Make sure you've explored each of our 10 money-making methods, and your ever-growing guitar collection and years upon years of drum lessons will soon be paying for themselves.

Although the music industry today is entirely different to how it was even as recently as the 90s, many of the old ways of making money from music are still alive and well.

A few new ways have sprung up in the internet age, some of which have the potential to be even more lucrative than traditional means.

Let's get stuck in!

Play in a function band

If you want performance to be your bread and butter, there's a lot to be said for starting a high-quality function band. Also known as a party band, cover band or wedding band, a function band is generally a step up from a pub covers band in terms of professionalism and musicianship - and the higher rates the band can charge reflect this.

The best function bands follow two simple rules: play to your strengths, and play to your audience. Following these two rules to a tee will help you develop a set list that simultaneously makes you sound like an expert-level band and guarantees that you'll fill the dance floor.

Typically, if your function band plays at an event such as a wedding, you'll perform 2 sets lasting about 45-60 minutes each, with a short break in the middle. You'll most likely be required to bring and set up all your equipment and take it down again - but you'll be suitably paid for your trouble.

If you're in the UK, you can apply to join Bands for Hire here, or for our readers in the US and Canada, you could try a booking platform such as GigSalad.

Sell your merchandise

The benefits of selling merchandise featuring your band logo to your fans are twofold.

One: the revenue these sales bring in serves as an excellent supplement to your primary income, as the products are much less expensive to produce in bulk than the average retail price.

Two: free advertising! Every time someone sees a fan of your band sporting a t-shirt with your name on it, that's a potential new fan.

Some of the most popular types of band merch include:

• T-shirts
• Baseball caps
• Mugs
• Badges
• Patches

Thinking of different types of merchandise can be an enjoyable band activity. Nowadays, slapping your logo on even the more outlandish products is easier than ever thanks to creators offering their services on independent online marketplaces such as Etsy - have a search for merch ideas on their website.

Your fans might also be interested in the following:

• Cushions
• Tea towels
• Socks
• Water bottles
• Tote bags

You can sell your merch from your band website or via social media (or both!) relatively easily, without even having to leave the house. However, one of the best ways to sell your wares is from a merch stand, face-to-face with your fans straight after you've played a blinder of a show. It's also a great way to chat with your fans directly - which will, in most cases, convince them to come and see you again!

Claim your royalties

As a songwriter, once your song has been published, you own at least some of the copyright to that song. This means that you are entitled to a payout (known as 'royalties') whenever your music is used commercially.

There are 2 main types of royalties you can earn from a song you wrote:

• Performance royalties for whenever your song is synced for film or television, broadcast on radio, covered and released by another recording artist, or played in concert
• Mechanical royalties for whenever your song is streamed on a platform such as Spotify, reproduced on a CD, cassette or vinyl, or downloaded.

Understanding music publishing is very useful, especially when you're trying to earn money as an independent artist.

Some artists self-publish, meaning they take 100% of the royalties, although they have to promote their music and collect and manage them.

Some artists make a deal with music publishers, who take a percentage of the earnings (often 50%). In exchange for this, they offer the artist opportunities and connections and help to collect the royalties.

Upload your song to streaming platforms

Streaming is undeniably the most popular way for viewers and listeners to access media, so you need to get yourself a slice of the action!

It takes tens, even hundreds of thousands of listens, before you start making any real money from streaming, but an intelligent way to increase your chances of earning more is to sign up for as many streaming services as possible. Plus, the number of listens will increase as you build your fanbase.

We may have the preferred streaming services that we like more than others, and some streaming services pay their artists more per listen than others, but they're all still worth considering. Make sure you research how much each streaming platform will charge you to upload your song and find out whether they charge on a song-by-song basis or offer bundle deals for uploading EPs or albums.

The most popular streaming services that you should sign up to are currently:

• Spotify
• Apple Music
• Amazon Music
• YouTube Music
• Deezer
• TIDAL

Sell your music on vinyl, cassette and CD

While digital distribution and streaming services continue to dominate the media landscape, selling physical copies of your music is still worth investing in.

The vinyl and cassette formats have made something of a comeback in recent years. CDs are much cheaper to reproduce, but fewer and fewer listeners even have CD players in their homes or cars.

Many listeners enjoy having something physical to hold and listen to, which you don't get when you stream all your music. An excellent place to sell your personalised CDs, cassettes and vinyl records to fans is from your merch table at your gigs - it's a great way for them to relive the experience they had when they watched you play!

Work as a sound engineer or producer

There's money to be made from the other side of the mixing desk - or the other side of the recording booth window.

It's easier and more affordable than ever to set up a home studio for yourself, so start researching and pricing up digital audio workstations (DAWs), condenser and dynamic microphones, audio interfaces, and sound-proofing materials.

Once you have set up your home studio and have chosen which DAW you want to work with, it's time to practice! Start recording your demos, and see if you can get nearer to the polished sound of a professional recording.

Make sure you know your DAW inside out, and familiarise yourself with any common recording problems (like unwanted hiss) so you know how to solve them - then, you will be ready to start offering your services.

TIPBy having your own home studio, you'll save money you would've paid another studio to record you, and it will also earn you money when you record other artists and bands.

Once you're familiar with how to set the levels of each band member from your mix desk, you could also branch out into a live setting.

While some bands like to be in charge of their own sound at their gigs, most will appreciate a safe pair of hands (and a keen pair of ears). Make some enquiries at local music venues about whether they could use your live sound engineering skills, and you can negotiate a regular gig offstage.

Set up a crowdfunding campaign

If you're struggling to raise the funds you need to further your musical career, think about setting up an online crowdfunding campaign.

Crowdfunding is a way of asking your fans to donate money to you to support a particular project. Even a small donation from each member of a growing fanbase will soon amount to something more significant.

Bands and artists increasingly use crowdfunding to help them organise tours and record albums. When you're just starting out, you could also use crowdfunding to ask your fanbase to help you afford musical equipment or commission album artwork.

Some crowdfunding platforms are specifically geared towards the arts, which makes them an excellent option for musicians looking for a helping hand. Here are a few of the most popular:

• GoFundMe
• Kickstarter
• Indiegogo
• Crowdfunder
• ArtistShare

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Sign up with a subscription platform

This is similar to crowdfunding in that you ask your fans to help support you financially, but there are a few key differences.

Firstly, whereas you use crowdfunding platforms to ask your fans for a one-off payment, you use a subscription platform to ask your fans for a monthly fee. Again, these payments can be as small as £1, but over time and as your fan base grows, those pounds start to look after themselves.

Patreon is a popular subscription platform among YouTubers because if they receive enough monetary support from their fans, they can dedicate more time to creating higher-quality content. The same goes for musicians - although you might not be able to 'quit your day job' thanks to your Patrons alone!

Secondly, because fans who pay a subscription to Patreon (known as 'Patrons') are investing in the project over a while, creators and artists send them exclusive content in return that isn't available elsewhere. This could be unreleased songs, artwork, or backstage photos and in-studio footage of your band.

Find out more about Patreon on their website.

Endorse a brand

You may have seen adverts on Facebook of artists discussing a guitar brand like Fender or Gibson or watched a YouTuber dedicate part of their video to promote a sponsor like Skillshare or NordVPN. You may also have seen Johnny Rotten's Country Life butter adverts!

This is the result of arrangements like endorsement deals and brand partnerships. Brands, just like bands, are always looking for more ways to promote themselves and for more customers to promote themselves to, so if you're building a following online, brands will start to see that as an opportunity to reach another audience.

As part of these deals, there's usually an agreement that you, as the artist, will help promote and will only use that brand's products. So if you did enter into a brand partnership with Fender, you'd better hang up your Les Paul and strap on your Stratocaster!

TIPDo take the time to consider whether the business is a good match for your band. Remember: the most important thing about your band to your fans, as well as to advertisers, is your authenticity, so don't lose it by selling out!

When you're just starting out as a musician, you will still need to build up enough of a fan base to attract the interest of multi-million corporations. You need to prove that you can influence thousands and thousands of people before you're offered a Marshall endorsement deal like Angus Young from AC/DC or are chosen to become a Yamaha Artist like Alicia Keys.

That being said, as you build your online presence, get in touch with smaller, local businesses to see if they'd be interested in sending you some free stuff that you could mention or feature in your next YouTube video or at your next gig.

Give music lessons

There's a saying that 'those who can't do, teach'. We have an expression of our own, that 'those who do can teach too'!

Whether you want to give piano lessons, beatboxing workshops, or songwriting classes, if you've got this far, you've got some skills worth sharing.

You can give in-person lessons and tutor your students a couple of evenings each week or at weekends. A few good ways to get your name out there as a music tutor are to join and post in local Facebook groups, get in touch with local schools, and ask local music shops and live music venues to put your flyers up.

Alternatively, you can give virtual lessons. If you have enough content, you could create a series of tutorials or vlogs and upload these to YouTube. Make sure you don't post your best content for free - this could be reserved for your Patrons!

In terms of telling their audience what they’re all about, a band’s image is second only to its music - and in some ways, is even more important. Whether you’re catching a fan’s eye with your look or their ear with your sound, they’ll have made their mind up about you in a matter of seconds - so you need to make first impressions count!

Selfies vs Professional Photography

In the age of the TikTok star and Instagram Influencer, self-shot footage with homemade charm has seen a surge in popularity, and there’s nothing wrong with this - in fact, you can use these platforms and the lo-fi aesthetic that thrives on them to your band’s advantage. However, it’s important that you understand to treat this differently from a traditional photo shoot, which still very much has its place in the world of music.

As amazing as smartphones are today, and as convenient as it is to be able to carry an entire suite of photography tools around in your pocket, the fact remains that no footage you or your band members can capture by yourselves. There’s so much that goes into setting up and taking a professional quality photograph - composition, lighting, the post-production - that it’s best to leave it in the hands of the pros (leaving you and your bandmates to concentrate on looking awesome!).

So, with that in mind, let’s jump straight into step 1:

1: Budget for a professional photographer

When we say professional, we don’t mean that you need to track down and pay for the services of a photographer whose work made the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. A professional is simply somebody who is paid for their services - which means that you’ll need to raise some funds.

It’s important early on to establish the way that your band handles money, both as it comes in and as it goes out. Having a common goal is a useful way of settling into some good saving habits - for example, if you play in a three-piece band and get paid £100 for a gig, you can each pocket £20 and still put £40 in the pot.

Bearing in mind that, in the UK, you can expect to pay upwards of £300 for a full photo session - which will generally include an on-location shoot, touch-ups (not that you need them - a professional will just want to make you look your best!), and an album of around 100 digital photos - that means that, with this saving method, you’ll be able to afford a professional band photo shoot after just 8 gigs.

Of course, prices will vary depending on the photographer’s level of skill and experience, but you may also find that they depend on your own level of skill and experience. As you shop around online for professional band photographers, you’ll find that many of them offer deals or ‘beginner packages’ which offer a little less than their premium services but will still make you look a million, if not a billion, dollars.

2: Get inspiration from similar bands

No true creative would care to admit that they were anything less than 100% original, but while originality is hugely important, being realistic is much more so.

And the reality is: the reason why so many jazz bands pose before exposed-brick speakeasies and so many metal bands lurk in abandoned buildings for their photos is that these conjure a powerful image and, therefore, an expectation in people’s minds.

Search online, rifle through back issues of NME, MOJO and Kerrang!, dust off your record collection, and start taking notes and asking questions:

• What makes these photos so iconic?
• What stands out the most?
• How are the band members arranged?
• What does this photo tell you about the band?

You don’t have to follow this blueprint exactly - there will still be plenty of room to be yourselves - but there’s no benefit in denying that certain ideas work well together. Remember that musicians are like magpies: take the best bits from what you love, and stitch them back together into your own new thing.

3: Choose a theme for your shoot

The band photos that stick in your mind the most are always the ones with a clear message. The message doesn’t have to be especially deep or meaningful, but it does need to say something about the music and the members of your band.

Just think about the album cover for ‘Be Here Now’, the album that Oasis recorded at the height of their success (and excess) - the band are really showing you that they’ve hit the big time because they can afford to dunk a Rolls Royce in the swimming pool!

A good way to start getting to grips with your band’s theme is to put together a mood board - an arrangement of descriptive words, emotive colours, symbolic images, and anything else that similar bands use, aside from their music, to convey their message.

Since you have all these ideas together on one handy board, you will soon start to get more of an idea of what you want your band photo to include, and what you want it to look like.

Here are a few quick examples to start you off:

4: Find the right location for your shoot

The setting will literally ‘set’ the tone of your band photo, so finding a location that properly captures the vibe of your band is essential.

As with our previous step, it’s important that you can find a way to connect the location of your photo shoot with the style and message of your music - and it’s fine to borrow some ideas from other bands, as long as those ideas are still true to your own creative vision.

A word to the wise - don’t do anything that could get you, your bandmates, or your photographer in any trouble.

That goes for physical trouble (so no posing at the top of a cliff or on the edge of a waterfall) and for legal trouble too - make sure you know whether you need permission or not before you set up your shoot, and if you do need permission, make sure you get it.

You can search online for ‘free photography spots’ in your area, if you need to stick to a tighter budget.

It’s worth visiting the location in advance, if you’re able to - and it’d be even better if you can arrange to meet your photographer there in advance, too. This will give all of you an idea of what you can achieve, and how you can achieve it, come the day of the shoot - you’ll know whereabouts you could position yourselves, and your photographer will be able to get some test shots to see which lenses and lighting arrangements work the best.

5: Decide on your outfits

All the most memorable movements in music have been closely associated with classic looks, with the winds of fashion changing every decade or so. The psychedelic flowers and tie-dye of the 60s gave way to the punk rock leather and safety pins of the 70s, just as the grungy long hair and flannel shirts of the 90s gave way to the baggy jeans and wallet chains of the 00s.

The way you dress and style your hair is one of the first things that people notice about you, and it will also say a lot to them about the type of music that you associate with. On top of that, if each member of your jazz quartet is dressed to the nine in waistcoats and bow ties, the message that you know all the best jazz standards like the backs of your hands will be four times as powerful.

You don’t have to dress up as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band just so you look like you belong together - you just need to look like you’re all from the same band, and not like you’ve all just met for the first time. Jeans and t-shirts will do the job just as well!

Having said that, you could go high-concept with your photo shoot if you think a literal uniform would help you score some fan points. The Hives have reinvented their all-black-and-white for every album cycle - the monochrome is eye-catching to begin with, but the variations of the theme have their fans excited to see what they’ll come up with next.

Whatever clothing route you decide to go down, just double-check before the day of the shoot that everyone knows what to turn up wearing (and make sure you put your outfit through the wash too!).

6: Fix your hair and makeup before the shoot

If you’re planning to have a haircut, a beard trim, or get your nails done in the near future, get it done before the shoot so you’re looking your absolute freshest.

There’s nothing worse than spending your hard-earned gig money on some high-quality photos that are ruined by your roots showing! Hair is also an infamously difficult thing to fix in post production - no matter how good your photographer’s PhotoShop skills are, trying to edit hair digitally very rarely results in a natural-looking do.

It’s fairly common for photographers to edit their photos digitally, whether this involves simply adjusting the brightness, correcting accidental red eyes, or going so far as to remove unwanted objects. Have a chat with your photographer about how much digital editing you’re happy for them to do.

Some band photography services do include hair and makeup in their premium packages, so if you’re willing to pay a little extra, you can get the whole Hollywood treatment. The time needed for this to happen will be taken into account - but you will need to be prepared to sit perfectly still in your chair for a LONG time.

7. Have Band Members Use Props

Give your hands something to do - it’s the best way to avoid looking awkward! You don’t want your bandmates shoving their hand in and out of every pocket they have available, or fiddling with the hair that just took an hour to get right.

Props are a great way to get your theme across to your audience. They can be as low-key or as full-on as you want - you can choose anything from simply holding your respective instruments to the kind of props you might find at a fancy dress party.

It’s worth planning which props you want to bring and practicing how you’re going to pose with them.

Write yourself a checklist so you don’t leave anything behind - you don’t want to be the only member of the brass section who forgot their trumpet. Always bring spares of whatever you can, too - you never know when a drumstick might snap or a sunglasses lens might pop out.

When it comes to practicing posing with your props, always make sure you can be safe and comfortable holding your chosen item for a long period of time. Don’t pick anything too heavy or anything that might be painful after a while - think about bringing pads if you’re worried about straps digging into your shoulders.

8. Strike your poses

Your body language can sometimes say more than words ever can! We all know the basics: arms folded and shoulders tensed for stand-offish, arms open and shoulders relaxed for welcoming, and so on - and these will tell your audience about the kind of band you are, and the kind of experience they can expect when they listen to your music and come to your shows.

The worst mistake you can make is: look like you don’t know what you’re doing. If you want to intentionally look like you don’t care, or you want to go for something more candid and natural, that’s fine - just don’t look awkward or nervous by accident, because anybody who sees that photo (including you!) will be able to sense that you felt that way.

The best thing to do is try to recreate the energy you have onstage. If you’re a hardcore punk band, you want a bit of rebelliousness with a dash of clenched-fist aggression thrown in; if you’re a 50s-style rock ’n’ roll covers band, it’s winning smiles and swinging hips all round.

Whatever vibe you’re going for, there are some general rules that all band shoots should follow:

• Use different angles. Photos taken from below will make you look bigger, whereas photos taken from above will make you look smaller.
• Don’t just line up in a row. Group photos with depth are more interesting for the eyes to explore, so organise yourselves into layers.
• Position the lead singer at the front. Each of you is a key player in your band, but the lead singer is the voice and the face of your band, so you all need to get used to putting them up front!

9: Plan your day

For a professional shoot, you need to be in it for the long haul. Clear your schedule for the day, and make sure all your band members and your photographer have all agreed to a timeframe.

It’s possible that you’ll be in for an early start, as your photographer may want to make the most of natural daylight before the evening creeps in.

Make sure you all know your travel arrangements. Plan your route if you’re driving, or book your tickets in advance if you’re taking the train, and make sure you’ve all got your phones (which need to be full of charge and of everyone’s numbers) switched on.

Once you’ve all managed to get yourselves to the same place at the same time, you’re going to need a few provisions to keep you going. Bottled water and a packed lunch are a must - you don’t want to be caught on camera passing out from thirst and hunger!

10: Take photos for multiple purposes

It’s important that you all go into your shoot with the same goal in mind - but it’s also important to spot any other opportunities while you’ve got everything set up. Apart from your main group photo, get some individual headshots and some black and white photos while you’re at it.

Think about what you want to use your photos for, and think about what would work best for each of these purposes. Different purposes have different requirements in terms of size and shape.

A magazine cover, for example, would require a photo to be in portrait (taller than it is wide). This means that you would need to stand closer together so you can all fit into the frame - but you’ll be able to fit your whole bodies in more easily.

A banner image for your social media page would require a photo that’s in landscape (wider than it is taller - quite a lot wider in this instance). This means that you can spread out a bit more for your photo.

Aside from taking photos in different orientations, you’ll also need to be clear that you want high resolution images. Professional photographers will be well aware of this already, but you need to make sure your photos are of high enough quality to meet the standards of any local media outlets that you want to feature your band. If the photos look too blurry or pixelated, they’ll be turned down!

You may also want to request your photos in multiple file formats (JPEG, PNG and PDF are the most common) for the same reason - you need to have whatever the local media wants ready to go.Follow these 10 steps, and your band will be naturals in front of the camera before you know it. Don’t forget to say cheese!

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Using these tips and online resources, you can connect with like-minded creators and collaborators to form the ultimate line-up.

A great band is only great in theory until the right players take their rightful places - and this can happen in many ways, for many reasons. Foo Fighters only became a band when Dave Grohl realised that he needed to find real members to bring his solo studio project to life, whereas Guns N' Roses only became a band when the former LA Gunz and Hollywood Rose members abandoned their previous projects and decided to join forces. Even the Spice Girls only met each other because they all happened to answer the same classified ad in the Stage.

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When it comes to finding band members who are going to help you take your musical project to the next step, it's all about connecting on the right level. Sure, there might be hundreds of guitarists in your area who would love an excuse to strut their stuff onstage, but for a band that'll last, you need to find a teammate, not a star player.

Here are some practical ways you can get your search started:

Talk to Friends and Family

There's no reason why you have to carry out the whole search alone, so spread the word among your friends and family that you're on the lookout for some band members. You never know - you might even find yourself in a Kings of Leon-type situation where everyone in the band is related!

Even if you're the only musical member of your family and all your buddies are more interested in sports, it's still worth asking if they know somebody or even know somebody who knows somebody. You're bound to have an uncle or an old-school friend who loves watching local live bands, so they might be able to put a good word in for you.

Talk to your Music Teacher

If you're taking music lessons at the moment, have a conversation with your music teacher about the best way to find fellow musicians to jam with and local bands to join. Most drum, bass, guitar, and singing tutors will either play in a band alongside their teaching career or will have played in a band in their previous lives, so they'll be able to share their experiences of finding bandmates with you firsthand.

Another good reason to talk to your music teacher about finding bandmates is that your teacher will have other pupils, many of whom will be in your exact position. Your guitar teacher might be giving you lessons on a Monday evening and your future bandmate lessons on a Tuesday evening!

Go to Open Mic Nights

In addition to the mic itself, the best part about these nights is that you'll be welcomed with open arms and minds by those who run and regularly attend them. It's commonplace to see a first-timer play their first-ever song in front of an audience at an open mic, so you'll usually find the crowd to be naturally kind and accepting.

Open mic nights are great for scoping out local musical talent and putting yourself out there. You might see exactly what you've been looking for up on the small stage - or someone else might find what they've been looking for when you get up and do a turn!

Another great thing about open mic nights is that jamming is often encouraged - it's not unheard of for other musicians to jump on stage and start joining in when they hear their favourite songs being played. This can be a great way to hear and feel how well you gel with musicians you otherwise might not have considered, or even crossed paths with.

Go to Local Gigs

When it comes to a local music scene, you've got to ingratiate yourself to integrate yourself. You need to go to as many gigs as you can, buy as much merch as you can, and basically give as much as you can before you can expect to start getting anything back.

This may seem like an awful lot of work, and may not be the quick fix you were looking for, but show enthusiasm for your local scene and it'll start to show you some back. Once your face becomes a familiar one, the movers and the shakers will start to notice you and appreciate you - and that's the long-term goal.

Local gigs are, in many ways, a step up from open mic nights - this is where you'll brush shoulders with musicians who are more serious, or even dedicated fans who are musicians themselves. You may well notice that some local bands even share members, so once you've broken into the inner circle, you could end up borrowing a drummer or a bassist from the line-up of usual suspects!

Join Facebook Groups

Every town or city with its own pub will likely also have at least one Facebook group dedicated to local music - just type in 'your town name' + 'musicians' into Facebook's search bar and see what results appear. As well as posting your intentions to find bandmates in the group and replying to similar posts from other members, you may also find additional information, such as gig offerings, advertisements for instrument repair services, and secondhand equipment for sale.

Joining the group will, of course, be free, although your request will need to be approved by the group admins (you may have to answer a couple of questions too) - and you will absolutely have to adhere to the group's regulations. We do also strongly recommend, however eager you may be to find your new bandmates, that you don't spam the group - if other members only post in there every other week and you're posting in there every day, you risk putting people off!

Join a Music Society

If you're currently attending school, college or university, you're bound to find no shortage of music societies or music clubs. Most schools will have a choir, a jazz band, or another type of ensemble that you could find out about joining.

Even if the club you join doesn't specialise in your preferred style of music, that's not to say you won't find another musician there who shares your interest. You might find a jazz drummer who's a punk rocker at heart, or a soprano whose true passion is gothic metal!

Check Local Notice Boards

If you want to find local musicians, go to the places where local musicians are bound to visit. Aside from gig venues and the pubs and bars that host open mic nights, here are some local musician haunts that you could find in a town near you:

• Music shops
• Rehearsal rooms
• Recording studios
• Local radio stations

Even if you don't bump into your future band in person, most of these places will have a community noticeboard plastered with flyers from bands looking for musicians, or vice versa. Have a good look through what's already on offer and get in touch with any promising leads - then, if that doesn't go anywhere, ask about advertising on the board yourself.

Check Local Newspapers and Magazines

Even in the digital age, print media still has its place. A lot of local publications have subscribers that are just as loyal as the fan bases of local bands

Find out what the local community newspaper and local arts magazine is for your area, and get yourself a copy. Check through it to see if any bands are advertising in them already - if not, get in contact with them to see how much it would cost to place an ad in an upcoming issue.

Classified ads often charge by the word or by the line, so even though you'll be excited to describe your band in detail, you need to choose your words carefully and stick to the key points:

• Position available (e.g. 'Guitarist wanted')
• Band name
• Genre (keep this short - 'metal' would save more space then 'progressive post-grindcore death metal')
• Contact details

See if there are any free newspapers (also known as 'freesheets') that you can contact in your area too - these are often posted, free of charge, straight through people's letterboxes.

Sign up to Musician Forums on Reddit

From the back page of a local mag to the front page of the internet! Forums such as Reddit aren't just a great place to share your opinion and join the conversation - they are also a great place to find other musicians who are in the same position as you.

Remember: like with so many things in life, you get what you give when it comes to being a member of a subreddit. Make sure you offer advice in the comments of other members' threads, then you're more likely to receive support in return when you start your own.

Here are our best picks:

r/musicians

The largest community on our subreddit list also covers the broadest range of topics: composition ideas, inspirational stories and quotes, reviews of other members' music and much much more.

r/bandsmembers

Share good and bad gigging experiences, give and receive tips on which covers to add to or remove from a set list, and swap advice on finding quality band members with over 10,000 members.

r/musicianfinder

Musicians from all manner of genres come to post here: bossa nova, progressive metal, dream pop - you name it, you'll find it!

r/FindABand

This subreddit helps connect players so they can recruit musicians, join bands, or even just arrange jam sessions in their area or online.

r/NeedABand

Whether you're looking for a band to book or looking for a band to join, this is the place for you.

Sign up to Musician Finder Websites

There are several useful websites whose sole purpose is to connect like-minded musicians together, most of which allow you to filter your search results by location and by the type of instrument each member plays. And the best news is - many of these musician-finder websites are free to join!

Most sites of this type are based on interactions between user profiles - so make sure you fill out as many of the boxes as you can with the best content you have. Just think - if you saw another profile and thought the blurry photo and fuzzy demo meant that the musician didn't take themselves seriously enough to bother to impress you, then other musicians might not take a chance on you if you also don't make the effort to present yourself in the best way you can.

Here are our top 5 musician finder websites:

Join My Band

The UK's 'most popular musicians classifieds site' is free to join, free to advertise on, and has been ever since it first launched in 2006.

Since then, Join My Band has gone from strength to strength, with thousands of drummers, guitarists and more using the site to connect with other musicians every day.

Bandonkers

You'd be bonkers not to join Bandonkers - which is totally free to do - and run a free ad or pay a small fee to run a featured ad and score a top listing.

Badonkers also allows you to search for a wider array of instrumentalists than many other sites, from DJs and double bassists to pianists and piccolo players.

Band Mate

With Band Mate, it's 100% free to create your own profile, 100% free to create multiple listings - and it's 100% ad free too, so it's a self-contained musical community.

Make your profile stand out with a band photo, a bio, a list of instruments you can play or already have covered in your band, and embedded Soundcloud tracks.

Bandmix

Create an online resume to join Bandmix's ever-growing musical community as a single musician looking to join a group or a band looking to recruit a new member.

You can create a free account, complete with photos and a bio, and reply to messages sent to you by fellow members, but to send messages to new connections you'll need premier membership - which currently starts at £9.95 each month, £25.95 every 3 months, or £69.95 annually.

Find a Musician

There are 2 levels of membership to help you Find a Musician or help other musicians find you.

Become a Basic Member and you can upload one MP3 demo and one photo; become a Fully Subscribed Member (currently for £6.99 each month, £34.95 every 6 months, or £62.91 annually) and this allowance is bumped up to 3 demos and 3 photos.

TIPTry as many of these as possible - and be patient! We know how eager you are to get your band started, but good things - and good band members - come to those who wait. Good luck with the search!

1) The originals gig - the all-too-often-unpaid performance of your own material, fuelled by the hope of attracting that ever-elusive fanbase

2) The covers gig - the guaranteed crowd-pleaser, which just so happens to be the focus of this article. Cover gigs themselves often fall into two sub-categories: 

The Pub / Club Circuit

The pub circuit is often the first port of call for any aspiring performer or band and, in many ways, this rite of passage is a perfectly viable way to get your feet off the ground. Pub gigs are usually lower paid than private function bookings, but they’re usually fairly local and shorter as well. There’s also very little in the way of pressure - you’d perhaps find yourself setting up around 8pm, performing a couple of sets from 9-ish onwards and leaving just enough time for a quick pint courtesy of the landlord at closing.

For many cover bands, pub gigs form the bread and butter of their gigging income, with weddings and private functions spread sporadically over the summer and Christmas period. Pub gigs are also the easiest types of gigs to attain - this can be achieved by approaching the landlord or manager on social media, or better still, dropping in for a chat. Some pubs may ask if you’re able to bring along fans, friends and family, but in most cases this isn’t expected of cover bands - they’ll be able to rely on a core audience of regulars to make up the numbers.

Private Bookings

Once you’ve built up a reputation in your local area, you’ll inevitably find yourselves receiving offers of private parties, weddings and even corporate events. Unfortunately, it may prove difficult to scale this up enough to provide yourself and your musicians with a full-time career in live performance.

Whilst this may seem sufficient for the majority of amateur and semi-pro musicians, it’s certainly possible to take things to the next level and, if you’re truly focused on your end goal, to generate a full time income.

In order to do this, you’ll need to be at the absolute top of your game, as competition can get pretty tough at the higher levels. Below are the seven steps you’ll need to take to ensure a solid stream of incoming gigs - if every step is followed, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be taking a moderate wage from performing.

Step 1) Create an Awesome Set List

Building a successful set list is an essential step, but it can be a more difficult one to take than it may first appear. At first, you’ll probably be tempted to take all of those old songs you’ve learnt, jammed and gigged in the past and bang them straight into the set – but are those really the best song choices, or is this just a shortcut to flesh out your repertoire?

The questions to ask yourselves are: Who is my target market? What genre, era and songs do they want to hear the most? Do I want to target a niche audience or do I want widespread appeal?

If you’re anything like me, the songs I learnt as a young budding musician are far from what a wedding or corporate audience is looking for – after all, who wants to hear Radiohead’s Creep played at their wedding? OK, a few people might do...

The Niche Set List

A decision you need to make early on is whether you’ll be casting your net wide to appeal to as broad an audience as possible, or aiming for a more niche market. From experience, I find that it’s easier to book more gigs when your set list targets a mass audience - such a list would be about 50% composed of hits from the last 50 years and about 50% of hits from the last few years. The drawback of this approach to making a set list, of course, is that it’s well known amongst local musicians who are also hungry for bookings, so you’d have more competition and less of a unique selling point.

By creating a function or wedding band with a more niche set list, you’ll have fewer competitors but perhaps a smaller number of customers looking for your specific style of band. For that reason, a band targeting a niche market has got to be something extra special. It can pay dividends though, and if your niche set of songs strikes the right nerve, it may lead to more opportunities in other areas of the industry, such as contracts abroad, cruise ships, festivals and theatre tours.

TIP When selecting songs for your set list, you’ll need to attack it with a cut-throat attitude - if it’s not a guaranteed dance floor filler, I’m afraid it’s getting the axe. Start with a handful of ‘safe’ modern classics, then start exploring directions to make your set more unique.

The All-Rounder Set List

To build up a successful function band, you’ll be aiming to land gigs in both the corporate and private sector – the latter being made up of approximately 80% weddings and 20% private parties (based on our 2019 data at Bands For Hire – we’ll ignore 2020 data shall we?!). Both corporate and private clients will expect to see an extensive repertoire, ideally 100+ songs if you’re going to make their shortlist. A limited repertoire of 30 to 40 songs can sometimes be off-putting for clients who prefer to have some degree of input when it comes to choosing the final set list.

When selecting songs for your set list, you’ll need to attack it with a cut-throat attitude - if it’s not a guaranteed dance floor filler, I’m afraid it’s getting the axe. Start with a handful of ‘safe’ modern classics, then start exploring directions to make your set more unique. Uptown Funk? Tick. Valerie? Yes please. Mr Brightside? Sorry... that’s a keeper.

Check out our cover band song ideas to get you started...

Play it Like the Record or Add Your Own Spin?

If you’re sticking with the tried and tested function band repertoire, you’ll need to ask yourself how close to the original you’ll be playing those songs. If you’re an experienced writer or producer, it could be worth putting your own spin on the arrangement to make it stand out from the crowd. This could entail anything from adding a jazzy twist, rocking it up, using alternative instrumentation or experimenting with the tempo – which, lets face it, will probably already be a few bpm higher than the original if the night’s going well!

Step 2) Make a Professional Video

The promo video is, without doubt, the most important part of your promotional package. Whether you’re pitching to agents, to venues or directly to clients, you’ll only have a few seconds to impress before they skip ahead to the next band. In the age of social media, attention is in short supply - so you’ll need to get straight to the good bit!

Making a video doesn’t need to cost a fortune - but if you want to attract serious clients with a healthy budget, you’ll need to go the extra mile and make no compromises on quality. As a guide, you should be able to record studio demos and a professional promo video for a total of around £1000-£1500.

Live or Studio Recordings?

Before you do anything, you’ll need to decide if you’re going down the live or the studio route. Live videos tend to be ideal for solo acts, duos and small jazz bands - but when it comes to recording a larger band, there are a number of pros and cons to consider.

Live Video

It can be difficult to achieve a high quality live recording at an event, but it can be done. You’ll need to have a great engineer on board, as well as high quality multitrack recording gear on site. You’ll then need to spend time in the studio in post-production, but even then the final mix is unlikely to match a studio recording - that’s to be expected, but hopefully the live energy will more than make up for it.

TIP There’s no need to shoot a single song in its entirety - it’s far better to include a few seconds each from a selection of songs to showcase the diverse range of music you play.

Studio Video

Most function bands tend to record their demos in a studio and use this as the audio for the promo video, in much the same way as a recording artist. It’s often quicker, plus there’s more control over the recordings. It also means the video can be shot with just one videographer from multiple angles.

The end result should consist of at least four or five song snippets and come to around three or four minutes in total. There’s no need to shoot a single song in its entirety - it’s far better to include a few seconds each from a selection of songs to showcase the diverse range of music you play. At this stage, clients are really just trying to take in as much of the band as possible in the shortest space of time.

Step 3) Book a Professional Photoshoot

With thousands of singers, bands and performers to compete with, you’ll need to get every aspect of your promotional material looking and sounding as professional as possible. Before a client even thinks about clicking on your profile page, they’ll usually be faced with a sea of band photos, whether that be on social media, a directory or an agency site such as Bands For Hire.

There’s no point in having the best promo video in the world if nobody’s going to watch it, so to increase your click-through rate you’re going to need a profile photo that reeks of professionalism - it really does speak volumes about the quality of your band. You only get one chance to make a first impression!

Step 4) Promote Your Band

There are two key areas to focus on when promoting your band: a) booking agencies, and b) direct bookings.

a) Booking Agencies

In many respects, working through an agency is the easier of the two, as it means you can put all of your energy into the music, leaving the agent to focus on booking the gigs. An established agency will already have incoming enquiries for weddings, private parties and corporate events and can actively promote you on their website and social media campaigns to generate work. Depending on the agency’s business model, there may be a fee to pay - so you’ll need to weigh this up against the cost of promoting your music directly to the end client.

If you’ve sent your promo links to agencies in the past and haven’t had a response, you may be inclined to assume it hasn’t been listened to. You may be right in some circumstances - but the truth is that every agent is on the lookout for a great new act. So if you haven’t had much response, there may be holes in your promotional material.

If the promo is right and the price is fair, you’re bound to be snapped up by agents left, right and centre.

b) Direct Bookings

The amount of effort and the financial outlay required for effective self-promotion will, in all likelihood, far outweigh the time and money you’d put into joining an agency. However, going it alone will afford you something you may consider far more valuable: more control over every aspect of your career.

If you’d rather be speaking to clients directly rather than through an agent, or would like to take on the role of band leader as a route to band management yourself, then the independent route may start to look more appealing.

Promoting a band directly to clients will mean taking on the role of a marketer, which is a very broad role in itself - and one which will require some extensive research. Key aspects of your marketing role might include the following:

• Building a website
• Building a mailing list (Email marketing)
• Creating social media pages
• Running paid social media campaigns
• Creating regular content for social media platforms
• Running Pay-Per-Click campaigns (PPC / Google Ads)
• Search engine optimisation (SEO)

If you’ve got the time and enthusiasm to build up your brand, then there’s no reason why you can’t secure bookings off your own back. In most cases, bands and artists book a mixture of both direct and agency bookings to fill up their diary.

Exclusive Agency / Management Contracts

The majority of function bands join agencies on a non-exclusive basis - this usually works out well for all involved. However, if you’ve formed a good relationship with an agency/manager or they show particular interest in your act, it might be worth considering how an exclusive agreement could be beneficial to both parties.

From a musician’s perspective, working exclusively with an agency can often lead to them treating you as a priority act - and, speaking as an agent myself, it usually means the number of gigs booked for that priority act will be considerably higher. This kind of deal also means that you as an artist only have to deal with one company - and, since the agent is responsible for your diary and will be able to quote without going back and forth between you and the client, the amount of time you spend on admin is cut down considerably.

TIPMy advice to bands is to start at a price that ensures all musicians are receiving a fair wage and expenses are covered. Once you’re happy with the number of gigs coming in, you can then revisit your fees later down the line.

5) Price Yourself Sensibly

There will be numerous factors that go into pricing up your act and it’s essential to get the balance just right. A high quality act will of course want to charge accordingly for their talents - but, at the same time, you won’t want to put potential clients off before you’ve even started.

If you’re advertising your act at a premium rate and the gigs are flying in thick and fast, then that’s great - you’re obviously pitching at a suitable price. On the other end of the scale, if you’re regularly finding gaps in your diary, then it could be time to bring the fee down slightly.

My advice to bands is to start at a price that ensures all musicians are receiving a fair wage and expenses are covered. Once you’re happy with the number of gigs coming in, you can then revisit your fees later down the line.

6) Be Highly Responsive

This is an important step, and one that’s overlooked by many would-be successful acts. The chance of an enquiry converting to a booking increases dramatically if the customer receives a quote within a 24 hour window; therefore, if you want to increase your bookings, you’ll need to treat the band as a business and get back to clients and agents as soon as possible. Being too slow off the mark can not only look unprofessional, but you may miss the boat altogether - especially with so many other bands out there to choose from!

7) Provide an incredible service

If the service isn’t up to scratch, then none of the above really matters that much. As with any business, you will ultimately fail or succeed based on the quality of your service - and that means going above and beyond with every aspect of both your customer service and your performance. Do this consistently from the start of every enquiry to the end of every performance and you’ll soon build yourself a solid reputation as a trustworthy and quality act.

Here are some key points to bear in mind:

• Respond to client emails within 24 hours
• Be polite and helpful when responding to queries
• Provide a straightforward booking service with fair contracts
• Go the extra mile to accommodate event plans
• Arrive on time
• Be polite and courteous to guests and staff on the day
• Provide a well rehearsed and high energy performance – no matter what!

Join us at Bands For Hire

Here at Bands For Hire we like to set the mark high. If you think you’ve got what it takes to be part of our roster, we’d love to hear from you.

Written by Adam Mezzatesta, Founder at Bands For Hire Ltd

Whether you're attending your weekly band practice, heading into the studio to record, or rocking up to a venue to play a show, every musician should keep a few essential items in their toolkits. Let's run through the ultimate checklist, some specific to their type of instrument and some all-around valuable bits of kit that will help you in a tight spot.

We'll run you through what each member of your band needs to bring with them - and why.

• Vocalist
• Guitarist
• Bassist
• Keyboardist
• String Section
• Brass Section
• Woodwind Section
• Drummer
• Everybody

Vocalist

Microphone

The ultimate tool for any vocalist, think of your microphone as an extension of your voice. A standard dynamic microphone, the best type to use for a live performance, doesn't require any external power, meaning you can plug it into your PA system and start singing.

However, if you use a wireless microphone, you will most likely need to rely on batteries to power it - so make sure you bring spares, and, if you're using rechargeable batteries, make sure they're charged! You will also need to ensure you take along your receiver, which will pick up the signal from your wireless microphone's built-in transmitter.

Mic stand

Even if you're a more energetic performer who prefers to move around with your microphone clutched in your fist, bringing a microphone stand is always worth your while. You can use it yourself to rest your microphone upon when you take a break, or, in a pinch, you can lend it to one of your backing vocalists if their stand breaks.

XLR leads

We say leads in the plural for two reasons. One: it's always sensible to bring a spare in case your main cable fails. Two: you can combine multiple XLR leads together to create one longer lead, which will give you the freedom to move further away from the mixing desk should you need to.

PA system

While your other band mates might also run their instruments through your Public Address (PA) system, you will at the very least need to run your vocals through it - and, at any rate, somebody needs to be in charge of it! You might not need to bring your PA system if your practice space or gig venue already has its own setup, but you still need to ensure access to a mixing desk, an amp, speakers, and the relevant cables to connect it all.

IEMs

As a vocalist, you don't have the luxury of keys or frets to help you pitch your voice - so Inner Ear Monitors (IEMs) can be a huge help when it comes to boosting and isolating the particular instruments that are most useful for you to hear. Like with wireless microphones, if you use wireless IEMs, you will need to remember to bring your portable headphone amplifier and spare or fully recharged batteries.

Throat lozenges

Just like any other instrument, your voice will need some maintenance after heavy, prolonged usage. Lozenges, capsules or pastilles such as the singer-specific VocalZone or the more general Halls can help soothe and lubricate your vocal cords and throat when they become sore and dry.

Guitarist

Guitar

You might think we're stating the obvious, but there are a few things to consider when selecting which axe(s) you will bring with you. Depending on which songs you're going to play, you might need both an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar, a twelve-string guitar, a guitar set up in a different tuning such as drop C or open G, and just a spare guitar, if anything goes wrong.

Guitar strap

You might prefer to sit down and play if you're an acoustic guitarist. If not, pack a strap for every guitar you intend to use. We recommend you get your hands on some strap locks, too - you can do without the fear of your strap detaching itself and sending your guitar swinging off to the side, believe us!

Guitar amp

No matter how powerful a strummer you may be, you're not going to be able to rise above the sound of the drums unless you're plugged into an amplifier. If you've got a combo amp, chances are you'll only have to remember the one unit; if you're using a stack or half stack, you need to remember the amp head and the cabinet, plus all connecting cables. In both cases, make sure you've remembered to pack your mains lead if it's removable.

Jack leads

These cables often receive the worst treatment, what with being bundled into backpacks, yanked around the stage, and trodden on - and, as a result, jack leads are more likely to become crackly (and in need of re-soldering or replacing). With this in mind, you can never have too many spare leads, either to patch up your own rig or to lend to a bandmate who finds themself in a similar predicament.

Pedalboard

If you enjoy using guitar effects - such as distortion, chorus and delay - you might want to consider upgrading from a bagful of boxes to a smart, organised pedalboard which is all set up and ready to go whenever you want to play. Most pedals can be powered by batteries or via a mains adapter - we'd recommend the latter, especially as your pedal collection grows - so make sure your pedals are powered and all the connections are working.

Guitar picks

Not every guitarist uses a plectrum, but if you do, make sure you bring a handful of spares. If you drop a pick - which happens far more often than most guitarists would care to admit - then they can be a nightmare to find, which can be a real problem if you're halfway through a song. You might like to consider purchasing a pick holder, which you can attach to your guitar or, if you're a backing vocalist too, to your mic stand.

Guitar strings

Even if you've only recently re-strung your guitar, bring a complete spare set of strings with you wherever you play. However quick you are at thinking on your feet, having to make do without a high E string isn't the same as having full access to your fretboard.

You might be interested in getting yourself a string cutter and a string winder to speed up your string changes.

Guitar stand

A stand is a far safer way to store your guitar when you're not playing it than leaning it against your amp or leaving it on the floor. This way, your precious instrument is far less likely to get knocked over or kicked.

Fret lubricant

Trusted brands such as Finger Ease or Fast Fret will not only help your fingers fly across the fretboard, but they'll also help prevent soreness.

Bassist

Bass guitar

While it's less common to need a bass set up in a different tuning, you might need a fretless bass on certain songs or an acoustic bass. Again, it's never a bad idea to pack a spare bass in case of emergency.

Bass amp

Sometimes, a sound engineer at a gig venue will prefer to plumb your bass into the PA via a Direct Injection (DI) box, which is a great way of reducing unwanted noise. However, at your band practice, and, if you prefer, at a gig too, having your own amp will give you more control over your tone, and will help you hear yourself play. As with guitar amps, make sure you have the head and cab (unless you use a combo amp) and a power lead.

Bass picks

The pick v.s. fingers debate rages on in the bass community, but at the end of the day, it's your choice. If you prefer to play with a pick, do make sure you have a few spare, and make sure you can easily access them from your playing position.

Most of what we recommend that guitarists bring also applies to bassists - bring more leads than you need, prepare to fix broken strings, and find a safe way of storing your instrument between sets.

Keyboardist

Keyboard

Most keyboards and electric pianos can be powered via a mains adapter, so make sure you pack this; if not, make sure you know how many batteries your keyboard needs, and don't forget to pack a full set of spares. Amp-wise, you'll likely want to run your keyboard through the PA, so a couple of spare jack leads wouldn't go amiss.

Keyboard stand

A sturdy stand that you can trust is an essential item in any keyboardist's inventory. Depending on how much room you've been allotted, you may opt for the more compact X or V stand (so named because of the letter their shapes resemble) or the roomier Z stand with more foot space.

Music stand

If you're sight-reading your parts, you'll need to pack a decent music stand which can either be attached to or positioned in front of your keyboard. You might also want to pack some pegs to securely clip the page you're reading from open and a clip-on reading light so you can clearly see your page, even in the duskiest of jazz bars.

Piano stool

Unless you prefer to remain standing throughout your performance, a piano stool is a must - especially if you're going to be performing for a long time.

Sustain/expression pedal

If you're used to playing a regular piano, you'll be used to using a sustain pedal to produce long, sustained notes. Not all keyboards and electric pianos come readily equipped with sustain pedals, but you can purchase an external one which you can bring along to plug in.

You might also like to bring an expression pedal - which, depending on your keyboard's capabilities, can enable you to control such parameters as modulation, volume, delay and more without having to take your fingers off the keys.

Laptop with DAW installed

If you have a MIDI-compatible keyboard, you can plug your instrument into your laptop, tablet, or another smart device and use it to play whichever sound you choose in your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Just make sure you can power your device and have a MIDI cable to connect your keyboard.

String section

Violin/Cello/Double Bass

Aside from remembering the instrument itself, it's important that your instrument is suitable and prepared for the type of performance you will give. If you're performing at a more intimate venue, you might be able to rely on the stage microphones provided or not need a mic at all - but for larger venues, you'll need to take things a step further.

To mic up an ensemble such as a string quartet, you'll need to arrange your players close together in one section, then position a few microphones in front of them, as this will help capture the combined natural sound of the ensemble.

Alternatively, you can get pickups for individual stringed instruments or electric violins, cello and double basses, which can be plugged into the mixing desk via a jack lead. While this will make it easier for the sound engineer to control the individual levels of each instrument, it can be more challenging to achieve a natural sound.

Bow

For some songs, you may need to pluck your violin pizzicato-style or add some percussive ghost-notes to your walking basslines, but don't deny yourself the option of a bow. For double bass players, you might find it helpful to invest in a bow quiver, which you can attach to your instrument for instant access.

Rosin

Wherever you take your stringed instrument, always keep a block of rosin handy. Apply this to your bow to maintain a healthy level of friction for a clear, even sound.

Spare strings

Generally speaking, string players are less likely to break a string than guitarists, but it's been known to happen! Keep a complete spare set in your instrument case (just in case!).

Instrument stand

While your instrument should be safe enough if you keep it in its case, you should also bring a stand for your violin, cello or double bass. This will give you easy access to your instrument, allowing you to leave it out during breaks, or between your sound check and your performance.

Brass section

Trumpet/trombone/tuba

Whether you're playing orchestral music, jazz, ska, or anything in between, you'll need a trumpeter, trombonist, and, in many cases, a tubist to achieve the whole brass section sound.

Brass instruments are characteristically loud, so depending on what type of venue you'll be playing at, you may not need a microphone. However, you can get miniature instrument microphones which clip onto a brass instrument's bell, giving your sound engineer more control over your levels and a volume boost for larger venues.

Mouthpiece

Without a mouthpiece, you're not going to get much sound out of your brass instrument - so don't forget yours! It's always worth bringing two in case you lose or damage your main mouthpiece.

Mute

At the other end of the noise-making spectrum, if the songs your band want to play require you to change the tone of your instrument, make sure you've packed the relevant mute(s) that will enable you to do so. Some common types of mute are the straight mute for sharper sounds and the cup mute for softer sounds.

Music stand

You may well have the majority of your parts committed to memory, but if you're a gifted sight-reader and are playing something you're not that familiar with - or if you want a visual aid - then a music stand is a must-have. Some brass players may prefer to use a lyre, which is used to clip sheet music to the instrument itself.

Valve/slide oil

Depending on what you play, you'll no doubt know which essential oil or spray you'll need to keep your instrument in top working order. For a trombone, you'll need oil for the slide; for most other bass instruments, you'll need another type of oil for the valves. Whichever kind of brass instrument you play, pack yourself the type of oil you need to prevent any stiffening.

Brush

You need to bring a brush to keep your brass instrument clean - a flexible, snake-style brush is an easy way to reach those tighter spots inside a trumpet or trombone.

Woodwind section

Saxophone/clarinet/flute/oboe

If you're part of a woodwind ensemble, it's likely that you'll already have all the highs and lows covered between you. However, you might still need different instruments to play other songs - so make sure you pack, for example, an alto sax or a clarinet for songs you need to play in a higher register and a baritone sax or an oboe for songs in a lower register.

Reed

The key component of every woodwind instrument is the reed - the thin strip that vibrates in the mouthpiece to produce sound.

Reeds, which can be made of a natural or synthetic material, tend to be quite delicate and either 'deaden' in sound quality over time or become damaged. You can buy reeds for any woodwind instrument by the boxful, so make sure you have a few in stock if you need to replace the one you're currently using.

Music stand

As with brass instruments, if you need to read music as you play, either bring a standalone music stand or purchase an instrument-specific, marching band-style lyre to clip to your woodwind instrument.

Instrument stand

An instrument stand will not only come in useful at band practices and performances but also at home. Specific stands for saxophonists, clarinettists, flautists and oboists are available - as are stands which can support multiple instruments, which is especially convenient for multi-instrumentalists.

Strap

Aimed mainly at saxophonists, you'll need a comfortable, supportive strap that won't dig into your shoulders or neck and will distribute the instrument's weight safely across your body.

Cleaning cloth

Protect the finish of those shiny silver-plated clarinet keys with a microfibre polishing cloth and the clear finish of your saxophone with a treated lacquer cloth.

Drummer

Drum Kit

If you're headlining a gig or use a practice space that doesn't allow you to leave your kit locked up, make sure you remember to pack everything you need: bass drum, snare drum, rack toms and a floor tom is the standard minimum. You won't need to remember this if your band has their own lockup where you keep your drum kit or if you're sharing a kit with another band on the bill (in this case, make sure you contact the drummer who's providing the kit, so you know what they're bringing, in case you do need to bring anything else of your own along).

Hardware

The easiest way to remember what 'hardware' refers to in a drumming context is: the metal bits. This includes your cymbal stands, your snare stand, and your kick pedal.

Breakables

Snare drum and cymbal choice is very much a matter of taste, and even two drummers who play the same style of music can have very different preferences regarding the sound and feel of these parts of a drum kit. Also, they're usually the parts that are the easiest to damage (hence the term 'breakables'), so it's common courtesy to expect to bring your snare and cymbals if you're sharing a drum kit. You'll probably want to bring your own stool as well!

Drum sticks

You can never have enough spare drumsticks - one might fly out of your hand during a wildly energetic drum solo or splinter and snap in half when you bring a song to its crescendo. In any case, make sure you have plenty of spare sticks on stock, and make sure you can reach them from where you're sitting - you might want to consider attaching a drumstick holder to your cymbal stand.

Everybody

Screwdriver

If you need to tighten up a loose hinge or open up a panel to replace a battery, or check any faulty wiring, make sure you've got the right set of screwdrivers for the job - Philips, flathead and hex are common types of screws you'll find holding your gear together.

Pliers

Handy for guitarists, bassists and other string players when tightening unruly tuning pegs or keeping strings in place while changing them.

Side cutters

Ideal for snipping off excess wire, whether you've just changed a guitar string and don't want to get poked in the eye, or you're rewiring a cable and want to tidy up the ends.

Multi-tool

The all-in-one solution to all of the above, a multi-tool, will meet all your screwdriver-ing, plier-ing and side cutter-ing needs - and you only have to remember one handy gadget.

Gaffa tape or duct tape

Keep a roll of this tape-of-a-thousand-uses in your gig bag to temporarily hold up a mic stand or tape down stray cables that would otherwise be a tripping hazard.

WD-40

All stands, whether they're of the cymbal or the mic variety, are susceptible to stiffness. Apply a little WD-40 to those stubborn hinges and achieve total flexibility.

Extension leads

There's no need to fight over the one remaining socket if you're all equipped with your extension lead! Also, depending on whereabouts you position yourselves onstage, using an extension lead is a safer alternative to overstretching your mains lead between the player and the power source.

Spare batteries

Share the responsibility of keeping a supply of AA, AAA and D batteries in stock. Keyboards, active pickups, IEMs, effects pedals, and tuners could all fall victim to a dud at any given moment.

Earplugs

Unless you're already using IEMs, protect yourself from tinnitus by wearing earplugs. The best earplugs for musicians will reduce noise without sacrificing audio quality, so you can comfortably listen to what you're all playing. We recommend picking up a pair of plugs attached to a string - you're far less likely to lose them if they're dangling around your neck.

Phone/media player

While phones can sometimes serve as more of a distraction than anything else, it's helpful to have a device that can play the music you're learning if there's a tricky section you're still figuring out. Also, you can use a phone to take photos and record your band practice or gig, so you can review the footage together and discuss what worked and what didn't. If it did work, you could use that same footage to promote your band on social media!

Soldering kit

You don't have to be an electrician to be able to fix a faulty connection. If a jack lead or a pickup isn't behaving correctly, there's a good chance you can fix it yourself with a soldering iron.

Setlist

Each member of your band should have their own set list a) so you can all easily see which song you're playing next and b) if you need to make any individual notes, such as 'bass fuzz on' or 'guitar tuned to drop D'. Also, that duct tape from earlier will come in handy if you need to stick your set list to the back of a speaker or stop it from being blown or kicked across the floor.

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Despite what punk rockers No Use for a Name would have you believe, choosing the right name is one of the most critical early steps your band must take. Your band's name is its identity and, as such, is what your future fans will most closely associate with you, so it's essential to get it right.

To 'sum' it up, a good band name needs to be:

• Suitable
• Unique
• Memorable

By 'suitable', we mean your name has to fit your musical style; otherwise, the acoustic folk fans will be shocked when they turn up to see 'First Leaves of Spring' only to find out that they play hardcore punk.

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Also, make sure your band name isn't accidentally offensive. If your band name has an unusual word, type it into an online translator to ensure it doesn't mean something rude in another language.

A 'unique' band name will reduce the chances of your fans confusing you with another band. If you play a similar style of music as a group of other artists, a unique name will help your band to stand out from the crowd.

Also, if your band name shares a word with another band, adding another word to it or changing the spelling will help distinguish you from the rest.

The most 'memorable' band names are easy to read, which will come in handy when you design your logo for your social media and merchandise.

Memorable names are also easy to say, which will help your fanbase grow via word-of-mouth. Plus, words that trip nicely off the tongue are also easier for your fans to chant at your shows!

Make sure you can check off each of these qualities as you consider each name your band suggests for itself. If the name checks out and it's available for you to use, then it's good to go!

But before we begin…

1. Band name generator (yes or no?)

Could it really be this easy? Is the perfect band name just one click of a button away?

The short answer is: no.

Most online name generators will throw together random groups of words, giving you list after list of nonsense phrases. Although this can be entertaining at first, there are only so many 'Piano the Dennis’-es and 'Thumb Baldness’-es that you can scroll through before you start to think you'd be better off coming up with a name yourself (they're both results from real generators, by the way!).

While Childish Gambino and Post Malone famously struck gold when using name generators, you'd be hard-pressed to find many other success stories from artists who went down this route.

By all means, try a band name generator or two out - a few of them, such as Chosic and Zing Instruments, allow you to filter results by musical genre. So, with online tools like these, you might be lucky enough to generate a name that suits your style.

Overall, we'd say only use online name generators, as Papa Roach would say, as a last resort. As a side-note, Papa Roach named themselves after their singer's step-grandfather!

Now let's look at other sources of inspiration that will bring you closer and closer to finding your perfect band name.

2. Nicknames

A great way of picking a name with which you have a personal connection, which also stands a good chance of being unique, is to use a nickname.

If a member of your band had an unusual nickname growing up, or even if that name belonged not to you but someone you know or used to know, make a note of it and see if it suits your band.

Frontman Rivers Cuomo was nicknamed 'Weezer' due to his childhood asthma, Charli XCX was once an MSN Messenger screen name, and Beabadoobee used that name for her Fintsa, or 'fake Instagram', account.

Or, if one of you happens to have a Bon Jovi- or Van Halen-level surname that just happens to sound awesome, try that out for size. Unfortunately, 'the Smiths' is already taken.

Just make sure that the band members who don't share that name are happy with the decision - and that the members who do aren't going to take the name with them when they leave!

3. Landmarks and Placenames

Many bands and artists like to take inspiration from their surroundings, whether the school or college where they met or the hometown where they grew up. A place that has meaning to you could work well.

Most big city names like Boston and Chicago, or even bigger continent names like Europe and Asia, have been taken. However, if you or your band was born in a place with a more unusual and less famous name (we're looking at you, Portishead and East 17!), check if another band has spotted it and swiped it for themselves - if not, it could be the name for you.

If you want to drill down even deeper, you could even name yourself after a street, whether it be real (as in Sleater-Kinney, a street in Lacey, Washington) or a TV show (as in Evergreen Terrace, a street from the Simpsons). As long as the place means something to you, it might just give you the inspiration you need.

4. Famous Books and Characters

If you're a keen reader, you could join the ranks of Of Mice & Men and As I Lay Dying, and name your band after a book you love. However, remember that you might create internet search problems if you don't change a few things about the name.

Other bands name themselves after characters, like the band Veruca Salt taking their name from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Flyte taking inspiration from Brideshead Revisited, and the Boo Radleys taking theirs from To Kill a Mockingbird.

Don't just limit yourself to novels, either: Avenged Sevenfold took their name from a passage in the Bible, whereas the Maccabees just flicked through it until they found a word they liked the look of. Alkaline Trio and Ash did a similar thing with the dictionary - although neither band needed to read past chapter A.

If you're more of a film buff, there are several bands named after classic movies and TV shows - Goldfinger, They Might Be Giants and Gojira are all both bands and films - but again, think about changing the wording or spelling so you don't have to compete with the actual movie or TV show online.

5. Animals

Have you ever taken a quiz to find out what your spirit animal is? It might help you pick your band name!

For thousands of years, animals have been used to represent different human qualities - a brave lion, a wise old owl, a frightened little mouse - and that trend is alive and well today. You can see this in the imagery and lyrics and the band names used for certain types of music.

Cute woodland animals like squirrels and hedgehogs are more at home on the cover of an indie or folk album, genres that gave us such hits as 'Rabbit Heart' and 'The Love Cats'.

Whereas fearsome mythical creatures like sea serpents and dragons are more likely to appear on the leather jackets of rock and metal fans, genres spawned such anthems as 'Eye of the Tiger' and 'The Number of the Beast'.

Once you've settled on a clear musical direction, see if any animals capture the same mood - and see if you can create a unique band name by combining that animal with another exciting word.

In the sixties, there was a massive boom of animal-themed band names: the Byrds, the Turtles, and, of course, the Animals. Since most single-word animal names will likely have been used up by now, bands combine animals with other words, like Tame Impala, Wolf Alice and Snarky Puppy.

6. Create a Word Bank

Create a long list or mind map of words that inspire you and relate to your genre of music - you can add any books, movies and animals you've already thought of to this list. This will give you a bank of useful words which you can combine in different ways - and, once you've settled on a band name, you can mine your list for lyrics.

Many bands take their names from a song title or a lyric from a band that influenced them. 'Radiohead' is the title of a Talking Heads song, and Queen's 'Radio Ga Ga' later inspired the Lady of the same name.

You can do this, too - look through the titles of songs by bands that you share a similar style with. Flick through their discography on a streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music, or dig through your vinyl collection and write down all the words from the tracklists that sound interesting or fit the themes you want your band to sing about.

Some genres of music are known for sticking to certain lyrical themes, and the names of the bands that belong to those genres reflect these themes too. You'd expect a heavy metal band called Black Sabbath to sing about witches gathering in their masses, just as you'd expect a folk band called Fleet Foxes to sing about pallid animals in the snow-tipped pines.

To get you started, here are a few popular genres of music with some common words you might hear in the songs that belong to them:

Pop Punk

• break up
• heartache
• skate
• partying
• girlfriend

Metal

• evil
• demon
• suffer
• damnation
• hatred

Folk

• autumn
• blossom
• meadow
• lamb
• flowing

Jazz

• swing
• cats
• cool
• grooving
• scat

Pop

• love
• beautiful
• beginning
• forever
• believe

From a list such as this, you could put together a convincing pop punk band name like 'Heartache Party' or 'Skate Breakup'; equally, you can come up with a name for your jazz trio by putting together words like 'the Swing Grooves' or 'the Cool Cats'.

TIPCreate a list on your smartphone or another portable device so you can add to it wherever you go. You never know when or where inspiration might strike!

7. Mixing and Matching

There are a few interesting techniques to help you create brand new words you can use for a band name that's unlikely to have been thought of already.

The first is combining two words to create a 'compound'. You can take a first word that describes the second, like 'Whitesnake', or, for a different effect, take two words that clash, like 'Mudhoney'. Famous compounds you will be familiar with include:

• Foot + path = footpath
• Jelly + fish = jellyfish
• Down + town = downtown

Bands and artists whose names are compounds include:

• Soundgarden
• Wolfmother
• OneRepublic

The second is to take half of one word or phrase and half of another to create a 'portmanteau'. These are easier to put together if the end of the first word and the start of the second word have a letter or two in common or if the end of the first phrase is the same as the beginning of the next phrase. Famous examples that have fallen into everyday use include:

• Breakfast + lunch = brunch
• Motor + hotel = motel
• Guess + estimate = guesstimate

Bands and artists whose names are portmanteaus include:

• Japandroids
• Camper Van Beethoven
• Brian Jonestown Massacre

A third technique is to swap the first letters or syllables of two or more words around, creating a 'spoonerism'. Spoonerisms aren't as common in everyday speech, they're usually the result of a mistake - but they're a popular way of making jokes among comedians and writers:

• Beeping Sleauty (Sleeping Beauty)
• I've only had tee martoonies (two martinis)
• It's kisstomary to cuss the bride (customary to kiss)

Bands and artists whose names are spoonerisms include:

• Buckcherry
• Com Truise
• Dack Janiels

You can use other types of wordplay to make a memorable band name. Alliteration, as used by the Beastie Boys, Jessie J and Herman's Hermits, makes a name instantly easier to remember.

8. Misspellings

Especially if you're naming your band after a common, everyday thing, like 'sandwiches', consider changing the spelling so that when your fans search for you, they won't have to sift through results about actual sandwiches.

Depending on how you change the spelling of that word, you might even be able to add some meaning to your name - for example, you could add a sprinkle of magic dust to your band by naming yourself the 'Sand Witches'.

Many successful bands have changed the meaning of their band names by playing with the spelling. This works incredibly well if you change part of the word to mean something about your band.

Swapping an 'e' from the word 'beetles' for an 'a' gives the new spelling of 'Beat-les' some extra-musical meaning. Although swapping the 'y' from the word 'monkeys' for an 'e' means that 'the Monkees' no longer had 'key' in their name, the spelling is still unique.

You do need to be careful, when you're playing around with different spellings of words, that your fans are still able to pronounce your band name the way you want them to - many confused fans pronounced the '5' in 'deadmau5' and the 'v' in 'CHVRCHES'.

On the flip side, if you've chosen a name that people could pronounce incorrectly even when it's spelt the usual way, you could change the spelling to ensure there's no misunderstanding. Led Zeppelin famously did this, fearing their fans might think they were called 'Leed Zeppelin' - although we doubt there was any danger of people making a similar mistake with 'Deef Leppard'!

9. Acronyms

If you choose a band name that's more of a phrase than a word, you might be tempted to shorten it to its initials. Nine Inch Nails is a good example of a band best recognised by its 'NIN' logo.

You might want to take this one step further and choose a band name whose initials can be pronounced as a word. ABBA took the first letter of each member's first name while NSYNC took the last, and HIM is an acronym for 'His Infernal Majesty'.

Fans have long suspected that some band names, such as KISS, stand for secret sayings, such as 'Knights in Satan's Service' or 'Keep it Simple, Stupid' - although the band themselves have denied this. Still, making an acronym but not revealing what the letters stand for is a clever way to get people talking about your band!

Excuse me, is this name taken?

Before you get your hearts set on your brilliant new band name, check that it's available for you to use. Things will get trickier for you further down the line if you release any music under a name already claimed by another band. Blink-182 famously had to add the 182 - after they'd already had an album out - to avoid being sued by an Irish band called Blink.

Even if the band that got there first isn't internationally famous, it will be confusing for your fans if they get results for multiple bands when they search for you on the internet. Also, the other band wouldn't appreciate it if they found out you were using their name and might even try to get you to drop it!

Check the name's availability by searching for it on Google, Spotify, other streaming platforms, and social media. It's also worth searching for your band name in a trademark database.

Don't just be on the lookout for competing bands; products, brands, businesses and more all want to find a unique name too. Remember: if Marshall' Eminem' Mathers had just gone by his initials, his fans would keep getting search results about 'M&Ms' the chocolate!

All in favour say "aye"

It's just as important that everyone in your band is happy with the name you choose as it is for the name to be available to use. Remember: you're all in this together, and a band is only as good as its members.

Because your band is a group, it's best to treat the choice of your band name as a group activity. Get everyone to contribute to your ongoing list or mindmap, and have regular chats, so you know what each member thinks.

It can take a while to settle on something as important as a name that defines a whole group of musicians, and if it's taking a while, somebody's got to take action. Draw up a shortlist of 5 or 10 of your favourite band name ideas, and put them to a vote, letting the majority decide the winner.

Just remember: it's OK to change your band name later.

Despite their success, some bands, such as Foo Fighters, My Bloody Valentine, Arctic Monkeys and Smashing Pumpkins, have stated that they don't like their band names but have stuck with them regardless.

By the time you've been a global megastar for 20 years, it might be a bit late to abandon the name that's sold you millions of records and gained you millions of fans.

But, even if you've been trying to get your band off the ground for several years without much success, a new band name might be just the change you need. Whether it's more suitable, more unique or memorable, your new name could be the key to getting your band's recognition.

We're taking a minute to discuss those unlikely (but possible) disaster situations. I'm talking breakdowns, illnesses, airport strikes and not forgetting... pandemics.

With 20 years in the industry and thousands of events under our belts, we thought we'd share our knowledge on how to avoid a gigging catastrophe and what to do if you find yourself in one.

We're going to break this down into four categories:

• Travel
• Medical
• Equipment
• Administration

Travel

When it comes to travel, you are invariably at the mercy of others, whether that be other drivers, train companies or airport staff. Even so, there's a lot that you can do to avoid travel disasters if you come fully prepared.

Breakdown Cover

Every self-respecting musician or event supplier should come with adequate roadside cover, whether that's from the AA, RAC or other recognised national company.

Breakdown cover will get you out of most sticky situations on the road, including running out of petrol! (you silly billy)

The sticking point tends to be the level of cover taken out. The most basic level of cover will usually include roadside assistance and simple repairs, or failing that, towing your vehicle to the nearest garage.

However, we highly recommend taking out more substantial cover to ensure that your vehicle will be towed to any location in the country if it can't be fixed on the spot. It may cost a little more, but the peace of mind you'll have is absolutely worth it.

Vehicle Maintenance

As a respectable user of the road, you no doubt check your lights before every long trip. Don't you? Many of us are guilty of not paying enough attention to the maintenance of our vehicle, whether that be testing lights, topping up oil or just checking the fuel level.

To avoid any avoidable trouble on your journey, always check your vehicle before each gig using the easy-to-remember acronym, FLOWER:

• F - Fuel
• L - Lights
• O - Oil
• W - Water
• E - Electrics
• R - Rubber

Spare Tyres

A flat tyre is perhaps one of the most common situations you will likely find yourself in. If your vehicle isn't fitted with runflat tyres, you'll need to make sure you have a spare tyre in case of emergencies.

Although roadside cover will have your back, why not put aside an hour and practice changing a tyre so that you're fully prepared - trust us when we say it's a life skill worth having. 

Your vehicle should already have a car jack and the required tools, so all you need is a good Youtube tutorial to get you started.

Jerry Can of Fuel

Running out of fuel is easily done, especially if you find yourself on a diverted backroad at 2am. Consider carrying a Jerry Can of fuel in the back to account for any situation.

Plan Your Route

It's hard to describe the stress experienced driving through central London with a set of directions printed off the AA website. But this is how many of us musicians earned our gigging stripes back in the early 2000s. I'm not even going to contemplate what it must have been like for those unfortunate enough to have been on the road pre-internet.

With that said, planning your route in advance is still essential. You'll need to take into account stops for fuel, meals, and toilet breaks. Most importantly, never underestimate the (ridiculous) amount of time it takes to pick up your bandmates. 

Charge Your Phone

These days, every musician relies heavily on Sat Nav, Apple Maps and Google maps, but even this isn't foolproof. Always charge your phone before travelling, and take a charger with you for emergencies. In fact, why not invest in a portable USB charger that stays in your gig bag at all times.

Offline Navigation

What, no 4g?! If you're travelling to a venue out in the sticks, it's worth downloading the area map on Google Maps to ensure you have full offline navigation.

Arrive Early

You've planned your route and your bandwagon is in tip-top condition, but even that's a step short for the organised bandleader. 

Always aim to arrive at least an hour before your scheduled arrival time. Whilst you may like to savour every last minute of home time before taking to the road, there's nothing quite like the satisfaction of driving with time on your side. You may find you have time to kill when you arrive, but that van's pretty much your second home already, isn't it?

Travel Emergencies

Ok, so you've covered every angle; you've planned your route, you're on time, and your van is in good working order. But what if that's not enough?

Even with the utmost attention to planning, you may unexpectedly come across closed roads and diversions due to an accident.

Inform the Venue, Client or Promoter

Hopefully, you've accounted for this in your journey time, but if you're going to be more than 10-15 minutes late, you'll need to call ahead and alert the venue or event planner of your situation.

While lateness is a serious faux par, your client would prefer to know you're running a little late than worry about whether you're on your way at all!

Always ensure you have more than one on-the-day contact. For weddings, it's better to contact the Best Man, wedding planner or venue staff than to worry the bride or groom on their special day.

What happens if you break down on your way to a gig? 

If you break down on your way to a gig, you'll need to try your best to pull over to a safe spot, either on the hard shoulder, layby or service station. 

It can take over an hour for breakdown cover to arrive, so first of all, check to see if it's an issue you can resolve yourself.

Flat Tyre:

Are your tyres runflat? If so, continue on your journey at a moderate speed. If not, do you have a spare tyre and can you change the tyre yourself?

Flat Battery:

Always carry jump leads with you on every journey. If your battery runs flat, you can jump start your vehicle from another vehicle (not electric/hybrid).

Overheated vehicle:

If the vehicle has overheated, turn your heating up full and let the engine cool down for 15-20 minutes. Hopefully, this will be enough to get you to the venue.

Phone Your Breakdown Service

If you can't solve the issue yourself, phone your breakdown recovery service. Remember to save the number on your phone beforehand and keep any documents in your vehicle.

What if I don't have breakdown cover?

If you don't have breakdown cover, don't panic, there are a few options.

You can sign up to most breakdown companies on the spot, even if you've just broken down. They may charge you an additional fee, but at least you won't be left stranded on the hard shoulder.

Rent a Car

If your breakdown cover only gets you to the closest garage, you'll still need to get to your gig in the fastest time possible.

One solution is to ask your breakdown service to take you to a van rental company. You can then quickly transfer your equipment and pick up your vehicle the next day. Don't forget that in the UK you must be 23 years old to hire a car and 25 to hire a van.

Hire a Taxi / Uber

If you managed to park safely, you might consider an Uber or taxi ride to the venue. That's easy for a solo act or duo, but if you're a function band, you'll need a fairly substantial vehicle, and depending on the distance, it will put you out of pocket. 

When you find yourself in an emergency like this, you have to accept that this may not be a profitable day's work. The most important consideration is getting to the venue, keeping your client happy and getting home safely.

Airport Delays and Cancellations

Performing abroad brings another set of potential issues: Flight delays and cancellations.

When quoting for an event abroad, we usually recommend flying out the day before as a safeguard. If your flight gets cancelled, there's still time to reach your venue in good time. The issue here is that musicians invariably need to charge clients to cover the extra day's work, and sometimes, that's not viable. 

If you are flying on the event date and things go wrong, always keep your client in the loop. Ensure you have several contact details for the day, including the venue, client and event planner. This way, they can look into alternative arrangements as a backup.

If your flight is cancelled, the only option at this stage is to try and book an alternative flight. A last-minute flight will be more expensive, so you'll need to get the OK from your client before booking.

Medical Emergencies

Every musician and vocalist has at some point been in a situation where they can't perform due to illness or injury. 

It can be stressful and disappointing, but even with all the will in the world, there may be no choice but to 'dep it out' - especially if Covid has raised its wiery head once again.

Network of Musicians

As always, preparation is key. As a professional musician, you likely have a network of singers and musicians around you, so it's vital to keep these connections strong. 

Be willing to step in when others are in need, even when it's a little out of your comfort zone. Don't forget that performing with new musicians is a fantastic learning experience and essential to honing your craft.

Rehearse with Deputy Musicians

Try to arrange rehearsals with your dep musicians so they're familiar with the setlist and can step in seamlessly. It's always good to have more than one dep on hand as availability can be limited during the busy summer period.

Join Online Groups

It's a good idea to join Whatsapp and Facebook groups focusing solely on dep musicians. If you suddenly come down with something, you can put the word out to see who's available in advance.

Find alternative acts

If a single member of a band is ill, it isn't usually a massive issue as there will always be someone available to cover. However, it's a different story if you're a named act or solo performer.

If you're too ill to perform, you'll need to speak to similar acts in your network to see if anyone's free. Contact your client to explain the situation and send them videos of potential replacements.

If you work with an agency, they can also put the word out to other acts on their roster.

Equipment

At some point, your equipment will let you down, so a backup plan is a must.

Before we consider mishaps on the night, ensure your equipment is regularly cleaned, PAT tested and safe for use in public.

PA System

Your PA system is the Achilles heel of your setup - it can quite literally make or break your act. 

Service your amps, store equipment indoors, PAT test annually, and always bring backup equipment. 

In reality, you probably already have backups that will get you through a gig. For example, if you use foldback monitors, you may be able to use these as front-of-house speakers. 

If you use a crossover, you may well be using two or more power amps, giving you the option to move over to a single amp if required.

Consider buying a compact mixing desk as a backup in case your desk fails you, or heaven forbid, an over-zealous punter spills their beer all over your equipment!

Consider every eventuality because these things never happen until they do.

Backup Gear Checklist

In addition to the above, we also recommend bringing backups of all the following:

Accessories:

• Jack leads
• XLR leads
• Kettle/Power leads
• Multiple extension leads

Guitarists

• Guitar
• Guitar strings
• Amp simulator pedal

Drummers:

• Sticks
• Kick Pedal
• Drum skins

Keys

• Keyboard
• Pedal
• Power Adapter

Stay Calm

If something goes wrong, stay calm and don't let it ruin the show. Let guests know you'll need a few minutes to sort yourselves out and get a playlist on to avoid any awkward silences.

Admin Issues

Booking system

Whilst medical, travel and equipment issues may sometimes be unavoidable, admin errors are less forgivable.

Your band is your business, and that means you'll need to be methodical in how you run it. Even if you don't use a fancy CRM or booking system, you'll need systems in place to avoid double-booking and ensure all your musicians are available.

Google calendar

The starting point is to create a Google calendar that all band members can access. Your bookings will be available for all, and your musicians can add their unavailable dates. As long as everyone keeps their availability up-to-date, this should be all you need. Avoid syncing issues by using the Google desktop or calendar app instead of third-party apps.

If you run more than one act, consider looking into a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or dedicated booking system to improve your productivity and organisational skills.

Group Chat

Ensure all details about the day are discussed within the same group chat, so everyone's on the same page. Once specifics about a booking are confirmed, add them to the Google event for all to see. 

Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are fine, but it can soon get confusing when you have three gigs in one weekend. 

Consider using Slack. It's a great tool to manage communication between band members, allowing you to discuss different gigs on separate threads and share documents with ease.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you're reading this in the comfort of your own home and not on the hard shoulder! Avoiding an emergency is clearly better than dealing with one, and if you put the required effort in beforehand, you should be well on your way to a stress-free summer.

Join us at Bands For Hire

Here at Bands For Hire we like to set the mark high. If you think you’ve got what it takes to be part of our roster, we’d love to hear from you.

Written by Adam Mezzatesta, Founder at Bands For Hire Ltd

A set list is so much more than just the list of songs you've decided to play on the night - instead, think of it as more of a road map of the journey you're about to take your audience on. Every stop along the way must be carefully considered for a professional band, amounting to a well-paced trip that never loses momentum.

But before you even take to the stage, there are a couple of essential questions that you need to ask yourself:

How long is my set?

The length of your set will decide how many songs you need to choose, with breaks taken into account. The type of gig you have booked will give you an idea of how long you'll have to play, but make sure you agree on this with the event organiser well in advance so you can make a plan and stick to it.

If you're one of many bands on the bill, you'll probably get about 30 minutes, depending on how many other bands are playing at that event. Because you need to consider the other bands, all of whom will want to make the most of their allotted time, it's crucial that you don't outstay your welcome.

If you get hired as a function band and therefore will be the leading entertainment for the evening, you'll likely perform two 45-minute sets, taking a 20 - 30 minute break in between. For functions such as weddings, check in with the event organiser so you can factor in any announcements or key moments such as the father-daughter dance - plus, you might have to make way for a DJ set towards the end of the evening.

Who am I playing to?

Again, the setting and the crowd will significantly impact how you plan your setlist. It's easy to get wrapped up in your own ideas of how you think a show will go, but if you can bring yourself back down to Earth and think about what it's actually going to be like at your venue, you can play to your strengths.

If you're the opening act for a band with a large local following, you will have to work extra hard to win everyone over. Unfortunately, it's often down to the opening act to tempt audience members away from the bar and onto the dancefloor - so it's a good idea to keep upping the ante with each song to stop them from wandering away and save the mellow jams for another time.

If you're performing at a function, the guests will likely warm to you as the event goes on. Don't be disheartened if it takes a while for them to get out of their seats, plan ahead, and save your more danceable tunes for later on.

Once you know what you're dealing with, here are our top tips on how to plan the perfect setlist:

1. Introductions are in order

You only get to make one first impression on your audience, so think about how you want to set the scene. With your audience and your band's style in mind, think about how you can build anticipation before the 1, 2, 3, 4 count.

At the height of their fame, some bands and artists announced their arrival by playing pre-recorded snippets of classical music, TV and movie themes, or even clips of classic film dialogue that promised the type of show they were about to deliver.

Elvis Presley went through a stage of walking on to the epic fanfare of Strauss's 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' from '2001: A Space Odyssey', whereas the Smiths teased something a little darker with the jarring strings of Prokofiev's 'Montagues and Capulets'.

However, there are a few ways you can achieve a similar effect without pre-recorded music. If you're a rock band, have your singer greet your audience to a backdrop of guitar feedback and cymbal washes.

If you're a jazz or string band with a vocalist, have the main band play a few bars of your first number before the vocalist walks onstage - Frank Sinatra-style!

TIPRegardless of where you're playing, it's always a good idea to have a 'test' song that you can use for your soundcheck.

It can take your audience out of the experience if you play your first song once to test the levels, then again when your set begins, so try to keep your sound check and your set separate. That way, you can re-cast your magic spell on them all over again when you properly take to the stage.

2. The grand opening

A lot of bands and artists understand what is meant by your first song being your 'statement of intent'. All this means is: to start as you mean to carry on, and your audience will know what to expect from the rest of your show.

Think about your signature song - or your genre's signature song if you're a covers band. By this, we mean a song that features all the hallmarks of what the type of music you play means to people.

A strong set opener works for the same reasons as a strong album opener - in the first ten seconds, we get told everything we need to know about the Beatles' jangly energy in 'A Hard Day's Night', or Nirvana's quiet-loud dynamics in 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'.

Are you an eighties band? Pick an upbeat song that features a lot of vintage synth sounds. A string quartet? Choose a piece with some soaring violin harmonies over a meandering bass line.

However you decide to introduce yourselves, ensure your audience knows how much you appreciate them coming to see you!

3. Ahead of the curve

Regardless of your band's style, people will get bored if all your songs are played at the same tempo. The energy needs to rise like a great wave, then crash down again as it hits the shore.

The key is to find the correct arrangement and the right balance between your higher energy and your lower energy songs. A popular method that bands use is to build up the energy to a peak with 3 or 4 faster tempo songs, then bring it back down to a trough with a couple of slower tempo songs. Then, once you've brought the energy down, it's time to start building it up again, heading towards an explosive conclusion.

These peaks and troughs of energy are often referred to as an arc or curve. The reason is that, if you plotted the tempo or energy levels of each song in sequence, you'd see the levels lower with each song until you reached the middle, then start to rise again, forming a U-shaped curve.

This is only one way of plotting your set - if you're playing a longer set, you might even want to plot a few peaks and troughs to keep your audience captivated. The idea is the same, though: once your set reaches peak intensity, give your audience a rest, and once they've had a chance to catch their breath, it's time to ramp the tempo back up!

4. The key differences

Different keys have different effects, and understanding these effects can help you use them to your advantage.

The easiest difference to recognise is between major and minor keys. Major keys tend to sound happy, uplifting, and triumphant; minor keys tend to sound sad, moody, and reflective.

You can plot songs in major and minor keys similarly to how you can plot songs of faster and slower tempos. For example, you could put 2 or 3 major key songs together to create a positive mood, but then change it up with a minor key song before your audience gets too comfortable!

Grouping songs of the same key can be another valuable tool in your kit. If a song ends on the same note or chord that the next song starts on, you can leave that last note hanging in the space between songs or even jump straight into the next song, making the transition seamless.

Only play a few songs in a row that are in the same key, though, because any more than that will start sounding the same to your audience.

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5. Something old, something new

Play with your audience's expectations by mixing old classics and new favourites. Old classics remind us why we fell in love with a particular style in the first place, and new favourites show us that the genre is alive and well, with much more to offer.

If you're an originals band and have built up a following, your fans will no doubt have their favourite songs of yours. Although exercising your creativity and keeping things fresh with new material is essential, honouring your fans' support and understanding what they came for is important.

Equally, it's always a good idea for an originals band to keep in touch with their roots. If your band is influenced by, say, classic rock, think about dropping in an AC/DC or ZZ Top cover towards the end of your set to show your fans that you know the history of your genre.

If you're not an originals band, you must appreciate that you get hired to play a range of well-known cover band songs. People expect to hear Pachelbel's 'Canon in D' when they hire a string quartet for a wedding, for example.

However, try playing a contemporary song in a classical style to stand out from your fellow bands who play in a similar fashion.

What's in the charts, or what have you been hearing a lot on the radio lately? See if you can rework 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' from Disney's Encanto into an acoustic folk song or the latest hit from Harry Styles or Lizzo as an instrumental jazz piece.

6. Getting from point A to point B

Plan how you get from one song to the next, with minimum silence between them.

Try not to have more than 10-15 seconds of no music playing. Any more than that, and the audience members' attention might start to drift - or, worse still, you might hear them talking amongst themselves instead of listening to you!

From a song selection point of view, you could use songs that share similar tempos or keys and transition from one straight into the next - a technique also known as 'segue'.

For example, the Kinks' 'All Day and All of the Night' is a similar tempo and has similar key changes to their other song 'You Really Got Me'. So if you wanted a Kinks section in your set, you could either segue from one into the other, or mash them together into a medley.

From an equipment perspective, if you need to make any adjustments to your instruments - such as clamping a capo onto your fretboard or tuning down to drop D - make sure you know when these adjustments need to happen. This way, you can plan to have something else going on to fill the gap, such as the singing engaging the audience in a bit of back-and-forth (this is also a helpful way of buying you some time when you need to change a broken string!).

TIPIf you're a guitarist and don't have a tuner pedal - get one! Nothing drives audience members madder than having to hear you twang in and out of tune, so spare their ears and get a pedal that lets you tune silently.

7. Speech! Speech! Speech!

Since your gig is a show, not just a recital, you need to make an effort to engage with your audience. At the very least, you need to throw in a "how's everyone doing tonight?" and a "thank you very much!", but those are just the basics.

Put aside a few precious seconds of your slot to share some key messages with your audience.

For unsigned or supporting bands, there's no shame in giving yourselves a quick plug, once you've won your crowd over with a good string of songs. In fact, it's downright advisable - you can be sure that the other bands on the bill will take whatever opportunity they can to get their name out there too.

Here are a couple of things you need to remember to cover at your show:

• Remind your audience what your band is called
• Inform your audience of any shows you have coming up
• Tell your audience where they can find you online and on social media

For function bands, always remember that you are a - very important, mind you - part of what could be a significant life event for the organisers. As we mentioned earlier, particularly if the function you've been hired for is a wedding, you may be expected to use the power of your microphone to help give announcements.

By all means, give your function band a plug too, but some of the other types of announcements you might be asked to provide include:

• The food being served
• The cutting of the wedding cake
• The best man's or key speaker's speech
• Last orders at the bar

8. Do you do requests?

This is an important question to ask yourself way before the day of your gig. One way or another, you need to be prepared and stick to your decision.

Audience members are less likely to ask a support band to play a song they know - and if they shout out "Freebird!" or "Stairway!" then, unfortunately, it's more likely to be a heckle!

In these situations, the best thing you can do is smile and carry on with your set as planned - chances are, if you stick to the 10-15 seconds of silence rule, they won't even have time to shout out!

It's not uncommon for guests at a function to approach the band or DJ and request their favourite song, but this isn't always the best way of doing things.

You can agree with your event organiser beforehand whether there are any particular songs they'd like you to play - the bride and groom might, for instance, ask you to play a special song for their first dance. Also, at this stage, you can let the organisers know whether you're happy for people to approach you with requests or not, and then they can share this with their guests.

9. Expect the unexpected

No matter how much time you spend in a productive band practice, the gig will never be the same as the rehearsal.

This is nothing to worry about - it can be a good thing, especially for your creativity, and to test how you perform under pressure!

Some things can happen at any gig that are just out of your hands - drinks being spilled, cymbal stands falling over, and jack cables getting unplugged - but rather than letting these mishaps throw you off, expect them to happen and prepare for them as best you can.

Set list-wise, always factor in a few extra minutes for things to go slightly wrong. Rather than letting the awkward silence creep in when your guitarist accidentally disconnects their pedalboard with a misjudged kick, make sure the rest of the band knows what to do. Have the bass player and drummer play an improvised intro to the song while the guitar gets plugged back in.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are some unexpected changes that you can be in charge of. Whether you're an originals band with a growing fanbase or a covers band that has booked for another function on the strength of your performance, you don't ever want to give your audience the same show twice.

Leaving room for improvisation is an excellent way to keep the set you've rehearsed for months from going stale. Is there a section you could extend into a jam, or is there room for an extra guitar or drum solo here and there?

10. End on a high note

While getting your set opener right is the most important because your audience will decide then and there whether to invest in your whole performance, getting your set closer right, to give your audience something to remember you by. The first and last songs you play will be the key moments that stick in your audience's minds.

If you have a 'secret weapon' song, whether it's an unexpected cover of an extremely popular song, a guaranteed sing-along, or a second 'signature song' that serves as a greatest hit of your band's style and message, save a spot for it at the end of your set. This will leave everyone in high spirits and, more importantly for your band, wanting more!

That being said, it is a great feeling, once you've brought your set to an exciting crescendo, to hear the crowd's cheers give way to chants of "one more song!".

For this reason, it's always better to over-prepare your set and plan more songs than you'll need. On the night itself, it's much easier to cut songs out than to rack your brains trying to think of another song on the spot that you all know how to play.

TIPEven when you've road-tested your perfect set list and have received a great reaction from your audience, don't get too comfortable. Your set list will always be a work in progress.

Every time you learn a new song, shuffle around your set list to make sure it fits into the flow of what's worked for you in the past. Even if you haven't got any new material ready for your next show, see if you can rearrange the order of your existing songs to keep your set fresh and exciting.

We've used a default value of 45 pence (or 45 cents) per mile as a guide but you can use whatever you need to, for example, to account for additional vehicles. Just a note that the calculator will double the distance to account for the return journey too.

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We’ve got the solution for all of these problems and more, and it all comes down to a single word: motivation!

Keeping your bandmates motivated is the key to running a productive and successful group. When you feel like your heart’s not in it or it’s too much trouble, that affects your other bandmates, bringing everything grinding to a halt - but when you’re all motivated to push your band forward, that’s when you can help each other to achieve great things.

Here are 5 ways you can keep your band members’ spirits up:

1. Keep your eyes on the prize

Above anything else, you need to work out what sort of band you are and what you want to do with your band. Have a specific goal in mind, and ensure you’re all working towards it.

Here are two questions for you to think about when deciding which road to take your band down:

Do you want to be an originals band?

It would be best if you focused on writing songs and building a fan base. Songwriting is a craft that can take a lifetime to master, and you’ll leave many ideas on the cutting room floor, but it’ll all be worth it when you’ve written a stone-cold classic and wonder what you were thinking with the songs you cast aside!

Building a fanbase is a gradual process, but again, something that you have to keep working towards together. You will need to write and record your music, maintain an active social media presence, book your own gigs and promote yourselves regularly - it sounds like a lot. Still, it’s what all originals bands must do, and you can always share the load with your bandmates.

It can be more difficult to get gigs as an originals band, especially in the early days before people become familiar with your material, but you can aim for support slots and slots at local festivals. Make sure you have plenty of quality photos, videos and recordings of your band so you can showcase your talents to the event organisers, and don’t let a few rejections here and there get you down.

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Do you want to be a covers band?

There’s no shame in giving people what they want. If you want to play Mr Brightside and Sex On Fire every weekend, you’re guaranteed to make pub-full after pub-full of punters extremely happy - plus, you’re more likely to be paid for your trouble!

Like with an originals band, you will still need to have a decent EPK (electronic press kit - photos, videos, a bio of your band, etc.) so the owners of the pub or the couple planning their wedding can get a good idea of what your performance will be like on the night.

Playing covers of other artists’ music is still a creative pursuit - you need to choose songs that suit the style you play in, whether they’re songs that are originally played in that style or they’re songs which you can adapt to fit your style. You also need to keep your set list up to date and engaging - even if you’re not focussing on songwriting, as musicians, you still need to stimulate your creative minds.

TIPThe trick to finding success as a covers band is having something unique about you - by finding out what makes you stand out from all the other bands that play is crucial. Finding the right balance between meeting people’s expectations and subverting them with a few surprises will turn casual viewers into returning fans!

Either path can be as rewarding as it is difficult, but it’ll be a lot less of the former and a lot more of the latter if you’re not all singing from the same hymn sheet. Suppose you all agree you’re less motivated by getting regular gigs and making money but are more motivated by creative pursuits and artistic integrity. In that case, you need to agree to put more effort into the songwriting side. If you want to play at least once a week and start earning money from your band straight away, the best way to get on the pub circuit is to play covers.

Some bands want the best of both worlds and play in a covers band as their ‘day job’ while treating their separate originals band as a passion project. It could be the best route for your band - but make sure you’re all happy to put in the time and effort needed to play in two bands because it takes a lot!

Once you’ve agreed on what sort of band you want to be, it’s time to decide what you want to do - and when you want to have done it.

• Agree on a set list of songs
• Rehearse the songs
• Take band photos and videos
• Play some gigs

Setting deadlines and goals is essential because otherwise, you might find yourselves a whole year into your band’s career and still not have agreed on which songs you want to play!

2. Good vibrations

A positive atmosphere is essential for keeping yourself motivated, so do what you can to keep the mood light.

We’re all guilty of feeling frustrated with ourselves when we make a mistake and with each other when we think we’ve done our part, but the results still aren’t up to scratch. How we choose to react to these frustrations, however, is what separates bands like Muse, who had kept the same friendly lineup since 1994, from bands like Oasis, who, despite forming only three years earlier, had 11 different members before the constant in-fighting eventually caused them to implode.

Like any group of friends or colleagues, bands need to follow a few basic rules to function.

• Be respectful to each member of the group
• Be sure that every member of the group feels valued
• Be open and communicate effectively and regularly with each member
• Be sensitive to any mood or behaviour changes

Bands also have to overcome obstacles specific to the music world, but these same rules still apply. If something goes wrong at a gig, or someone’s having difficulty getting their part right during a rehearsal or recording session, then the last thing you want to do is start playing the blame game.

On the other hand, if you’re dealing with a disagreeable sound technician or the venue promoter is trying to blame you for not drawing in a big enough crowd, you’ll have something other than each other to point your finger at. Do your best to handle the situation civilly, but take the time to talk through what happened between yourselves afterwards to see whether you could have done anything differently or whether you were all just unlucky enough to have to put up with a real piece of work!

Remember: you’re building something together, so build each other up too. A challenge you face as a band is also an opportunity to overcome, so take the high road and show each other that you can deal with whatever is thrown your way.

3. Put another dime in the jukebox, baby

Listening to music can get your creative juices flowing, but listening to music together can give you all a creative boost.

For the average listener, a great song can make them feel good, dance to the beat, and sing along to the melodies.

For musicians, on the other hand, a different set of gears start turning when we hear a great song, and it has us reaching for the nearest guitar or pair of drumsticks.

Now imagine that this happens to you when you’re listening to a great song with your bandmate - the next thing you know, you’ll be jamming together, figuring out what makes this song so great.

It could lead to all kinds of exciting discussions and exchanges of ideas - should you cover this song in your band, or could you adapt it and play it in another style?

You might even take things a step further - would you have done anything differently if you’d written it? Could you use the rhythm or chord progression to write your own original song?

The best thing about finding inspiration together is that you’ll each find something inspiring of your own to take away from it. If you find the same parts inspiring, that means you’re on the same page, and if you find different parts inspiring, that means you’ll have even more ideas to play around with - ones you may never have had by yourself!

Take me out

Is there a band playing locally this weekend? Turn it into a band outing!

Watching other bands play is a great way to bond with your fellow band members by sharing a fun experience - plus, it’s a great way to see what other bands are doing well.

Most music lovers would agree that there are few more exciting experiences than watching live music, so share that excitement with the people you make music with yourself. It’ll help you to visualise yourselves on that stage, with your music giving onlookers the same buzz that the band you’re watching is providing you.

Seeing an example of what you want to do before your very eyes is a great way to make it feel more achievable, especially when you’re with the people you’re trying to achieve it with. It’s an excellent opportunity to scope out what songs go down well with a crowd and what equipment other active bands are using (it’s always worth taking a peek at the guitarist’s pedalboard!).

If you have any criticisms of the band you’re watching that you want to discuss with your bandmates, keep them to yourselves until you’re out of earshot. You never know - you might end up sharing a bill with the band you’re watching one day, so don’t burn your bridges too early!

4. He could play the guitar just like a-ringin’ a bell

Whenever someone does a good job, tell them!

Compliments and praise will work wonders for your bandmates’ motivation, especially if you know they’ve been putting a lot of time and effort into perfecting a complicated part.

If, for example, a song requires your singer to reach beyond their usual register - whether it’s much higher or much lower than they’re used to - it might take a few attempts to get it sounding right. It can knock a singer’s confidence, as they don’t have an instrument to blame - so make a point of celebrating every time they get the part right or even get close. After all, you want to be part of a song that sounds great just as much as every other member of your band!

By way of a full band example, you might have a song with a complex structure or unusual time signature that you’ve been struggling to get right. Even if you believe you know how to play it correctly yourself, break the song down and encourage everyone to get through it one bit at a time.

Getting all your bandmates through half a complicated song is far more rewarding and a much more significant achievement for the band than just knowing it yourself. Always be generous with your time, as well as with your praise!

It’s also important to show an interest in each other’s equipment. If your bassist is struggling with a faulty connection, offer them some support and advice - one of you might own a soldering iron and be able to help them out, or, better still, show them how to fix that connection for themselves in the future.

Equally, make sure you make a fuss whenever a member gets a new instrument or effects pedal. We all love getting our hands on some new toys, but it’s always better when everyone else is just as excited as you are - and anyway, any kind of gear upgrade is bound to make your band sound even better!

And finally:

5. Fun, fun, fun!

Even the most serious musicians know the value of keeping their bands fun. After all, it’s called ‘playing’ music!

As well as treating your bandmates with respect, you should treat them as you would your other mates. Show an interest in each other’s lives outside the band, meet up on days other than practice night, and forge meaningful connections with each other. These connections will soon start to show in how you play music together, and audiences always enjoy watching a band that is just having a blast together.

No matter whether you're a new band trying to get your first set of songs up to scratch before your onstage debut, or an experienced band trying to get the track listing of your new EP note-perfect before you hit the studio, you still might find your practice sessions are leaving a lot to be desired.

Fortunately, there's a simple solution that comes down to one word: plan!

Follow these 15 tips to get the most out of your band practice, and you'll notice your progress in no time:

1. Appoint a band leader

One of the first questions your band members need to ask each other is: Who will be responsible for organising all of you? You need to nominate one member to be the de facto leader to handle the logistical side of being in a band, such as scheduling rehearsals, planning set lists, and ultimately booking gigs.

A band leader needs to be a good communicator with strong organisational skills who can keep track of things like dates, who still owes money, and anything else that most musicians might consider boring. A good band leader also needs to be comfortable making decisions that may be unpopular with some of the other band members, such as casting the deciding vote on which songs you drop from the set list - if their decision is met with resistance or even criticism, your band leader needs to be able to take it on the chin and remind everyone that it was for the good of the band!

2. Start a group chat

In the digital age, it's easier than ever to keep in touch wherever you may be and whatever you may be doing - and one of the easiest ways to instantly contact every member in your band is via a group chat.

Whether you prefer using WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or another instant messaging service, a group chat is the perfect place to share information, updates and ideas with the rest of your bandmates. You can share links to song suggestions that you might like to learn together, footage and photos from a recent practice or gig, or even join a group video call for some face-to-face time.

3. Set a goal for your practice

At a glance, you might think that the goal of any practice is to simply 'practice the songs', and to a certain extent, you would be right. However, it's fair to say you would approach your practice differently if you were, for example, getting ready to play a show as opposed to rehearsing new material or practicing for a recording session.

If you're practicing for a gig, then you need to treat your rehearsal as if it's show night. This means playing through the entire set list as written and paced to fit within your allotted time slot (so minimum time wasted between songs). As such, you'll likely only go through each song once, with perhaps some time at the end to go over anything that you agree needs further work.

On the other hand, if you're trying to get some new material up to scratch so you can lay down a new demo, then pacing is less important than the precision with which you play. The song, not the set, comes first at this kind of practice, and if it needs work, you're free to work on it for as long as it takes.

4. Plan your setlist

Before you even set foot in a practice space together, your band needs to know what you're going to play. That's not to say that you should expect to be perfectly in sync the very first time you all play through a song thanks to some kind of telepathic link, but as long as you're all on the same page, you can prepare your own parts individually and have a structured list of songs to work through.

Remember: a set list needs to be maintained in the same way you'd care for a houseplant - if a song becomes old and dull, it needs to be pruned like a dying leaf to make way for fresh material. Therefore, you must not get too attached to your set list, even if you've been honing the same 20 songs for months on end, because even a small change could be the best thing to happen to your band.

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5. Learn your parts alone

Commit the lyrics, guitar parts, drum patterns and anything else you're responsible for to memory before, not at, your rehearsal. This will not only save time during your practice but will also encourage your bandmates that progress is being made.

Don't be too disheartened, however, if you have to make any changes to the part you've already put your time and effort into learning; it's entirely possible that, when you all play a particular song together in person, some alterations will be necessary in order to suit your band's style and range. If you need to change the key, speed or structure of the song, don't worry that you've wasted your time - this will be a helpful step towards getting your sound right. You'll also gain intimate knowledge of the song by studying it yourself.

6. Save the date - don't be late

Keeping a watchful eye on your calendar is good practice for anybody, but it's essential for a performer and even more so for an ensemble. Everyone in your band needs to know their schedules inside and out, and as soon as you've agreed upon a date on which you're all free to practice, you all need to make a note of it in your diaries (and not book anything else that clashes with it!).

You will also all need to stick to the agreed arrival time because every minute your band wastes waiting for your less punctual members to arrive is a minute you could've spent on developing your collective chemistry. This is a personal and musical chemistry, so if you don't show that you value each other's time, that chemistry risks becoming imbalanced.

7. Check your equipment list (twice)

There's nothing worse than turning up to your practice session, raring to crank out some absolute bangers that you've been working on all week, only to find that you've left an essential piece of equipment at home. Not only is this frustrating (and probably even a little embarrassing) for you, but this will also delay the band practice for everyone else while you run off to collect the offending item or, if you don't have time to pick it up, make do with an incomplete set up, meaning you won't get the most out of your practice time.

To avoid this, write yourself an equipment checklist (and suggest that you all do the same!) and look over it before you set off. While you're at it, give all your gear a test to make sure it's all working (crackly cables are among the most common pieces of equipment to be overlooked). It's easy to fall into the habit of just leaving your equipment packed up from your previous practice, but it's always better to be safe than sorry - so take the extra few minutes to check it!

8. Structure your rehearsal

It might take a few attempts to get into a rhythm that works for you, but planning the structure of your band practice in advance will save you from wasting any time on wondering what to do next. Try not to give yourselves too many unnecessary breaks - it's important to not overdo it, and breaks are a good opportunity to review what you've achieved so far, but getting yourselves used to playing for longer stretches will stand you in good stead for a gig or a lengthy recording session (plus, if you're paying for your practice space, you'll be getting your money's worth).

One valuable piece of advice we can offer is: time how long each part of your practice takes. This will help you figure out your own practice structure to stick to, show you if anything is taking too long or needs more time, and also give you an idea of how long your band will set up for a gig.

Here's an idea of how you can split up a 2 ½ hour practice to maximise productivity:

• 15 mins setting up
• 10 mins checking levels and warming up
• 45 mins rehearsal
• 10 mins break and review/discussion
• 45 mins rehearsal
• 10 mins break and review/discussion
• 15 mins pack down

9. Remove all distractions

There are 2 main distractions that will detract from your productive band practice: phones and people.

While phones can be incredibly useful when it comes to taking photos and videos of your practice - which you can then use to review how you look and sound, and, if the footage is up to snuff, post on social media to promote your band - you don't need to check your texts between songs, or risk a song being interrupted by a phone call. If you're not using your phone for recording purposes, we recommend leaving it in airplane mode (or even switching it off, if the temptation is too great).

As far as friends and family go, it's wonderful when they want to cheer you on and show you support - but ask them to save it for your gig! Not only will you be tempted to shoot them a smile or chat with them instead of with your bandmates, but it'll also be incredibly dull for them whenever you have to work on one specific part of a song over and over again. Trust us when we say it's best for everyone if you enforce a strict 'band members only' policy at your practice.

10. Position yourselves to suit your goals

Communication is paramount when working on new material or preparing for a recording session. Set yourselves up in a circle so everyone can see each other, as you may need to communicate non-verbally to remind each other, for example, when the chorus is coming up.

It's also essential to get the levels right - for this kind of practice, you don't want the drums and guitars to be too loud. Playing at a lower volume will mean that your vocalist(s) won't have to strain their voice to be heard above the other instruments, and it will also be easier for you to hear any potential mistakes that need to be worked on. Make sure you can hear each other speak over the music too, in case you need to stop and start over - it might be worth equipping each band member, rather than just the vocalist(s), with a microphone at this stage.

If, however, you're rehearsing for a gig, then you need to treat your band practice like a live show. By this stage, you should have already worked out any kinks, so you won't need the same level of communication between bandmates - arrange yourselves as if you're onstage, and imagine you're facing your audience.

You can also afford to crank up the volume at this stage - you need to prepare yourself for how loud you'll be playing on gig night!

11. Set your levels before you play

Speaking of levels, ensure everyone's set at the right volume before you get stuck into practicing any songs. That way, you won't have to worry about them for the rest of your practice. As we mentioned above, the ideal level of your band will depend on the purpose of your practice, but as a general rule, try not to play too loud. Setting your levels at the start will also help to reduce the temptation to keep turning yourselves up as you go.

Many bands begin by setting the level of the bass to the drums, then building the guitars, keyboards, vocals, etc., on top. It's useful to run as many of your band's instruments through a mixing desk as possible, as you'll have more control over each instrument's level from a single point.

If any of you are using effects pedals, give these a check as well before you start playing. A dial or two might have got knocked in transit - you don't want your guitar solo to be ruined by being twice - or half - as loud as you wanted, so give all your boxes a test stomp.

Pro tip - take a photo of all the amp, pedal, and desk settings once you've got them right. Then, at your next rehearsal, you'll be able to refer to your photo and get the levels correct straight away.

12. Repeat tricky parts until you get them right

Although we hinted that this might be boring to an outsider listening in, this is an essential learning technique when you're faced with a particularly tricky part of a song. Key changes, tempo changes, time signature changes and the like will affect the whole band, so you must make sure you're all singing from the same hymn sheet.

If you anticipate a particular section presenting you with a problem, flag this with your band so you can attempt it a few times at your practice before taking on the entire song. Alternatively, you might not realise how tricky that passage is until you arrive at it while playing the whole song.

Either way, isolate that passage and work on playing only that section until you're all confident you're playing it right, then add it back into the song. This is a much better use of your time than simply repeating the song and hoping for the best.

13. Respect your bandmates

As a band, you are greater than the sum of your parts, so each band member deserves to get what they need out of your practice. Aside from making sure you all turn up fully prepared for every practice, you also need to respect your bandmates during the practice itself.

One rule you should all follow to ensure mutual respect is shown is: no noodling! Try to resist playing around on your instrument between songs - especially if you're interrupting a group discussion.

Also - if you haven't already, make sure all guitarists and bassists in your band have invested in a tuner pedal. There are few more irritating sounds than a guitar being tuned loudly!

14. Record and review your practice

As we touched upon earlier, phones can come in handy when it comes to taking photos, videos, and audio recordings of your practice. Make sure there's at least one phone with sufficient battery life and storage space to record your entire practice - this way, you can listen back together and identify any areas for improvement.

This goes hand in hand with identifying signs of progress - always try to end on a high note and encourage each other when you're sounding particularly tight, or have finally mastered an especially hard song. Even if things didn't go as well as you'd hoped, give constructive feedback and help each other plan how to get to the next step.

15. Plan future rehearsals

Now you've successfully planned one productive band practice, it's time for the next stage: keeping at it! Elect at least one evening a week when you're all available, and build that into your weekly routine - before you know it, you'll all be used to this commitment and will quickly start to feel the benefits.

Book yourself a regular slot at your chosen rehearsal space - this will both ensure that you all know where and when you need to show up, and stop any other bands taking your place. Then, just make sure you all remember to follow steps 1-14, and watch your band get better each week!

You're not alone - burnout is a real thing that affects everyone, from beginners who can't see any signs of improvement all the way up to stadium bands who feel like they're phoning it in on the 20th stop of their tour.

Burnout, put simply, is the state of being tired of it. Tired of trying and failing to learn a tricky guitar solo, tired of trying and failing to score a record deal - at some point, most of us will ask ourselves: why bother?

Whether you're experiencing burnout right now or want to know how to avoid it in the future, these 10 tips will help you to reignite your musical spark and keep your flame alight, one day at a time:

Take five

The first thing you need to do when you're starting to feel the weight of the world on your shoulders is: take a well-earned break. You don't have to spend every waking hour working on your craft to prove how dedicated you are - in fact, overworking yourself will most likely do more harm than good.

If you're dividing all your time between practicing at home, practicing with your band, and travelling to and from gigs, you might think you're living the dream - but this will quickly turn into a living nightmare if you don't break it up. Remember: too much of a good thing is bad for everyone.

Taking a step back from an intense schedule gives your brain a chance to process all the information you've been feeding it. Try playing some sports, going on long walks, or reading a book or two to take your mind away from music entirely.

Doing something completely different will let all the experience of practicing and performing you've built up sink in. Then, the next time you sit down at your piano or strap on your guitar, you'll feel like a born-again musician as it all comes flooding back to you - and you might even have gained some extra inspiration while your mind was focussed on other things.

Don't neglect your life outside of music - this way, whenever music seems hard, you have another source of comfort and joy waiting for you. Rather than waiting until your subsequent burnout to take a break from music, divide your time between giving away to your craft, and taking back for yourself.

We can work it out

While you're taking a break, look deep inside yourself to work out why you're feeling so fed up with music. You might have to ask yourself some tough questions, but the first step to solving a problem is identifying and isolating it.

Here are some of the questions you could ask yourself to help you identify what's making you feel burned out:

• Are you struggling to master a specific part?
• Are you tired of playing the same songs?
• Are you feeling isolated from your bandmates?
• Are you missing spending time with your friends and family?

Take some time to answer these questions honestly and break them into smaller, more achievable goals. Here's our advice on how to tackle the above:

Problem: You can't quite get the hang of a tricky piece of music, which can leave you frustrated and lead to feelings of unworthiness.

Solution: The truth is you're not unworthy at all, but you might need to be stricter or more structured in your approach to practicing. Dedicate a regular time slot where you can focus on only that piece - listen to it, watch YouTube tutorials, and think about asking a musician friend or even a music teacher for some advice.

Problem: You're bored of playing the same songs, so you might find that you're on autopilot and might even stop caring about how well you're playing them.

Solution: On a personal level, try to think about each song differently - can you make any subtle changes to the way you play it, or are there any unusual cover versions out there you can listen to? On a band level, make a few new song suggestions to the other members.

Problem: You're not connecting with the rest of your band, so you quickly start feeling lonely.

Solution: The first thing to do is talk to them about it - they might feel the same way. Arrange a social activity in a different, non-musical setting - or even consider spending time or jamming with other musicians.

Problem: You're feeling homesick, which can make you resent your surroundings and wonder if you've made the right decision in leaving your familiar setting behind.

Solution: Ask your family and friends when you can next meet up, so you have something to look forward to. Talk to them about how you feel, and trust that they will support whatever decision you make - they will have your best interests at heart and will most likely know you better than you know yourself.

Thank you for the music

There must be a reason why you're doing this in the first place, so let yourself feel some appreciation and gratitude for the music that is such a big part of your life. You can lose sight of this if you start viewing music as more of a job than a pleasure.

Remember: music listening is just as important for a musician as reading is for a writer.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of overthinking and over-analysing every piece of music you hear once you're an accomplished musician - you might wonder how to play it, how it was composed, and whether you'd have done anything differently.

While these are beneficial skills, it's also helpful to switch off this analytical way of thinking and remind yourself how to just enjoy a piece of music.

Music is so much more than a sequence of notes - it's a story, an emotion, a multi-layered work of art.

Switching off and allowing yourself to simply experience a song or a soundtrack will help you to reconnect with what made you fall in love with music in the first place.

When pushing yourself to achieve as much as possible to the best of your ability, it's easy to forget to appreciate the little things. Let yourself feel grateful that you have such a great connection with music, and you'll start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Harder, better, faster, stronger

Taking a timeout from music is an excellent time to reevaluate your goals as a musician. For a more fulfilling life as a musician, you need to aim for delayed gratification from bigger, long-term goals.

Don't waste your time by just playing fun, easy songs you know off by heart - that's like ordering junk food at a drive-thru: quick, tasty, but not nourishing in the slightest. Instead, set your sights a little higher and push yourself by learning songs that test your skills.

There are many styles of music that don't require you to know that much musical theory to be able to play them - in fact, that's usually what makes them great - but if you're in a band that plays in one of those styles, you might not think it necessary for you to spend your time learning scales, modes, arpeggios and other musical techniques. For guitarists, the same goes for techniques such as fingerpicking and tapping - if the music your band plays doesn't require these techniques, you might not see the point in learning them.

Remind yourself that becoming a musician is a deeply personal journey - it's not up to anyone else what you learn, so don't limit yourself. Learning a new technique will open new doors to new ideas, even if it feels like starting from square one.

If you're ever unsure about how much you're progressing, compare your musical journey to a plant growing. If you water and nurture it every day, it will grow taller and stronger - but you don't notice this yourself every day you look at it. However, if you invite a friend to look at your plant, and then ask them back two weeks later to look at it again, they'll notice how much it has grown.

In much the same way, even though you will improve as a musician if you practice often and effectively enough, you might be too close to those improvements to notice them. It will probably take someone from the outside looking in to tell you how far you've come.

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day

Timing isn't only necessary when you're playing a song - it's also the key to leading a productive life.

Time management is an essential skill to master - scheduling your days effectively will help you get more out of them. Even if you've got a pretty good routine going already, it's worth taking the time to write out how you currently spend your time on each day of the week, then compare that to how you want to spend your time.

The closer you can stick to your schedule, the more control you'll feel you have over your own life. It'll help you realise how much time you might have been wasting - but it will also show you how much more time you gain.

Say, for example, you work a 9-5 job - what a way to make a living! So you might have to travel back home, change out of your work clothes, get dinner on the table, maybe fit a couple of daily chores in - and the next thing you know, it's 7:30pm, and you're slumped in front of the TV for the rest of the evening.

While this is understandable (we've all been there after a hard day at work!), it's not going to help you feel inspired musically. There's a good couple of hours between finishing your dinner and that time in the evening when practicing music starts to annoy the neighbours!

When you've got too many options, deciding what to do can take up all the energy that you should spend on doing what you've decided. To avoid this, have a think about which evenings you can spare, and plan in advance what you're going to fill that time with - then, you can get stuck in straight after dinner without wondering which of the thousand-and-one things you're going to tick off your musical to-do list.

You get what you give

To get good at anything, you need to have discipline. Discipline does not mean forcing yourself to work more than you can physically or mentally manage. It also doesn't mean punishing yourself when you don't achieve as much as you hoped - it simply means following a set of rules designed to help you to better yourself.

Aside from good time management, you need a sensible reward system to mark each milestone you reach and feel like you've earned it.

It's essential to keep things in proportion and in perspective - you need to keep your goals, as well as your expectations, in check.

Don't be too generous, either with your personal practice or with your aspirations for your band. If you set your bar too low and take a break every five minutes, you'll train yourself to quit as soon as the going gets tough and won't bother pushing yourself to achieve your true potential.

Similarly, if you think a booking agent's going to organise a world tour for you based on the great reaction your set got at an open mic night, you're going to be disappointed. Success and stardom should not be the only reward you're chasing; you'll burn yourself out trying to chase those bright lights.

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On the flip side, please don't be too harsh with yourself during your private practice sessions, and don't lower your expectations too far regarding your band's future. Wearing your fingers to the bone every time you pick up your guitar or sit behind your piano is not a sustainable practice model, and you'll quickly run out of steam.

It's also possible to push your band too hard when you do not see the results you want quickly enough. Getting a tricky new song to sound right could take weeks, and building up a fanbase can take months, even years - so be careful to celebrate the smaller victories.

You can achieve the balance between these two extremes by measuring your progress and forgiving yourself for not progressing at lightning speed right away.

For yourself, see how much you can achieve during, say, a 30-minute practice four times a week, and review how much better you've got after a month. If you've spent that time trying to learn how to play a song that you couldn't before, and you manage to learn it, think about how you can treat yourself - could you perform the song at an open mic night, or do you maybe feel that you've earned yourself a new band t-shirt?

For your band, make sure you only set realistic goals because then you'll have a much greater chance of meeting them and a much lower chance of feeling like you've failed. Try not to expect everyone to get new songs note perfect on the first attempt, and take each round of applause at your gigs and each new like on social media as it comes. Over time, they will amount to something more - it just takes gathering each piece of the puzzle to see the complete picture.

Lean on me

When you're trying your hardest to make your band a success, you may fall into the trap of thinking, "this HAS to happen, therefore I HAVE to be the one to do it". This might ring especially true if you were the one who started the band.

If you find yourself thinking this way often, then it's likely that you're taking on too much responsibility, and it may be time to start dishing out jobs to the other members.

While this might sound like an awkward subject to broach, the benefits will more than make up for it. Explain to your band how you're feeling, and talk through each responsibility that needs taking up with them.

You may find that within your band is an untapped resource of ideas. One might be a digital marketing whizz who can boost your social media presence with a few well-placed hashtags. Another might be a born negotiator who can talk their way into scoring a support slot or a better fee, and someone else might be handy with a camera and take care of photo and video duties.

With those weights off your shoulders, you will feel less burnt out and more supported and have more time to focus on the areas of being in a band that you excel at. Now, less admin is eating up your schedule, and you'll have more time to fall back in love with being a musician.

Ch-ch-changes

A change is as good as a rest, they say!

While we all have our favourite types of music, some of us pride ourselves on being purists in one genre or another! - it's no secret that there's something of value to be found in every type of music.

Try out this exciting exercise:

• Pick a genre of music, whether that's country and western, 80s synth pop, or industrial metal, that you never usually listen to
• Search online to find that genre's biggest hits
• Listen to them with the same analytical ears that you lend to songs that you learn for your band
• Figure out the chords, the bassline, the vocal melody, or whatever part suits your role in your band
• Treat it as a serious cover version and learn the whole song

You may well find that there are certain rhyming patterns, structures, or rhythms that you wouldn't usually come across in your usual genre. Plus, if you like what you've come up with, you can present it to your band and see if they want to learn it - you might win over some new fans!

Here are some genre-defying cover versions that, despite the odds, went on to become popular in their own right:

Jolene

In Dolly Parton's original, her begging of Jolene not to take her man is given an almost hopeful slant, with a toe-tapping rhythm and some playful country guitar:

Jolene - Dolly Parton

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The White Stripes completely do away with any glimmer of hope: Jack White pleads in a devastating wail over Meg White's simple yet highly effective drumming:

Jolene - White Stripes

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It's My Life

Talk Talk's biggest hit captured the imagination of listeners thanks to its imaginative combination of vintage 80s synthesisers, sound effects, and Mark Hollis's soulful singing:

It’s My Life - Talk Talk

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No Doubt updated the synth sounds for the 00s and added scuzzy, pop punk-style guitars to the chorus, creating the perfect backdrop for Gwen Stefani's distinctive vocal style:

It’s My Life - No Doubt

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Hurt

In the dark, atmospheric closer to Nine Inch Nails' 'The Downward Spiral', Trent Reznor almost whispers over a discordant, uncomfortable chord progression:

Hurt - Nine Inch Nails

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Country legend Johnny Cash stripped the song right down, transforming it into an acoustic ballad brought to life by his unmistakable baritone:

Hurt - Johnny Cash

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Pick up my guitar and play

You could be experiencing burnout because you don't have enough creative outlets or don't have the right type of creative outlet.

If you spend a lot of time practicing a particular technique, such as sweep picking or slap bass, that you never end up using in the band you're currently in, this can lead to a lot of frustration.

You've invested time and effort into all your skills, so they deserve to see the light of day. If you don't feel like you're getting your fair share of the spotlight in your current band, or even if you love more than one style of music and one project alone can't accommodate that love, then it might be time to branch out.

Equally, it's not uncommon for bands at any stage in their career to decide that they need a break or even go on hiatus. While that might be the best decision for the group, it might not be the best decision for you - so rather than waiting for things to start happening again, think about taking matters into your own hands.

Before you dive headfirst into starting up a side project or second band, be honest with yourself about whether you have the capacity - we're talking enough energy and time to give all your projects the attention they deserve.

As long as you can manage that, having another project on the go might help you feel creatively fulfilled. You might play in a hard rock band but want to go full metal or think you've done all you can as an acoustic duo and want to experiment with electronic music.

Whether you have a musical life outside the group you're in and try your hand at being a solo singer-songwriter, it's never too late to pursue a new musical direction.

Here are five musicians who were in multiple successful bands that overlapped at various points:

• Dave Grohl - Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures
• Travis Barker - blink-182, Box Car Racer, +44, Transplants
• Alison Mosshart - the Kills, the Dead Weather
• Damon Albarn - Blur, Gorillaz
• Corey Taylor - Slipknot, Stone Sour

Should I stay or should I go?

You only have so much time and energy to spend, so don't waste it on being a people-pleaser.

When you're starting out, it can be tempting to say "yes" to each and every opportunity that comes your way. After all, you never know which acoustic duo formed at an open mic night or a guest spot on a local band's EP will turn into the real deal!

However, be picky about which projects you agree to be a part of, saving your time and energy for things you care about. Don't spread yourself too thin for the sake of music projects that your heart just isn't in.

Even if you're in a band which you've been a member of for months - or even years - it's worth asking yourself whether it's fulfilling you musically.

If you've already tried shaking up the set list and having another project on the side, but you're still finding that your band is stagnating, it could be time to cut your losses. This can be an incredibly tough call to make, but if things don't feel right in your band, getting out could be the best thing for all of you.