To play it’s first gig a band is going to need songs to play. Lets assume that you want to write 15 songs as a starting goal. 15 songs will be enough for the band to play a 30 minute set at a double or triple bill somewhere.

As the bands songwriting process is going to be intergrated into the rehearsals it is going to be even more important that rehearsals are well organised and are efficient uses of everyones time and effort.

First of all everyone in the band needs to understand that the sooner a set of songs is written and rehearsed the sooner the band can go out and play gigs.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Make it a rule that everyone in the band comes into rehearsals with at least one lyrical or musical idea
If the lyrical and musical ideas are together then that’s even better. Bear in mind that bringing songwriting ideas to rehearsals will require a certain amount of confidence from each band member and some will be more comfortable doing this with others.

If this is the case:

2. Don’t be hard on the members that don’t bring along any songwriting ideas.
Be encouraging and make them feel comfortable in perhaps bringing something (even some scrawled lyrics on paper) to the  next rehearsal.

(Oh, by the way. If you or your band members are finding it hard to come up with songwriting ideas you might find my FREE eReport “11 Ways To Eliminate Writers Block FOREVER!” very useful)

Eventually the band member dynamics will sort themselves out and the songwriters and the players of the band will become apparent.

Generally if the band has a lead singer then the lyrics will mostly come from him/her. Musical ideas will generally come from either the guitarist or the keyboard player as these instruments deal more with chords which lends itself to song arrangement issues.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. One example that comes to mind is Neil Peart, the drummer from “Rush”. He writes most (if not all) of their lyrics so there’s no excuses.

3. Bring a recording device to every rehearsal
Whether it be a tape recorder or a Zoom H4, it’s important that everybody has a recording of the rehearsal so they can listen to the songs and the songwriting ideas being introduced in their own time at home. Everything needs to be recorded.

4. Start the rehearsal by giving some time to every songwriting idea introduced
How much time you give to every songwriting idea is up to you but I would say 20 minutes could be a good starting point.

If you have five band members with one idea each then you are talking about the first hour and a half of your rehearsal being used in this way.

5. Once a songwriting idea has been worked on for the time limit allowed , stop and go to the next songwriting idea
You will also have a record of the songwriting jam on tape so don’t worry about trying to remember what you have done.

6. Once all songwriting ideas are intoduced, played and recorded it’s time to work on last weeks ideas
Of course miss this step for the first rehearsal but for every rehearsal after that this will be an important step.

In listening to the rehearsal tape over the week something would have stood out as a song to be looked at more closely by the band if this is the case then start jamming the idea more intensely and start trying to piece the puzzle together

7. End the rehearsal with a free for all jam
This is where anything goes, an aural brainstorming session by all of the band members. This is done for a bit of fun but also as a good stress release.

Make sure that you record these sessions as well because I have always been amazed at what comes out of these free for all jams.

How much time you devote to these steps is up to you but in no time you will find a set of songs at your disposal that the band will be happy with.

Once this has been achieved your band is one more step closer to playing live.

Until next time,

Corey Stewart
Orangutang Music

Keywords: indie music, independent music, music industry, music business, music marketing, music promotion, band promotion, orangutang music, corey stewart

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Ok, so you now have a band. Congratualations!

Now you got to give this new entity a name. Personally, I think that finding a band name is THE hardest decision that the band will ever have to make and therefore one of the most important decisions as well.

A band name is a very important part of the bands identity. It is the first point of contact a punter has with the band.

Does this conversation sound familiar to you?

Them: “Hey, I saw this cool band last night you gotta check them out”
You: “Cool, what was the name of the band?”
Them: “Ummmmmm……. I dont know.”

Arrrrrgh!!!! I get that all the time.

I can’t remember how many times people have raved about a band to me but can’t tell me the name when I ask them. Right there is the wasted opportunity for a band. It frustrates me no end.

This is a perfect example of how extremely important a band name is. A good band name is the first thing that a punter will remember.

They won’t address the band by the names of the individuals in it when they talk to their friends (unless they are personal friends of yours) they will address the band by its name.

The best way to find a band name is through sheer persistance. Finding a band name that is agreeable by everyone is not an easy task.

Here are some band name gathering suggestions:

1. Get every band member to write down their own list of possible band names
This can be the first task that the band can do collectively. Set a date for the first band meeting and between now and then do that task.

2. Make brainstorming band names the topic of your first ever band meeting
When everyone gets together put all of the lists out on the table and go through each one keeping to one side the names that ‘strike a chord’ (sorry about the pun) with all of you and getting rid of the rest.

As a group try brainstorming some ideas. This is a great way to start formulating what the band is all about, what its image is etc, etc.

3. Start an email competition amongst your friends/family/network
This is a great way to start compiling the beginnings of your bands email list. List all of your friends/family/network that you want to include and their email addresses and compile them all into one mailing group.

Send out an email outlining the competition and be ready for the suggestions to come flooding in. It’s important to have a cut off date for the competition (perhaps by your first band meeting) and to have a prize on offer.

Of course the prize is totally up to you.

Make sure that when you do find a band name that you announce it through the same email group. You have just started email promotion of your band.

4. Use internet resources
Examples of such resources are Band Name Maker or Band-O-Matic.

Whatever you do have fun with the process and dont let the quest to find a band name override the other things that you have to do such as writing songs and finding rehearsal space.

I guarantee that once you’ve agreed on a band name you will all collectively breathe a huge sigh of relief. The hardest part of the journey has been achieved.

Good luck,

Corey Stewart
Orangutang Music

Keywords: band name, indie music, independent music, music industry, music business, music marketing, music promotion, orangutang music, corey stewart

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