Best in rubbish band or worst in great band?

[chris_b]

[quote name='Barking Spiders' timestamp='1506435534' post='3378706']
Not sure how you can learn from better band members unless they play the same instrument as you. [/quote]

There's a lot more to being a good musician and band member than playing your instrument better than the next guy.

Edited September 26, 2017 by chris_b

[mcnach]

[quote name='Barking Spiders' timestamp='1506435534' post='3378706']
Not sure how you can learn from better band members unless they play the same instrument as you.
[/quote]

You learn to play in a band, you learn about music. It's not all about learning your instrument.

[12stringbassist]

I've found myself to be the best player and to have the highest standards in a band not so long ago.

The drummer was functional on drums and vocals and it was his band.
The guitarist was a kid who had no interest at all in learning all the old fart stuff we were playing.
I always learned the songs the way they wanted them.
When it came to my ideas, I would mention them every few weeks then give up, as they clearly were not interested in them.
They just wanted to keep doing the same tired old guff week in week out. It was like working in a museum.

The one time they took one of mine on ('I want you to want me' by Cheap Trick, after a year of asking) was near the end of my time with them. I had done it a few hundred times previously. They would never ever rehearse. We did the song at a nearly empty gig. The drum beat was close-ish. The guitar was nothing like. Unrecognisable. Contemptuous. I sang and played bass the same as I always had and the way I do now. Correctly.

They carried on playing for about a whole minute after I finished the song, then I just stood there in disbelief with my arms folded, listening to them clattering away, waiting for them to stop. They didn't even realise i had stopped. When I queried it afterwards, they said "Well, we just jam songs, you'll never get it like the record from us". I realised at that point that the musicians in my Sunday jam night band who I played with were infinitely superior in every way and it became my main band a few weeks later.

[Barking Spiders]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1506437258' post='3378725']
There's a lot more to being a good musician and band member than playing your instrument better than the next guy.
[/quote]

sure but the thread's about being the worst or best PLAYER in a band not necessarily the best or wort band member. Often I've found myself in bands where the best player was often the worst band member as they were usually self-indulgent and not team players.

[TimR]

[quote name='Barking Spiders' timestamp='1506501651' post='3379121']


sure but the thread's about being the worst or best PLAYER in a band not necessarily the best or wort band member. Often I've found myself in bands where the best player was often the worst band member as they were usually self-indulgent and not team players.
[/quote]

One area you can learn from is mistakes.
Everyone makes mistakes when playing. It's all about how you recover from mistakes and how many you make. If you're always making mistakes and have to stop mid song there are three outcomes. Either everyone else stops and the band looks silly, everyone gets confused and the song degenerated into a complete unintelligible mess, or everyone else carries on without you and leaves you to catch up.

If it's the latter then you're the worst player, if it's the first one then everyone is on the same (low?) level, if it's the second, who knows what's going on, one person will be driving the band and eventually it'll sort itself out or you'll all stop.

Another clue is whether the band can pick up a piece mid song during rehearsals. Good musicians can pick up a song from any point in the song. Bad musicians will insist on starting from the top everytime. Which wastes a huge amount of time if the bit you all keep getting wrong is at the end of the tune.

You can't learn how to do these things on your own at home, they're things you work out in a group situation.

Then there's the learning of tunes. If you have a player who is coming to the practice without having learned their parts and then spends ages trying to learn their parts while everyone else is stood waiting. It doesn't matter how technically well they can play after they've learned it, they're not a good player. Again that's something you only learn when you've been in a band.

.

Edited September 27, 2017 by TimR

[Paul S]

I have been in both situations and, personally, find both have their joys and frustrations. In the balance I prefer playing with people who are better musicians than I am as I find the challenge of stretching myself more rewarding. This is where I am in now with my two bands and I enjoy it very much.

[shamrock198804]

"If you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the the wrong room." - I couldn't agree more with that motto.

[BigRedX]

Technical ability in both myself and my fellow band members is irrelevant so long as it does not get in the way of being able to play the songs we have written.

[TimR]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1506507033' post='3379178']
Technical ability in both myself and my fellow band members is irrelevant so long as it does not get in the way of being able to play the songs we have written.
[/quote]

Ultimately that's the answer.

It's no good being in a band that wants to play rush songs if the Guitarist only knows 3 chords or the bass player can only play roots.

[gjones]

The saying 'if you're the smartest player in the room, you're in the wrong room', is my philosophy.
Although I seldom get the chance to play with really smoking players that push me.

[Chris2112]

I'd rather be the worst player in a great band than the best player in a crap band. It's no good being brilliant if everyone else is dump. The music is a team effort, after all. If I got sacked and replaced, well, at least I would have tried.

[Conan]

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1505989196' post='3375653'] If the rest of the group play about as well as manatees wearing boxing gloves...
[/quote]

That is a simply gorgeous image. I just can't get it out of my head and it has made my morning!!

[Conan]

[quote name='shamrock198804' timestamp='1506506696' post='3379176']
"If you're the smartest person in the room, then you're in the the wrong room." - I couldn't agree more with that motto.[/quote]

Great first post!

However, as a teacher I regularly find myself in that position. And sadly, after 20 years, am starting to come to the same conclusion...