Starting Your First Band

Starting a band can be a lot of fun. Since you could be starting an original band or a cover band, I’ll discuss the points that relate to both. Use the information that relates to your scene. Basically, you get a bunch of musicians together with similar goals, get your material together and go at it; you rehearse and do what you’re going to do. Sometimes it’s just that simple. Putting a band together to jam every week can be pretty straight-ahead. If you have goals that involve getting paid gigs or live in small town with a scarcity of musician’s, things can be little more involved.

Deciding on Material

The material your group is going to do is determined by what kind of music you want to play, modified by the types of gigs you want. If you’re doing original music, well... there’s your material. You write it yourself or as a group effort. If you’re getting together just to jam and have fun, your mate­rial could change every week. If the goal is getting paid work, you need to play the kind of music people want to hear—that is the main thing that creates a demand for your group. If this is the goal, you need to decide what style(s) of music to play that you can make money with. Getting gigs is fully covered in other articles but keep this in mind: Immediate income means cover music. Unless specifically going to an original music club or restaurant to see new artists, people like to hear music they are familiar with and that’s what they will pay for. (Original artists make money by selling their CD’s at gigs but that’s a topic of different article.)

Getting Band Members

Elements that bring people together or hold something already established together are: friendship, future potential, similar goals,and money. In the long run the main thing that keeps a working-group going is money. When you make a living playing music, either you’re eating and paying the bills or not.

You generally find band mates from:

• Friends

• Friends of friends

• Students of your instructor (if you have a teacher)

• Musician contact agencies

• Magazine ads

• Newspaper ads

• Music school referrals

• Bulletin boards at music stores, rehearsal studios and the like.

The idea is to get the word out that you either want to start a group or get in an already established one. It can be more hassle-free to get in an established band than to start one and throughout time you might do both.

To get in an already established group you promote a lot, find one who needs what you do, audition, then get the gig or not. If it doesn’t work out you find other bands to checkout and keep looking till you find something.

To find musicians or a band to join:

1. Contact all of your friends and let them know what you’re looking for. Inquire about musi­cians, gigs and auditions.

2. Follow up what happens and ask them if they know of anyone else you can call. Always ask for referrals. If appropriate ask them to spread the word around for you.

3. Register with any musicians’ contact agencies in your area and stay on top of your phone calls and any Internet contacts. (Gig listings can come and go pretty fast!) [musicianscontact.com and craigslist.com are good places to start.]

4. Look in your local papers and magazines for musicians wanted, bands wanted, etc.

5. Place ads in the papers yourself, e.g., “Group seeks guitarist to start working rock band. Call Joe at (555) 555–5555” or “Drummer seeks musicians to jam with,” etc. If you’ve been around for a while, place a more serious ad like, “Experienced keyboardist looking for seasoned players to start a group—have demo and résumé.” Find listings like these to see how they are worded and write something appropriate for your scene.

6. Call any music and performing arts schools to see if you can get any referrals.

7. Check out all the music stores and any place that has a bulletin board. Leave an ad stating what you’re looking for as well as seeing what’s already there.

8. Go to clubs, meet musicians, give out business cards and sit in if possible. Go to as many jam sessions as you can.

By repeating steps 1 – 8 above it’s just a matter of time before you start finding people.

Get together with whatever number of musicians you have as they come on board. Start and establish the rehearsal routine; don’t wait until you have the full band. If there are only two of you, fine. Get on with it. If you wait it might never happen. Also, try and get the new guys to find new band members.

Sometimes it happens quickly and you have your group. Sometimes it takes a long time. It can be easy to get discouraged which is normal. The key to this is to just never stop. You plug along until you have all the needed people. If someone quits or doesn’t work out, fine—replace him. (If you have a cover band it’s easier to get stable musicians when you have paying gigs.)

Have a “musicians” phone book to keep track of the phone numbers of people you meet. Categorize it by instrument and keep little notes about each person to refer to in the future when needed. Take note of things like: “sounds good—needs a paying gig now”; “is interested but too busy—check back in a month”; “don’t call back—the guy’s a jerk”. The more people you know the better. This phone book is the beginning of your musician resources for potential new players, subs and people to call when you’re looking for work or a new playing situation.

Qualifying Prospects

Once you start meeting interested people you have to establish some basic goals and logistics. Don’t start up with just anybody who comes along. You could be setting yourself up for a bad time with hassles and problems galore if things don’t click and you’re already involved—No fun. Now is the time for honest, straightforward and clear communication.

Before making any commitments or agreements, establish the following as best as you can:

1. What kind of music do they like?

Are your tastes similar? Are the styles of music the same or at least compatible? Some musicians have very strong likes and dislikes, whereas some just want to play anything.

2. How serious are they?

Find out if they really want to do this. If you can’t tell by a phone call or two, get together, hang out and check it out. Very often people who are just starting out don’t know how serious they are and need to get involved in order to find out. In many cases they are serious about their career but haven’t really accepted the “challenge” of it yet—fine. In this type of situation a person shouldn’t casually be canned but given a chance to try—up to the point of wasting your time—then it’s time to move on.

If you want to work and you hook up with a musician where, “Sure, uh..., a gig sounds, like, uuh—fun, and...if I’m not tooooo busy with...” is the attitude, you’ll probably waste your time. The band member’s intensity to do the project should be similar enough so everyone can actually make it to rehearsals and gigs, and have fun by playing good music.

3. How many times a week do they want to work?

If you’re starting a working band, find out what the people are looking for. If you want to work five nights a week, let that be known. Don’t join up with someone who only wants to work once or twice a week. This is an obvious point, though easily overlooked.

4. How many times a week can they rehearse?

How often would you like to get together and play? Make sure that others have a similar desire. When it comes to moneymaking bands you need to rehearse a lot unless you’re already established in some zone of gigging. Getting together once a week to jam can be a lighter commitment.

If you’re ready to get the band happening, make sure the new guys are too. Someone chroni­cally missing two out of three rehearsals to go out of town or to attend Aunt Suzy’s dog show will hang the band up and slow you down. Business is business. If you can work rehearsal schedules around a person’s life excursions, fine. If not, replace them—don’t mess around.

5. Where do people live?

If someone lives too far away it might or might not be workable. Living locations, work locations and rehearsal locations all come into play. Seven o’clock rehearsals won’t work if the drummer lives forty miles away and doesn’t leave until 6:30, unless he works close to the rehearsal studio and is coming from there. If distance is involved, you need to see if people are willing to do what it takes to arrive on time. You have to arrive at rehearsals to do them.

6. Do they have their own equipment and a car?

If you are a teen starting a band, having the folks give you rides to rehearsals is great. Mine did, as well as many of my student’s. But for an adult, someone not having a car could mean you being their chauffeur. Think about it: Wake up at 7:00 am, go to work, work all day, then drive twenty miles to get a band member, rehearse, drive him/her home, go to bed at 2:00, then do it again tomorrow, and next week and next month. If you don’t mind, fine. But people need to have their own transportation. If someone’s car is being fixed and they need a ride or is between cars, no big deal. But if someone doesn’t have transportation and isn’t planning on get­ting any—“Well man, ah, ya know...uh, Yeah! I can get a ride from my cousin on Tuesdays...and maybe...”— FORGET IT! This person will leech you to unhappiness. Guaranteed.

Make sure they have enough gear to cover what you want to do. A small practice amp usually won’t cut it on stage so equipment arrangements need to be made. Make sure the people already have the gear they need, or are at least willing to arrange it. (I realize this might be obvious, but to a new person it often isn’t. When starting out in a new field a person usually doesn’t have enough experience to observe the big picture and put things in the correct perspective.)

7. Are there any major personality clashes?

You might not know this until you’ve been around each other for a while: you don’t necessarily need to like someone to gig with them. But why make the whole thing a drag? If you don’t get along—forget it.

8. How honest and reliable do they seem?

If a guy never returns phone calls, chronically shows up late, doesn’t do what he said he’d do, and cancels rehearsals at the last minute—forget him. Do it or don’t do it. Occasional mishaps are normal, but the above are signs of a low responsibility level so don’t depend on him.

So:

• What kind of music do they like?

• How serious are they?

• How many times a week do they want to work?

• How many times a week can they rehearse?

• Where do they live?

• Do they have their own equipment and a car?

• Are there any major personality clashes?

• How honest and reliable do they seem?

An individual looking for a band needs to know the following information:

• What kind of music do they play? Is it what you want to do or will it at least be okay if the gigs pay enough? (If you looking for paid work.)

• Do they have management, self-book, or haven’t they got that far yet? If you want to work right away, the band needs to have this together already. However, if you’re not in a hurry it might not matter.

• How many times a week do they rehearse, and where are they? You have to be able to fit your schedule into theirs.

• How many times a week do they want to gig, or are they already gigging?

• How much do the gigs pay? Is it enough?

• Do there seem to be any major personality clashes?

• Do they seem straightforward or flaky? Do they return your calls when they say they will? Do they sound stoned or out of it?

• What kind of equipment is required: do you have what’s needed?

Once you find your musicians or band and make sure you’re headed in the right direc­tion, it’s time to start making it happen.

Having a Band Leader

If you’re starting a “serious” band, someone needs to make sure the band as an organization runs smoothly. Someone needs to run rehearsals, organize what’s happening, handle any problems or squabbles, and ensure that the things that need doing actually get done. (Even if it’s a group effort there should be at least one person who has a final say or influence.)

If you’re playing just for the fun of it you might not need a band leader. When I was in a band at the ripe age of twelve, we didn’t have a band leader and we didn’t need one. We had some school gigs, church and temple gigs, and rehearsed every weekend and... Who needed a band leader? Well, my father drove us around, made phone calls and fixed the drums when they broke. So my father, with his infinite support and goodness, was essentially the band leader. My point being that someone will end up being the band leader sooner or later so you might as well do it now.

The band leader has two main zones of responsibility: Internal coordination and external coordination. Internal coordination mainly consists of establishing the band, running it, and keeping it alive. External coordination mainly consists of being in communication with clients, club owners, management and anyone the band has dealings with. Without one person in charge, things can get very confusing.

In every successful band I’ve played in there was ONE person in charge. Even if he didn’t do everything himself, he made sure that everything needing to be done was done. I had a partner in a main band years ago and it was very confusing until we had our personal zones of responsibilities so clearly defined that we acted as one. (One of us was mainly in charge of internal communications and the other in charge of external communications.)

Now, having one band leader doesn’t mean that no one has a say. When you put a band together, things are generally mutually discussed, worked out with specific agreements and deci­sions made. The band leader makes sure that all activities are coordinated so your plans are actually implemented. This person essentially governs any organization’s prosperity. This is the boss, the manager, the executive director—whatever the title and capacity. Someone has to run the show or the show might have a very short run if it opens at all. On the other hand, an individual band leader booking gigs and using sidemen to play them is a different ball game—it’s his show and you do what’s needed or you don’t work/play for him anymore.

The band leader’s basic responsibilities are to:

1. Make sure rehearsals are efficient and the band members are in good communication with each other.

2. Ensure the group has work or the right playing situations.

3. Run the gigs.

4. Handle external communications with clients, management agencies and potential new band personnel.

5. Make sure everything stays on track and whatever needs doing gets done—even if he doesn’t do it himself.

The key to being a leader is responsibility. You must be willing to be responsible, be capa­ble of responsibility, and actually BE responsible by doing the necessary actions to ac­complish what is needed. Part of this picture entails ensuring that others are being fully responsible for what they should be doing. Each band member could be in charge of different things but one person should monitor all the activities of the group.

Starting a group deals with people’s attitudes as well as the music-side of things. If there are difficulties, aligning personal attitudes and viewpoints with the group’s goals is the best way to keep everyone on track. Setting band policy is the way to achieve that. Policy is the guideline that keeps the show on the road and enables people to know where they stand in relationship to the whole. All successful businesses, families and groups of any kind have leaders because they need to. When individuals just do whatever they want in a group setting, very little gets accom­plished unless the activities are coordinated together.

When many people undertake a mutual activity, different personal life elements come into play that could easily clash. Part of starting any group is having a clearly delineated game plan plus some policy to help achieve the objectives.

Game Plan and Policy

The game plan should include: (1) What kind of music you want to play and for what purpose, e.g., work? fun? a CD? (2) If gig oriented, your market—where do you want to gig and what will it take to get there, (3) How soon do you want to be gigging or playing out? (4) How do you plan on getting the work, and (5) Any other logistics needed to get you going. The more organized you are the better. But at the start, as long as you have an idea of what’s going on you can brainstorm and organize as you go.

Band policies should simply be the governing factors that enable you to move ahead efficiently; align factors to remedy disputes, and to create a fun and productive atmosphere to work in. Workable policies are those that promote useful production. Unworkable policies are those that serve no real purpose and are randomly created. Though I’ll give you policy examples, YOU are the one who needs to decide what’s relevant or not—it’s your band. The following policies might be perfect for you, or too strict. Your group might only need a handful of policies or you might need thirty—whatever it takes.

Let’s say you have a group goal of “Let’s get working right away.”

Examples of workable policies:

1. When a rehearsal is set for a specific time, that’s when we start playing—not arriving. If you want to chat, get there early. A 7:30 rehearsal means a 7:30 downbeat (start of playing). If it takes thirty minutes to set up, get there at 7:00. Arriving late either cuts back our time, e.g. 8:00–10:30 versus 7:30–10:30, or makes us go later than planned.

2. Never cancel or no-show to a rehearsal unless you are extremely ill, physically damaged or have some kind of major emergency. Not rehearsing equals not being prepared equals not getting our act together equals not working and sounding bad.

3. Unless impossible, prepare whatever you need to prepare before the rehearsal. If you need to have tapes, charts or food, get it beforehand and bring it with you. Taking extended breaks to do chip and coke runs can waste time.

Examples of possible unworkable policies:

1. No short pants at rehearsals—for no apparent reason.

2. No eating at rehearsals—for no apparent reason.

3. Arrival time is always one hour before to set up—even if it only takes ten minutes to do so because the gear is already set up.

Now, the above three policies could be valid if there were good reasons like: No short pants because the photographer is coming, or no eating because you guys always leave a mess and my wife/mom/girlfriend gets pissed off.

That’s the idea. Be realistic, set whatever policies you need and understand why they exist. It could be as simple as agreeing to get together every Tuesday night at 7:00.

Having a Band

When you run through all of the above-mentioned steps you should have your band. Have fun and do what you gotta do. Be true to your personal goals and don’t let anyone persuade you to do what you truly don’t want to.

Getting Gigs

Whether an ensemble books itself or uses management, the idea is for someone to be fully responsible for CONTACTING PEOPLE and booking the gigs.

Large management agencies have their staff make continual phone calls and run ads in magazines and phone books. Self-booking bands can send out weekly mail, call clubs or hand out flyers. Individual musicians call people for gigs until their appointment books are full. It’s just a matter of contacting enough of the right people or already being in a social scene that provides enough contacts to keep you gigging. (By the way, a manager is a person who personally handles the band. He manages it. He’ll work with your image, sound, plans and material. He gets gigs through a booking agent or personal contact and assists you along the way with your career. The booking agent gets the gigs. Different states have various laws about what these two people can and cannot do or charge. Though things vary, casual bands, club bands and various entertainers deal directly with booking agencies, whereas individual artists, original bands and groups crossing into original music will have personal managers. (A “Casual Band” is a group that specializes in one-night gigs such as private parties and weddings.) Some management firms consist of both personal managers and booking agents whereas some specialize in one or the other.)

Six main ways a group procures work are:

1. The group has management or contacts booking agencies which get the gigs.

2. Someone in the band is hooked up with some social activity (school, church, temple, club, chamber of commerce, etc.) and that group uses the band for gigs.

3. Someone in the band makes calls and sets up auditions, mails out press kits and books them.

4. The group sets up a promotion machine and sends out whatever amount of weekly mail it takes to book enough gigs and sometimes run ads in newspapers, trade mags, and anywhere it’s possible.

5. Word-of-mouth.

1. Someone in the group knows someone who hires them.

2. An agent books a gig, the group does the gig and gets a rave review back to the agent from the client. The agent gains trust and books the group again.

3. Someone at a party heard the group, liked them a lot, took a business card and used them for their next party.

4. Someone at a party liked the group and referred them to friends.

5. The group was doing a regular club, hotel or restaurant gig and someone liked them and hired them for a private party.

6. Internet promotion. In this 21^st Century the Internet provides a tremendous opportunity for promoting you group. Some places to investigate are:

a) http://www.myspace.com

b) http://wwwgigmasters.net

c) http://www.partypop.com

d) General Internet searching for agencies who book the type of music you play.

Everything is relative to what you want to do. As you adventure into the band-starting game, keep in mind that other people have their ideas about things too. Someone having their own ideas doesn’t necessarily make them right or wrong—you could just have a different take on what’s happening. Different experience levels enter the equation as well. Maybe you’re starting your first band and one of the musicians has done it before—fine. Let him/her contribute what they know and maybe have that person be the band leader. If they’re too pushy and won’t let things go in the direction you want to go—handle them or replace them.

Keep it simple, have fun, and go for your dreams.

* * *

Marty Buttwinick
Email
Buttwinick Teaching Studio
Musician – MySpace

Musicians: How to Deal with Bad Attitudes

Human beings can be pretty complex life units. Some people are easy to work with while others seem impossible.

In the professional work-a-day world of a freelance musician there are fewer attitude difficulties than when guys are just starting out. Why? Well, when you have attitude problems that make getting the show on the road difficult you get fired. Period. When rehearsals and gigs need to occur, there’s no room for wasting time on people with attitude problems or lack of commitment when commitment is needed. One of the hallmarks of a professional is not letting his emotions, personal feelings or hobbies get in the way of productivity. The only people who get away with problem-attitudes are guys that are so great at what they do that they are in great demand. Even so, they don’t last long!

A bottom line observation is—just as you have things you want to do, and ways you think they should be done—so do others. Conflict simply arises when person “A” and person “B” see things differently. Though some people are crazed beyond sanity, and some people act evilly towards those around them, they are still just trying to do what they think is best. Keeping that as an underlying viewpoint can be quite helpful.

When dealing with sane people, working out conflicts is feasible because you can discuss different points of view and come to some kind of conclusion about whatever you’re dealing with. (This doesn’t mean that if you can’t come to a conclusion that one of you is not sane though...) People want to be right and live well, but sometimes their idea of right is either very different than yours, or enforced on you.

When faced with conflict, communication is the only remedy. When you have enough understanding of another person’s viewpoints, and they have enough understanding of your viewpoints—resolution is possible if the goals involved are aligned enough. In order to accomplish this, you have to respect people enough to let them have their say, and inquire about things that you don’t understand, while really listening to what you hear. It’s amazing how different another person’s viewpoint can be.

Working things out with people who have heavy attitudes can be a different story, and depending upon how good you are in human behavior will have an easy or rough time at it. The same principle of communication being key applies, but you need to have more patience with someone if they: reject what you say; don’t seem to be willing to get the point; argue needlessly; or portray a myriad of unworkable attitudes. You need to deal with them at a reality level they’ll get—and talk it out until some conclusion is arrived at.

A workable method of dealing with negative attitudes is to align the conversation to the goal of the activity, e.g., what’s going to get us the most work, what’s going to make rehearsals more efficient, etc. Regardless of the attitude, the one common reality you’ll have is that you are both currently in the same location, the room for example, and probably in the same band with some kind of mutual goal. That’s the alignment factor and your safety net because you at least have these things in common.

Something to realize is that some people will never change their attitude unless they go through some intense emotional and/or spiritual changes that undercut their entire mental attitude of existence. If you try to change them you’re not only wasting everybody’s time, but are headed for disaster and endless difficulty. A rock is a rock. But, if you can get some agreement on where you are going and what are you doing to get there, sometimes you can work things out. You don’t have to be friends with the people you work with. When you’re playing good music the aesthetic quality of the creation of art can transcend the entire human factor, though it is best to like the people you play with.

If you can’t work things out, there are only three things you can do:

1. Live with it.
2. Fire the person.
3. Quit the band yourself.


LIVING WITH IT

I was in a nine-piece show band at an amusement park many years ago, and the drummer was impossible to work with. He’d throw trash on the floor wherever he was, constantly made fun of people, rushed like mad when soloing and accused the rest of the band of dragging. He was a real pain. Everyone in the band, especially the band leader, had called him aside at one point or another and tried to work it out. We wanted him to stop doing these things because it bugged us, but the drummer was always right. He always had a reason and a “valid” excuse for every point mentioned and wasn’t going to see anybody else's viewpoint for nothin’. Socially he was a pretty pleasant guy—but his attitude about life was pretty hostile. If it was my band I would have fired him. But, I liked the gig so just never talked to him about anything more than the weather, and never hung out with him unless I had to.

Because of the way I acted, I had a very cool gig for four years. On the other hand the trombonist was constantly getting into squabbles and arguments with the guy because he was trying to get him to change—which was a losing battle.

The person with the highest awareness of the situation inherits being responsible for it one way or the other. It’s as much your responsibility to work with an unruly person as it is for him to work with you. Given that we don’t need to agree on everything to gig with each other, many situations can be avoided by not actively aggravating the situation ourselves.

FIRING SOMEONE

A keyboardist in my main casual band once would not get with the program. He was a great player, but during dinner sets would always get too loud and “outside” for the audiences we were playing for. We extensively discussed how it was bad for business in that it annoyed people, displeased the clients and could hurt our referrals. He was a seasoned player and knew all of these things, but his heart was no longer in this type of work and he just stopped caring about anything but doing what he wanted. So I fired him—and he was a friend of mine.

Business is business.

Before firing somebody it’s good to give a guy a chance unless he’s totally impossible, then I suggest the following sequence:

1. Talk with the person and try to work it out.
2. If the problem persists, talk with the person again and be very specific—get down to all the fine points. Discuss what is being said or done, and what the results of his/her actions are, and the whole thing. Talk about the who, what, where, why and becauses of it all.
3. If the problem still persists give him one last warning.
4. If the problem still persists fire him.

Realize too, that people can have bad days and go through tough times. Nothing justifies being unprofessional, but unless something is chronic (always there), helping someone work something out is a very cool thing to do. It’s good to help the ones we’re associated with, and after all—we’re all in this together. The better each of us does, the better everybody around us will do and vice versa.

QUITTING THE BAND

Sometimes you just have to quit the band, or not join it to begin with. If you’re not gigging and are mostly playing for fun and experience, don’t do it if it’s not fun!

If you don’t need the money, or feel confident about getting another gig as soon as you need to—quit, and be done with the hassle. But, if you need the money, and don’t have the confidence that you’ll get another gig by the time your money runs out you might want to stick it out.

Something to keep in mind is your own mental disposition toward things. If you are going to quit a band because certain people introvert you and make you feel bad—well, maybe anyone can introvert you and make you feel bad because that’s the way you are. Some people take offense easily, for example, and are quickly bothered by things said to them, like constructive criticism or not accepting an idea you had, or whatever.

All I’m saying here is to also inspect yourself as well as others. We are responsible for the things that happen in our lives and earth is a two-way street whether we like it or not. All too often people point fingers toward someone else before first seeing what’s going on with themselves.

There’s no one formula that says to do this or that. Some people never put up with crap from
anybody at anytime, while others can work things out. One person can be bugged by someone’s attitude and somebody else not. We’re in the field of human behavior here, and it’s a pretty large one. The bottom line is—you do what you need to do according to what you think is best. You need to keep your personal integrity intact and take counsel with yourself despite any evaluations from others.

(Be sure and work something out with groups you leave so you don’t leave a trail of potential enemies behind. These may be people you eventually want to work with, or people who might want to hire you at some point in the future.)

SELF-CONFIDENCE

The more confidence you have in yourself, the easier everything is. When you are self-confident you feel good about who you are, what you are doing and have faith in your ability to make correct decisions. The better you feel about yourself the easier it is to actually observe what’s going on, then determine what to do or how to act in any given situation.

Though many things can contribute to one’s confidence level, the bottom line for a musician is his or her musicianship level, balanced with playing experience. When you are good and know it, when you’ve played with many people and experienced doing well, and when you’ve recovered and moved forward from falling on your head a few times—you develop self-confidence. When you have confidence in yourself it will come across to other people and they will have confidence in you as well.

Whereas crooked teeth, being unhealthy and any emotional instabilities can all diminish self-confidence; practicing efficiently, sounding good and liking what you do can raise it. Practicing your instrument isn’t going to “cure” a deep-seated fear of purple grasshoppers but the more you know about what you are doing the better your chances are of having true confidence.

Certain people seem confident all the time no matter what they’re doing, or no matter how well or not they are doing it. Some people are just like that, whereas others need to work at it harder. Displaying confidence can be many things from having a natural inner calm, covering up insecurities, to a burst of power to pull oneself through a tough time.

People increase their confidence in many ways. Musically speaking, when you train at your craft, get good, feel good about your playing and play with others a lot you gain confidence.

ANTAGONISTIC PEOPLE

You cannot be successful or confident at anything if you are closely connected to someone who is antagonistic toward you or what you are doing. Whether it be open hostility toward you, or the smiley-faced-stabbing-remarks that “don’t really mean anything,” these people can ruin your life—and will.

For the more innocent people in the world it can be hard to believe that someone you are close to would prefer you to fail. Why would anybody be that way? Well, without getting into the “Whys” of it all, some people are like that and you need to be alerted to this fact.

Have you ever known anyone, that every time you’ve finished speaking with them about what you are doing you feel like maybe you shouldn’t do it; or maybe you’re not good enough; or you feel a little “smaller” than you did before? Well, they might or might not be “bad people,” but chances are you shouldn’t talk to them about your personal activities anymore.

The person who doesn’t believe your musical goals are valid and thinks they should be given up; the girlfriend or boyfriend who gets pissed because you’re always practicing or going out to rehearse; the person who insists that you should “grow up” and stop dreaming about things that could never happen; and a dozen viewpoints like these mean one thing—they want you to give your music up, because in their eyes you are going to fail. (Chances are they gave up their dreams long ago and couldn’t imagine anyone else achieving theirs.)

Life can be tough enough without close contacts making it worse.

If it’s not a chronic thing you can generally work it out. For example, if a husband starts neglecting his wife, there’s gonna be trouble, and some family policy needs to be made. If Aunt Martha hasn’t a clue about what’s happening, you might be able to explain it to her in a way that results in her saying, “Oh! I had no idea that you were so serious about your music. Well, good luck!”

These are isolated situations that are easily remedied. But, when you have someone actively counter-intending what you are doing, you have got a problem that needs to be dealt with. There are only two ways to go: (1) you handle the person so they never say these things to you, and even if they don’t support what you are doing, at least they don’t oppose it—openly or internally, or (2) you have to not see this person anymore. Period.

I’ve seen people quit playing because of associations like this; and I’ve seen a dramatic resurgence of a persons career after remedying it. This is very important, even if difficult to deal with—which it can be.

Fun and success are what’s happening, so don’t let anyone kill it for you—not anyone.

The world needs good music and good entertainment; and if you have the chance of supplying it I invite you to do so—it can benefit everyone around.

* * *

Marty Buttwinick

How to Make A Living as a Guitarist

[This is the original, unedited version of the GUITAR PLAYER magazine article titled: FREELANCING—How To Get Hometown Gigs Now. Guitar Player Issue 311—Vol. 2g No. 11, November 1995.]


Many guitarists want to make a living in the music business. You get an instrument and learn to play because it looks fun, exciting or cool—and off you go. After awhile you’re jamming, and making a career with music sounds like a good move. At some point this “good move” can become a fruitful career... or a disaster.

Record Industry vs Music-playing Business
The “music business” is composed of two main categories: the record industry and the “music-playing business.” I introduce and define the term “music-playing business” as any paid musical work a musician does outside of record industry activities. Over the past few decades it seems like the term “music business” has grown to mean the record industry, and this has caused some confusion.

Musicians who confuse these categories generally have a hard time or fail. You can play too many stock licks in your original band—or be too original at a cover gig where people want to hear music that’s familiar—not something they’ve never heard before. This is just a fact of life.

Musicians who function according to the category they’re involved with have the best chance for success. True, these categories can overlap and weave in and out of each other like a solo through chord changes, the common denominator being music itself. How-ever, they are two different areas requiring two different sets of skills and abilities.

This article is about the music-playing business, and the working guitarist in it. The work-a-day musician is a highly skilled craftsperson who gets paid for playing. Playing is your job, and the better you play, the better your chances of making a living. It’s very simple. Most working musicians don’t have record deals, though, of course, having a deal is something to aim for. Original music is where it’s at for many, including myself—but does that have to exclude everything else?

Being a working musician is an art and a business rolled into one, which is perhaps why so many people don’t understand musicians: there’s more to it than meets the eye. There are different styles of music, personal preferences, day jobs, conflicts, rent and people’s attitudes (some valid and some not). “I’ll never play covers! (But I hate my day job).” “I only play lead! (But I can’t find enough gigs).” These are comments heard daily nationwide. When you dig below the surface, there are many elements involved and many decisions to make.

When you want to play for a living... play! Play music. Any kind of music. I’d rather play a show of corny music for a few hundred bucks than work a job I don’t like.

I’d rather play for a living while striving for the original thing.

It all depends on what you want to do.

Attitude
To be a full time musician you have to develop the right frame of mind. You need to firmly establish priorities and be willing to do what’s needed without fussing or copping attitudes that could slow down your progress. You need to be self-motivating, develop confidence and be professional in all that you do. You have to replace the original-music viewpoint of “I’m going to do it my way” with “I’m going to play to make this gig a success!” A professional does what he needs to do without letting his or her personal emotions interfere, and adopts viewpoints that promote the growth of a career— not the collapse of one.


Versatility
Playing for a living demands versatility. A musician can focus on one style of playing or learn to do many. The narrower your playing style is, the better you have to be at it because your opportunities are more limited. The more versatile you are, the more opportunities you will have. The choice is yours.

In my book, HOW TO MAKE A LIVING AS A MUSICIAN—SO YOU NEVER HAVE TO HAVE A DAY JOB AGAIN!, I define a professional musician this way: a person who has the musical skills and abilities necessary to effectively play and/or sing the music at hand in an unbroken flow with the appropriate volume and needed tonal quality and has the necessary social skills and business sense to earn a living (and more) if desired and is prepared to do the gig at hand.

I’ve heard people say that if you get paid you’re a professional. Well, there’s some truth to that but....

Some people think your only options are to work clubs (which don’t pay enough) or that you have to have a record deal to make money. Not true on both accounts. Yes we work clubs, and yes get-ting a record deal is fantastic—but clubs alone aren’t enough and you can’t guarantee a deal. To be really well-off you need to collect a lot of recording royalties—but the black and white of being rich or poor has a thousand shades of color between. A successful freelance guitarist plays many kinds of gigs. I’ve been in the business for twenty-five years as a bassist and multi-instrumentalist (guitar/keyboards) and know few guitarists who are stably successful doing only one thing. It just doesn’t tend to work that way. I’ve taught privately in Los Angeles for over twenty years and have had at least a hundred guitar students. The ones who are versatile make it, the ones who aren’t, usually don’t—and wind up with some day job they hate and go on hoping things will work out. (Of course if you like your day job, great.) Many guitarists I know in L.A. work 6–12 gigs a week!

The bottom line for being a versatile working guitarist is to be well-educated, and this is where a large portion of musicians fall off the boat. You have to understand music, not just riffs and signature licks. Music is a language, and you need to be able to speak it. When you’re good, and have original-music aspirations, you can have the music-playing business as your “day job,” and pursue your original thing as well.

It’s great if you have a rock party-band, create a regular scene and don’t have to play another style in your life. But, when you want to guarantee making a good living playing music, you do whatever it takes. This doesn’t mean that you compromise your personal integrity and play in a band that you hate, but until you have the freedom to only do the types of gigs you really want to do, you do the gigs you have the opportunity to do. Besides, playing different styles of music is fun, educational and expanding. You don’t have to like “listening” to a certain type of music to be able to love “playing” it.


Ingredients for Success
To make a living as a freelance guitarist you need to:

1. Play well and be versatile. The better you play, the more you will be in demand. The more you are in demand the more income you can generate. In addition to how many business contacts you have (contractors, band-leaders, etc.), players refer other players for gigs. The better you are, the more you will be recommended, though the bandleader, contractor and musical director are the sources of hiring. The higher your musicianship level the more work opportunities there are. A high musicianship level includes both a theoretical and improvisational knowledge of melody, harmony and rhythm and their relationships. Stylistic authenticity is necessary, and you need to be “educated” to do this well. Different styles of music incorporate different scales and harmonies and you have to know what they are in order to play. Faking only gets you so far.

2. Read fluidly. For most high paying gigs this is a must unless you fall into, or create, the perfect situation where you are just so good that you land accounts that keep you working without having to read. These situations are rare. (Rare in the work-a-day world, but common when involved in certain types of re-cording for original artists.) When a player starts out it’s usually in club bands where you just learn tunes and go play. But as time moves on you have to learn to read, or be happy with a limited income.

3. Know a lot of tunes in the styles you play unless you’re exclusively doing reading gigs. In the casual and club worlds, the more tunes you can lead sing the better. If two equally good players audition for a gig, chances are the one who sings the most will get it.

4. Be able to play by ear. The better you can do this the more you’ll work.

5. Sound good. Have your gear be able to produce the needed sounds at the appropriate volume according to the situation. In the lower echelons of the business, young guitar players have a notorious reputation for playing too loud. At a rock gig you might need to burn people’s faces off—but not at a first set at a restaurant gig, please! Many guitarists don’t work enough simply because they’re too loud at the wrong time. You have to play for the situation you’re in—or find another career where being unaware and selfish is OK.

6. Show up on time and be dressed appropriately.

7. Have your manners, behavior, and social rapport be appropriate to the circumstances. The better you get along with people, the better your chances of repeat business are, and the easier it will be to make new contacts.

8. Know what the client, band-leader, contractor or musical director wants from you and provide it without giving him a hard time. Never give the person hiring you a hard time. Whether he’s right or wrong about something, he is the one putting money in your pocket.

9. Be into what you’re doing. The more you like what you’re doing, the easier it will be to do. The more you like what you do—the more others will like what you do.

10. Play for the group sound. Contribute to the communication and mes-sage of the music whether live or recorded. This is why you are there—music is more than notes. For example, if you constantly overplay at casuals you’ll probably get fired. You are not alone on the bandstand: groove, solo, fill, lay out, use dynamics— contribute to the gig.

11. Be a professional. Have an answering machine or service with an appropriate outgoing announcement. Stay on top of things. Call when you say you will call and be on time for appointments. Pay attention to details and know how to play the game. Be responsible, reliable and business-like—while having fun of course. 12. Create relationships. Create a network of people whom you like and who like you. Have your own identity and nurture your contacts.
When you can do the above twelve points you’ll work. You just have to decide how important it is to you to play music full time—then adjust your life to pull off what you want. It’s actually quite straight-ahead.


Types of Gigs
Solo gigs are a strong source of employment. You can play back-ground music or concerts in jazz, classical, Spanish and almost any style. Solo guitar is commonly used at restaurants, wedding receptions and dinner parties (whether classical or pop). One-man-show type work where the guitarist also sings and has a drum machine and sometimes bass pedals is occasionally heard. Happy Hour gigs (especially at restaurants, hotels and bars near major airports) will some-times use guitar, though keyboard is more common. Many a guitarist has told me, “A complete solo guitarist can always find work.”

Duos can be easy to book because there are only two people to pay. You can be an accompanist for singers or various melody instruments, especially in the styles of classical and jazz. Two guitarists often sing and play pop tunes at clubs, restaurants and sometimes casuals. If you get good enough you can also play classical and/or Spanish duets. Flute and guitar duets are often used and are a great source of income.

You can obviously play with any size ensemble that uses guitar, from a rock trio to a big band.

Though some guitarists predominantly play rhythm or lead, to successfully support yourself as a freelance musician you need to do both. Outside of the few who specialize in one or the other, in the work-a-day world there is usually no such thing as a “rhythm guitarist” or a “lead guitarist.” You play the guitar, and either play rhythm or lead (or both) according to the tune you’re playing at the time. Whereas a pianist can play left-hand accompaniment/right-hand melody, the guitar shines the best doing one or the other. This is why a guitarist needs to have both skills down well. The great jazz and classical players can do both simultaneously—and play a bass part at the same time! The complete solo guitarist.


Finding Work
When you decide to go for it, there are many ways to find and create work. There are also way too many details to list all of these ways here—that’s why I wrote a 272 page book on the subject. Here are the fundamentals, and they should give you the idea:

Casuals (single-engagement gigs, also called “G.B.’s” for General Business or club dates on the East Coast) are booked by agents, agencies and bandleaders. Casuals can be anything from a corporate office grand opening to a wedding. There are one-style casual bands, like rock, country or jazz, and multi-style bands. You either find a casual band to join, start your own or be in as many as you need simultaneously.

Restaurants, clubs and hotels are primarily booked by a booking agent, owner, manager or the food and beverage director. To book a group, call and find out who handles the entertainment. Arrange to send them your press kit.

Record dates (TV, film, etc.), theater gigs and symphonies are booked by the contractor.

Shows and concerts of all kinds are gotten via the contractor, musical director and sometimes the artist or composer.

These are the people you need to contact to get the gigs: booking agents, contractors, musical directors, club owners, bandleaders, food and beverage director, organization social directors, composers, arrangers, singers, and as many musicians as you can.

Promotional activities include using press kits, business cards, phone calls, sitting in at jams, having a good answering machine, and providing the previously mentioned ten points. The key to promoting for more work is discovering exactly what people need, letting them know you can deliver—then delivering.

Word-of-mouth is an institution for getting work—it’s referrals that open the door. You can cold-call contractors and bandleaders all day and get zip (without an impressive demo and resume), but all it takes is the contractor to ask the bass player if he knows of a good guitarist for the date, and have him say yeah... YOU, and you’re on the gig. Know as many guitar players and musicians as you can. When digging up work, call everyone you’ve ever worked with first, then other guitar players, then everyone else. The more “accounts” you have, the fewer phone calls you have to make.

Pay ranges vary across the United States. On the West Coast, some examples of gig pay are: Clubs $40–125/night; Casuals $75–300/four hours; Miscellaneous Shows $80–120/one or two hours; Union Scale Recording $250–600/three hours; and Concerts $100–500/a set or two. (The bandleader would get 50–100% more.) These are not fixed figures, and musicians can make both more and less than these examples.

Putting aside union scales and going rates, when you’re good—you get what you ask for. If someone wants you, they’ll pay. When you have a healthy circle of people wanting you, you’ll have healthy pay.

Everything is relative to what you want to do and how quickly you want to do it.



To take your next step:

~ Decide what kind of lifestyle you want.
~ Determine what skills you need to generate the amount of desired work.
~ Determine how much time and energy you are willing to invest in your future.
~ Create a plan that takes you from where you are now to where you want to be.
~ Do it—or don’t do it. The choice is yours.

I hope this has been helpful.

The Seven Different Types of Charts

As a bassist, bandleader, teacher and music copyist I’ve worked with hundreds of singers throughout the years. Though working musicians know hundreds of tunes, singers need to have good charts in order to have their music played the way they want. I define a “good chart” as a piece of written music that effectively tells the musicians what they should play.

Written music comes in seven basic forms: chord charts, sheet music, songbooks, leadsheets, fake books, master rhythm charts and fully notated parts.

As a musician has a responsibility to correctly play the chart before him, the supplier of the chart has the responsibility of providing the right kind of chart. Knowing what type of chart to use for what kind of tune or gig is very important.

This article explains what the different types of charts are, and under what circumstances to use them. I hope you find it useful.


TYPES OF CHARTS
Charts can be simple or elaborate according to the style of music and type of gig. Cover tunes are traditionally learned from recordings; classical and choral music can be found in sheet music stores as well as in various music catalogs; numerous tunes will be found in music books of all kinds; and many public libraries carry recordings and written music for your use.

The word “chart” refers to any piece of written music or any arrangement (music that has been adapted in a unique manner ) of a tune. Decades ago it was strictly a “cool” slang term for a tune, but any piece of music could be called a chart these days, though a classical buff might not refer to a Mozart work as a “chart.”

Knowing what type of chart to use for what kind of tune is very important. When you’re playing a gig and someone hands you a chart—it is what it is and you either read it well or not. But, if you buy charts, have them made for you or provide them yourself, you need to know which kinds to use for which situations. Years back, while doing singer showcases, singers brought in all kinds of charts—good ones, bad ones, incorrect ones, inappropriate ones, and it was a real pain. The singers who provided the right kinds of charts got their music played the way they wanted. The singers who had the wrong kinds of charts didn’t, and weren’t very happy about it. Unless a musician already knows the specific parts, he can only play according to what’s on the chart before him. Though a good musician can improvise a good part in any style, if a specific musical line needs to be played, it needs to be written out.

As a musician has a responsibility to correctly play the chart before him, the supplier of the chart has the responsibility of providing an appropriate one.

Without getting into too many music notation specifics, here are the different kinds of charts and when they are used:


CHORD CHARTS
A chord chart contains the chords, meter (how the song is counted, e.g., in 4 or in 3 like a waltz), and the form of the song (the exact order of the sections). This type of chart is primarily used when: (1) the specific musical parts are improvised or already known, but the form and chords need to be referred to, (2) to provide chords to improvise over, or (3) when a last-minute chart needs to be written and there isn’t time for anything more elaborate.

A chord chart does not contain the melody or any specific instrumental parts to be played. To play from simple chord charts a musician basically needs to have steady time, know the chords, and improvise his part in whatever style the tune is in.


SHEET MUSIC
Sheet music is a store-bought version of a song printed by a publisher, which contains the piano part, chords, lyrics, melody and form. An instrumental piece will of course just have the music. Most song issues come in piano arrangement style, meaning the music is written out for a piano. Sometimes there are versions for other instruments as well. Sheet music is not meant to be completely representative of the actual recording, and the actual arrangement that you’ve heard on a recording is seldom present.

Many people have experienced the frustration of getting the sheet music to a song they like, playing it, and discovering that the chords are different than the recording—and sometimes the form is too. Unfortunately that’s the way it is a lot, and could be for a number of different reasons. To get the exact arrangement and chords, you need to do a “takedown” of the song—learn it by ear. A takedown is when you listen to a piece of music and write it down. Takedowns can range from simple chord charts to elaborate orchestral parts or anything in between. In order to do good takedowns, you need to have good ears, understand and be fluid with music notation to the complexity of the type of music you’re working with, and preferably understand music (the more the better). Having “good ears” consists of recognizing and understanding the music whether heard on the radio, played by another musician or heard in your head.


SONGBOOKS
Songbooks are compilations of many tunes and often contain the same information that sheet music does—along with the chords and arrangement being different than the recording most of the time. Sheet music commonly has full introductions and endings, whereas songbook tunes are generally shortened to create space in the book for more tunes. Sheet music is generally written to be played on a keyboard, but songbooks come in different styles and for different instruments. They are compiled by artist, style, decade, and various ways including movie themes, Broadway hits, etc.

“Songbooks” are a good reference source when other, more exact charts are unavailable. For example: I needed two movie themes for a gig once (client request). Instead of spending $8 for two tunes of sheet music, I bought a book of movie themes for $16 that contained over a hundred tunes. Sheet music and songbooks are pretty unusable at gigs because of cumbersome page turns and bulkiness; but in an emergency you use them and do what you can. If having to use sheet music or songbooks either: (1) recopy the tune by hand onto 1–3 pages or (2) photocopy it and tape the pages together (although, strictly speaking, this may be considered copyright infringement). Make sure to always provide a copy for each musician.

To play from songbooks and sheet music, a musician needs to be able to read the music notation, or at least improvise a part from the chord symbols, i.e., a guitar strum, bass groove, piano groove, etc., or better yet, both. A vocalist can sing the words if the melody is known, or be able to read the notated melody if not known.


LEAD SHEETS
Lead sheets contain the chords, lyrics and melody line of the song and are mainly used by singers, accompanists and arrangers, though they appear on the bandstand now and again. Songwriters use lead sheets to copyright their songs, and very often sheet music includes a lead sheet of the tune as a condensed version to use. Instead of turning three to six pages of sheet music, a lead sheet is usually one or two pages long. Lead sheets do not contain any music notation except the melody and chords, so a musician needs to know how to improvise when reading from one. A lead sheet is generally written out by a music copyist, who is someone who specializes in preparing written music.

Playing from lead sheets minimally requires playing an accompaniment from the chords and understanding the form directions and symbols (the markings telling you to go to the verse or the chorus or the end, etc.) and maximally having excellent accompaniment skills and reading notation fluidly.


FAKE BOOKS
A “fake book” is a large book of tunes that contain only the melody line, lyrics and chords. There’s no bass part, guitar part or piano part. That’s why they call it a “fake book.” You have to already know your parts or improvise them in the style of the tune. Some people call that “faking it.” Faking it means to be musically adept enough to be able to follow along by ear and figure it out as you go—that’s one of the reasons for “ear training.” When your ears “get trained,” a person learns to recognize and understand the relationship of pitches and musical elements. With this understanding you can “hear” your way through tunes, even if you haven’t heard it before. You “fake” it. However—when you don’t “hear so well,” you’re really faking it.

Before there was an abundance of legal fake books on the market, there was an abundance of illegal fake books on the streets—and there still is. Since a working musician needs to have access to a large number of tunes at gigs, musicians compiled books of hundreds of useful tunes containing only melody lines and chords. A working player doesn’t need all the notes written out because he can improvise, so large books were made with choice tunes. Some fake books are hand copied, either by a pro copyist or casually done by pen or pencil, while others consist of cut up sheet music where all the piano parts are removed leaving the melody and chords—for the purpose of condensing space.

Rather than take stacks of songbooks to gigs, you pop a fake book of hundreds of choice tunes into your gig bag and off you go. A tune taking up five or six pages in songbook/sheet music form can take up a page or less when rewritten by hand or cut up, leaving only the chords and melody. These fake books are often used and I’ve seldom been at a casual where someone hasn’t had at least one.

The reason these books are illegal is copyright infringement. With the homemade books nothing goes through the publishing houses that own the rights to the tunes so neither the publishers nor the composers get paid for their use. The Catch-22 over the years has been the fact that there haven’t been any good legal fake books that pro musicians could use at a gig. In a songbook of 200 tunes maybe three were usable. So, the players made there own, and gigging musicians lived happily ever after. But since making these books is illegal, some years ago a few nationwide distributors were arrested and fined for copyright infringement. But you still see the illegal books on the bandstands nonetheless.

Over the years many legal fake books have been published and are pretty good for the most part. There are pop books, jazz books, country books and special wedding books with all the key music that brides like. Big sheet music stores should have them all.

I don’t know if the legal books will ever replace the illegal versions on the bandstand, but things are headed in the right direction. Due to exclusive publishing rights, no one publisher has been able to put all the professionally desired tunes in one book. Business is business I guess.

Legal fake books are aplenty at sheet music stores, and illegal books...well, you’re on your own. Trade magazines and union papers often advertise a wide variety of music books as well as joke books, ethnic music and other related entertainment materials. Sometimes instrument stores carry fake books as well.

Fake books are good to have, but the more tunes you know the better.


MASTER RHYTHM CHARTS
Master rhythm charts are charts designed for the rhythm section. It is one chart that contains the general idea for everybody to play from—a sketch of the tune—a master copy of it all for each player. These charts are like elaborate chord charts with just enough specifics on them to make the music either feel and sound more like the original recording, or to provide just enough specifics to make it interesting and recognizable, leaving the rest to improvising.

Unless a tune is composed or arranged in this style to begin with, which many are, these charts are written by someone doing a takedown from a recording, or created from lead sheets or songbooks. Whereas lead sheets are primarily for the singer, master rhythm charts are primarily for the musicians. When a singer provides charts to the musicians in the band, these are the ones to use.

A master rhythm chart contains:
• All the chords
• Key rhythms (the main rhythms)
• Key melodic parts for the instruments
• Key lyrics for reference if desired
• Key background vocals if present
• Dynamics—how loud, how soft, etc.
• Any form, clarifying instructions and symbols needed to ensure a good performance of the tune.

All styles of popular music use master rhythm charts, and it’s common to have one along with a lead sheet for each tune when a singer is involved. Master rhythm chart reading, and writing, entails fluidly improvising in the style of the tune, and fluid notation abilities.


NOTATED PARTS
When the music needs to be extremely specific it will be fully notated. Everything that needs to be played is written on the page. What to play, when to play it and how to play it—the notes, rhythms, dynamics, and any and all notational expressions, such as tempos (how fast or slow), who cues what, etc. Most professional recording sessions and shows require fluid note reading and provide individual parts for each instrument.


CONCLUSION
Provide your musicians with the right kind of chart and chances are your music will sound the way you want. The closer you adhere to this maxim the better your performances will be.

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To see examples of each of these chart types, go to the "pics" section of my MySpace site.



Marty Buttwinick
My Email

How to Tighten Up Your Band

THE OBJECT OF REHEARSING is to tighten up the band’s performance and presentation. When an audience listens, they hear the whole sound. A tune, a set and a show each has something being communicated for an emotional impact. It could be lyric content, musical flow, energy intensity or whatever. This is why the music needs to be fluid and clean to make the music sound good as a group.

Individuals need to prepare their parts at home alone. Band rehearsals are to get the band tight. Obviously, if you need to pause for someone to work out something you do just that, but that’s not the purpose of group rehearsals.

The following principles largely address commercial cover bands, but apply to any size or style of ensemble. These rehearsal principles hold true for original bands as well even though the initial purpose of each rehearsal could be to write and develop material rather than groom a performance.


Key aspects of rehearsals include:
~ Where to rehearse.
~ When to rehearse.
~ Deciding on material.
~ Getting the material (tapes, CD’s, written music, etc.).
~ Writing any needed charts.
~ Someone being in charge of making tapes of the material for everyone.
~ Everyone having a cassette/CD player to learn the tunes with.
~ Each individual having a distraction-free, personal practice space at his or her home.
~ Deciding on what tunes to learn first.
~ Having someone in charge of running the rehearsals.

This is what you do:
First: Decide on the goal of the first and subsequent rehearsals. Decide on what you want to accomplish. (It would be ideal to have as much as the big plan written down as possible. The better you know where you are going and what you want to do, the easier it will be to plan rehearsals and meetings.)

If doing cover material:
1. Have a meeting and decide what tunes or material to do at your first rehearsal. Within the style range of the group, focus on any mutually known tunes or material first. If you all know or are familiar with certain tunes that aren’t going to be on your “main set list” you can start with those for fun. Start with the easiest tunes so you can get some fun things happening. Your morale will be up to the degree you are accomplishing something.

2. Get the tapes or music together and arrange for everyone to receive a copy. Make a master tape to add to as you proceed. (For written music keep the masters in a file or a binder.)

3. Before the next rehearsal, make sure everyone learns the tunes or practices the written music to the designated tunes. If everybody is ready except one person the whole rehearsal time can be shot. You can learn the tunes at rehearsal but it’s more efficient when everyone learns the tunes by themselves first. When the band gets together you should work on band stuff.

4. Get together and start rehearsing.

Rehearsing
What to rehearse is determined by—well, whatever it is you need to rehearse! It’s just that simple. Take each section and get it clean. Then, combine it all together and see what you have. You just repeat that process until it’s tight and finished. If the transition from the verse to the chorus is weak, you practice verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, etc. until you have it. If the groove is shaky, just play the groove on one chord until it’s tight. Play it for an hour or longer if needed.
Do whatever it takes.

Things most likely needing rehearsal are:
~ Grooves – the underlying repetitive rhythmic structure.
~ Breaks – strong changes in the groove for variety and interest.
~ Dynamics – the expressive change of loudness and softness to add interest and color instead of things being monotone.
~ Cues – physical gestures or specific musical parts signaling that something is going to change or happen.
~ Vocals. (Lyrics, melody and harmony parts.)
~ Beginnings and endings.
~ Transitions from section to section (sectional transitions).
~ Who’s going to solo when.
~ The entire tune to get a smooth flow to it. Parts are parts, but the tune itself is larger than the sum of its parts.
~ Groups of tunes and an entire set.

As a band can sound like one tight unit or a group of individuals playing at the same time; each tune can either be one smooth flowing entity from beginning to end or a bunch of parts stuck together.

The basic rehearsal flow is:
1. Run down a tune from beginning to end.
2. Notice any rough spots.
3. Take up each rough spot and tighten it up.
4. Run through a series of parts to get those sections and transitions clean.
5. Run the tune again.
6. Repeat steps 1 – 5 until the tune is finished.
Rehearsals can be efficient or not. If you don’t care how long it takes to get the show on the road, then you can chat, go to the store three times, get phone calls and take long breaks. But if you want to get working, work during the time you should.

The more efficient you are at doing things at rehearsals the sooner you’ll have your act together. Right? Well—run the verse. Stop. Run the verse slower. Stop. Run the verse up to tempo. Stop. Do this again and again without any downtime. Then do the same with each part of the tune. Then, when you’re running a set you do the same thing.

In addition to the entire group rehearsing, “sectional rehearsals” are a very efficient way to go (rehearsing just a few instruments at a time). Since one tune is made up of many elements, isolating these elements gives a magnified view which allows you to tighten it up faster. When the elements are isolated it’s easier to: (1) see exactly what’s needed—how good or bad it really is, and (2) specifically work on that, without any hidden barriers like thinking something is one way when it’s really not. It’s extremely helpful to record the main parts of a rehearsal and listen to it. This way you can brush up on your part as well as get a “listener’s” view of your sound.

Various sectional combinations:
* Rhythm section – just grooves (Rhythm section: the instruments in the band whose primary musical function is to accompany the vocalist or soloist by playing in-the-pocket grooves. Keyboards, guitar, bass and drums are normally referred to as the” rhythm section.”).
* Vocal rehearsals – just vocals with an instrument or tape reference.
* Just bass and drums.
* Each instrument alone with the drums.
* Each instrument alone with bass.
* Just the horn section if you have one.
* Any combinations your ensemble could have.

When you’re learning material on your own, the things to practice are:
* Learning the form of the tune and becoming familiar and comfortable with it.
* Learning you own part (including switching effects settings/MIDI patches).
* Learning the lyrics.
* Singing your parts – lead or background.
* Singing and playing simultaneously.
* Singing and playing simultaneously while doing choreography.

When sitting down alone with a tape, it may or may not be easy to get the music. If your ears are developed enough to recognize what’s going on you should do fine. But, if it’s really hard to get the notes, chords and rhythms, you might need some help and some good music instruction. With the right instruction even the worst-off can achieve a level of excellence. Some of my students are professionals and learn tunes by ear easily, and study with the express purpose of improving this ability. Learning tunes while driving can be a great time saver. Even if you can’t get the specific notes and chords, you can learn lyrics, vocals and form.

If you’re new to learning tunes from recordings I suggest the following sequence:
1. Listen to the tune many times and get to know it. Learn the form and the melody (or main focus point, i.e., licks, rap, etc.). Learning rates vary from person to person so it could take listening to it three, ten or thirty times.
2. Learn the chords (starting with the bass notes) or your main line, e.g., guitar riff, synth horn part, bass line.
3. Play along with the tune until you have all your chords or lines down.
4. Play along some more and learn all the breaks.
5. Fine-tune your parts.
6. Continue in this fashion until you are done.

Having a variable speed cassette recorder or CD player is invaluable for doing takedowns (learning the music by ear). There are a number of CD players and software programs out that let you slow things down while keeping the pitch the same or slow it down and actually change the key. Quality of audio equipment as well as quality and type of recording can make it difficult to hear so keep that in mind if your ears seem good but you can’t figure something out. (Sometimes it just hard to hear something because of the recording itself.)

When playing cover material, most of the time you need to play the parts exactly the way they are on the tape. Specific bass parts, drum grooves and certain melodic lines may make up most of the tunes substance and if you omit those, there can be very little left—in some tunes it might not matter. And unless there is a very specific “signature lick,” anything close might do. (Signature lick: a riff {specific series of notes and rhythms} that exemplifies a certain artist, player, style or tune.)

Flashy lead guitar solos can be tough at first. You don’t learn Steve Vai’s or Albert Lee’s techniques over the weekend unless you’re pretty accomplished to begin with (technique-wise at least). So what do you do when faced with something too tough? Well, you either work out something similar in intensity or skip the tune altogether. Which way you go might be a “band decision” so check it out and do what’s best. The last thing you want to do is attempt something way over your head and blow it big time on stage. It’s not uncommon to make an occasional mistake in public (clamming) but to go way over your head is another thing altogether. If you do make a mistake, chances are no one will know except you (though you might think everybody heard it). When this happens just keep on going and don’t make a big deal of it. (And if you really blow it, well..., you have to live with it and practice more so it doesn’t happen again.)

Learning Lyrics
Different singers use different techniques to remember words. Here is a drill created by a friend of mine, Mitch Talevi. Mitch has a lifetime of lead singing and being a guitarist/front man. He has taught this technique to his vocal students as well as using it himself.

Drill for learning lyrics:
1. Take a song and write the lyrics down on paper.
2. Slowly talk through them, pronouncing each syllable. Leave space between them. Don’t use notes yet. Just talk through them. Do this two or three times.
3. Sing the song.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the song is known.
As Mitch explains: “This is a method of actually learning the lyrics and making the song yours to sing and perform. When it’s yours, you ‘own it,’ so can then get it across to the audience. You don’t memorize or use tricks to remember the lyrics—you learn them. Sometimes you have to do the drill ten times through. When learning a new song just sit down and do this—it saves a lot of heartbreak later on.”

Tightening it Up
The best way to tighten up anything is to slow it down and play that part over and over—up to 20 or 30 times or more if needed. Work on the fine points. When you’re working with musical skill and ability, or lack of it, you’re working with such elements as: understanding, control and certainty; or not understanding, reservation and uncertainty.

The control needed to play something fluidly, evenly and professionally is achieved by practicing slowly. How else can you grab onto something? You can’t with any lasting success. A beginning batter does not start off by hitting fastballs. Developing professional level skill is not like an assembly line where everything is slapped together as fast as possible so that when all the nuts and bolts are assembled the thing is done. Once you are at a pro level, you can learn things very rapidly. A pro has already gone through the years of practice, rehearsals and gigs—he’s paid his dues and has put in his personal practice time.

Constructive Criticism
Offering one’s opinion about how someone else could tighten up his part should be done with tact. Some people take constructive criticism well and some don’t. Some people will get defensive no matter what you say and you have to live with it or not. The way you say things can either assist matters or make them worse.

“You play nice parts but your grooves are bad” might invalidate someone and make correction difficult. Saying: “Your parts sound great. Could you tighten up the groove a bit?” would be a better way of saying it. Using the word “but” in this type of communication could imply something “bad” or “negative” and should be avoided.

Since people’s emotional stability and personal confidence can vary tremendously, you have to be able to say things in a manner that will accomplish the goal. A stable pro might turn to a buddy with a grin on his face and say something derogative in jest and have it be no big deal. Say something like that to a guy who is lacking confidence or is weak-hearted and you could ruin his day or month or year. Be tactful.

Musicianship Level
More rehearsal is needed at lower levels of musicianship because people still have attention on what they’re doing. A drummer is still coordinating his limbs, guitarists are still working on tough chord changes, musicians are working on being able to sing and play at the same time, and soloists can still be wondering, “What am I really doing?” At the beginning, musicians are more concerned with what they are playing than having the freedom to create music without reservations.

When you get to higher levels of musicianship, you don’t need to think about these things—you just play. You learn the part and play it in context with a smooth and even flow or you just read it down. The more skilled a musician is the less rehearsal is needed. When I rehearse with a big band it’s mostly to see if the charts are right or to work on the entire show, rather than to figure out my part. (However, if something is hard, you take a minute to practice it of course. Sometimes you don’t have the material to work on at home so you learn it at rehearsal. There’s no other option.)

Apply these concepts and let me know how it goes!

How Music Lessons Relate to Live Performance

I thought you might find it interesting to know how music lessons can directly relate to live performance in ways that might not seem obvious. I’ve been wanting to write something about this for years, one of my gigs last December sparked my interest in getting this done.

I played a gig in Redondo Beach with my singer/songwriter pal, Ron Rutherford. Really good talent. We opened for Leon Russel, so it wasn’t just “any ole’ gig.”

It was a little last minute with only a handful of rehearsals, and my job as musical director was to slam the band into shape! (Which I did.) To me, this meant: exact rehearsal times, efficient rehearsals and nothing missed. This entailed a complete overview of what needed to be done, a correct evaluation of how much time was needed for each point and ensuring that everything needing rehearsal was rehearsed—and things not needing rehearsal were not. It’s easy and fun to rehearse things one likes to play, but if that time spent neglects rehearsing what you NEED to rehearse, it’s not only wasted time but detrimental by neglecting what needs to be done and diminishing the possibility of playing a great show.

Here is a brief list of the corresponding points that compare lessons to live performance:

~ Learning personal skills translate into playing well at gigs (or any performance, for fun or pro).Knowing how to practice one musical aspect on a lesson translates into knowing how to break a song down and rehearse it — as a group. You learn how to do the same, isolated thing repetitively until finished with it. And more importantly, it gives one the tolerance and ability to persist on something until it’s complete.

~ Taking directions from an instructor can translate to taking instruction from a bandleader, producer or stage manager. This is an important skill to have. (Ever work with someone who always has to have things his way—when he’s not in charge? This does not work.) You have to know how to take directions without fussing about things.

~ And lastly, when you have been through good music instruction to the point of actually achieving a musical goal, you gain certainty that you can do it! This certainty builds confidence which carries over to the bandstand.

A few band members who hadn’t had much private instruction were amazed at how fast the show came together.

You want to have as much certainty and confidence as possible when you are performing. This develops mainly from performing a lot, but these roots begin by having certainty as a musician — at whatever level you are at.

Practicing at the Right Speed

The purpose of practicing is to gain control over some element of music, whether ear training, technique or an isolated passage or riff. Part of gaining control is eliminating hesitations, jerkiness and uncertainty. The goal is having complete “ownership” over what you are doing: you want to “know” that thing in and out.

For ear training, chose the speed that allows you to listen, duplicate and understand what you are hearing. Repetition and focus are key. You might need to play and listen to something hundreds of times before really getting it, and you will improve to the degree you are focused. When you are focused you are “there.” Only when you are there can you duplicate or learn something.

For technique, isolated passages and pieces of music, finding the speed that you can grab a hold of what you are doing is the key. Going too fast can be overly difficult and going too slow can be boring and gruesome. Between too fast and too slow you can find a comfort zone that allows you to be aware of your motions and implement control. Adjust your speed to your awareness level. Find the speed where you can play the passage as best as you can and repeat it, noticing hesitations and uncertainties. Repeat it until it’s smooth and certain. This process could take between five and twenty-five times or more. This is accomplished by noticing the glitches and repeating it until comfortable. Your playing will smooth out simply by putting your attention on these areas and repeating them over and over. If your attention is not focused on what’s happening, improvement can be slow. What works for me, is going over the passage until smooth, then slowing it down a bit and repeating the process. Then, slowing it down a little more and going through the steps again. At this point I like to speed things up and see how comfortable it’s getting. Then I go back to a slower tempo and repeat the process. This continues every day until the passage is smooth and certain.

Learning something new seldom happens in one sitting (though it could). Here is a normal progression: (The time lengths are arbitrary and will vary according to the difficulty of the passage and level of focus.

Day 1 takes 30 minutes to groove a step in until comfortable.
Day 2 takes 30 minutes and feels like you haven’t progressed.
Day 3 takes 28 minutes to groove it in.
Day 4 takes 15 minutes to groove in.
Day 5 takes 10 minutes to groove in.

You miss three days of practicing.

Day 7 takes 15 minutes.
Day 8 takes 10 minutes.
Day 9 takes 5 minutes.
Day 10 takes 5 minutes.
Day 11 takes 5 minutes.
Day 12, no warm-up was needed. You played it well the first time.
Day 13, no warm-up was needed. You played it well the first time.
Day 14, no warm-up was needed. You played it well the first time.

Chances are that passage is finished.

Go for complete ownership over what you are playing and you can’t go wrong.

Marty Buttwinick
Buttwinick Teaching Studio

Guidelines for Practicing a Musical Instrument

1. Be there. Have your attention on what you are doing.
2. Be willing to learn something and accept the fact that it probably won’t happen over a weekend. You could learn something specific in a few minutes, but application to your overall playing takes some time. (Though certain things can happen quickly depending on your current skill level. Different people progress at different speeds according to current ability levels, past experience and the subject being studied.)
3. Understand what you are practicing and why you are practicing it. Keep you personal goals in mind and practice for that result.
4. Learn to relax your body when playing. Accumulated tension is one of the biggest causes of body problems, rough playing and a host of ills. There are about 120 muscles, bones and tendons in both forearms and hands, and all of these “parts” are learning new coordinations. While you are learning control you will get tense. It can be natural to use force to do something until control is developed. Not being relaxed when you play is like driving a car with the brakes slightly depressed. The brake pads are going to wear out real fast and you’re in for a bumpy ride. Notice and release tension when you play. Tension can occur in any part of your body: hands, wrists, arms, neck, shoulders, lower back, face, mouth, legs, feet.
5. Learn how to practice at the “right” speed. To play anything well, you need to develop complete control over what you are doing. Control is developed by repetitive actions at the speed that you can actually do the thing you are suppose to be doing. If you go too fast you can’t “grab a hold” of whatever it is and it’s like screeching around a corner in a car while driving too fast in the mountains. Go too fast and you end up in the trees. (If you ever got mad and frustrated while practicing I bet you were just going to fast!)
6. Understand the words and symbols on any written materials you are using. (I was giving a kid a piano lesson recently and she almost fell asleep in the middle of her lesson, but was bright and awake when she walked in. I snooped around and discovered that there was one symbol in a song book that her dad got her that sent her under the table. I found the symbol, defined it for her and she instantly brightened up and came back to life.)
7. Learn to sing in tune if you don’t already. If you can’t, this is easier to learn then you might think. It’s almost impossible to fully enjoy playing music if your ears aren’t working.
8. Develop a good sense of rhythm. Having good rhythm is vital, probably the most vital aspect of being a musician. Good rhythm can be developed with the proper drills. If your sense of rhythm is really bad it could take some time; however, you CAN develop good rhythmic ability with efficient instruction and drilling.
9. Have fun. Music isn’t worth doing if you can’t have some fun while doing it. Not all studies are fun — many things aren’t. But there is always a way to make some part of what you are doing fun and rewarding.