Joining a Band for the First Time

After a few years of playing guitar and practicing diligently, you start to feel the need to play with other musicians and express yourself through your instrument. It's time to join your first band! Today, we're giving you some good advice on how to hit the audition and be as effective as possible in learning a setlist.

Assimilate a setlist and prepare for an audition.

You're ready to join a band to replace or simply to complete a band in creation. Most of the time, bands like to audition several musicians in order to have several profiles on hand and make the right choice.

You may be given a set list or a few songs to play during the audition, the goal being to fit the styles of the songs as well as possible while bringing your own personal touch. Don't make the mistake of trying to show off your skills at all costs by trying to play an endless solo or by playing too many things that could distort the compositions or the covers of the band. Stay concentrated and above all, stay musically efficient! You will have plenty of time later to propose arrangements or modifications if you are accepted by the band.

When assimilating the setlist at home, remember to identify the structures of each song in order to understand and remember how the tracks are constructed, it is very important for memorization.

Take notes about the nuances to be applied in each piece, write down precisely the chords you have to play and make sure to take care of the beginning and the end of the pieces. If you are able to write your guitar part on a software (like Sibelius or others...) in order to make a real score, it's even better. We have already talked in another article about the importance of knowing how to write music. In the case of an audition preparation, it is a considerable asset and a relatively huge time saver, especially when we only have a few days to prepare a setlist.

Be confident and self-assured

It's true that at your first audition, you may be a little tense or stressed. Relax and enjoy the moment! A band is also and above all a human experience. You will spend a lot of time with its members and your attitude in rehearsal or at the audition will reflect your behavior during your future stage performances. Remember to just be yourself; if your true personality resonates with the band, you will have no problem being accepted by them. If your personality does not go well with the other band members, then it is a good thing you could all figure that out before any contracts or commitments were signed.

Don't hesitate to communicate with the rest of the group by asking about their ambitions (planned concerts, studio recordings), because apart from their demands on you, it is also important to know where you are going and under what conditions. A band requires a lot of personal investment, so you need to know if the band's goals are in line with yours before you commit.

In your life as a musician, you will probably play with many people and sometimes you will feel the cohesion with the group while on some projects you will feel that you are doing wrong. That's the musician's life, so don't become too demoralized, there are plenty of bands, you just have to find the right one for you. Lastly, if you happen to NOT find the right band for you, then you might entertain the idea of starting up your own band. Yes, you are already accepted and from there, it’s up to you to find the other band members that resonate with you!