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Advice - just starting out in a band

#4
mldavis said:
Hi guys,

I've just started a 3 piece band and our first rehearsal is in Thursday. We've all never been in a band before, but can all play.

As in the bassist, what advice do you have for me just starting out?

Thanks
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Practice material at home so you’re prepared before rehearsal, get to rehearsal on time, stay sober, don’t noodle, listen and don’t talk to much.

Good luck and have fun.
 
#5
+1 to all advice so far.

A couple I'll add:

Decide how decisions will get made. Either someone is band leader, or everyone gets a vote, or whatever. Everybody likes to be democratic, but actually IMO a good BL is a good idea to keep things organized and consistent.

Decide what kind of music you want to play. It's very hard to make a band work where the bassist wants to play reggae, the guitarist wants to play metal, and the drummer wants to play jazz. You MIGHT wind up with a hot ska or prog band, but more likely you'll wind up with either a big hot mess, or with a band member who is very unhappy and quit because they're not playing any music they like. So talk it out from the beginning.

Decide where you're planning on going with this. Is this just to jam in the garage, to get cover gigs at bars, to write original songs and try to get a record contract, what? If the plan is to gig and make some money, make an agreement about how money will be handled BEFORE you make, or spend, any.
 
#8
Thanks for the advice guys, it's really helpful.

The good thing about the band is we're all at about the same level with none of us previously playing in any bands. The plan is to learn 3 songs at a time and then when we have enough of the learnt and are feeling confident, to start doing some open mic nights to get some stage practise, eventually looking to get some gigs.

Myself and the guitarist/singer are into the same music/bands, so that's a good start. The drummer is into all sorts and is happy to play anything, which is great. We are going to be covering bands like Oasis, Stone Roses, The Jam, Kasabian and The Beatles.

I can't wait to get started, our first rehearsal is on Thursday

Cheers
 
#11
mldavis said:
All strangers mate.

Met up with the guitarist/singer on Friday and we are all meeting up tomorrow to discuss some ideas. First rehearsal is on Thursday, can't wait.
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That changes things in many ways. Good friends who finally get a band going can find it awkward if difficult conversations need to be had...for example it turns out that your best mate of 20 years actually sucks on the drums in a band situation.

At least this way, there are no real expectations or preconceptions, but the disadvantage is that it might turn out that the other guys are asshats :)

Either way, any band is a good band at this stage.

How old are you guys? What songs have you got lined up?

Oh...I notice you're in South Wales. I'm from NWales originally, currently exiled in the far north of England (Carlisle).
 
#12
mldavis said:
Thanks for the advice guys, it's really helpful.

The good thing about the band is we're all at about the same level with none of us previously playing in any bands. The plan is to learn 3 songs at a time and then when we have enough of the learnt and are feeling confident, to start doing some open mic nights to get some stage practise, eventually looking to get some gigs.

Myself and the guitarist/singer are into the same music/bands, so that's a good start. The drummer is into all sorts and is happy to play anything, which is great. We are going to be covering bands like Oasis, Stone Roses, The Jam, Kasabian and The Beatles.

I can't wait to get started, our first rehearsal is on Thursday

Cheers
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Sounds to me like you've got a good plan. :)
 
#14
mldavis said:
Yeah that's true, we are really looking forward to getting started.

Aged 21, 22 and 25. First three songs we are learning are Oasis - Rock n roll star, Kasabian - fire and Stone roses - I wanna be adored.

From Swansea I am mate.
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So...bass, drums, guitar...is anyone up for singing? If this is your first practice as a band, spend as much time as you can just jamming. Don't worry about note-for-note covers, even though that's a good starting point.

Give your drummer a nice 4/4 blues groove to suss out each others timing, and let the guitar player add something over the top.

In my experience, I've known within the first half hour or so whether it was going to work.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
 
#15
Our guitarist is going to give the singing a go.

Thanks for the advice man, really appreciate it. Yeah the plan is to just jam it up on Thursday to see how we gel.

Will keep you updated on our progress! May even get some videos up at some point.

Cheers
 
#16
Spend time tuning and agreeing on volume levels. Finer details like tone can wait.

Try not to stand just in front of your own speaker...walk around a bit to get a feel for what you sound like from other parts of the room, and you'll get a sense of what your bandmates are hearing you play, rather than just what you are hearing yourself play!

And you'll hear this a lot here on TB from folk with far more experience than my 30 years in bands...but you simply must click with your drummer. A band with a bassist and drummer that do not groove is like a car with no engine under the bonnet.
 
#17
Have someone who knows the rehearsal space PA and monitoring, mixers etc. THERE to help you get started.

Decide together which YouTube version of the songs you aim for, as the baseline.

Attempt to play the songs THROUGH, not just noodle choicest parts.

And, whatever everyone else said. You have chosen the path of great enjoyment, it is to be cherished. I wish you all well!
 

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