The most exciting feeling is visualising yourself on stage while listening to your favourite band. I could do this for hours when I was still in school.
My dream started once I talked about it with other kids my age. A friend went for weekly guitar lessons and we went on a school tour together where we listened to various music together.
The moment when we started to focus on the individual instruments, acting out the musical instrument that we favoured to play in our band.
That’s when we clicked and realised this is a partnership in the making.
I was 16 at the time and couldn’t play an instrument yet, so I had to learn from scratch. The best way by doing this is actually going to lessons (accessible online or to a teacher) and hanging out with your like-minded friends and bandmates.
I wrote an insightful post about why 17 Is the Golden Age to Become a Musician where I tell more about my journey.
If you are keen to join a band but are unsure about what instrument will get you in quickly enough, don’t miss the blog I posted about The Easiest Instrument to Learn to Start Your Band Now.
The Band Family
Once the mutual respect has been grounded, it’s almost like a bulletproof relationship. You are glued together by memories and friendship.
Bands have plenty of conflicts, and it takes time to sort out who fits in with which part, but once this is all settled and it’s time to hit the stage, you can flourish in an environment that the band has created.
There are often times when we feel the need to bond a little more. You can sometimes feel that it’s time to spend more time together doing something else to create this band family.
For some suggestions on what you can do to establish this chemistry, I recommend that you scan through my post about Ways To Build Chemistry With Your Bandmates.
You Learn How To Deal With Criticism
None of us likes criticism, but in the band room, you create a safe zone for yourself. You will learn to grow to trust your bandmates and take their suggestions on board.
This is an important skill to learn in life, and there’s no better place than in a room with your besties.
You continuously try to present new skills and try new things that might work, just to realise that not everybody would be equally impressed.
My go-to experience is to go into the band room, knowing that not everyone would be keen on exactly what I am presenting, but since we are a unit of 4 members, I deliver the basis and the others need to add suggestions or ideas to make mine even better.
Only then it becomes a cooperative team performance.
You Learn To Think Outside the Box
Being a performer means building an audience, improving your performances and creating unique content that does not exist yet.
All of these things add up to having to come up with new tricks and ideas to improve yourself.
You will often compare yourself to other artists and try to improve on what they have done or try out something different.
It’s a continuous game of trial and error.
You Make Memories That Last a Lifetime
From getting together for the first time, to how new members joined. Or how your first performance went. You will have these amazing memories throughout your life of what you’ve achieved.
I always recommend that you document as much of your journey as possible so that it’s captured and kept safely.
I still have band photos from 20 years ago that I continue to find and enjoy thinking back about. It’s a long journey to the top, but once you’ve made it, it’s extremely rewarding to look back and be proud of yourself.
This post was written and posted by De Wet from startingmyband.com on 16.07.2023. The content was stolen from me if this blog post is seen anywhere else.
Escaping Reality, Coming Back Refreshed
As a maths teacher, my workload often became very heavy within the blink of an eye. I would often bring packs of tests home with me to correct. At the time, I taught about 200 kids per day, so I needed to escape the reality of deadlines and somehow get recharged again.
Going to band practice with my besties, did exactly that. We bonded, spoke about our lives, the band and new opportunities, and then we started to practice and improve ourselves.
This was like therapy and escaping reality for all of us. We were disciplined and we always strived to reach our goals, but the individual wellness of the band members should be taken seriously.
After practice, we felt tired, but recharged and excited for new things to come. We looked forward to the next series of performances and to making new fans.
Your Brain Develop Holistically
Being in a band teaches you to use both sides of your brain.
Playing an instrument where there are rules, boundaries and a framework to work in develops the left side of your brain. It goes together with learning to work systematically, create routines, set goals and operate in a team.
For the right side of your brain, you will use your creativity, think outside the box and to see the bigger picture. You’ll become more adaptable and you’ll learn to visualise a certain outcome.
You Become Well Known
Even for an independent or indie band, you still perform and people definitely take notice of your activity.
You will build contacts in your industry and get to know people from all types of backgrounds and with all types of skills.
Learn to build your network of skilled people that can help you with taking your musical journey further.
If your current band fails, it is highly likely that you will join another project from where you build your network. So be open and make an effort to remember people.
You Learn To Represent and Be Responsible
When you step on a stage, it’s no longer only about you, but about your band members and everyone else that’s proud of you.
Thinking that performing live is all about the individual is naive and selfish. You are representing where you come from and what you believe in, but also carrying the trust of those around you.
Your bandmates will have your back just as much as you are delivering for them, and the decisions you’ll make will be made with the best intentions for the band and your fans at the heart of decision-making.
Doing something for someone else is way more rewarding than just for yourself.
You Learn That Good Things Take Time
Patience is a virtue. You will definitely learn to become patient, keep your head down and keep working hard.
In most cases, artists only reach success after 5-10 active years in the industry.
You will benefit from reading through my post about The MEGA Starting a Band Checklist to make sure you’ve got everything you need in place to have a solid start to your career.
Your Confidence Will Increase
Nothing boosts your ego more than an audience cheering you on!
Putting out content that people freely choose to listen to is an honour and a privilege. Keep creating quality music and entertain your audiences, but keep your feet grounded and stay humble in success.
Remember, there’s always way more to achieve and you’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg.
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