Make a Band and Get Discovered

Putting together a band with the hopes of becoming famous can sometimes be a discouraging thing. There is a lot of work involved, and everyone in the band will need to put in an equal amount of work and dedication and be on the same page. However, by following this guide, you may just walk down the avenue of success a lot sooner. Also you have to find people that will not give up even if they don't think it's possible.

Steps

Starting out

  1. Find a band to join or start a new one. There are several avenues to accomplish this goal. First, put out fliers saying you're looking to make a band (make an interview or audition). If you know the genre of music you want to play, decide what kinds of instruments you will need and make sure to mention who/what you're looking for in your fliers (e.g. Looking for a jazz trumpet player). Also, post the fliers in places where you'll get the best results. Posting fliers for rock musicians in a jazzy coffee shop won't get you many replies.
  2. Hold auditions until you find the perfect match for you. You may want to interview the musician on their musical interests and work ethic as well to ensure that you will be compatible.

Practice sessions

  1. Find a place to practice. Make sure the practice place is accessible to everyone, and easy to use. If the practice area is a 30 minute drive for your drummer, he/she will probably get fed up with having to load/unload the drum set over and over.
  2. Practice on your own so you'll be good and so you'll know your skills.If you practice for a jazz band, go somewhere quiet enough to practice.
  3. When you get your band together, practice a lot. Be sure to make these practices productive. If you spend the whole time sitting around talking about the latest sports event, your band will not succeed (unless you're really lucky).

Developing your own style

  1. Start finding your sound. This will often come about once the band starts to work together and gel. Every individual's style will come together to form a unique sound.
  2. Make an image for the group. This includes an interesting band name and wearing certain clothes to live shows. If someone hears a hardcore band on stage they sound really great and then they look up and see a bunch of middle aged men with beer bellies wearing wife beaters and mesh shorts they are going to be turned off by them. They want what they see to match what they're hearing.
  3. Figure out who's best to write your music. Many bands have 1 or 2 members who write the basics for every song and then let the band take it from there. Other bands may write while jamming with the entire group, although this may take longer.

Recording and playing live

  1. Once you have a decent set of songs, consider recording a demo. If you are serious about your band, and have the funds, you can look into booking some time at a studio. This will be expensive compared to a tape recorder, but the quality will be greatly improved and may result in your band being hired more often. Plus, it'll give you a good quality recording to play for your family and friends until you can get a real album recorded.
  2. Start with small gigs. Call the local clubs and ask if you can play. Find parties to play at. If you're in school, sign up for the talent show, or ask to play at lunch for your peers. By starting small, you can get a taste of how audiences react, what to do when you get better gigs, and make a little bit of spending cash.
  3. Look on craigslist.com. There is a section where club managers and event planners post gig information. These will often be paying gigs and are great ways to expose your band to the public.

Advancing

  1. Get an agent. They know how the business works and who to talk to.
  2. Once you have more spending money, invest in studio time. A few hours in a studio with an experienced engineer can produce wonders. If your band has been performing and practicing together regularly, you should be able to go from one song to the next, just as if it were a gig. House Of The Rising Sun by the Animals was recorded in one take because they had toured with the song for so long, it was second nature. Once you have a quality recording of your band, send it to record companies and radio stations. You can also produce CDs and sell them at your gigs.

Marketing

  1. Create webpages for your band. Myspace.com is a great way to expose your band to the public and there are many other sites with similar programs that are free and work very well, and as much as you may not want to give your music away for free because trust me it really really does help! But remember not many famous bands started off with a Myspace page
    • Make some sort of website for your band and upload downloadable content so that people from all over the world can listen to your music. Also video yourself doing performances and post them to YouTube. This works well in helping your band become popular.
  2. Tell everyone you know about your band. Family, friends, people you meet at McDonald's. Get as much exposure as you possibly can.
  3. Once you book a good sized gig, create a poster with a picture of your band and info about the gig. You can create 20 or so copies for a good price and spread them around town. They'll catch peoples eyes and bring more people to your gigs.
  4. Sell cheap tickets for small gigs hold them in small clubs or parks.

Into the future

  1. Forget about being nervous, just have fun. If you have stage fright, just find a dark place in the back of the location to look whenever you get nervous. That way you won't be unnerved by your cheering fans.
  2. Above all - continue to practice! You may want to rewrite or redirect songs as your band/sound evolves. This is perfectly okay. It gives you something new and exciting to play, and it gives your fans something to look forward to. Also, try not to get too confident and cocky and don't practice. If you want to have a good band, remember; practice a lot.

Tips

  • Work hard in practice, and help each other.
  • Keep song lyrics and ideas to your self,unless you have someone you can trust to bounce ideas around with.
  • Make sure to practice writing songs as this tends to be the biggest struggle with a lot of bands.
  • If you have a YouTube account you could record your band and post it. You will be surprised by how many views it will pick up.
  • Try having a band with your friends so that you don't get someone who steals something like your song or your lyrics of the songs you are making.
  • If your friends are good at an instrument and want to join your band, that's even better!
  • Try to make your group different from the other groups to get you noticed even more.
  • Post some cover videos on youtube to get started
  • Have some sort of skills that anyone would need you for so you don't get thrown away from the band
  • Plan out ahead of time who should be on which instrument and what your band name should be.
  • Make or try to get a home recording studio for demos.
  • Don't boss people about just because you are the leader.
  • if you are doing gigs, make sure you do them legally, and try to book your band in places that music critics or likewise are known to visit.
  • Take your band to a local park and start performing there, as you go on people might start to take pictures and videos of you on their phone. Ask them if they would like to buy merchandise, or if they know anywhere where you could perform.

Warnings

  • Be a team, stick together, or the band might just fall apart!
  • Remember, don't be too bossy either. Otherwise your members will get mad at you and kick you out. Then you won't have a band anymore. So try to give equal power to everyone in the band.
  • Don't rush to finish a song when recording(spend a good while on every song until its perfect to you)
  • Be prepared to work hard.
  • Be sure of your love for music.
  • Don't trash your instruments at a gig unless you can afford to replace them.
  • Accept rejection.
  • This requires a lot of commitment.
  • Do not overdo everything.
  • The steps aren't as easy as they sound.
  • You might not get along with everyone in the band.
  • Nobody likes cliches. Be original!

Things You'll Need

  • Some form of musical talent
  • A band (of course)
  • The musical instruments required for the type of music you will be playing
  • Audio recording software for recording ideas and demo's
  • A Place to practice
  • A merchandise person
  • A cool place to hang out

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