How to Join a Music Group
When you begin to play an instrument (private lessons or in a school band or orchestra), you begin a lifelong journey of discovery and enjoyment. At some point in your musical education, you may decide you want to share your love of music with others by forming a band or joining a group. You will be able to achieve your dream by reading these suggestions.
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Things You'll Need
- Knowledge of music
- Desire to play music for the public
- Ability to play an instrument/sing
- List of groups, genre of music each plays
Instructions
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Decide who your group's members will be. Select people with a range of musical skills and instruments so that you have a full group, such as guitar, wind instrument, percussion, bass or vocal.
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Determine what kind of music genre your group will play. You can select songs from other genres in order to keep the group's sound interesting and diverse, but concentrate on one genre, such as classic rock, punk, alternative, new age, country or Latin.Select your musicians and vocalists from your classmates or friends. Ensure that you have chosen people who can play instruments needed for your group. Don't be afraid to look outside your band or orchestra class--if you know someone from another school, invite them to join or audition.
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Arrange regular practice sessions outside of school. If possible, get permission from a group member's parents to practice at their home; if this is not an option, see if you can "borrow" practice space from a local community center. Discuss days and times when everyone in your new group will be available to practice. You will experience times when a group member has to miss practice because of illness, a family emergency or an appointment which can't be rescheduled, but try to make those events as rare as possible. Check with your teacher about obtaining sheet music without violating copyright laws in the process. Check out the local music stores and see if they can help you to get sheet music at a low cost.
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Once you have put together your group and established regular practices, it's time to make your group's existence public. Choose a group name, one that is easy to remember and is descriptive of your group. See if someone skilled in graphic design can make up business cards and flyers for your new group. Again, make sure the cards and flyers reflect your group's identity. Post the flyers in local stores and gathering places. Tell friends, family, classmates, parents' co-workers, your doctor and dentist. Spread the word among your teachers.
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If you or a group member has any connections with local media, use them. Ask if a local radio DJ or personality might agree to interview you so that you can spread the word about your group even more widely. Another way of becoming better known is to let local community officials, such as your mayor, know that you are available to play for community events, such as National Night Out or a local block party scheduled in your community. Even though you might have to play for free, it's worth it to be able to put your group in front of a segment of your home town so you can spread the word with, in essence, a "demo" concert. If your group plays at just a few of these community gatherings, you will be able to gain free publicity as well as find out how your group's music and talent is regarded.
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Arrange for someone you know who can act as the group's manager. Try to find someone who is reliable, honest and well-organized. You need a reliable manager so you know the person will be available to book gigs and help with set-up and tear-down arrangements; your group manager also has to be honest so you don't have to worry about your payments getting "lost," and someone who is well-organized so you know when and where you have to be for your gigs. It is very helpful if your group manager is not a band member--a band member/group manager will be responsible for too many things, and won't be able to devote enough time or attention to either activity. If your group is still in high school or college, you also have to keep in mind the need to complete school assignments even as you are an active band member.
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Have a contract drawn up so future customers will be respectful of your time. You will also gain more respect by having contractual backup. To do so, look for standard contracts at your local office supply store. If you don't find any specific to booking bands, see if you can get low-cost help in having a contract drawn up which is for your group only. Include such items as booking, cancellation, payment arrangements, deposits, refunds and arranging items for each gig, such as an electrical supply or a small supply of bottled water. If you or any other group members are under-age, specify that your group will not play in clubs that serve alcohol.
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Tips & Warnings
Establish a good working relationship with music store managers and your band director. This will be invaluable to your group.
Network with community leaders who might need to book your group for a community event.
Write information about your group on index cards and post them on bulletin boards in local stores. Include contact information.
Create a website for your group; consider doing so on MySpace. Keep the site visually simple so visitors can easily navigate and leave messages (see Resources below).
NEVER commit your group to a gig and fail to show up! If you have signed a contract, follow the instructions for cancellation.
DO refund any deposits you have been paid if you have to cancel a gig. Otherwise you could find yourselves in small claims court.
Do not play new music with which you aren't yet fully comfortable at a gig. It will be obvious that you are still in the process of learning this new material.
