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How good do I have to be........

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(@duncan)
Active Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 11
Topic starter  

How good do I have to be before I can start a band?  How do you overcome the fear of playing live for the first time?
Two questoins.....

Ever notice how people look at you funny when you're walking down the street and jiggling your fingers while going, "Naaar Naiiieer Naaaaeer Nira Neeeeear Neaur."?


   
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(@ryanspencer)
Active Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 13
 

Hi Duncan!

   You don't have to excellent. If you understand how to play and you have a series of people to play with at the moment than you can most certainly start playing at almost any point. In fact, you could even help eachother get on your feet and start playing.

Also, stage fright was really well covered by Jamey Andreas in a series of three lessons on it.

heres the first part.

https://www.guitarnoise.com/principles/20010701.html

I hope this helps so far!

Rock on!

Ryan Spencer


   
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(@fingerbanger)
Eminent Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 22
 

Hi Duncan,
   Confidence is the name of the game. Even if you don't know what you're doing, at least get out there and look like you know what you're doing. Another trick is never play anything live that you are not capable of playing.  8)

Let that boy boogie woogie, cuz' it in em' and it got to come out. -John Lee Hooker-
There is no substitute for experience. So get out there and break some strings on stage. -F.B.-


   
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(@danlasley)
Noble Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 2118
 

Hey Finger, you take all the fun out of it!  I've played several times where I didn't know all the songs perfectly.  Sometimes we'd just laugh and move on.  

If you wait until you're "good enough", it may be too late!

-Laz


   
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(@mrupert)
New Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 1
 

Some of the best bands were founded by mediocre musicians!!!  They get better over time, and write better songs.

One of the guys from The Black Crowes (not sure who) is quoted as saying "We started playing original music because we weren't good enough to play covers!"


   
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(@softsonata)
Active Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5
 

When I first got into this business, I wasn't sure if the crowds would accept me or not.

One night, before my seventh Open Mic show, I sat in a dark corner fretting over whether to go on stage or to wet my pants and go home... when a plucky record producer from Alpharetta, Georgia strolled over to my table, after having seen me the night before at another show, and she told me...

"Most of these people have no idea whether you know what you're doing or not. Just get up there and act like a star and you will be."  

What do you know? It works! Haha

All the same, if you're like me where music is concerned, you do it because you love it, and believe me when I tell you that this comes through in a show. The best thing to do is be assertive, be yourself, and take charge.

As far as covers go, adapt them to your own style and people will appreciate what you play all that much more. (Unless you're in a bar full of red-necks on a Saturday night in the middle of nowhere, in which case, it helps to play Freebird at least close to Skynard's version.)
:::giggle:::

That's a joke. I do that.

Anyway, I have a weekly newsletter that goes out on Fridays for people just starting out who need things like, performance tips, business tips, money tips, and resource information so they can do better, and make more money at it. If you'd like to get the newsletter, (It's free), write to me at: [email protected] .

I can even send you back issues if you like.

best of luck!

Your Friend In Music,
Sonata Jones
http://www.mp3.com/ModernRelic
http://www.SoftSonata.com-us.com


   
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(@ikriko)
New Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 1
 

Hey Duncan,
                 along with a member of the Black Crowes (this I didn't know) Bono actually made a similar statement that U2 actually wrote their own songs because they were so bad at playing other peoples.Look where it got them!!!
                                                    I play bass which I know isn't anywhere near as difficult as guitar (actually I play both) Again you don't have to be that great... To help emphasize something said in another e-mail. I definitely WASN'T ready to start playing but I didn't have a choice. And now I guess I've sort of grown into it. Something that seems to have worked for me is:What you lack in ability,make up for with enthusiasm...I've learned to do a lot of sliding when I hit a wrong note. Sometimes it sounds okay and sometimes not.When I REALLY screw up I just smile shake my head and move on.Really,what else is there to do?
        Play with your heart when you can.It's hard sometimes when you're concentrating so hard on what your hands are supposed to be doing. Love your music but don't take yourself too seriously... I don't do music for a living although it would be awesome if God would let me.. I'm not ready yet  ;) But I'm not ruling it out.
                                  I do have a great job but I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up...

Hope this encourages you.....
                            Good luck and God Bless
                                             Riko


   
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 Rob
(@rob)
Trusted Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 53
 

u really need to be that good - at all

know a few chords and be able to hold a rythem - and *bang* u can play rythem guitar

just insist that you get a say in the songs your going to play so that they aren't too tough and that you get them a week in advance of band practise. as a beginner myself in a newly formed band(bunch of firends would be a more apt description) of much more talented/experienced musicians, i can't play anything worth hearing first off - but given time to get to know and practise  a song i can get by

also being in a band is one of the fastest ways to progress - u'll be continually pushed into new material and have a huge motivation to learn it.

stage fight - well i guess u've just got to do it and get used to it.

hope that helps

rob


   
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(@alangreen)
Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 5342
 

When Sid Vicious joined The Sex Pistols he'd never even picked up a Bass, let alone knew how to play it.

However, I suggest that you get your head around the basics at the very least - some chords, and be able to switch between them smoothly.

Best,

Alan

"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk


   
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(@ajcharron)
Estimable Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 121
 

Hey Duncan!

I agree with everyone. As for U2: when the band formed, none of them could play an instrument. I have a Guitar book which lists most of the best guitarists of all time. The Edge is in it and they say they put him in there to show that you don't have to be good to make it.

Just one bit of advice: try not to play with people who are much better than you: that might bring you down and make you think you're not good enough. But try to play with others who are a bit better than you so that they can help you out.


   
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(@jessz)
Active Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 6
 

When i first started in my band at school i had only been playing for 2 months and had no idea what i was doing! I think you just need to know the basic chords and barre chords are good to know before you play in a band cos you can play any chord with a few shapes.

"Like my brother Jimmie says, I play like I'm breaking out of jail."-Stevie Ray Vaughan


   
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(@argus)
Reputable Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 221
 

When Sid Vicious joined The Sex Pistols he'd never even picked up a Bass, let alone knew how to play it.

Similarly, when Paul Simonon joined The Clash he couldn't play anything. Mick Jones tried to teach him guitar, and after about an hour of struggling with chords (I believe the only one he learned was an open E), Paul decided he was going to play bass.


   
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(@danlasley)
Noble Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 2118
 

Jeez - the abuse us bottom-dwellers take from you 6-shooters. ;D

-Laz


   
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(@Anonymous)
New Member
Joined: 1 second ago
Posts: 0
 

it takes different people to play different instuments.

its just how u use em and bring it together.

use your flavors.

every guitarist has been there and done it, but... if everyone was afraid (and fear is a natural human response) then none of the bands we see today would have been formed.

Just do it!

you make mistakes, you human, screw what the crowd thinks.

screw what miss record label thinks

screw what the barman thinks

play the music for yourselves and yourselves only, and enjoy it.

if you dont enjoy it, stop and ask why u dont.

i play guitar, my drummer plays drums.
we get bored and we swap instruments!

simple

keep it interesting and rock on!

Chalmodo


   
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(@Anonymous)
New Member
Joined: 1 second ago
Posts: 0
 

RHCP's Flea couldn't play bass, Kurt Cobain's first guitar was broken, Jimi Hendrix had trouble finding teachers, Nicky Wire found a guitar book on a bus.

Go for it.


   
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