1 Friends and you play periodically in clubs and social gatherings; in the process you would have loads of fun too
2. Professional players along with whom you would like to rake in the moolah
Naturally, the best part of creating a band would be your significant role in it. You decide what to play/sing and you remain well in the limelight. The tough part is waiting for your band to get the recognition and popularity for becoming a successful venture. To make this success possible, there is a lot you have to plan and execute. It always helps to have a clear and comprehensive idea about what you have to do. Let us break up your band-creating endeavor into a few achievable phases of action.
The Goal: First of all visualize where you will go, a year from now,..two years... five years from now. Within this framework (and with a reasonable allowance for contingencies) break up the contribution of every performer, you plan to induct into the band. Also enlist the possible areas of your performance and musical compositions as maybe in
- Jingles for commercials
- Background music for shows
- Videos
- Computer games
- Background score for movies
- Live shows
Finding your band members: The sources for finding the members of your band may be listed as
- Your friends
- The local music teacher could be approached about his students who are keen to play in a band
- Advertising in the local paper for the kind of musician you want (keyboard player, vocalist, percussionist, , etc)
- Placing an ad in the papers, requesting applicants to send a recording along with their details
- Placing a similar add on the Internet
- Become a member in online musical forums, participate in discussions and post your request
- Interview the candidates, just as you were appointing them for a job. Ask all the important questions, about their ambition, playing ability, the probability of moving away from your city, why they want to join a band, etc
- The answers will indicate which of the applicants are committed to cause of the band. Select them prudently
- Do not compromise on the quality you expect from the applicants
Somewhere between visualizing the band and finding its members, try and find a nice name for your band. The name must convey your uniqueness and appeal to the public for it sheer ingenuity.
Writing songs: Once the band is created your next task is to write the songs. For that you have to
- Read extensively to get ideas for lyrics
- Keep writing and writing, until you hit on the right words
- Keep a Thesaurus beside you for a greater source for words
- Buy a rhyming book to help you find the most apt words
- Listen to hundreds of CDs to help you identify the general style of the song
- However, limit the use of the these tools only to get you started; what you finally create must be
- Fresh
- Original
- Sincere and Appealing
Equipment: Plan and acquire the equipment as per your budget and requirement. Resort to attractive Special Effects for your music performances. Write down your plan of performance, and your practice schedule and ensure all members of the band has a copy of this. This way all of you come prepared even for every practice.
Copywriting: Once the song is ready, apply for its copyright if you plan to use it in a performance. Copyright gives you the sole right over the song. You have to register the song with the United States Copyright Office. The lower filing fee is $35. If you have more than one song to copyright, solicit the help of a lawyer, who can help you get on with the work. The application form is downloadable from http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
Your music is heard: The song is written, the musicians ready, and you have practiced hard and sincerely. Only the performance is yet to begin.... This is how you can get to be heard.
- Place a requisition for a slot in the radio station at the local band hour
- Give away superior quality recordings of your performance to the local music dealer, radio stations, producers of shows, etc;
- You could even request the music dealer to play your CD in his shop and revert back to him to get the feedback - did his customers like the music, did they enquire about it, and so on
- Affiliate yourself with a charitable organization, and play for their special occasions. This way your band gets recognized well
- Approach the local club to allow you to perform there
- Hand over copies to local DJs, RJs to play on their shows
Play in the local park to create an awareness about your band - While you are busy with all these popularization endeavors, keep in mind that you cannot compromise the quality of music. You have to keep on practicing, creating more songs, and try to reach high levels of perfection.
- Practice and perseverance lead to perfection that will bring in more invites for your band
If a license is required in the specific area you plan to perform, acquire it without delay and well in advance. As money starts coming in you may need the services of a Certified Pubic Accountant (CPA) to help manage the funds.
Talent, foresight and hard work can take your band from one successful performance to the next. Now you are the leader of a music band, something you always wanted to do. Whether this would, in future become your career, or remain a much cherished hobby is always up to you.
