r/musicians • u/Witty-Magician3790 • Sep 17 '26
Any advice for beginner bands?
Hey guys,
I rent a very cheap space that several other bands rent in.
I started a very low key "band" which basically just consist of me (guitar) and a drummer who is old enough to be my dad. He's been great and patient with me considering I have never played with others before.
I've written some original songs and recorded rough demos in reaper and we have jammed a few times.
Any advice? I'm not very serious at this point especially since my day job consumes a lot of time. I am also older (late twenties)
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u/alldaymay Sep 17 '26
Late 20’s
Yeah it’s about time to hang it up there gramps
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u/Witty-Magician3790 Sep 17 '26
It's a bit late for starting out, not so much just for playing
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u/Knives530 Sep 17 '26
It’s really not man late 20s is perfect. Don’t let the haters tell you otherwise. I was in my band 17-19 but all my band mates were late 20s early 30s and we got as far as recording a few demos. Then after breaking up I got a call to open up at a smaller stadium for a bigger band unfortunately it was 2 weeks after I quit and I didn’t even tell them cause how angry I was with the 2 brothers , feel bad for my rhythm guitarist and drummer for never knowing though. But most bands u see opening up at local metal and posthardcore shows are dudes in their mid to late 20s. It’s all about pushing your name out there now and getting yourself onto that stage. Way different then it was 18 years ago when I was playing and we were cold calling every venue
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u/Secret-Bed2549 Sep 17 '26
I'd say the main thing for now is make sure you're both on the same page for what the goals are. Do you want to add more members? Is the expectation that you'll work toward being super-tight and skilled, or is it a looser jam sort of thing? Assuming you plan to land gigs at some point, how often does everyone want them to be scheduled for? Is it to be fully collaborative, or will one person be the band leader? Stuff like that is good to have a broad understanding about.
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u/orbs71 Sep 17 '26
Set some goals. If it’s not serious and you are busy, it’s only a matter of time before this fizzles and ends unless the two of you just like hanging out.
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u/TheCountryBreakfast Sep 17 '26
Have fun.
Fuck the haters.
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u/Witty-Magician3790 Sep 17 '26
Not important enough to have haters lol
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u/meatjuiceguy Sep 17 '26
Don't be so down on yourself. Plenty of people probably think you suck, but they're just jealous.
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u/TheCountryBreakfast Sep 17 '26
Set goals!
Ours are:
- to play as a full band at the Taco Bell cantina in Nashville (in progress with social media campaign, on stage campaign and documentary…)
- collab with fun brands. (Done and done and in progress )
- play atleast 1 festival
- play 1 theater show
- get free beer for us and friends. (Done done done!!!)
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u/No-Lobster623 Sep 17 '26
I’m laughing at the late 20’s thing. I’m almost 46 and created another band 2 years ago. And this one so far is the most successful
So my advice. Have fun, take it seriously but not too seriously where it feels like a job where you hate all your co workers
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u/fatboyfall420 Sep 17 '26
You should come to band practice already knowing your parts for whatever needs to be played. You don’t learn your parts at practice you learn them before hand and then practice playing them with others. You should also be practicing on your own EVERYDAY for at least some amount of time. Finally you want it listen to others more than yourself. Pay attention to what everyone else is doing and just let the back part of your brain play your parts.
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u/Witty-Magician3790 Sep 17 '26
Not going to lie I definitely don't practice every day. I travel a lot for work and often fly. I know travel guitars exist but I haven't invested in one yet
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u/Squidproject Sep 17 '26
i recommend the donner hush pro and fender mustang micro + a good pair of wired headphones. It costs a bit but is a great travel setup that won't annoy hotel neighbors
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u/Witty-Magician3790 Sep 17 '26 edited Sep 17 '26
Yeah I was looking into the donner hush x personally. I have a lekato plug in for headphone purposes
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u/Squidproject Sep 17 '26
ah yeah I think I meant hush x. It plays pretty well for what it is. just no vibrato bar
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u/RJMrgn2319 Sep 17 '26
Main bit of advice: you are not “older”, trust me. Plenty of time to crack on.
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u/Jasco-Duende Sep 17 '26
If you're 'not very serious' then just have fun with it and don't worry about anything.
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u/Berniebee2 Sep 18 '26
"older" I had to chuckle. I started playing at 49. Nearly twenty years later, I'm still having a great time.
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u/MotherAthlete2998 Sep 17 '26
First, enjoy your time together. The beginning of any group is a collaboration like a conversation between two people who may or may not be friends.
Stay humble. You never know what you can learn from others regardless of age or experience.
Find the positive in everything you do. It is so easy to go down the negative road. That can really destroy you and your ensemble.
When it stops being fun, take a break.