Questions tagged [band]
For questions relating to forming, working with and performing as an ensemble of musicians. Depending on the size and nature of the ensemble, more appropriate tags may exist. For larger groups, especially in classical and jazz music, see also the [orchestra] tag. For bigger wind ensembles, including concert bands, see also the [wind-band] tag, and mostly in the classical music area, quite independent of the mumber of players, also see the [ensemble] tag.
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Etiquette of Quitting a Band
A few months ago I had to quit the band I was in. I was newest member of a 4 piece cover band that wanted to make originals and I was there for a year. It's a long story, but came down the band was ...
Dom♦
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Why can't I play with a backing track or other musicians
I am a 63 year old man who has never played an instrument before but I have recently started learning to play the harmonica. I’m half way through my second 12 week term of harmonica and I am not only ...
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How to play songs that contain one guitar when we have two or more guitarists?
I am playing drums in an alternative punk band we just started. I am wondering how to play songs that basically are from bands that contain one guitarist, as we have two guitarists. What can be the ...
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How do you determine if you're ready to join a band?
I've been pondering joining a band for some time now, but I usually get stalled at deciding whether or not I should spend more time learning to play first. I don't want to go through potential ...
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Why are there many guitarists, but only one drummer in a band?
In a band, there will be many guitarists. However, there will always be only one drummer. Why can't there be more than one drummer in a band? Are there any cultural or musical reasons behind it or ...
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What is the difference between a "band" and an "orchestra"
Growing up, my father listened to big band music. These bands are usually referred to as "Glenn Miller and his orchestra" Or "Paul Schaeffer and the CBS Orchestra". Is it that an orchestra has ...
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I play oboe and I'm in the top band, but I feel like a failure whenever my band director yells at me
I have been playing oboe for 1 year now and I am in the top band at my school. How come I can't do anything right. I feel like a total failure and not confident in myself. I feel as though I can't ...
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Why can't we leave all mics on during a gig?
We have a six person blues band. Our bass player is also our sound person. During a gig, he periodically forgets to turn on mics for soloists or turn on instruments from the board. My husband has ...
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Teaching Bandmates to Count
I started out as a classically trained guitarist and spent my high school years playing bass in a (school) jazz ensemble, so I have some (limited) formal musical training. Playing rhythm in Jazz ...
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Why do jamming musicians "trade fours" (rather than any other number)?
I've run across the idea of "trading fours" when playing in (and listening to) jazz groups; i.e. where two or more musicians take it in turns to play four bar licks or solos. I understand that it can ...
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How to play together online?
We had a band of musicians but unfortunately, my partners went abroad for further studies. Currently we're far away. We want to meet at some time in a week and play together online. We've tried Skype ...
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Stucturing Rock Band Practices
Background
I recently took over as lead singer of an alt rock band. Around the same time, we lost our guitarist due to a move, and our bassist and keyboardist decided to leave at the same time. We ...
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Which would benefit my band the most, learning covers or writing originals?
I've been playing the guitar for nearly four years, and I think I'm getting better at it.My brother plays the drums, and our two cousins play the guitar well. When we had all met last time, we wanted ...
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How do you count many bars of silence (rests)?
Playing in a jazz band there are often 5, 6, or 8 bars of silence. This is no problem as I can count them on my fingers. But how do I count larger rests, for example 52, 112, or even longer rests, as ...
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Why do musicians play too loud on social gatherings? [closed]
For example on a wedding, restaurant,etc. so that guests can't talk to each other because it's too loud. Even when people ask them to turn the volume a bit down, they turn it down for a couple of ...
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Writing songs on piano that are meant for a guitar-led band
I am a keyboardist in a rock band. I run into a problem a lot when introducing new songs to the rest of the band members. It might be my lack of skill as a piano player, I don't know. It's been ...
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How to sing better in a band situation?
The singer in my band can sing very well. When he is singing by himself playing an acoustic guitar he sounds great. However when put into a situation where he is singing with a full band (ie: studio ...
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Finding bandmates in a new city
I'm a young drummer that moved to Los Angeles. How do I find bandmates?
I've tried posting and replying to ads on Craigslist and am going in circles. Most, not all, have been flaky or are into a very ...
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What's the best way for guitar and piano to play together in a jazz quartet?
Guitar and piano are both used for chordal accompaniment in a jazz band. So I wanted to find out what's the "best" approach to have this two instruments playing together in a jazz ensemble (quartet) ...
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What are the key points for holding effective auditions?
So I am about to embark on holding auditions to fill out the rest of a line up for a blues band. What can I do to ensure the best chance of acquiring the best musicians for the job?
I have plenty of ...
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What can I add to a pop group as one of two guitar players?
I'm new to playing in a band and have mostly played by myself or with one other jam mate. Now I've found myself in a little amateur band with drums, bass, singer, another guitar player an myself.
...
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Why should my band learn music theory?
I recently started a band that plays a mixture of blues, rock, and funk. I am the only one in the trio that knows any music theory. Can someone tell me how to explain to my band members that they ...
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How to conduct rehearsals in a small band?
We have small band of four people(vocals+guitar, bass, drums and trumpet). It is our hobby, if it matters. I am trumpeter and the most recent(half a year) member of a band. We rehearse every week and ...
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How do I learn to sight read?
I started my school’s jazz band recently and I really struggle playing with them. It’s just really different to playing by myself alone, where if I make a mistake I can just go back and keep repeating ...
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Should a new band seek every possible opportunity to play or just work towards a few big shows?
My band had its debut show a couple weeks ago. The guitarist and singer and I (bass) have been playing together for a year plus, and we started playing with a new drummer in July. I'm really excited ...
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Playing Piano in a Big Band / Chordal Accompaniments
I play piano in a jazz band and I've been learning piano for about 8/10 years now. The type of music I'm talking about here is mainly swing music.
What are some good techniques/practices for ...
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Is it common practice to audition new musicians one-on-one before rehearsing with the entire band?
I used to audition new musicians one-on-one, for a soul music band. After that, if I really liked them, I invited the new musician to rehearse with the rest of the band. Is that a common practice?
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Counting off anacruses (pick up measures)
I'm in an informal and fluctuating ensemble that gets together every year to do some holiday songs. We don't have a formal leader, and we're all pretty inexperienced in playing with others. Sometime ...
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Whats an easier instrument to play than trumpet, with mouth, but still a brass instrument?
Recently I joined my school band. My teacher is having me play trumpet, but the mouth piece is sooooo uncomfortable. I struggle a lot to reach the higher notes especially. My teacher told me that all ...
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What are some practical tips to easily change tunings on stage?
I realize this requires having multiple guitars.
I'm personally aiming to use 3 different and diverse tunings for my band, but my bassist seems to differ.
Obviously I'm gonna buy more guitars. :) He ...
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How can I use a trumpet in a pop rock band?
We need to arrange several pop rock songs. The band has vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. In addition, we add a trumpet. Do you have any idea, method or example of ...
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In a Rock/Blues band who dictates the groove?
The song is Superstition by Stevie Wonder. The song sounded out of sync and rushed when we were playing it. I play guitar and try to lay back and play behind the beat, but should the bass player play ...
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Outdoor evening gigs and humidity/dew impact on gear
I was playing an outdoor gig in North Texas last Saturday evening, and about halfway thru I lost what seemed to be about 50-75% of my volume level in my amp (Marshall AS100D, playing a Jumbo Takimine ...
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What’s a Soli and do I have to play it
I’m working on music for a band that has multiple parts and I will be playing the third part for my section, but I’m first for that part. There’s a section marked “soli”. Am I correct in assuming that ...
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Playing with other musicians
This is a soft question. I've been learning the bass for about 6 months now and I can play some odd time signatures with ease when I'm practicing alone. Recently, I've been playing with a couple of ...
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How to "bring together the band" when playing tuba?
I have been playing trombone for 1 year but recently my band teacher has been having me learn to play the tuba because we don't have a tuba player yet. He told me that its my job to "bring the band ...
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How do bands take notes of their songs?
I've never been in a band, and I'm trying to imagine how the songwriting process goes in a band. Most importantly, I wonder how does a band take notes of their songs and ideas during jams and ...
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How are Band Scores and Piano Scores Similar or Different?
There are two sites I'm looking at that for a the same music book (same ISBN), one lists it as a 'band score' and the other a 'piano score'.
I want to buy music for the piano, so if it's really a ...
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Have I been teaching rolls wrong?
I teach beginning band to first-year players aged 10-12. I have always taught 5-stroke and 9-stroke rolls this way: Assuming that we are in a simple meter like 2/4, 3/4, or 4/4, I first divide the ...
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Alternatives to Marching with Bassoon
Situation: I am currently a bassoon player, and I am in marching band. I have marched only once with the bassoon before, and I know that the bassoon is both unsafe and impractical for marching. After ...
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Agreeing on the key of a (cover) song as a band
When it comes to a band, all musicians should be aligned and agree on the most parts (if not all) of the musical adventure they're about to embark upon.
This question aims to evaluate how, as a band,...
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Keeping a drummer in time with my keyboard
I'm a keyboard player in a party band, and I'd love to be able to use the kind of loop-delay sounds so common on modern processed recordings to fill out the sound. However, I face the immediate ...
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Can the Eb alto clarinet and the Eb soprano clarinet be substituted?
I am putting together a band to play the piece Variations on a Korean Folk Song by John Barnes Chance. I Was wondering if I could substitute both clarinets parts with a Alto sax seeing as they are ...
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Transposing bass clef instruments for Tuba, Bombardon, and Contrabass
I got myself an old full score of an arrangement for Dutch-styled brass band (fanfareorkest) to copy which the instrumentation is unconventional to me (I believe it's written in continental tradition?)...
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Can an Eb Bass/Tuba play in both treble and bass without changing valve positions?
I'm going to be moving instruments at both Church and School next year. I was playing Baritone and will be moving to Eb Bass/Tuba. At church I will be playing treble clef and at school I will be ...
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Military band music
Which instruments typically double up (play unison) in military bands? I have googled this question in different ways, but without an answer.
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How to properly practice music in rock band?
We play rock/grunge/punk, our band is composed of drummer (me), 2 guitarists, bass player.
We're not pro, we play for fun but we want to play good and correct. I play drums for about 10 years now, ...
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Band rehearsal: how to prepare for suboptimal monitoring conditions?
Some friends formed a group. They sound really good at rehearsals, and they all are solid musicians.
The problem is that when they play for an audience, the live conditions change every time, ...
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Guitarist and Bassist as only Bandmembers - Rhythmsection?
We are two individuals, one is playing guitar and sings and the other plays bass. We would like to just cover some rock songs we like and love. However, we do not really want to add another person for ...
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Any tips on writing the structure of a song for a band which does not read music?
I am starting to play some pre-written songs with a band. These are written by the vocalist and we are trying to make a demo out of them. We (as a band) are having a hard time trying to remember he ...