Trying to put a band together...

jakelly · #1 01-03-2011, 07:09 AM

I have no experience at this. I have always joined existing bands before. We are four people. One person I was in a previous band with for a while. Drummer, guitarist, guitarist/keyboardist, me on bass. The other guys sing. Me, not so much.

Not happy with some of the arrangements. We can play, but that tends to get overridden by guitars stepping on each other, competing volume levels, etc. Also, some of the songs are being put together kind of sloppily, just from memory, not from actually listening to and learning the parts (and in some cases, the correct chords) of a song. I feel that its OK to stretch out on a song, to change it a bit if you want, but I also feel that the song needs to be learned by all pretty close to the original recording first, so we all have a common ground on it.

On the other hand, we've only had a few rehearsals so far, so perhaps I am expecting too much too quickly. But we do have our first gig coming up in February.

I've spoken up a time or two. On Neon Moon, the bass line is integral to the song - the song is built around that bass line. But it was kind of drowned out by two competing guitars. I mentioned it and was told by one of the guys to turn up. Let's see... a beautiful country song with a great bass line, turned into a painful cacophony...

More of a rant than anything else. I'm going to have to speak up more, without becoming a pain in the *(%^.

bolophonic · #2 01-03-2011, 07:12 AM

Sometimes it takes a while to get it together. Who's idea was it to start booking shows already?

39-Bassist · #3 01-03-2011, 07:18 AM

Do you have ability to record your practices?....I found that if there some musical issues then when we recorded them we realized ther issues.
If both guitarist are conflicting with each other musically then hopefully you will find out after recordings. I would give it a few weeks and maybe even see what reactions you get from people at the Feb. show and take notes for band....just a thought, it has worked for me in the past. Good luck and Have fun....if it's not fun then move on to another band.

jakelly · #4 01-03-2011, 07:25 AM

We are all anxious to play shows, so we probably all came up with the idea to start looking for gigs almost immediately. We do have a little over a month to get things together better.

Recording practices would be good. We're not set up to do that at the moment, but I'll look into it.

bolophonic · #5 01-03-2011, 07:33 AM

Good luck, dude. I personally wouldn't book a show unless I knew the project was going to float.

OtterOnBass · #6 01-03-2011, 07:45 AM

Ask the guitarists if they've ever been in a band with another guitarist before. Explain the concept of "frequency slotting," where each instrument takes up a different area in the sonic spectrum, and have the guitarists figure out where they fit. If they sound the same, they're gonna step all over each other trying to hear themselves.

jakelly · #7 01-03-2011, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtterOnBass

Ask the guitarists if they've ever been in a band with another guitarist before. Explain the concept of "frequency slotting," where each instrument takes up a different area in the sonic spectrum, and have the guitarists figure out where they fit. If they sound the same, they're gonna step all over each other trying to hear themselves.

I like this. Thanks

Krispy · #8 01-03-2011, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtterOnBass

Ask the guitarists if they've ever been in a band with another guitarist before. Explain the concept of "frequency slotting," where each instrument takes up a different area in the sonic spectrum, and have the guitarists figure out where they fit. If they sound the same, they're gonna step all over each other trying to hear themselves.

In my band, we call it our individual real-estate. Trespassing is strictly prohibited and that's our collective law.

It took a year to get four players to comprehend what that means (drummer and I have been playing together for 12 years - we get it), but in the end it's the only way to get anything more than a 3-piece to work. Once everyone understands (and hears) that all those sonic-spaces are integral parts of the composition, then things start to coalesce.

Make it your business to keep Otters points in everyone's "top-of-mind" and volumes will drop and the music will sound better to everyone.

My 2 cents. Cheers!

James Judson · #9 01-03-2011, 09:00 AM

1. You can not play some one elses instrument for them. Don't try.

2. Be patient. There is always someone in the band that is the slowest.

3. Guitards frequently step on each other. IMHO: two is one to many.

4. A bitchy bass player will get the bass player replaced. (I know, I are one)

5. Common misconception: "we have to play loud cuz we have a drummer".

YMMV

HeadyVan Halen · #10 01-03-2011, 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bolophonic

Good luck, dude. I personally wouldn't book a show unless I knew the project was going to float.

Yes. This.
You might be looking for another gig real soon.

What size room do you rehearse in? That could be a issue to.
There's really no more advice I can give that hasn't already been given.
Just have to find that 'groove' as far as volume wise. It changes for different songs, but you have to practice enough to know when and where to crank it or sit back..

jive1 · #11 01-03-2011, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtterOnBass

Ask the guitarists if they've ever been in a band with another guitarist before. Explain the concept of "frequency slotting," where each instrument takes up a different area in the sonic spectrum, and have the guitarists figure out where they fit. If they sound the same, they're gonna step all over each other trying to hear themselves.

I wish that guitarists could hear their favorite songs with the guitar track isolated. The guitar may sound thin and trebly alone, but in the mix it sounds perfect.

There is bedroom tone, and live tone. What may sound fat and full in the bedroom can get buried in the mix with a band. But rather than EQing to compensate, most turn up the volume. So instead of being buried in the mix, they now make the band sound cluttered. Don't be afraid to play with your EQ settings at rehearsal to optimize the sound. It's not about whether a single guitar sounds good, it's about the band sounding good.

Aside from tone, also consider the arrangement. If you are having cluttered guitars, one thing that will help are partial chords. Rather than having both guitarists playing open chords, or full barre chords, have one or both of them playing partial chords, like a 2 note chord with the root and 3rd. Layering these partial chords will not only clean up your arrangements, but it will still make the band sound full.