Anyone in a band (or play an instrument?)

Started by fcgamer, March 03, 2015, 08:01:10 am

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fcgamer

I am just wondering how many people here are in bands, or play an instrument.  I play guitar, ukelele, and piano / keyboards, though I honestly can't say that I am more than average at any of the instruments.  By now, I prefer to play ukelele the most, as the light weight and small size makes it easy to throw in the backpack and take out when hopping a train or whatever, though I much prefer the sound of a full guitar.  I also enjoyed playing piano for many years, but it fell out of favor with me since any time you travel anywhere and meet friends, someone will have a guitar, but rarely is there a piano.  So I've always felt that with guitar, it can form new friends no matter where I am.  :)

I asked a colleague of mine about helping me find some people to form a band with, and she has found some potential candidates.  The problem is that I feel my ability is average at best, and so many of the guitarists that have been in bands have tons of experience, and are much better at their craft than me.  So that brings me to the question:

For those of you in bands, what are some of the best ways to improve your abilities?  I have played for maybe 8 years now, off and on, but my soloing work is weak, and my rythm work is moderate...however, I used to get lessons from a good friend, and he had taught me a lot about music theory, so I know a lot of weird shit about the workings of jazz music, 4 part chords, and stuff like that.  Theory doesn't help to play an instrument, I know, but it is worth something.

Is there a certain program or exercises that you guys use to improve your abilities, or is it best to just sign up for private lessons somewhere?  Thoughts?  I don't want to become professional, but hope to be good enough to stay in a band and play a few gigs.
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zmaster18

I used to play a little bit of piano when I was a kid. When I was 13 I tried electric guitar and sucked and got discouraged pretty quick. Then in my teens I played drums for my friend when he did jam sessions and I was average. After about a half-hour of warm-up, I got in the groove and did pretty well. I also tried playing my friend's bass. It was ok, I just didn't know any notes or even songs.

I still like drums, and would like to get myself bongos as well as a set one day...maybe. I would also like to play flute for jazz music. Don't you just get a kick out of a good jazz flute solo?

I will never really get into guitar because it honestly just hurts my hands a lot and I can't make a sound that isn't clunky. I would like to get myself a nice keyboard as well in the future when I'm ready for music. I would like to learn scales and be able to improvise and compose.