This post isn’t about fighting for a spot in a band, but about constant improvement through competitiveness.
The standard for many rock bands is four instrumentalists and a vocalist. Some add various instruments, thereby creating not a pure genre, but a blend of different styles.
Four musicians: drummer, bassist, guitarist, and vocalist. This lineup, if assembled with incredible effort, is considered the gold standard. Just four people with different roles in a band.
I don’t know about big cities, but in the provinces, band lineups change very frequently. And the reasons for this, unfortunately, are not the topic of this post. Such bands only last a few shows. Rarely do lineups of such bands think about the future.
It’s also bad when a band plays together with the same lineup for a long time. If a band has no new songs, no fresh approaches to image, and no fresh approach to performance, even a good musician won’t want to strengthen the group. Firstly, there’s no room for outsiders in such bands. Secondly, no one even tries to stay in the band, simply because no one will take their place. BUT, when there’s no competition in a band, it’s bad, very bad. Your band is dying, know that.
Do these phrases sound familiar?!:
“We’ve been playing with the same lineup for five years.”
“We understand each other perfectly.”
“We don’t need anyone else.”
What kind of self-confidence and infallibility is this in your band? Do you seriously think each member is capable of improving their skills without comparing themselves to others? Do you think you can keep the band at the right level without injecting fresh ideas and energy? NO. You can’t.
If you have separate teachers for each musician, who are constantly improving their skills. If your musicians compete with each other in skills and ideas. If your team is regularly supplied with the necessary information to implement their ideas. Then, YES, healthy competition is already firmly ingrained in the band’s minds and vision.
But if this isn’t the case? Perhaps even worse, you can’t write new songs or record even a mini-album. Then urgently!!! urgently find new people for the team. Let one album per month be your benchmark. Are you writing that many songs? Do you have a backup? Can you teach musicians parts quickly?
I had a similar situation. I brought a drummer into the band specifically to create artificial competition. The old drummer didn’t even argue; he simply quit. What does this mean? It means that some musicians are made for playing in bands without competition, while others just want the next drummer to compete with.
I wish all bands nothing but success and development. So, if you want to see some progress, I’m asking you to do the following:
Bring another musician to any position and tell them they’ll be training with us now, and whoever works harder, whoever shows a good result, will play at the next gig.
You’ll immediately see who’s holding the band back. Not because they’re bad musicians, but because they’re different, for other bands. They’re not for you. Let them go and assemble a new, strong lineup.
Why do bands like these grow so fast?!
Because if someone says, “No, have you found a replacement for me?” and stops coming to our gigs completely, you know they weren’t the right person to begin with.
No offense, some can handle competition and compete, winning, while others don’t even want to see a musician in their own position. The first one suits us; he’ll develop and likely outgrow the band. The second one can play in similar bands with a stable lineup. I don’t see anything wrong with that. To each his own.
Create reasonable competition in your group. And may you be lucky enough to reach the top!
