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Okay, a couple months ago, I started playing guitar and i am not THAT great, but i can play some stuff. A little while later, me and my friends were thinking about starting a band. All the pieces seemed to be falling into place after that, and so we got the parts down. They get their instruments soon and i already have mine. We are gonna start "practicing" and so forth near the beginning of 2005. I am gonna be the vocalist...


Any advise for us?

(btw, musical influences: Green Day, The Ramones, and Blink 182 are our main ones)

my advice would be try to write your own material, not do covers, that way you will be proud of what you guys play, and you will learn music at the same time!

thats what i did in my old band, but then im being a hypocryte as half our songs were covers! but writing your own stuff is satisfying.

EDIT: oh yeah, i play bass!

uh oh... our entire plan was to play covers first until we got good enough to write fairly decent music...

So u play bass eh? neato.

Actually, I would think it would be a good idea to get more experience playing other people's music as a group, then start writing stuff later. If your friends don't even have instruments yet it's probably best that they learn to play them before you try to write anything

ummm,... do you need a groupie??

I'll be your first...

but then if you learn other peoples songs, you are trying to play to their ability level, while if you try to write your own shit, then you will playing at your level.

just start playing with your band the talent part will come as you go

Pay attention to each other, instead of just trying to play your part without paying attention to what the rest (most importantly the drummer and bassist) are doing.

Also try to put some of your own input into the covers, like making slight changes in structure, improvising on guitar solos instead of playing them exactly like the band your covering etc.

That might be stuff for when youve advanced a little though, so basicely just practice a lot and try to play together at least once a week or so.

That sounds cool.If you don't have a name for the band I would call it Free Spring!Hope it turns out good.JM

that doesn't always happen, trust me

Well...

I must say THANK YOU for all of the information and advice! Keep it coming

No... If you don't know how to play an instrument in the first place, you can't write music for it. You have to play other people's music at first, whatever the instrument is. I would think that would be obvious...

not at all, if you are learning music it doesnt mean you have to be playing covers, i learnt music without playing any covers, its called theory, scales and stuff.

i find covers dont really teach you anything, learning theory does.

hmmm

both are good ways of learning, depending on you i suppose, covers didnt help me much for example, im was just saying that you dont HAVE to do covers to learn, just have a jam with your friends and you will probably write something cool by accident! thats what my band used to do!

I would say the biggest problem is choosing a name that everyone agrees with, or getting your rhythm together.

Jamming will have very little use if you have little experience with your instrument. Jamming requires that you can improvise well and pay attention to each other. The chances on writing something cool (or something at all) at this stage are very small...

Id say start with some covers

^Exactly what I'm trying to say. Theory will teach you quite a bit if you're learning an instrument on your own. (though I never did much of it to begin with... I picked it up later on, but the first thing I wanted to do was just play some damn music--I picked up guitar in the first place to play songs, not necessarily become a great technical player) Also, it is a standard thing that you learn to play music that's already been written before trying to write your own. When you start violin, you play scales for a while, and then they give you "Minuet No. 3" or some other simple piece of classical music. When you start playing guitar, you start with scales and chords, and then you might learn a Beatles song or something. Honestly, either you are amazingly talented, or the music was very crappy, because I could never write a song right after picking up a new instrument.

okay, sorry, just putting my opinion in there, my opinion is obviously wrong.

my appologies...

I thought you was going to be my groopie cry

My opinion doesnt invalidate yours, its just... my opinion on your opinion.

okay well no more arguing, just continue to give opinions and advice

Ok... I wouldn't try to pick out a sound for yourselves before you've played together... It's never good to sit down and go "we're going to be this, this, and this" before you do anything else.

They probably listen to those bands and want to play music in that/those style(s)/genre(s).

yes we kinda wanted to play similar to them

http://pages.prodigy.net/rogerlori1/emoticons/mc101.gif

okay, so just an update...
we all have our instruments now!

rock that shit

yeah i'm the bassist in snakeEyes band and we would really like the advice. prefferably from people who have been in bands
thanks

No im the groupie from now onn for the band ist that right snakeeyes

NO

Well, Id start with getting at least a little skilled on your instruments of choice, If you're skilled enough then learn to play some basic songs on your instruments and then try to play them together. As a band, you have to form a unit, so learn to play as a unit, not as just a bunch of muscisians playing in the same room.

update:

our drummer bailed on us, which sucks, cuz now we have no drummer

BUMP

Hint:

Find a new drummer

Im the lead singer of a hardcore punk band, but what sorta genre are you planning to sing? What music is your style? O and yeh, my best advice is get good but this is my famous quote that I stole from some dude!

"An amatuer band/musician plays until he plays a song right, the expert musician plays until he can't get it wrong"

Remember that, for when your on stage, you cant get it wrong, you must NOT get it wrong or you lose all confidence for the rest of the gig.

"ummm,... do you need a groupie??

I'll be your first..."

You're Brann Dailor's groupie aren't you?

He's in my band you know......coz I'm the member of Mastodon that you don't ever see.

-AC

I am also in the band. We appreciate any advice

I think that's your best bet for right now. '

Just out of curiosity, what kinds of instruments do you guys have?

I just joined a band too. The best thing to do really is to learn other people's songs to learn to play your instrument, and then when you're ready, write your own. that's what my band did, and after only like 2 months we have some pretty kick ass stuff.

BASS RULES ALL

no2

Actually bass is pretty cool...

Our instruments are nothing special really, since we are 15 and stuff... but my guitar is a Squier Strat by Fender, the other guitar is a Ebanez (not sure what kind), the bass is an XB100 Washburn and well, the "drummer" we are trying to get has not played drums in a while and i am not sure what he has.