Playing in a Band

If you love your electronic tuner... get an extra battery and stash it in your case. That way your band mates won't get weary of you borrowing their tuner all night long when the darn thing goes out!

If you want a band website and are not sure how to go about it.... consider this site. www.BandZoogle.com. For very reasonable prices they will host your band website on your own domain, and you can use their templates and such AND add sound clips to the site and do email lists and lots of really nice features. It's not a bad deal for folks that don't want to design and maintain their own website and I really like the interface they use, it's pretty easy!

If you forget the words to songs... try making a cheat sheet that has just the first few words of each verse...you can print it big and large and see it even on the floor..... usually that's plenty to get you started! I know it works great for me!

If you find yourself performing in a windy situation, make sure to remember to add wind screens to your mics. If you don't have the little commerical screen that might have come with your mics, you can always improvise. Even a thin mitten, small sock or a piece of foam placed on or near the mic to block the wind will help with feedback and save the show!

Be sure to let your fans know when your band is playing.

I know this sounds obvious, but it's so easy to forget!

Start a mailing list or an email list for your fans. You'd be surprised at how many people will want to know and might not know about a gig, even ones out of town. If you let people know, there's a good chance they'll show up! Print up a little post-card sized card that allows folks to give up their mailing address or email address and be sure to LET THEM KNOW! It's always great to see familiar faces in a crowd!

There are many aspects to playing in a band, but one in particular can make or break you, and that is properly backing up the lead singer. Nothing can be more irritating than to hear a band member stepping all over a vocalist with their instrument, sometimes playing the exact notes they are singing. Back-up does not involve copycatting the lead singer, but instead think of it as complimenting them. The lead singer sings a line, then you can come in behind them with a fill-in lick or phrase that mimics, but doesn’t exactly copies what they are singing note for note. You sometimes look at instrumental back-up of a lead singer as even mocking them, though in a most respectful way. Keep it simple, have fun, and stay out of the microphone when it’s not your turn to shine.

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