Here you are.
You’ve done your homework. Your voice is in perfect shape, you have the first songs are on the table and you are ready to rumble.
You’ve made your decision: The time has come to pursue a new adventure and become a singer in a band.
Already, you can see yourself playing in front of a frantic crowd. Sold out gigs and partying with cheering fans are the bright future ahead.
But wait a minute – before you dream away, get it real and make your first moves.
In this post I will give you some piece of advice, how to sing in a band and make the best out of it.
Make Up Your Mind
Before you reach out to the next marketplace for musicians, get a clear vision of some key points:
1. What music genre do you want to sing?
2. What should your role in the band be? Do you only want to sing? Do you want to play guitar, bass, drums or keyboard alongside?
3. Do you want to play your own music, cover songs or both?
4. How often would you like to rehearse?
5. How often do you want to play a gig? Once a year, once a month or once a week?
6. What are your personal music goals? Make it just for fun or seriously striving for the top?
If you have an answer to every single question, you will have a specific filter for your search installed.
Who Seeks Shall Find
The very first step in this endeavour is to find the right band mates. From my own experience I can tell you that this can take a while.
3 ways to find a band?
Indeed, there are multiple ways -online and offline- to seek and find band members
A) The traditional way: Offline
When you check out your local music store, you will always find a pin board, where musicians post their ads.
You can also take a look at music schools in your town.
B) The easiest way: Online
Depending on the country/region you life in, there will be specific musician sites, where you will find a lot of ads. Just google “band looking for singer” and you will get a list of sites you can further browse.
C) The personal way: Friends and Family
Besides your active search, you should always tell as many people as possible, that you are looking for band.
You never know, whom somebody knows or gets to know.
That’s actually how I once found new band members. I went to a party and a friend of mine, who knew about my quest hooked me up with a guitar player, who wanted to form a band. A few days later we found ourselves again in a rehearsal room.
The funny thing about the universe is, that you often receive things from a totally different source then you thought.
I spent 6 months searching for band members on several websites, rehearsed with 10-15 musicians, only to eventually find a band mate at a private party.
Why Sing In A Band Anyways?
There are multiple reasons, why it is a good idea to play in a band. Here’s what I deem to be the most important points.
1. It’s a fact that every time, people with common interests gather together, they can build something that’s bigger then when you do it alone.
Do you what the word Team stands for? Together Each Achieves More.
2. Songs, performed by a whole band, will most likely have a bigger momentousness, then played solely on the guitar or piano.
3. Taking use of each band member’s individual talents and contacts, create much favourable opportunities.For instance, maybe one is a talented graphic designer and can do all the layout. Another can have hidden management skills and be in charge of booking gigs. Another band member’s friend is a skilled web designer. You see where I’m going?
4. Motivation and discipline augment. I once played in a band with an incredibly talented drummer, who was as lazy as a sloth. Only because he was in the environment of determined musicians, he was able to pull himself together, practice his stuff and show up for rehearsing.
New Challenges Being The Frontman
Singing in a band is full of new opportunities, but also brings some duties and challenges with it. You have to understand that the singer will always be the figurehead of the band.
While a frontman doesn’t automatically have to be the (internal) band leader, he will certainly be the representative, who attracts the most attention -on and off stage.
What’s the difference? The band leader is often the founder of the band and does most of the songwriting. He has a clear vision, what the band should be about and where it should to develop. He is the architect and the entrepreneur.
Besides your vocal skills, it’s useful, if you are a good communicator. You have to make sure, that the band connects with the audience. As important as the quality of your music is, you can’t leave the crowd alone with it.
They want to get a piece of you, and the frontman is the link between the band and the audience.
Watch these examples of how to connect with the crowd and learn:
Bono Vox (U2)
Freddie Mercury (Queen)
Robbie Williams
Conclusion
Singing in a band is a great experience and boost your musical career to the next level.
While there are many new opportunities, you also have to be aware of some challenges along the way.
If you love to sing, if you love to perform and if you love to surround yourself with like-minded people to reach out for bigger ambitions, that’s the way you should go.
Hope you found this article useful.
I’m interested on your experiences. So, please share and leave a comment!
This is very informative. While I can’t sing or even carry a tune much – my 2 years of piano were so wasted. I also have no talent with any instruments. But I do love music and found out about the different duties band members have. The lead singer and his/her duties amaze me. But being so much in the “eye of the storm” so to speak – I can understand why the lead singer is so important. I wish you well in your music endeavors and thank you for this article. – shirley
Thank you Shirley for your engagement.
Great article. I’m not much of a singer myself but I still found value in this article. I especially like your definition of TEAM. Well done.
Thanks Renton!
This is very good information here Felix I know a few friends that want to become actors and singers. Many people want to get into the industry but don’t know how. I share your passion for educating others on your teachings this is some great information thank you so much for that.
A great article, my singing only goes as far as in the car when no one hears me. But your content for those that are lookig down this path is awesome. A great way to really get started and to be clear on what you want. Thanks for your insights on this.
Thanks for reading my article Leah.
Hey Felix! This is great information. I am looking to get started with vocals and this article really gave me a lot of great information! Thank you!
Thanks for your comment James. Great, go for it and enjoy the journey.
I came from guitar and developed myself to the lead singer. To me it’s a huge difference and much more fulfilling.