Members niceguy Posted June 19, 2007 Members Share Posted June 19, 2007 I'm the default leader of my band (singer, guitarist, sole songwriter). How do you balance keeping everyone in creative control of their parts with the leader's need to organize everything sensibly? I'm very much a hands-off person when it comes to other people's actions: do whatever the hell you want and I'll do whatever the hell I want. But I know this attitude won't work in a band. I guess I'll have to get used to telling people what to do... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shniggens Posted June 19, 2007 Members Share Posted June 19, 2007 It's like walking on eggshells. I've been called a "studio-nazi" before. Best thing is to give an idea of arrangement and texture before working on a song, that way the musicians will at least have an idea of what you are after. Also, don't be afraid to stop a song, and correct the arrangement right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chunkytele Posted June 19, 2007 Members Share Posted June 19, 2007 I'm am new at it as well. My first recommendation is to have the adult talk about expectations. Then write down a schedule. Make time for fellowship, downtime or what ever you want to call it. Keep rehersal professional. Let folks know you care about the project, everday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 19, 2007 Members Share Posted June 19, 2007 I'm very much a hands-off person when it comes to other people's actions: do whatever the hell you want and I'll do whatever the hell I want. But I know this attitude won't work in a band. Depends on the band. How much you have to tell everyone what to do depends on how much everyone else understands what needs to be done. In my band everyone pretty much knows what their role is, and the roles are pretty flexible too. But everyone also expects to take some direction at times, like when working up a new song we defer to the songwriter on arrangement decisions, etc. But as songwriters we also consider everyone's input because they just might come up with a better idea than we'd have thought of, if we try it. I think one can communicate what you want without it really seeming like you're "telling everyone what to do." If the band is made up of supportive individuals they're not going to interpret it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members niceguy Posted June 19, 2007 Author Members Share Posted June 19, 2007 True. I think that it was hit right on the head: I should stop songs right away when they're going wrong. Just that practice alone would establish my authority. I don't like telling people what to do, so I'm going to have to be really, really careful not to piss people off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted June 19, 2007 Members Share Posted June 19, 2007 DO NOT be afraid of telling people what to do! It's a necessary function. DO be afraid of telling them in ways that don't work.xamples of how not to tell people what to do:a) "You didn't get it perfect on the first shot. Maybe we should just sequence the part."b) "You're not playing it right! Lemme show you... "(proceeds to plink out wrong notes for 25 minutes while band grows impatient) As for stopping songs right away: I gotta disagree with that unless you're on take 3 and the same exact error occurs. Especially if you see yourselves as a live performance act! We do onstage what we practice in the studio; if you constantly stop every time you hear a miniscule error, that sets the pattern for what will occur onstage. The band will collectively wince upon a minor error, and have to fight the now-automatic STOP! reaction. This of course can completely louse up the show. Besides, sometimes playing through a minor mistake yields the overall best track of the session - if you've stopped, it's a lost track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members shniggens Posted June 19, 2007 Members Share Posted June 19, 2007 I wasn't saying stop the band for errors, or flubs, or fatfingers or any of that little stuff. Stop them when the arrangement, or dynamics isn't what your shooting for, and you want to discuss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted June 19, 2007 Members Share Posted June 19, 2007 True. I think that it was hit right on the head: I should stop songs right away when they're going wrong. Just that practice alone would establish my authority. Unless it's a 12 minute opus , I usually don't have a problem with going all the way through a song even if it's not quite "right." You never know if there might end up to be something in there that works, and 3 minutes is worth being able to say to yourself and your bandmates "Hey, we tried it this way but it's not working for me." If we get all the way through the song and there really isn't anything working for me, then I'll just say "Ehhh, I don't think that's doing it for me... I was thinking more along the lines of... " and try to clarify further what I'm hearing. Usually, if something's working or not working, everybody knows it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted June 19, 2007 Members Share Posted June 19, 2007 If its mistakes at bridges and temp changes. You might as well stop it.if you are just in the arranging stages. Getting the que and the chord progression down is key. If everyone knows where it should go and someone screws up.. you can let it ride and play though the ugly part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mr Songwriter Posted June 19, 2007 Members Share Posted June 19, 2007 I think you've got to be diplomatic in situations like that, you're basically telling someone that they're doing something wrong in front of a load of other people, so it' s a good idea to keep any criticisms you make as constructive a as possible. I would also try and avoid dictating to people about how songs should go, ask other people what they think about the way the song is going and try and establish a consensus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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