Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

I bet you a hundred dollar's that at some point in your life you thought wouldn’t it be amazing to be a Rock Star?! Right? Most of us have had that dream, I have also. Some of us are gifted with the musical talent to do so also. I for one can play several instruments including keyboard and guitar. But there are some dilemmas with starting a band: Friends. sure we all want our best friends to be in our band, but really, it create quite a problem if your friend is an expert on Guitar Hero only. I'm going to give you tips to help your garage band and my mistakes of making my own.

1. Friend Talent: Unless your friend can shame Santana, chances are you want them to try out for a spot in your band. My friend Nicole (Names changed for posting) and I thought it would be totally fun to start our own band! Although... Nicole turned out to be quite an underachiever. She can’t play the guitar very well. Don’t have someone like Nicole in your band, even if they are your best friend.

2. Real Talent: To get the right members for your band, hold auditions! Put up flyers at school, community centers, gas stations, everywhere. Have real talent try out and make sure you put on your fliers what genre you want and which instruments are in need. Nicole and I didn’t do this sadly, so it just ended up being the two of us thinking we were all that.

3. Practice: It is true that practice in fact does make perfect. Find a space to practice, you may end up actually using a garage! Many students in high school ask the band and choir teachers If they can practice after school in the music rooms which works out great (sound proof rooms). Also, many places have auditoriums you could practice in.

4. Songs: Good lyrics catch the attention of people along with great sound. If one or many of you in your band are good poets, (yes poets) then write some smashing lyrics and figure out those chords! Nicole thought all her lyrics were bad a**... but really, she only copied quotes from other famous bands and pasted them together in a scramble. Make sure your song tells a story! If you need help, find someone outside of the band who is great with telling stories, good with words, and writes a lot, they would probably be willing to help with writing some lyrics for you.

5. Songs (part 2): Lyrics aren’t enough to get a great song; you need awesome mind blowing music. It’s always a plus if one or more of you is in band, choir, or and music class (music theory). Knowing keys, clefs, sharps, flats, cadences, etc is ALWAYS a bonus and necessity.

6. Name: The most important thing to a band despite members, lyrics, talent, and music is in fact, a NAME! Name your band well, have it express you all in its own way. Make it scream "WE ARE _____!!!".

7. Style: Make your band different then everyone else’s! If you want to make it different with have a weird instrument in it (like bassoon?) or by you all wearing your shirts inside out, wearing tall converse or shaving your heads (not the best one if you have females in the band). Make people know who you are when you’re on stage without you having to tell them!

8. Critics: Have people listen to your band! (Mom and dad are supposed to tell you your splendid, so don’t pick them) Music teachers, other artists, and people who are interested in your style will give you great feedback of weather you need to sack the bassoon you tried for style or need to amp up that bass.

9. Have fun! Being in a band is supposed to make you have fun, give you great experiences and help you try something totally new! Express yourself and be free!

Don’t get stuck in a band like mine and Nicole’s, make a spectacular one that will blow people's brains out!

Comment if you would like

Peace~Black Star Shine