1. Practise Practise Practise
2. Band Equipment
3. Finances & Contracts
4. Transport
5. Promoting your band
In 2011 the music industry is a difficult enough place to make money as a musician or band but yet so many who strive to "make it" fall short on the really obvious aspects of band life.
1. Practise Practise Practise:
- How often do you practise?
Most bands practise once a week. Then again, most bands are amateurs and never get further than the odd gig in their local pub. If you want to stand a better chance than most to turn your band into a career, practise as often as possible. Simple. The reason for this is that if you only ever rehearse once a week, by the time you meet again, you have to RE-LEARN everything. Rehearsing every couple of days means you BUILD on that knowledge and you make progress much faster.
- Make it count
Some bands spend more time in the practise room sitting around smoking than they do playing or writing. The way for a band to really make progress is to work on the weaker aspects of the band. It's no good hoping that the problems will solve themselves in time, in fact usually bad habits just get worse if they're not tackled. If the backing vocals have only ever been a theory, concentrate on them until they are tight, strong and in tune. If the drummer and bassist never seem to know where they are in the songs, try running through the songs with ONLY drums and bass. It may take some guts to be the first to point out someone else's shortcomings, but if band members can't take criticism from each other, it's never going to be much of a band.
- Recording yourselves
This can be crucial in tackling all sorts of problems. If the drummer is attempting fills that he can't play, he'll not be able to deny it being a problem when you can all hear it in the recording. Listening back will also give you a better understanding about where you speed up or slow down unintentionally in the songs. Recording the basic parts of the songs can help a lot for planning the arrangements for proper recording such as extra guitar parts, backing vocals, percussion or keyboard parts if any extra parts are required. These recordings are very useful to producers when you first walk into the studio. Apart from giving the producer a better understanding of the songs, it can actually save you studio time (your money). Some producers (including myself) pretty much INSIST on hearing demos of all the songs before quoting for producing an album, as it demonstrates commitment, shows the producer what the band's strengths and weaknesses are, teaches the producer the songs AND the process itself will have ironed out a lot of issues in the band before hitting the studio.
- Hearing each other:
Correctly positioning your amps in rehearsal is crucial. Having them full blast beside your feet will mean that you'll hear as much guitar sound bouncing around the room as you will directly from the amp. Try putting the amps at head height and turned towards whoever can't hear them. You may want to invest in a decent vocal mic to reduce feedback. You can't go wrong with a Shure SM58 or a dynamic mic by Sennheiser around ?150. Of course, before you throw money at the problem, experiment with different layouts in the room to find the one that gives you the least feedback. Don't forget that hanging duvets and carpets on the walls can help to reduce feedback. And no, don't bother trying egg boxes, they're too thin.
- Click-tracks: (metronomes)
If your songs mainly have a consistent tempo from start to finish, try practicing with a click. Drum manufacturers make metronomes for drummers (you can also use a drum machine or a laptop). If the songs get recorded to a click in the studio, the recording, editing & mixing can be a faster process and your band will probably sound tighter. Even if you don't want to record with a click, rehearsing with it is still a good idea to teach everyone to stick to the right tempo.
2. Band Equipment:
It's really quite obvious. You wouldn't jump out of a plane unless you knew you could rely on your parachute, so why get on stage without knowing you can rely on your instruments and amps? The studio is more forgiving, but any time that is spent on fixing & setting up your equipment is recording or studio time wasted.
One general principle is that as soon as you notice something loose on your gear, get the screwdrivers out and make sure EVERY screw on all your instruments and amps are tight. It's the reason why I rarely have to replace, fix or throw out any equipment.
- Guitars & Basses:
Get hard cases for them, and put big stickers on them too. Better still, stencil the band name on them.
If you don't change your strings, your guitar will sound lifeless. That bright sparkly sound you get from your guitar when you change the strings is the way your guitar is MEANT to sound all the time.
Make sure that your guitars and basses are set up properly. Learn to adjust the height and length of the strings, this will need done if you've never done it or if you have changed the gauge of strings that you use.
If the action is wrong due to a curved neck (or a flat neck) you'll have to adjust the truss rod. look it up!
To set the intonation (length of each string) use your tuner to compare the 12th fret with the open string or the harmonic of the 12th fret. If the 12th fret is SHARPER than the open string or harmonic, adjust the screw at the end of the bridge so the section of the string that vibrates is made LONGER. If the 12th fret is FLAT compared to the open string, you need to SHORTEN the string length.
If the knobs are wobbly on your guitar, fix them before they get any worse. Check the side of the knob to see if there's a tiny screw or allen bolt to loosen. If not, just pull the knob straight off (like on a strat for example). You'll see a hexagonal ring that you should tighten. Try to not let the stem of the pot turn, as it could strip wires inside.
If the output jack is dodgy (it's not an INPUT jack, it's an OUTPUT jack!!), tighten the hexagonal ring around it. Try to not let the stem of the jack output turn, as it could strip wires inside.
- Amps & pedals:
If you gig a lot, consider getting a pedalboard and flightcases for them. (check out diago pedalboards)
If you know what settings best suit you, be smart and write them down on a strip of white electrical insulating tape below, above (or ACROSS) each button or knob. This means that when someone uses your amp at a gig, you can very quickly reset your amp to your own settings. If you amp is digitally controlled, save all the settings for each channel. You can even save the settings to patches in 2 different banks in case you overwrite a patch by mistake.
For your FX pedals, "which should i use? power supply or battery?" DUH. BOTH. That way, if the power supply is unplugged or burns out during the gig, just unplug the DC inlet and the battery will kick in.
- Cables:
Cheap cables are unreliable and noisy. Use them at your own risk. Professional bands use roadtrunks to carry their cables. Usually, a little silver suitcase is all you need. If you're organised, you'll lose fewer cables at gigs. Consider marking all your cables with coloured tape or cable ties so other bands are less likely to take your cables "by mistake" after a gig. (here at Westland Studios we use yellow/clear cable ties at either end, so please use another colour).
- Drums:
Get cases for them. What's the point in buying an expensive kit if you can't afford to protect it? Also, if you gig a lot, consider getting a mat and marking out where each foot of each stand or drum should be. You can use duck tape or a marker. This will speed up your setup time, and is handy for when you get a drum tech!
Change the skins more often than once every 2 years! For kick, look into Evans patches for where the beater hits the skin. The white or clear patches add more of a click to the sound than the black ones. Both will significantly extend the life of your bass drum skin.
Learn to tune your kit. If you do, you'll already have an advantage over most other drummers. Make sure they are new skins, trying to learn drum tuning with old skins is like trying to chat up a girl with your mouth full. Start by tightening each lug with your fingers, until they are all as tight as you can get them. When they are all "finger-tight" you will probably notice ripples in the skin. If you don't, press the skin in the centre and/or tilt the drum towards a light so you can see a light reflecting off it.
Use a drumkey to tighten the lugs on either side of the ripples to get rid of them. Try not to tighten any of the lugs much more than the others. Once you've got rid of the ripples, place the drum on your knee or on a pillow to dampen the skin on the other side. Now hit the skin beside each lug in turn to see which lugs need tightened to match them with the lugs that produce the highest pitch. Usually you'll find that two or four opposing lugs need tightened. This requires a certain degree of musicality. When you have them all sounding the same, the drum should sound quite deep and even. If you want it tuned higher, remember to tighten the lugs evenly. Start with quarter turns of the drumkey, moving around the drum by tightening each opposite pair of lugs before turning to the next opposite pair. (If you number the lugs clockwise, the lugs of a six-lug drum would be tightened in this order: 1-4-2-5-3-6.)
If it really isn't working, any decent studio engineer should be able to tune your kit before you start recording.
Don't forget to adjust you bass drum pedal. If the spring is too loose, you may not be able to play doubles fast enough. If the beater is set too short, you'll not be able to kick hard enough to get a decent hit.
- Vocals:
Your singer's voice is an instrument. Try to stay away from dairy products before gigs or recording sessions and if you smoke, give up. Regular exercise, good diet and regular practicing will all help your endurance and strength. It may not seem "rock n' roll" but it is professional. Have your lyrics typed out TWICE. This is useful in the studio, both for you to have beside you as you sing, but also for your producer to help him to help you.
3. Finances & Contracts:
- Band Finances
The trick here is to treat the band as a business. To do that, you might want to think about starting a bank account which all of you pay into regularly (maybe by direct debit). This account should be used for band expenses such as studio time, merchandise, posters and even instruments and amps. The idea is that eventually you won't need to pay into it, but just take money out! This all depends on trust of course, but if you can't trust each other at all, you're probably not going to go far anyway.
- Band contracts
Most bands are close friends, but even married couples can draw up pre-nuptial agreements. As an example, the Smiths allegedly spent more time in court than in the studio. When money comes rolling in, things can change unless you've all agreed on who is entitled to what. A simple contract as to the split of royalties within the band can save a lot of time, money and tears in the long term. It may even save the band from splitting due to disagreements.
4. Transport:
A band with no transport is at a serious disadvantage. A second-hand van or minibus can be bought for the price of a small car. The fewer vehicles that are necessary to transport the band and equipment, the better due to many venues' stage entrances being down small alleyways. Trailors are also bad news for this reason, and turning can be a real problem not to mention the issue of having to lock it to a railing during the gig.
When packing the van, make sure the equipment is secure and the band are safe. In an accident, a flying marshall stack could easily kill.
5. Promoting your band:
You could be the best band in the world, but if no-one knows about you, no-one will know to buy your CDs & merchandise or come to your gigs. Back to the day-job.
Some pop acts have made it big with no musical talent worth mentioning, but they have a marketing team with a big budget that can get their name out there and associated with established names in the music industry.
Be creative. It doesn't really matter how you get your name out there, as long as you do.
- Online
Setting up a proper website can be expensive and time-consuming but there is no excuse for a band to not at least set up a social networking site. It may seem ridiculous, but even the choice of an email address can affect how others treat you, get a proper official-looking email address, even if it's just a Gmail for the band name.
- Merchandise
These days most pop & rock acts make as much (if not more) money on their merchandise as they do on their music. This may sound depressing, but if the income from merchandise is what allows someone to pursue their dream career as a recording & gigging artist, they maybe that person shouldn't complain.
I often see bands playing on stage without their band name written on a banner up behind them or anything written across the bassdrum skin or stickers on their guitars. The worst ones don't even introduce themselves over the mic. (and even when they do, half the time all you can hear is a mumble.)
If this article makes sense and you think it could be useful to your band, email it to your band members, PRINT IT OUT, and take it to your rehearsal room to go though it together.
Written by Alwyn Walker
Westland Studios, Dublin, Ireland
westlandstudios@gmail.com
00353 (0) 879 668 333
Alwyn Walker
Westland Studios, Dublin, Ireland
(SSL E Series, ATC main monitors, PTHD, 1178, grand piano, hammond etc...)
http://www.westlandstudiosdublin.com/
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