Goal is to play in a bar band, need advice

[moo]

Looking for advice from all you giging pickers out there.

I'm 30 years old and have been playing guitar for about 6 months now. I started mostly for a form of stress relief (I'm an IT operations manager), but now that I've progressed somewhat I've set a goal that I someday want to play in a country or rock "bar" band or something like that. I don't care about being some rockstar guitar god and I'm not looking to make a living from playing, but would like to be able to play well on stage. I'm not in a hurry, I figure I have at least a couple years ahead of me before I have the chops and the knowledge. I played Sax in my high school days and loved the rush or playing in front of an audience.

My background: I practice/play for 1 - 3 hours a day, acoustic and electric, fingerstyle and picking. My main influence is blues/rock and some metal. I understand the basics of Major, Minor, Pentatonics, improv, 12 bar blues, barre chords, pull-offs, bends, etc. If I have a tab to a normal song, I can usually play it OK given enough practice. Normal being not Eruption or something like that.

Do any of you have any advice, whatever it may be, to help me reach me goal?

Are there some must know country songs, or "bar rock" songs? I love playing country style riffs, but honestly never have listened to it that much.

Thanks in advance, this is a great forum and I enjoy reading it every day.

[hollowman]

My humble advice would be to play as much as you can with other musicians, whether that would be another guitarist, harp player, percussionist, etc. Try to catch a groove, any groove you can. Interacting with other musicians is the only way you will start to get a feel for playing in a band.
when I picked my guitar back up after a way too long hiatus, I started hanging out with a buddy who jammed in the basement with some of his friends. i'd sit in the corner with a squier strat and a cheap amp on "1" and scratch out chords. Eventually someone came over one night and says "turn that up, that sounds OK" and so it begins. Even today I have 5 or 6 musicians who I will get together with on a semi regular basis and just play for a evening. You can really learn alot by jamming with other players.

Have fun and good luck! Soon you will learn the meaning of GAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tim Armstrong]

What he said!

The single best thing I ever did to improve was to play with other musicians. Nothing builds your ear OR your chops better!

There are a few tried and true places to play without the stress of paying gigs:

Get together in a friend's basement for a weekly jam.
Go to a well-run blues jam and play the three songs you've been working on.
Get into a church praise band situation (lots of great players, you don't have to learn 40 songs right away, some of the musicians you meet might like playing in a bar band too!).

Good luck!

Cheers, Tim

[genelovesjez]

My advice would be to join a band as soon as possible. Don't worry, you're ready.

[bender-freak]

Originally Posted by hollowman

My humble advice would be to play as much as you can with other musicians, whether that would be another guitarist, harp player, percussionist, etc. Try to catch a groove, any groove you can. Interacting with other musicians is the only way you will start to get a feel for playing in a band.
when I picked my guitar back up after a way too long hiatus, I started hanging out with a buddy who jammed in the basement with some of his friends. i'd sit in the corner with a squier strat and a cheap amp on "1" and scratch out chords. Eventually someone came over one night and says "turn that up, that sounds OK" and so it begins. Even today I have 5 or 6 musicians who I will get together with on a semi regular basis and just play for a evening. You can really learn alot by jamming with other players.

Have fun and good luck! Soon you will learn the meaning of GAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the more ya play and jam with other guys the more yer gonna learn....doing it strictly on yer own IMO can lead to early burn-out and when you have no one or nothing to compare notes/progress with.....????????.....you'll know in yer gut when it's time to do it....good luck...cheers....

['caster oil]

Just dive in, as the above knowledgable dudes have advised. If some of these people give you crap for not having your chops up you're with the wrong individuals! Move on... REAL musicians are kind, understanding souls... never put up with an a**hole...

[Ramblin-Jam]

Go find a bunch of good musicians, and respectfully, embarass yourself in front of them. Good musicians will sense your desires and abilities, and will be happy to show you a thing or two, then you'll be on your merry way to the band you play with, with a fistful of "goodies." Basically after your hands loosen up from never playing, it is you ear that you have to train, not your hands.

Also it is good to learn what others have done by playing and stealing what they have done, but do not be a cover player. The ability to create is what makes you progress, not the ability to copy.

When you look at a tab, try to understand what the songwriter was doing. Figure out the scales, the modes, the techniques and the reasoning behind it, and then improve it. Trust me, ALL songs can be improved.

Good luck

[Clive Hugh]

Originally Posted by moo

Looking for advice from all you giging pickers out there.

If I have a tab to a normal song, I can usually play it OK given enough practice. Normal being not Eruption or something like that.

Do any of you have any advice, whatever it may be, to help me reach me goal?

Are there some must know country songs, or "bar rock" songs? I love playing country style riffs, but honestly never have listened to it that much.

Thanks in advance, this is a great forum and I enjoy reading it every day.

You say that "if you have a tab" what is a normal song? I might be misinterpreting this but I read it you need tab to work out a song, if that's the case I would suggest you have a "get back to basics" session, listen to a lot of old stuff from 50's thru 70's, get your ear trained up so you can listen to a song and play it.
Having said that don't just limit your self to that era, go right back, theres a world of stuff out there and the more you can soak up the better you will be for it.
Clive

[morroben]

A good way to get experience on stage and meet other musicians is "jam nights" or as Tim mentioned, "blues jams" at local bars. Like everyone else has said...playing with other people is far more important than having amazing chops. Nothing can replace confidence on stage. I don't mean that as "cocky"...but not hesitant or timid or afraid to make a mistake. You will make a mistake at some point and you just have to keep playing. Good luck...you can do it!

[moo]

Originally Posted by Clive Hugh

You say that "if you have a tab" what is a normal song? I might be misinterpreting this but I read it you need tab to work out a song, if that's the case I would suggest you have a "get back to basics" session, listen to a lot of old stuff from 50's thru 70's, get your ear trained up so you can listen to a song and play it.
Having said that don't just limit your self to that era, go right back, theres a world of stuff out there and the more you can soak up the better you will be for it.
Clive

A "normal" song as in something not virtuoso difficult, like Eruption or Yngwie type stuff. For example, I found the tab for Lenny, and after some practice I can play it OK. While I'm not to the point that I can listen to something on my stereo and immediately start playing it, I do study the notes in the tabs to understand what scales, chords, modes they're using and why. Then I try to make up my own stuff around that.

Interesting you mention the 50's - 70's stuff, because that's exactly where I've been looking to learn new stuff recently.

[moo]

Originally Posted by hollowman

Have fun and good luck! Soon you will learn the meaning of GAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm GAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSing for a Telecaster right now, which is what brought me to this fine site in the first place!

[Pete Galati]

One of the most annoying things about jamming with other musicians, is that one or two of them always wants to start a band.

Being in a band is usually no more difficult than finding musicians that want to jam.

The hard part is finding a workable unit, where everyone has the same direction in mind, and the same amount of commitment.

Pete

[Telenator]

All great advice!

I'd like to add, "learn songs." Learn them complete, from beginning to end and make sure you memorize them. This will establish a good work ethic right from the start and make you a valuable member of any band.

Perhaps the biggest stumbling block to any new and inexperienced band is that the members always show up unprepared or expect someone to teach them the songs during a rehearsal. NOT!

Be one of the guys who shows up with your songs down. There is no substitute for being well prepared. It will help you at an open mic jam, an audition, and later on in your music career as you learn to weed out the posers (those who can only jam and not play songs) very quickly.

This doesn't mean you have to go through your entire life with such structure, but the ability to learn and complete songs is a major tool to have in anyone's arsenal.

Many times, my band doesn't even rehearse a new song. We just learn it at home and play it at the next gig. These guys are good and nail all their parts. You'd never know it was the first time we were playing a song!

Sorry for the long post, but I feel very strongly about this.

[Durtdog]

Originally Posted by Telenator

Be one of the guys who shows up with your songs down. There is no substitute for being well prepared. It will help you at an open mic jam, an audition, and later on in your music career as you learn to weed out the posers (those who can only jam and not play songs) very quickly.

This doesn't mean you have to go through your entire life with such structure, but the

Lots of good advice in this thread, I'll add a quick thought onto this one. Once you go from picking in your bedroom to playing with other musicians, things change a bit. You'll want to play with the best musicians you can, and it's no fun for them to have to baby and teach someone. You'll do very well if you show up prepared, and then you can relax and play to the best of your ability. Everyone appreciates that. I'd much rather play with an inexperienced player who is prepared and knows the song...than a *better* player who's constantly lost (because he didn't prepare in advance) and is holding everyone else back. It gets old real quick.

[fierce_carrot]

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Go to a well-run blues jam and play the three songs you've been working on.

Tim nailed it right there. Work on some 12 bar blues, pay attention to your turn arounds and rhythm chops. Have a slow blues worked up and a couple of shuffles or maybe even a blues rocker. Keep it simple, don't try to cut heads with anybody and let them know right off the bat this is your first jam session.


Well run jam sessions are great because in many instances, they are comprised of working musicians who are killers. They give you a GREAT rhythm section to work with, constantly play with newer players and most of all, if they see you are having some troubles like anxiety, they can step in and cover for you and the audience never knows the difference.

[Tim Armstrong]

Another thing: be ready to play a song differently from how you learned it!

Songs on records and in tabs are static. Parts don't change, things always happen in the same places.

Songs in real life are dynamic. Keys change, tempos change, structure changes, someone else may be playing the parts you know, and you'll have to back off and play rhythm or arpeggios or double the bass line or or or...

Cheers, Tim

[E.D. Patton]

Lots of sound advice from this bunch.

I'll add a few things; nothing teaches you more than a resounding failure. If you're doing it right you're gonna wake up one morning, reflect on last nights gig, and cringe...

Congratulations! You just found your limitations. Keep doing it and every week the goalpost will move a little closer.

Also, if you're hanging at jam sessions learn to be humble (if you ain't already) and remember you're going to have to eat some crow once in a while.

And, whatever you do, don't quit!

[Leon Grizzard]

To know what songs to learn, go hear bands of the type you want to play. I don't go hear a lot of current bar bands, but when I do, I hear a lot of overlap in song lists. Who knew Sweet Home Alabama was a Country tune?

[telel6s]

Man, I can't believe that nobody here has yet told you to go find other musicians to play with.

My $0.02, in addition to the $1.45 you've already gotten above:

Learn to play by ear.
I've been in bands where we had our set and learned it well but that was it. For the gigs we played, that was great. But I've also played in "typical bar bands" where your set will include the requests from the audience or the whims of the band leader. If you're lucky, requests will come in on the back of a $50....

For those situations, being able to pick songs up very quickly (in about 90 seconds) and make someone happy is what gets you tips, makes people spend more at the bar which in turn can get you more and better paying gigs.

How to learn to play by ear? Just work on it. For me, the more often I try to pick up songs be ear the better I get at it. Keep learning things from tab sheets like you are doing and the more songs you know, the more you will see and hear the patterns in music. Maybe try to figure out a song by ear before you look at the tab. Or, look at the tab once to get you going in the right direction but then just try to play along with the song.

Oh yeah, one more thing: Have Fun!

Caveat: Learning to play by ear, if that's the only thing you do, will not turn you into the best musician. It's just one of those skills that is helpful for playing in bar bands, jams, etc. I once new a classically trained violinist who was terrible at playing by ear....but put some music in front of her and it was a thing of beauty.

[0le FUZZY]

I'm 30 years old and have been playing guitar for about 6 months now.

...Its a long way from there tew the werkin gig at sum bar er nite club.

I understand the basics of Major, Minor, Pentatonics, improv, 12 bar blues, barre chords, pull-offs, bends, etc.

...This will onlee take yew sew far. Timing and use of these in their proper place iss watt chew need.

Do any of you have any advice, whatever it may be, to help me reach me goal?

...Find sumone else hoo kin play (at least at yer level or better) and werk out 20 songs and learn tew sing noe matter how bad or good.

...Learn tew read udder folks (in the band) mind and make their moves familiar along with yours.

...After 40+ years of doin watt chew think yew may wanna dew inna future I haff found folks that play guitar are a dime a dozen but a good dependable fellow magacian hoo iss multi-talented will add tew the show and help yew be better.

...Learn tew be selective and independant yet dependant on udders around yew.

...Learn new songs on a daily basis and don't try tew make em purr-fect. Drunks don't care about it bean purr-fect but dew care that yew care tew please them by tryin a song they request.





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[JohnnyCrash]

Find some friends that play, or make friends that are musicians.

This is just for fun and not for money.

+1 Go play in a basement first.

Some bars may let you guys play already. I've been to bars/clubs where the "professional" band just sucked terribly.

Since you're ONLY doing it for fun, find musicians who you have fun playing with and make sure everyone knows the band is not for serious pro cash or anything. Then just go play :)

[charlie chitlin]

I'll say the same thing as the others, but maybe in a different way.
Playing with other people is a distinct set of skills that can only be learned by doing it.
I have seen people who are quite good at playing alone (or with recordings) totally tank the first time they play with others.
This happens most with singers who think they can join a band because they sound so great singing along with the radio.

[Hucklebilly]

Originally Posted by Telenator

All great advice!

I'd like to add, "learn songs." Learn them complete, from beginning to end and make sure you memorize them.

Absolutely! And the most important of songs for any aspiring bar player is "Mustang Sally." Learn to play it over and over and over again because that is what will be requested of you by a disturbing number of bar patrons.

[Rocker AK]

Originally Posted by Hucklebilly

Absolutely! And the most important of songs for any aspiring bar player is "Mustang Sally." Learn to play it over and over and over again because that is what will be requested of you by a disturbing number of bar patrons.

Ha Ha!....and I can never play that song again for that very reason. God that used to annoy me. That request usually came during our set of Priest, UFO and Iron Maiden. Some people should just go to another bar. That's what I do anyway.

And moo - Club owners are not pleasant to deal with at times, so open your own bar and become the house band. That way you don't have to play the tired, boring covers songs that everyone else plays. Practice, practice and more practice. Make sure you know the songs "cold". Good luck with your new band!