How to support band development when members have different levels of experience by Chris Williams (Youth Band Leader on Base Studios’ The Junction Project)

What makes a well-rounded band is a difficult topic to consider, simply because opinions on the matter are speculative. Are a group of high level musicians, with a vast wealth of gig experience necessarily going to make a great band? My theory is that no, there is no guarantee that they will form a good band solely based on their shared abundance of experience. The reason I have reached this conclusion is because my theory of what makes a band great, is not superior musical skills or the number of gigs under each members’ belt, but the contrast of these experiences. For me, it is the clash of differing personalities, the opposing musical tastes and the variety of experience between different band members that give every band their own unique formula. For example, if you were to form a band and you were all massive Metallica fans, chances are, your band is going to sound a lot like Metallica. Whereas, if one band member is a Metallica fan, one of you is really into Green Day and one member just downright loves Lady Gaga, if nothing else you will have a band that has its own one of a kind blueprint, which is infinitely more interesting. The world doesn’t need another Metallica, but maybe Lady Green Dallica could be the next big thing?

In the real world, the likelihood of finding a group of likeminded musicians all of whom have similar levels of playing ability and musical knowledge is slim at best. However, this does not need to be a weakness of the band, it can in fact be turned into a strength through appropriate support. One advantage of having band members that are a little less experienced, that I have found, is that, nine times out of ten, the less understanding of music someone may have, the more eager to learn they tend to be. The overall enthusiasm for simply being in a band is also usually greater with these musicians and that genuine enthusiasm is invaluable for a developing young band, as the desire to get better is the fuel the propels every band to greatness.

When it comes to composing original music, I have found that time and time again, differing levels of experience are thrown out of the window, as being able to generate good songwriting ideas does not come from being a good guitar player or singer, it comes from a combination of the aforementioned ‘enthusiasm’ and the creativity and imagination of each individual band member. Creativity and imagination are of course skills that one might strive to inspire or help to improve, but you cannot teach someone to be a creative person in the same way that you cannot teach a chair to be a table. A creative person is born, not created. Luckily, all musicians, both young and old, are creative people to some degree, whether they have an active interest in songwriting or not.

The only time that a person’s lack of experience may hinder the songwriting process is when their musical ability does not match their musical ideas. For example, a member may suggest inserting a guitar solo but may not have the musical knowledge of how they could go about composing said solo. The best way to aid a musician who may find themselves in this position is to take their idea, whatever it may be, and break it down to its core, so that it is in its simplest form. With a guitar solo, for example, the musician may know in their head what form they want their solo to take, but the concept of keys, scales and modes may be beyond their current musical knowledge. A trick I have used to help with this is to take your key, for the sake of the example let’s say C Major, now show your guitar player how he would play a C Major scale, then have them simply play the scale ascending and descending over the top of the chords, so that they can hear how each note sounds when played over the top of the chords. Once they have done this, have them pick three notes they thought sounded good when played with the chords. Now challenge them to come up with a solo using only these three notes, using whatever rhythms they can think of and playing the notes in whatever order they like. Taking away the intimidation of utilising an entire scale for a solo and instead focusing on just three notes can often give a less experienced musician more room to be creative as well as make them feel less overwhelmed by what can definitely be quite a daunting task. This can be adapted for other instruments too and can be used on full parts as well as solos.

In conclusion to this, I think it can be agreed upon that having a variety of players, all of which have different skill sets and abilities, should not be considered a weakness for any band, but as a strength that could be what makes a good band great.