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When do you become band ready?


Dandelion
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[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1334855624' post='1622487']
I'm not nice enough to agree to play Mustang Sally :D


So you were at my last gig :D.

I've just found 3rds, it's when you play a 7th you get a strange look :P
[/quote]

i was invited, but never turned up, thus you have not yet suffered my hard stare, followed by the indifferent shrug and going outside for a fag at one of your gigs :)

it's the diminished 2nd that most people hate more than any other....

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[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1334878569' post='1623015']


But back on topic...I have come to the conclusion that if i wait till i think im ready to join a band then I never will. So I'm going to try to take the plunge this year. I fear this is where the age thing might become a bit of a problem. Whos going to want a middle aged novice?
[/quote]

Do it now. :)

Don't worry about the age thing. Lots of players out there wanting back in after quitting for years.

Try compensating for lack of experience with an unusual look (I don't know, think of something :D). Don't be boring. A bit of showmanship is worth a lot to a band.

Advertise online now. Now. Now.

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When we moved here, about 4 years ago, I popped into the local Guitar shop. It's not much of a shop, it's more there as a teaching studio, with very little in the way of actual stock, he actually recommended a different shop. Anyhoo, we got talking and he invited me to a jam they have at the shop every Friday night. During the conversation I had mentioned that I was going to have another crack at the Violin (I took to it quite well when I had skinny fingers, but now it's a lost cause) and also mentioned that I tinker with a few other instruments. The only one I have any confidence in at all is the Bass, though, which is what I started on and enjoy the most. But... He said the words :"You're obviously a musician...". I was about to explain myself and the fact that I know no theory and wouldn't call myself a "Musician", when someone came in for his appointed lesson, so I buggered off. The musician accusation rather scared me off and I haven't been back since.
However, after reading this thread, I think I might pop back in again and see how things go. You never know.

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[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1334910320' post='1623218']
it's the diminished 2nd that most people hate more than any other....
[/quote]

Nope, it's the augmented fourth/diminshed fifth, aka the Tritone. Ask Sabbath, Slayer and - er - most of the heavy metal community! We thrive on having people hate what we like B)

Shell, look for a band right now, forget about age and inexperience - otherwise, you wouldn't even have picked up a bass guitar in the first place. You look fantastic, and being an actress you're not likely to be scared of being on stage.

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Today.

Tomorrow it's fairly likely: you'll get hit by a bus/crushed by a meteorite/have your hands bitten off by a drug-crazed orangutan/playing bass will be made illegal by the new world order etc etc etc.

JUST DO IT NOW!

Edited by chaypup
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I was ready for my first band as soon as I'd learnt to change from one chord on the guitar to another without pausing. So I formed one with 3 other people from my year at school who were all at about the same level of playing ability as me.

I went for my first audition in a band with people I didn't already know when I was 16. Playing-wise, I was hopelessly out of my depth but it showed me what I needed to be able to do in order to be able to join the kinds of bands I wanted to be in.

Since then I've never had a problem finding bands and musicians I want to play with. I might not have the greatest technical ability, but I'm reasonably inventive, a fairly prolific composer and massively enthusiastic about the music I want to play, and it's those abilities that that have enabled me to play in some fantastic bands over the years.

If you find the right musicians then age doesn't matter. I'm at least 20 years older than the rest of my current band and the drummer is far more an "old fart" than I am!

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Also, regardless of age, if you are or have been a student at a music school, they are usually happy to put you in touch with fellow students who want to form a band, although they might not plan to play in public immediately.
I know that my teachers kept telling me to do exactly that - but I only play along records and for my own enjoyment, and so far have no desire to go on stage. (Joining a band is also a fairly big commitment, what with learning the songs in the set, rehearsing, getting all the gear etc. and above all being available when the band need you!)

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[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1334942827' post='1623930']
Also, regardless of age, if you are or have been a student at a music school, they are usually happy to put you in touch with fellow students who want to form a band, although they might not plan to play in public immediately.
I know that my teachers kept telling me to do exactly that - but I only play along records and for my own enjoyment, and so far have no desire to go on stage. (Joining a band is also a fairly big commitment, what with learning the songs in the set, rehearsing, getting all the gear etc. and above all being available when the band need you!)
[/quote]
One of the problems I have is that I want to play with other people, I want to write original music, but I don't particularly want to play on stage. I don't suppose I'd mind at some point, once comfortable with the people I'm playing with, but I wouldn't want to join a band and have to immediately start working on/learning a live set. I just want to have a bit of fun.

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[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1334941237' post='1623884']
Nope, it's the augmented fourth/diminshed fifth, aka the Tritone. Ask Sabbath, Slayer and - er - most of the heavy metal community! We thrive on having people hate what we like B)
[/quote]

Oh Bach's beloved "Devils Interval" but that is lovely in every way. :)

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I'm getting the feeling from all this that I really should try to take the plunge! I mentioned it to my bass teacher yeasterday and he said he thought I was definitely ready to join a band right now. I was dead chuffed. He said he'd keep an ear out for me.
Then I went had a bit of a jam with a friend of mine who's learning guitar. So I felt like I'd been playing bass pretty well all day! Nice B)

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[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1334871872' post='1622848']
I, personally, would find a jam night a far scarier proposition to a private audition.
[/quote]

depends who's running it and how its run

if its just a shambolic free for all and the bolshy types get the most stage time because they got the biggest most forceful egos then yes id agree

but if its run by someone who keeps it as informal as possible but actually takes the time to speak with everybody who turns up either as bands or parts of or as individuals and caters for them all to have a slot in the evening and a few numbers each so everybody gets a fair share of exposure then it makes for a much more entertaining and supportive evening

we have a very good local jam night round this way every monday - if young bands or individuals turn up they get to play two or three numbers usually and nobody looks down on them for any lack of technical virtuosity - if anything they get applauded for bringing different fresh ideas along to all the old crusties like me who are just happy to turn up and listen/play endless renditions of the same old favourites

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[quote name='Dandelion' timestamp='1334771612' post='1621051']
At what point in one`s progression in learning the bass does one become proficient enough to play in a band?

I have played in a couple of bands many years ago, but we were all new to the game so we made mistakes together.

But the thought of now joining an established band causes a modicum of anxiety. How proficient does one have to be?

I am thinking about a joining pub rock affair in the future, if I can find a local one, but I don`t want to waste their time

and/or make a total tit of myself.

How good are you expected to be on a first audition?

Is personallity more important than abillity?

If somebody sent me a recording to learn prior to the rehersal, then I could do that, but not sure if I could step up to the

mark if I was just dropped in "Sink or Swim" style.

Any thoughts?
[/quote]


I think that the best preparation to be in a band is... to be in a band.
Preferably if they are all more proficient than you are. Nothing like a bit of pressure to help you improve really fast.
There is something about playing with others that you just cannot learn playing by yourself.

A female drummer friend of mine was always a bit nervous about her ability and delaying joining bands. I was always encouraging them, and jamming with her I knew she could play a bit, but needed a bit of "polishing".
She eventually joined a band. She found she was better than she expected and she improved fast over the following few months. That was last year. This year she just joined a very interesting electronica/metal fusion project and she went for an audition last MOnday, after which she was offer the job (another band) and was told the first gig is in June supporting Hawkwind. I'm proud of her :)

Join a band! Join two bands!! :lol:

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[quote name='musophilr' timestamp='1335022104' post='1624864']
I would, but I now have my fingers in so many pies that I fear for being spread too thinly and not giving my best ... there is a limit somewhere.
[/quote]

Yes, EVERY band would be a little impractical to say the least... got carried away again. :happy:

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I still don't think I'm ready but have been playing for 3 years with the same band. I guess a good knowledge of a wide range of music helps and a willingness to play things I wouldn't normally listen to. It also helps if you have all the gear.

The man who showed me the way told me as long as you have a good sense of rhythm, can play roots,thirds and fifths you can get by - I guess he was right - but I am not sure how I would have managed without the internet and tabs to guide me.

Just remember - there's nothing like playing live.

Edited by slazman
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Yeah, practice as much as you can privately, but until you play with a band/other musos it's hard to imagine the dynamics and sensitivity required to play (together) in a band situation.

It's like a whole other skill.

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