer who thinks he can sing, we're not like the guitards who say they can play a bunch of **** but really can't and then go on and on about gear, and we're not like the drummers who seem to be hiding.

Also gf's take a lot of their time too, supposedly. I mean thats all fine and dandy but if she needs you 24/7 your being whipped IMO

[jbassplayer]

similar problem..most guitards in my town are either not reliable, just dont take things seriously, or they can barely play.

luckly i know a vey reliable drummer(who just happens to be my twin brother) who has great skills and gear, and always wants to jam!!!

[peaveyuser]

Originally Posted by jbassplayer

similar problem..most guitards in my town are either not reliable, just dont take things seriously, or they can barely play.

luckly i know a vey reliable drummer(who just happens to be my twin brother) who has great skills and gear, and always wants to jam!!!

very lucky guy, brothers are the best to have, you grow your love for music together a lot of the time

[svenbass]

It ain't just kids your age, this crap happens all the time. Eventually you find who is serious, and things start to happen. A little patience & persistence will eventually pay off.

good luck!

[IanStephenson]

Nothing to do with 16 - thats what bands are like... until you find a good one, and then you hang on to it. Anyone who's been around will tell you that getting a band off the ground (unless you're already "connected") is a couple of years of work, with dead end, false starts and then you give up.

Relax, learn a little tact and politics (something we all lacked at 16), be the best player YOU can be, and at some point you'll find a band that works, but don't hold your breath (it'll make you blue...).

Ian

[Rathead123]

Age is not a factor, you'll run in to this all your life if you contiue to play in a band. Im 46 and deal with this stuff all the time. Most people dont understand the commitment, and all that goes into a band. Just look at the Craigslist adds and how much trouble people have trying to find members, or startup a band.

[peaveyuser]

Originally Posted by IanStephenson

Nothing to do with 16 - thats what bands are like... until you find a good one, and then you hang on to it. Anyone who's been around will tell you that getting a band off the ground (unless you're already "connected") is a couple of years of work, with dead end, false starts and then you give up.

Relax, learn a little tact and politics (something we all lacked at 16), be the best player YOU can be, and at some point you'll find a band that works, but don't hold your breath (it'll make you blue...).

Ian

Good point but i contest your politics remark, i go into deep discussions with adults about social and world issues

I am trying to be the best player I can be, sometimes you can feel it ain't worth it though, you learn songs you don't eventually play.

Worst stunt ever pulled on me is when a guitarist asked me to fill in on bass for a little school show HE WANTED ME, i was doing this to be nice. Well I learn the song the night before (albeit very simple). Ask him the day of the show if he still wants me, he says yes. Come to school after I just had a vicious rugby game, still willing to play. wait there for an hour because "he's not on yet" only to figure out it was never meant to be played. So i wasted my time there doing jack ****. Needless to say no matter how talented the guitard is I will NEVER play with him again, I don't like be taken advantage of.

[playibanez]

At 16 most kids dont have enough of a sense of responsibility to do that. Which is terrible and sad but its true most of the time.

Im lucky the bassist in my current band got kicked out and i replaced him in one of the biggest local bands around here.

But i STILL get that practice bs. We all work though and all have Girlfriends but we find time to practice. So if you guys are 16 you should be able to practice 3 times a week. We practiced 3 or 4 times a week during the summer when we did the bulk of our writing.

Try and find people you can trust/befriend/rely on and start a project up with. There is no use starting a band with someone you don't get along with, it will turn out ugly.

This is the least of your troubles, once you get the band on its feet there is a host of other obstacles ahead of you.

*edit*the drummer in my band is 16 about to turn 17 and he is one of the most driven level headed persons in the band. not to mention a KILLER drummer*

[phatbass]

As a couple of other replies have said, this isn't exclusively a problem with younger dudes.

I'm 49 and gigging on a professional level and I'm still constantly amazed at the unreliability and generally lackadaisical attitude of many so-called mature adults.

I find the best thing is to be brutally honest and up front when putting a project together (while retaining a little bit of flexibility). Also realise that many guys your age, and also a lot of older folks, don't really have an idea of what they want to do musically and tend to just "go with the flow".

First thing I'd do is work out do you want to Jam, or do you want to rehearse material? Or both? In my mind I separate the two - to me jamming is sort-of just hanging out with a few buddies playing music for fun; rehearsing is seriously getting material together with the aim of developing a repertoire and eventually getting some gigs. One suggestion is to avoid using the J word if you're serious about gigs.

There's nothing wrong with jamming if you enjoy it but unfortunately, due to psyche-scarring experiences from my youth, as soon as someone says jam to me I have flash-backs to a bunch of stoners noodling on half-songs in a back room doing blunts and cheap wine, with their hangers-on sitting around applauding and telling 'em how great they are.

For the first couple of get togethers, jamming's fine to see if you click musically but if you're as serious as you seem to be then you need to separate out the guys who actually want to get a set of rehearsed songs together and look for real gigs from the ones who just want to show off in a garage in front of their girlfriends/boyfriends/buddies.

If you actually want to gig, state this from the get-go and that the Band WILL rehearse X number of times a week. Three or more would be good, but two is a minimum. Be a bit flexible as some folks do have commitments. (Also remember, you need time to have a life outside music - school, buddies, girls, etc.)

Work out what sort of stuff you want to do and set REALISTIC goals (have a certain number of songs ready to play by the end of the month; be ready to gig in a certain time-frame, etc., etc.). Don't freak out if you don't achieve the goal, but at least have something to shoot for.

Don't be nasty about it 'coz not everyone has the same aspirations or goals, but hopefully you'll eventually find some guys who want to row the boat in the same direction.

[Jazz Ad]

Look for an old fart band.
I'm talking about 40+ yo musicians.
They tend to know how to get good gigs and always welcome passionate youngsters.
You will also learn much faster this way.

[Deacon_Blues]

Look for a music school/institute/conservatory (pop/jazz) that you can start studying in. Check that they have band lessons as well.

There is one school like that in my town (50000 people), and this town is stuffed with VERY skilled young musicians, much thanks to that school with their band lessons. Every student on the pop/jazz side that have enough basic skills to play in a band enters one with other students that are on the same level. All teachers on the pop/jazz side work as leaders in these bands. This is a winning concept that I hope will be more and more common in the world. It wasn't common when I was 14-18 years old, damn that...

Jazz Ad's advice is good too if you can't find or afford to go to a school like this.

[varunkapahi]

haha am 18 and its pretty much the same here. but now am getting calls for a lot auditions lets see how things go.

[peaveyuser]

Originally Posted by Jazz Ad

Look for an old fart band.
I'm talking about 40+ yo musicians.
They tend to know how to get good gigs and always welcome passionate youngsters.
You will also learn much faster this way.

I'd love too for jazz or classic rock but not many of those want a 16 year old on bass. Plus at the moment I'd like to play some metal, jeese I've written lyrics and a good amount of decent riffs, that seem to be just gathering dust.


So now I know this is just a big problem all together Jeese. Thing is I'm not that pushy I rather not be but since I'm actually dedicated it makes me look like it compared to everybody else.


Practicing 3 times a week sounds like a joke I'd adore that cause thats how you get work done but thats probably not gonna happen.

[Rathead123]

Originally Posted by peaveyuser

Good point but i contest your politics remark, i go into deep discussions with adults about social and world issues:

He is talking about "band politics".

[jgbass]

When I was 16 I actually got in a band with a group of guys who were 17 to 19 years old. Maybe you can find something but not limiting yourself just to people your age. We actually were very responsible, rehearsed every week, had gigs most every week. There's a lot of older musicians that would welcome a responsible 16 year old if they knew you were responsible.

There are still flakes out there of every age. You just have to keep looking until your find the right situation.

[coop]

You can't change other people to be what you think they should be. You can only change yourself. You might want to read "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie.

Remember music is a leisure activity for the large majority of people who play. You should not be surprised when they have a leisurely attitude towards it.

[Lucas G]

i am 33 and in a band with a 33-year-old guitar player and a 30 year old drummer. only the guitar player is married, none of us have any kids. we all have full time jobs, and you would THINK that we could squeeze a practice in once a week, if not twice a month... WRONG. these dudes always have something trivial going on that either prevents scheduling something or causes them to cancel something day of.

it never changes. some folks are just slackers.