Advice to all teenage guitarist in bands(by a teenager)

[hfguitar13]

Ok, so for the last year or more I haven't found one article or fourm on the whole internet directed to a teenager in a band. So, since im 14, have been playing guitar for around 4 or 5 years and has been in 2 giging bands in the past year so i thought I should share some stuff.

Ok, so first things first..get your feet wet..do any types of "odd jobs" before your band starts doing "real" gigs. I played as the "backup" guitarist for my friends band (I bassicly played when the other guitarist couldn't make it).
Also, before you go out getting a gig, make sure your band is practiced enough!
Ok, since those two points are covered im going to go into probally the most important part....how do I get a "real" gig for my teenage band(bars, pubs, exc.)
The first thing, makes sure the place is "family-freindly" meaning making sure it has a restuarant area because, none of your freinds are walking into a shady bar to see you play.
Second, and probally most important, when your going to talk to the owner/manager don't use phone or e-mail, sure if your a 40 year old guitarost playing with the same guys for the past ten years, they'll call you back. But if some "kid" calls asking for a gig. I can tell you from experience, there more then likely not taking down your name and number.
So heres what you do, walk into the place at 3:15 monday and pray the owners there. Im only saying 3:15 because it will be absoultly dead. And if the owners there, he will be bored out of his mind so will be looking for something to do, when my band got one of our first gigs by doing that, the guy was literaly teasing us.
So, heres where your people skills come into play...be a social-guitar playing- butterfly. Sweet-talk them into giving you a gig. ONE HUGE PIECE OF ADVICE: put videos of your band practicing on youtube(make sure there abosultly amazing) and bring your laptop/ smartphone and play it for them. That guy who was teasing us was blown away by my freinds cover of pumped up kicks(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ6AYv-Ohg4).
One last point, don't bring the whole band in to the place..bring two people in. Perferally the lead guitarist and the singer. Since there the (arguably) the two biggest parts there going to want to talk to them.the advantages of having two people are that if someone gets lost in the middle of a sentence the other gu can kinda back him up. If there more then two then everyone will jump in saying diffrent things when the guy talking gets lost.

I hope my rambling will help someone someday(although i dont no how many teens are on the TDPRI)-
Hugh(lead guitarist of 221, facebook.com/221band )

[kelnet]

But above all else, learn to spell.

[String Tree]

OK, here is some advice for teenagers from somebody who used to be a teenager.

DO:
Stay in school
get GOOD grades
MASTER Fractions, decimals, percentages and, ratios. You just wait til you have to deal with a Bank!!!
Join choir, learn how to sing, harmonize and, read Music
Take up keyboard/piano, drums and, Bass
Take as many personal Finance and Bookkeeping classes as possible
Learn how to read and write MUSIC, not just TABS
Learn how to Copyright, license and, publish your music
Learn how to Communicate with Grown-ups through written communication .. on their terms. After all, they are the ones who will be paying you.
Learn about personal hygiene and Diet
Learn how to become self-sufficent
Have a 'plan B'

DO NOT
Do stupid s^&* with drugs and booze. Yeah, it was funny when I was your age. But things are different now. Cops don't have a sense of humor any more. One wrong move on your part will follow you the rest of your life.
Think I'm kidding
Talk through your nose. Make a video, don't kid yourself.
Think your loser friends will stick-up for you when S@*#! hits the fan. They will sell you down the river to save themselves.
Make a Demo with more than three songs. Make sure each song is no longer than 20 seconds. The people who watch or listen are in a hurry and don't care. Their frame-of-mind is: If you can impress them for one "Quality" minute, you have something they are interested in.
Think your S&*@ doesn't stink because you are a Musicain

Good luck

[TeleManMeSelf]

Wow, I'm 14 as well and have been playing for a few years a's well...but damn you have some experience in bands and gigging. What area are you from?

[TeleManMeSelf]

Cuz in my area there's nothing more than a couple deathcore bands

[String Tree]

Originally Posted by TeleManMeSelf

Wow, I'm 14 as well and have been playing for a few years a's well...but damn you have some experience in bands and gigging. What area are you from?

I am a Graduate from the School of Hard Knocks.

Music is neat stuff. It makes us all feel good.
The Music BUSINESS is as cruel and brutal as any other Business.
There are people out there who PREY on suckers. I call them Club Owners and Booking Agents/Promoters.

I have multiple knife wounds in my back to prove it.

All too often you have to bite the bullet (sell your soul) to get a gig. Take names, keep receipts, accept the fact that things can turn bad in a split-second. Be the guy that can turn on a dime, roll with the punches, and get called back for another gig.

You WILL have to do something you don't want to do to get and keep a gig.
It WILL involve crossing the line of life long friendships of the people you play music with.

Be ready to 'go it alone'. It won't be easy.

[ScatMan]

You go hfguitar13!

The world belongs to the young.

[Lerb21]

I'm old. I'm 19. Been doing this **** since I was 11.

Practice.
Do not try to get the 'look' down before you get the music down.
Practice.
If writing songs remotely interests you, try it. It doesn't matter if 14 out of 15 suck, because you've got one good one.
Practice.
If you can't get a gig because of your age, you still need to go and play with other musicians. Be it a jam session or an open stage, whatever. Learning to play with people is key.
Practice.
Play with someone who can whip your ass on your particular instrument. It keeps you humble and makes you work harder.
Practice.
Play out whenever you can. It doesn't matter if you suck when you're young. You need the time onstage. I sucked when I was 11 and 12 years old, but the hours and hours I spent in bars has payed off.
Practice.
Keep an open mind and take in any influence wherever it is possible. Everyone has something to offer in terms of playing music, understanding it, or the business, regardless of whether or not they are your cup of tea.
Practice.

[Sleph]

I've been 14 a few times and my suggestion would be not to get hung up on gear.

Chances are if you sound rubbish it's not your new custom wound pickups...practice your ass off and play as much as you can with people better than you.

[Brother Rob]

Originally Posted by kelnet

But above all else, learn to spell.

Kid sounds pretty mature and I really wish him good luck, but yeah, that was a tough read.

[Bongocaster]

Originally Posted by hfguitar13

...none of your freinds are walking into a shady bar to see you play.

Surely you jest.

[fuzzbender]

Advice to teenagers? Good luck with that

[wallis222]

Thats fantastic advice coming from a yougun. I think the OP is wise beyond his years. My advice for you is to stay positive and keep working at the music thing, but as an adult, you'll have to supplement it with something else.

[Manolete]

Originally Posted by String Tree

DO NOT
Do stupid s^&* with drugs and booze. Yeah, it was funny when I was your age. But things are different now. Cops don't have a sense of humor any more. One wrong move on your part will follow you the rest of your life.

I don't think there was a golden era for drugs somehow. Try telling John Sinclair and Roky Erickson that they lived in a time when cops 'had a sense of humour'. They probably had an ounce of weed between them.

If anything cops are lighter on you now if you happen to be wandering around with certain drugs, and to say "when I was your age we could all take drugs without consequences, but now it is all different". Sorry, but drugs back then were still coming from unsavoury sources.

Also, I'm 22 and of all the musicians I have jammed with in the last 4 years, exactly 0 of them have not used drugs in some capacity. I'm not talking junkies, a lot of students who made music liked to dabble, even if it had nothing to do with the creative process. As an 18 year old it is difficult to say no when everybody else is getting high or whatever. Perhaps a better lesson to the youngsters is this:

When you are on drugs you are boring, self-absorbed, poor at judging your own creative skills and get nothing done. Drugs may open up doors of perception, especially musically, but they also take away a lot of the skills needed to get you to this heightened creativity. It is an eternal game of chasing the rabbit down the hole. The best thing would be to learn how to compromise these drugs into your life if you absolutely must take them. The other thing is, remember when you are my age, 22, you are looking for jobs, you don't want to be sitting in cold apartments for ever expecting to get stuff handed to you for free and giggling away at youtube videos.


Sounds like OP has a far more rational and un-egotistical attitude to getting gigs than a lot of musicians I met who are much older, so good luck dude!

[String Tree]

Originally Posted by Manolete

I don't think there was a golden era for drugs somehow. Try telling John Sinclair and Roky Erickson that they lived in a time when cops 'had a sense of humour'. They probably had an ounce of weed between them.

If anything cops are lighter on you now if you happen to be wandering around with certain drugs, and to say "when I was your age we could all take drugs without consequences, but now it is all different". Sorry, but drugs back then were still coming from unsavoury sources.

Also, I'm 22 and of all the musicians I have jammed with in the last 4 years, exactly 0 of them have not used drugs in some capacity. I'm not talking junkies, a lot of students who made music liked to dabble, even if it had nothing to do with the creative process. As an 18 year old it is difficult to say no when everybody else is getting high or whatever. Perhaps a better lesson to the youngsters is this:

When you are on drugs you are boring, self-absorbed, poor at judging your own creative skills and get nothing done. Drugs may open up doors of perception, especially musically, but they also take away a lot of the skills needed to get you to this heightened creativity. It is an eternal game of chasing the rabbit down the hole. The best thing would be to learn how to compromise these drugs into your life if you absolutely must take them. The other thing is, remember when you are my age, 22, you are looking for jobs, you don't want to be sitting in cold apartments for ever expecting to get stuff handed to you for free and giggling away at youtube videos.


Sounds like OP has a far more rational and un-egotistical attitude to getting gigs than a lot of musicians I met who are much older, so good luck dude!

In my little town, the Cops DID indeed have a sense of humor.
They took absolute delight in pouring out a case of beer or stomping my brand new Bong in to pieces in front of me and than say "Now clean up this mess before I write you a ticket for littering". "How much did you pay for that little bag of Mary Jane, boy? [dumps out a brand-new four-finger lid] You know, you're lucky I don't charge you with a Felony. Transporting Marijuana ".

Thank GOD we didn't have to pee in a cup to get a job!

Things have changed.
These days, a stop like that would cost a person thousands of dollars in fines, court costs and legal fees.
Plus, with everything linked by computer around the world, it would stay with you until the end of time.

I did some stupid things when I was a teen.
Learn from MY mistakes.

[qwerty95]

Also, before you go out getting a gig, make sure your band is practiced enough!

That was probably the most important thing in that. There's a lot of bands around here, who have two practices and decide it's time to gig. And it's everyone's first band. It goes badly, and they wonder why.

[hfguitar13]

1) apologize for the spelling/grammar mistakes, I wrote that at 3 in the morning when i couldn't sleep.
2) I'm really not planning to be a pro-musician when I get older. This post was just some advice for people like me who really have no help so I thought I'd share some of the things I've learned and somethings that have helped me.



p.s I'm from Long Island, theres only a few good bars/pubs in the area and 3/4 of them don't want us playing.

p.s.s- I'm not one of those kids playing in a Deathcore band lol, I'm in a classic rock cover band that try's to mix older stuff with some new stuff(green day, foster the people, exc.)

[hfguitar13]

Originally Posted by qwerty95

Also, before you go out getting a gig, make sure your band is practiced enough!

That was probably the most important thing in that. There's a lot of bands around here, who have two practices and decide it's time to gig. And it's everyone's first band. It goes badly, and they wonder why.

so true...

[Capel]

Originally Posted by kelnet

But above all else, learn to spell.

Originally Posted by fuzzbender

Advice to teenagers? Good luck with that

Thanks for your insightful input, gentlemen!

Originally Posted by wallis222

Thats fantastic advice coming from a yougun. I think the OP is wise beyond his years. My advice for you is to stay positive and keep working at the music thing, but as an adult, you'll have to supplement it with something else.

Absolutely - & ignore the curmudgeons on TDPRI (you might want to stay off their grass though!)

[candybluecrook]

Originally Posted by qwerty95

Also, before you go out getting a gig, make sure your band is practiced enough!

That was probably the most important thing in that. There's a lot of bands around here, who have two practices and decide it's time to gig. And it's everyone's first band. It goes badly, and they wonder why.

Bwaaaaahahaha... I've seen this with adults..... I was in a bar in Beaumont tx, and literally... the band was all hyped up, talking about record deals to come... and they only knew 4 songs..... and they were hired for a full night..... and they got through 1 song.... and that was it....