How long?

[IbanezBass69]

Here is my situation. I am in 2 start up bands. Both are all originals, one is straight up hardcore, one is metal. Anyway, I just joined one about 3 weeks ago, the other I have been trying to build for a good few months. And, both bands only have a tattered bit of what could be a song. I am a guy that wants to get stuff done, get a set list, and start playing out, plain and simple. It shouldn't be that hard. So, how long do you guys give a band before looking for something new? All members of all bands have the same goals, but one band is still missing a drummer and vocalist. Help me out guys, I am at a roadblock, and all I wanna do is play with a band, is that too much to ask?

 

[TBrett]

How are your bands able to rehearse if they only have a "tattered bit of what could be a song?" Do you guys just get together and jam? If so, are you recording the sessions to see what comes out that could be developed into a song? That's one way to come up with material. Even if the one band only has guitar and bass, you can still write. Another option is, if all you want to do is play with a band, why not try and find one that's a bit further along? That will teach you a lot about starting a band of your own. How long someone else would wait in a situation like this really depends on their level of experience. I suggest setting a date in your mind, a month, two at the outside. If there has been no significant progress by then, go in search of something that's more fulfilling. Best of luck!

 

[MatticusMania]

When Im starting a band from scratch I'll give it considerably more time than if I were to join a band that already had material written. For example, in starting my own band I'd allow time find all the players and get a full set of material, at least 6 or 7 songs. I think I started my drum & bass band with 5 songs. My last band was an improv band, so once we had the players we started playing out.

If Im joining a band with material already written, a month, maybe 2 months tops. The band Im currently in, I played my 1st show with them 2 weeks after joining. I had joined a metal band a few years ago, after 2 months they werent ready for shows, so I walked.

 

[IbanezBass69]

How are your bands able to rehearse if they only have a "tattered bit of what could be a song?" Do you guys just get together and jam? If so, are you recording the sessions to see what comes out that could be developed into a song? That's one way to come up with material. Even if the one band only has guitar and bass, you can still write. Another option is, if all you want to do is play with a band, why not try and find one that's a bit further along? That will teach you a lot about starting a band of your own. How long someone else would wait in a situation like this really depends on their level of experience. I suggest setting a date in your mind, a month, two at the outside. If there has been no significant progress by then, go in search of something that's more fulfilling. Best of luck!

We do pretty much just get together, jam a bit, talk about things like finding another guitar, band names, other things that need to be done. Those conversations quickly turn into random crap while I sit around impatiently strumming my bass. In the band with no drummer, we are kind of writing, but its hard for me with no drums to follow, since I love locking in really tight with them. Good advice here from both you guys though!

 

[hrodbert696]

We do pretty much just get together, jam a bit, talk about things like finding another guitar, band names, other things that need to be done. Those conversations quickly turn into random crap while I sit around impatiently strumming my bass. In the band with no drummer, we are kind of writing, but its hard for me with no drums to follow, since I love locking in really tight with them. Good advice here from both you guys though!

If it's an originals band, you need to get yourselves buckled down to songwriting. Brainstorming band names when there is no music to be played means you are finding a name for some guys sitting around a living room, not a name for a band. Waste of time.

You don't need to find another guitar player until you're actually going to perform something. If you think a song will eventually need both rhythm and lead guitar parts, just have your existing guitarist work out (and record) both and whenever you find another guitarist, teach him the part. Don't waste time thinking about more guitarists until there's something for them to play.

I'd say you should plan out, say, what your first four or five songs would be, i.e. you want a couple of dance songs, a love ballad, a protest song, whatever mix of material you have in mind. Then someone needs to take point on each song idea, go write up a draft of some lyrics, maybe a chord progression and whatever their instrument's riffs or whatever would be. Sit down and walk your bandmates through it and then they jam on that progression until it turns into a song. Record everything AND write down whatever you can (even if it's just "eight bars of riff A, then four of riff B").

That's all just a way to approach it to get yourselves out of a rut. It doesn't sound to me like the problem is the group of people, such that you should quit -- the problem is getting organized about how you're going to produce music.

 

[phatbass]

If you're not making tangible progress over a period of, say, a month, it's not gonna happen ever.

Progress will be defined differently by different people, but if after a month you haven't even got at least the basics of one song, you're wasting your time if your own goal is to get a set together and get gigging (IMO).