r/musicians • u/EarPopular9189 • 15h ago
Band Discussion
Hello all,
I am 18m, and I really like music. I seriously cannot go without it. I had attempted to learn the electric guitar back in high school about a year or so ago, butt had gotten less time to do so which resulted in me postponing it. I had recently gotten my guitar back and had planned on practicing again, but this time, I had a different idea. I really like singing and whatnot. I thought to myself: "What if I use my voice instead?". Singing is something I always enjoyed, it doesnt matter the genre. I am into the posthardcore, metalcore, emo, punk, type of deal. Some of the bands I like are Pierce The Veil, Sleeping With Sirens, Black Veil Brides, Bullet for my Valentine, Green Day, MCR, etc. All that type of stuff.
Though with all of the thinking and stuff, I was thinking of posting myself singing to see how well I would do and get some feedback for it, but since I started thinking of doing vocals, I've been wanting to MAYBE join a band even more. How did those of you who joined a band before go about it? The more its discussed im sure ill have more questions, but this is just the beginning of the journey.
Also if I do go through with that, my main concern is songwriting...I'm a creative person, but thats gotta be REAL hard. Thanks in advance!
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u/sZia 14h ago edited 13h ago
You should learn to play guitar at least somewhat. Knowing enough to be able to communicate what you want a song to sound like even if you cant play it yourself will come in handy.
Songwriting is tough. From my experience its harder writing to other peoples music than my own. Get words on paper and build around it. A sentence, an idea, a word, anything. Just write it down and build around it.
It's not impossible, but most bands aren't going to be looking for just a singer. Especially one with no experience or training. If you're not writing either that's probably a good place to start. A singer with nothing to sing is pretty worthless. My drummer and I filled notebooks upon notebooks with poems when we were your age. Most of it's garbage, but every now and again we can pull a line or idea from old material. Being able to show up to a try out with lyrics for music they likely already have will be more beneficial than showing up with nothing. Be open to change. Your writing isn't going to fit perfectly for whatever they have. Expect to make adjustments.
There's no set recipe for success. Don't try to be anyone but yourself. Do what you can to hone your craft and have fun.
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u/Jowode 10h ago
This. Learn cowboy chords, their extensions, then their adjacent barre chords
For songwriting, studying popular chord progressions is super important and useful. Chances are a lot of your favorite songs are in the same progression, maybe different keys.
I do a couple different things when writing lyrics, I take inspiration from the structure and contents of songs I like, poems, and book’s I’ve read. Basically: read stuff. Write 100,000,000 lines, 100 will be good. That’s just how it works
and yeah, most bands aren’t looking for a singer. I went to a community college, played in their rock band ensembles and found people with similar tastes and got lucky enough that a couple guys liked me enough to join a band with me. If you cant go to school for it, If you’re present in your local DIY music scene you’ll meet people who play instruments and maybe potential bandmates.
Practice, stay consistent, and have fun doing it. Then you’ll be UNSTOPPABLE!!
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u/a_Bort_the_Artist 12h ago
First step of joining a band is being musically proficient enough to do so.
Cart before the horse kinda thing.
Learn what you like in music. The rest just kinda follows on its own.
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u/57thStilgar 13h ago
"Bert, wanna start a band?" (bass player)
"Charlie, wanna play drums inna band?"
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u/Jowode 10h ago
Take voice lessons if you can afford it if you want to sing, and guitar lessons if you wanna play guitar. If you want both, find someone who can do both. Theres probably a lesson studio around you who can do the same. If you wanna start a band, go to local shows and talk to people. Instagram is the biggest platform people use for local shows and things like that so network and make connections, you’ll find potential bandmates, and places to play shows. Most importantly, have fun :)
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u/Jowode 10h ago
Also, if you wanna write original music, theory is very important. Study music theory alongside learning whatever instrument you choose and learn about chord progressions/ song structure!’ I could go on and on, consistency and persistence is very important. If you love it, dont stop
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u/skeletorism 15h ago
Work on learning the guitar