For the average kid starting a band is like getting together a team for basketball. They want to play with their friends, with the people they know and are comfortable being around. Of course they don’t want someone on their team who can’t play very well but neither do they want someone too good since they want to have fun and don’t want to struggle to keep up. Most bands are formed from a group of neighborhood friends who each choose an instrument as if they’re choosing a position to play in softball. Some may have musical talent and some may not. Eventually those who struggle to keep up will decide to give it up or the others will move on without him but in the beginning everyone has the potential to be a superstar and personality, desire and perseverance can be more important than musical ability.
When putting together a band from your available friends, don’t be too concerned with who will play what instrument. Try to share each other’s instruments as this is a good opportunity to see who excels at what. Van Halen guitarist, Eddie Van Halen, originally played the drums in a band with his brother, Alex, the guitar player. They eventually switched instruments and became one of the most powerful brother rock star team in history. Just because you have a guitar and your friend has a drum kit doesn’t mean that when you get to your rehearsals you can’t switch instruments. You also don’t have to limit yourself by allowing only one guitarist or one bassist or one drummer. It will be somewhat chaotic at first, but from out of this group of friends, who are really just getting together to have some fun anyway, a band will emerge.
If you are an already accomplished musician, having played an instrument since the age of five, you may want to skip ahead a few steps and instead of getting your buddies involved, go straight to the other kids in your school or neighborhood or church or surrounding schools that are at your level. Although be aware that there is a negative aspect to this as well as a positive side. The idea of forming a “supergroup” of your peers rather than your friends can be an effective shortcut to a music career. The positive side is that everyone in the band can hold their own and you will be perceived as a good group from the start. Your reputation will start building immediately. The negative aspect is that your band mates are mostly strangers to you, although you may become fast friends. They also may already have well developed egos to go with their talent and competition within the band may prove fierce.
When putting together a band from your available friends, don’t be too concerned with who will play what instrument. Try to share each other’s instruments as this is a good opportunity to see who excels at what. Van Halen guitarist, Eddie Van Halen, originally played the drums in a band with his brother, Alex, the guitar player. They eventually switched instruments and became one of the most powerful brother rock star team in history. Just because you have a guitar and your friend has a drum kit doesn’t mean that when you get to your rehearsals you can’t switch instruments. You also don’t have to limit yourself by allowing only one guitarist or one bassist or one drummer. It will be somewhat chaotic at first, but from out of this group of friends, who are really just getting together to have some fun anyway, a band will emerge.
If you are an already accomplished musician, having played an instrument since the age of five, you may want to skip ahead a few steps and instead of getting your buddies involved, go straight to the other kids in your school or neighborhood or church or surrounding schools that are at your level. Although be aware that there is a negative aspect to this as well as a positive side. The idea of forming a “supergroup” of your peers rather than your friends can be an effective shortcut to a music career. The positive side is that everyone in the band can hold their own and you will be perceived as a good group from the start. Your reputation will start building immediately. The negative aspect is that your band mates are mostly strangers to you, although you may become fast friends. They also may already have well developed egos to go with their talent and competition within the band may prove fierce.
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