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Band is a very imprecise term. Many swing bands contain stringed instruments (Double Bass obviously or Bass Guitar) and some have contained string sections. Pop bands can contain almost anything. Orchestras can contain almost anything as well, but pretty much but tend to be Strings Woodwinds Brass Percussion In symphonic situations. Philharmonics tend ...

Your drummer should be capable of playing along to a rhythm set by another instrument rather than leading the tempo all the time. Can he drum along to a metronome? If the problem is that the keyboard isn't always sounding the beat (maybe you have a couple of bars without playing, or just holding a chord without rhythm?) then you need to add something for ...

Small ensembles in the pop and folk idiom can all go by the term of band; this answer will focus on what are referred to as "large ensembles." In the jazz context, the name of orchestra was historically applied in order to give credence to groups that would otherwise have been marginalized by the cultural mainstream and racism. That term has now been ...

Is there a particular set of skills that you'd say is required before one considers joining a band? Not really. Look for other players at about your own skill level. If you are taking classes, perhaps your teacher can advise you of others looking to play together. If you are reasonably comfortable playing in front of others, you should do reasonably ...

You say they're willing to learn, but do they understand what that means? Does the band have a director (or other person who is "in charge"), or does everything happen by consensus? Have they agreed that on this subject you are in charge? How do you spend your rehearsal time? Do you spend any of it on "technique" or "meta" stuff, or do you just rehearse ...

I think you should concentrate on teaching you drummer first, because the drums is easiest to pick up the rhythm from. The bass is also important, but is sometimes hard to hear the beat precisely enough. The bass drum is the most important for keeping a steady beat. When that is in place, it will also be easier for the others to follow. If the guitar solo is ...

In order to rehearse for maximum effect, we need to first identify the purpose of rehearsal and the objectives we seek to achieve. Here are the key things that group rehearsals should address: Collective practice up to a point where a piece can be performed as a group, Perfection of performance nuances, especially those that involve more than one ...

I agree with Tangurena's answer. I would add that if you aren't sure about your skills at the moment, find one or two people you can jam with that are better than you. I've found that playing with people better than me forces me you get better faster than just playing on my own.

If there's a lot of electronics going on that the drummer needs to always be in time with, then a click track on an earpiece is really the only option. This is pretty standard for professionals to use with in-ear monitors. If the tempo doesn't vary immensely and the keyboard is only playing from time to time, then I don't think there's reason enough to ...

I suppose with a cornet you'll have the ability to add something extra in for texture, so something like finding the main melody line in the song, whether it be with guitar or vocals have the trumpet follow this line to emphasise the line and it could offer a massive difference to the sound and feel of the song depending, you should try looking at reel big ...

There are a few ways to look at venues vs bands. Some bands can play the same venue all the time and still not become overexposed while other bands only need to play once and no one cares if they ever come back again. UPDATE: if you consider venue vs stable audience I think there is a spectrum with one side being a venue that has a new audience every time ...

I would recommend you avoid trying to use video. Unless you are 'local' to each other the latency and jitter makes it very difficult to play together. Audio can be encoded with much lower latency and is typically a fixed bandwidth requirement so this copes better with connection issues. Tools like Jamulus (http://sourceforge.net/projects/llcon/) are ...

For gigging live, there is a lot to be said for allowing the tempo to flow, and in general taking your cue from the drummer should be the general rule. Is it really upsetting you that much? In saying that, if he really can't keep time you have 3 options: give him a click track. teach him to stay in time get another drummer We use recorded drums as our ...

Joining a band should not be a question of your abilities. Sure, those are important, but the most important factor is your passion for playing with other people. If this is something that drives you or makes you go insane at the very thought of it, then look for a band without delay. Or form yours. You only really get better when you have to perform.

Generally, the distinction is between a "military band" and a "symphony orchestra", historically the two most common types of large instrumental ensembles. The major difference between those two is that a military band has no stringed instruments (with the possible exception of double bass), instead replacing that area of the sonic space with additional ...

First voicings: A good rule with jazz bands is to avoid playing low roots. Try playing just 3rds and 7ths in the LH. Then add the root/5th in your right. So a C7 would be voiced E, Bb, C, G from the bottom up. When you can do that easily with several familiar chords, play around with moving the right hand up a step so: E, Bb, D, A for a C7 which makes it ...

There is also an app for that: BandFriend. It's a free app for both iPhone (iOS) and Android phones for connecting local musicians. App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id510681565?mt=8 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.touchbee.bandfriend

It takes more time and effort, but seeing your potential future bandmates in action is the best way. It means that you may have to go to the venues that these folks play in, and I don't know if you're old enough to get into some of these places. If you are old enough, try not to get sucked in by the drink-your-face-off-at-the-open-mic scenario. You can see ...

In every area the best ways to find bandmates include: Adverts in music papers Adverts in music shops Sure, there are many more genres of music than just the one you want to play, so you have to filter out by either looking at wording in the adverts, or placing your own adverts describing exactly what you want to play. Hang out at music shops or ...

If you bring in a steady electronic beat to a live situation either the drummer should hear it clearly from the monitor or your sample must be very specific in terms of that tempo of the current song. The live performance is never perfectly uniform in terms of tempo though many professionals play to a click track (especially pop gigs with light shows and ...

Until you know what your audience thinks of you it will all be trial and error. If you have a wide range of songs, so can vary the set list, then playing every week at a particular venue might be fine. If you only have 8 songs and you just play them, even your best fans may get bored. On the other hand, if you only play one gig in a city then never return, ...

It depends on how you want to make this work, what kind of grade your internet connection is, if you all live in the same city and have the same ISP as these factors will decide the audio quality and latency. Audio: Use Skype audio (conference) calls. These are free, or If all of you guys use DAW's for recording then you could try VST's like ReaStream ...

Old-fashioned analog landline telephone circuits had many limitations, but there is very little delay between when a party at one end says something and when the party at the other end hears it. Other technologies often involve trade-offs between audio quality and delay; for most purposes, a delay of 100ms or even longer would be barely noticeable, but ...

There are some good examples. Have a look at Less Than Jake's song, Gainesville Rock City: You need to arrange the songs so it works, but rock music can definitely cope with ...

It sounds like there is something with your technique that is not ideal. First of all, try to identify if you do something different on each side, since it's only the one side that's a problem. Then try to play "symmetrical" so the tension is equal on both sides. If you don't discover any difference, you should contact a trumpet teacher who can help you ...

There are several causes which could lead to this effect. A common one being Embouchure Overuse Syndrome. (Think of a athlete that only plays occasionally without correct training the muscles stiffen up through stress.) There are also many genetic issues (shapes etc) that can cause this. There are also habits that can cause it. If trumpet playing is done ...

If you play too much you will be overexposed(but good experience?) and if you don't play enough you will be underexposed. There is no way to possibly answer your question until many years down the line. Hindsight is 20/20. The good news is you guys don't have to chose one or the other... you can adapt! This is what intelligent people do. If you are playing ...

Back in the 60s and 70s thats how bands made it.. there was no over exposure. In an example AC/DC before they were famous were playing more than every weekend they would play as much as they could to try and get as much exposure. That being said, AC/DC did not play the same venue week after week, and it wasn't always the same show. I think in the early ...

It does depend a lot on the style of music, but here are some standard ones with audio examples - http://www.musicwerx.com/JazzInstructionStuff/SwingCompPatterns.htm And a video from a guitar player, but the concepts are the same: ...

Do both. There isn't a minimum required skill set to play in a band. When I started playing in a band, I could barely follow a song. But I kept practicing on my own. A couple years later we recorded a fairly good album, nothing out of the ordinary for most people, but something I personally I'm very proud of. It is very important to practice on you own, so ...