lsits
Gold Member
Lots of good and valid viewpoints. Here's my take:
Rock music is, at its most basic, a simple art form. (You could probably say the same for blues). A guitarist could learn three or four chords and get a band together playing Chuck Berry numbers. Song structure is similar: I, IV IV chords. Most musicians in the past 40 years have been guitarists, bassists (a subset of guitarists), and drummers. Keyboard, brass, and reed players usually have to get extra instruction at the start, whether through the school system or through private instruction, in order to even attempt to play in even the most rudimentary band. Drums and guitars can be somewhat self-taught. Maybe not the best way to learn, but that's the way most people start out.
As bands grow in musical ability, many opt to add musicians in a song-by-song basis. If the song that's being written calls for a horn section, one gets hired. It doesn't make economic sense for a full horn section to be hired for a bar band who only needs them for two or three songs. It makes more sense for a keyboard player to replicate something close to the desired sound.
Once a certain level of earnings are achieved, more musicians can be hired. I recently saw The Eagles and there were sometimes 10 musicians on stage. Same with Fleetwood Mac and The Beach Boys. Bruce Springsteen has always had a big band behind him.
Rock music is, at its most basic, a simple art form. (You could probably say the same for blues). A guitarist could learn three or four chords and get a band together playing Chuck Berry numbers. Song structure is similar: I, IV IV chords. Most musicians in the past 40 years have been guitarists, bassists (a subset of guitarists), and drummers. Keyboard, brass, and reed players usually have to get extra instruction at the start, whether through the school system or through private instruction, in order to even attempt to play in even the most rudimentary band. Drums and guitars can be somewhat self-taught. Maybe not the best way to learn, but that's the way most people start out.
As bands grow in musical ability, many opt to add musicians in a song-by-song basis. If the song that's being written calls for a horn section, one gets hired. It doesn't make economic sense for a full horn section to be hired for a bar band who only needs them for two or three songs. It makes more sense for a keyboard player to replicate something close to the desired sound.
Once a certain level of earnings are achieved, more musicians can be hired. I recently saw The Eagles and there were sometimes 10 musicians on stage. Same with Fleetwood Mac and The Beach Boys. Bruce Springsteen has always had a big band behind him.