Playing in multiple bands

drummingman

Gold Member
I currently play in one main band. We are a serious band that are working on our first ep. The goal is to start gigging heavily local and then touring once the ep is out. But, as we all know, bands break up all the time. So I've been thinking about if I should try to play in multiple bands at the same time. My biggest concern is spreading myself too think to where I'm not able to play my best because of putting too much on my plate. But, I also don't want to limit my chances of success by putting all my eggs in one basket.


Being that my goal is playing full time for a living I want to maximize my chances of achieving that goal. But I don't to make it to where I have so much music to memorize that I'm not able to actually do it well.

It seems nowadays most pro musicians play in a number of bands at the same time. Not all, but a lot do. I've often wondered how they can do this and not have to dumb down their parts to not forget them. Maybe it's just me, I have a pretty bad memory. I do chart most everything that I create so I don't forget it. But even with doing that it can take me a good while to get it in my head. And that's with just one band.

I tried playing with 2 bands at once a few years ago. I always ended up neglecting one over the other. So I left the one I kept neglecting and focused all my attention on the one band. Then a year and a half later that band broke up and it took me a good bit to put together another band. I could not find a band that needed a drummer in this down time. It even took awhile to find people to start a new one from the ground up. So I don't want to be in that situation again if my current bands goes under. But I also don't want my playing to be not up to par because of having too much to memorize for multiple bands.

If I can find a way to get things in my head fast without having to dumb my parts down then it seems doable to play in at least 2 bands at once. But that's the thing that I struggle with.


So what do you think?
 
I do chart most everything that I create so I don't forget it. But even with doing that it can take me a good while to get it in my head. And that's with just one band.

How detailed are your charts? If your charts just have "big picture" items, like song structure and repeats, without notating specific beats, fills, hits, and breaks, then looking at that chart isn't going to help much, if enough time has gone by.

It seems excessive, but when you note-for-note transcribe a song (making use of repeats and shortcuts when possible), it becomes fairly difficult to forget how to play it. The process of thinking deeply about your parts, as you write them out, helps to memorize them. A review is usually necessary after a few weeks or a month. But it's a quick review, because your parts are in the chart.

When a band gigs often, that really helps, too.

If you're writing out your parts, gigging once a week or so, and your memory still isn't working as it should, then it might be time for some other learning/memorization strategies.
 
If you want to be a full time pro, playing in multiple bands is likely going to be a matter of fact.

If memorization is that much of a struggle, you're either going it about ineffectively or just not cut out for it. Or if it's originals, you're writing parts that are above your level and taking too much of your concentration.

It is helpful to write out everything, or have read from a written page. Getting off book is basically the same in any situation, studying the page is as much a matter of learning the material as it is a memorization tool. Still, it shouldn't be long before you can internalize the form and think of beats and fills as complete phrases not just a series of notes or a sticking pattern.
 
I vote for "yes, play in multiple bands."

I think it's good to jump in feet first and put yourself in uncomfortable playing situations. Accept the gig and then figure out how you're going to do it. I started doing that a few years ago and a lot of good things have come from it. It can be stressful, but you'll learn ways to simplify and learn the music faster. In short, you'll grow as a player.
 
I play in multiple bands. Works for me. Musicians complain that I'm not always available. I say to them, "Show me the gigs". They don't have gigs. I'm the one that is working, they are not.
 
Regardless of music, organise your diary, that's how I make sure things don't clash.

I play in one main band but dep in a couple others. Granted I don't do original stuff anymore but it's a first come first serve system for me when I'm taking work, same for the rest of my band.

If you want to make it at any level you have to go where the money is. Your band is doing its first EP, that's cool, I REALLY, REALLY miss doing the creative stuff...but if someone offers you a well paid gig playing crappy soul destroying covers rather than an original gig which isn't paying, you have to take the paid gig.

Regarding learning things, I'm very good at memorising arrangements and song structures, I always find it helps if you learn the words, some people use basic charts, there isn't a right and wrong as long as it sounds good.
 
Playing more is simply not something you need to worry about hurting you. You won't perform worse because you're doing more music... In my experience, the exact opposite. The more I am "forced" to go out and make rehearsals and shows for the different bands, the better I get and the more practice my brain has at remembering song forms and details.

When I'm not doing a lot, only have one band and only playing one type of thing, that's when stuff starts to get a little slop.

If you have a regular job, I find that two bands is a good max. If you're not working a regular job and have more time, 3 or 4 can work as well, but it's still tricky with gig booking and make up rehearsals. I've found that I have to be firm and not actually agree to too many schedule changes or it becomes habit and more of them happen. I typically do not offer to do a makeup unless there's a very good reason we aren't playing the normal rehearsal time.

For making sure the gig booking works out, I tell all bands that I can only agree to shows planned at least a month out and cannot take a date that's already locked in with another band. When a show comes late in the game with only a week or two notice I will take it only if there's no other conflicts and personal things that I need to attend to.

Even if your job is music, you need a work/life balance. From experience I can say it's a huge mistake to brazenly take everything from every band if they are not being considerate of your time and life outside of music.
 
Agree with most of the responses here. I have a day-job and also play in two bands - a "main" one and one not quite as good that I stay with due to the friendships. The friendship band doesn't practice and gig as regularly so I play in the "main" for more & better playing time.

More playing is more playing and good for me. The bands have different catalogues so the music doesn't overlap. I've found that the more songs I have to chart & learn, the better I get at it and the faster I get to memorization. Each band draws from a current total song list of 50-75 and I have about 200 charted that I keep. If I need to go back to something I haven't played in a couple years, I pull up the chart and can easily get back to gig-ready with my chart & notes.

I handle calendaring gigs simply on a first come first serve basis, turning down the date with one band if the night is already booked by the second. No need for explanations as sometimes I end up not being able to make dates for work, vacation or other non-band reasons.

Go for the second band and enjoy the playing time.
 
In order to play in multiple bands, especially those with original material, you have to immerse yourself in the music and make it muscle memory. 80% of my personal practice time is running through songs on one of my bands' setlists and making sure I've got the parts nailed.

Some natural talent in memorization helps, but that is something you can develop. Your brain is a muscle and you may need to go to the gym a bit more.

Some guys would fall back on charts if they were having trouble with memorizing parts. Charting songs can certainly help you learn them, and can be helpful during practices or rehearsals, but in my opinion the objective should be getting completely "off book".

Part of my secret is that one of my bands is a covers band - I don't have to work too hard at memorizing the parts because I grew up with the music and know most of it by heart.
 
The only real problems I had with multiple bands is scheduling conflicts. If you really want to be a pro, your song memory/arrangement memory/drum part memory IMO needs work from what you are saying. Charting your songs out really does help there. Other than that, it's just logistics.

I just left a situation where it was my only band. So now I will be going back to "playing the field" and will likely be in at least 2 projects.

Previously, I left other projects to focus on my main band. Now that I let that go, I'm "single" again :)

Music is the one thing where it's OK to be promiscuous. Looking forward to slutting out some.
 
How detailed are your charts? If your charts just have "big picture" items, like song structure and repeats, without notating specific beats, fills, hits, and breaks, then looking at that chart isn't going to help much, if enough time has gone by.

It seems excessive, but when you note-for-note transcribe a song (making use of repeats and shortcuts when possible), it becomes fairly difficult to forget how to play it. The process of thinking deeply about your parts, as you write them out, helps to memorize them. A review is usually necessary after a few weeks or a month. But it's a quick review, because your parts are in the chart.

When a band gigs often, that really helps, too.

If you're writing out your parts, gigging once a week or so, and your memory still isn't working as it should, then it might be time for some other learning/memorization strategies.

I write everything out note for note.
 
If you want to be a full time pro, playing in multiple bands is likely going to be a matter of fact.

If memorization is that much of a struggle, you're either going it about ineffectively or just not cut out for it. Or if it's originals, you're writing parts that are above your level and taking too much of your concentration.

It is helpful to write out everything, or have read from a written page. Getting off book is basically the same in any situation, studying the page is as much a matter of learning the material as it is a memorization tool. Still, it shouldn't be long before you can internalize the form and think of beats and fills as complete phrases not just a series of notes or a sticking pattern.

All of the things that I currently play are original music. I do write things that I have to practice at times to be able to play well. That's not everything I write, but some things. I try to come up with things at times that I can't play well so I have to practice them to get it down. But like I was saying, my memory sucks. So it takes forever to get things memorized. Kinda drives me crazy.
 
being "in a band" period is basically musical suicide

having been involved in every possible musical situation I can say from the bottom of my heart that the absolute best situation for your sanity, creativity, and economic status is to be a free floating entity

play with as many people as possible while committing yourself to none
 
being "in a band" period is basically musical suicide

having been involved in every possible musical situation I can say from the bottom of my heart that the absolute best situation for your sanity, creativity, and economic status is to be a free floating entity

play with as many people as possible while committing yourself to none

Best advice for someone who wants music to be their living, which is what the OP stated.

Most guys I know still have one thing they consider their "main project", but none of them are as successful as Tony, either.
 
I play in 3 bands. Mostly because I need money, but also because it gets me "out there." Here's what I mean:

I got the audition for band #2 from someone coming to see a band #1 show. I got the audition for band #3 from someone seeing my band #2 show.

Each consecutive band has been a bigger deal than the previous, so I'm going to continue on this path :)

In regards to knowing all the music, it is similar to any other demanding job. Yes, practice, as much as you can, but prioritizing, cramming, and understanding what's needed vs. being perfect are all part of the deal.
 
being "in a band" period is basically musical suicide

having been involved in every possible musical situation I can say from the bottom of my heart that the absolute best situation for your sanity, creativity, and economic status is to be a free floating entity

play with as many people as possible while committing yourself to none

I wasn't expecting that? I figured an educated musician, music educator, would have consistent gigs to rely on. I read this thinking dang Tony's snap brim is too tight cutting off the flow to his brain LOL (I was watching this video of "a dude" demonstrating creasing his fedora awhile back-out of context I didn't realize it was you till it finally plugged in "Hey I know this dude!!"-love your hat collection BTW). I guess with your credentials and experience you can make it work-and I guess it makes sense you can actually play more gigs not being tied to one band? I remember the brass guys I use to play with would do multiple gigs a night. So do you do multiple gigs a night too? Are there any band you consistently play or do you prefer session work with artist? When I was young I thought being in a touring band would be great-now the thought sounds awful.
 
One of the things I've been thinking about doing to help is playing less fills. Or at least ad libing more of them and writing less fills out. I'm thinking that may help my situation. Also instead of doing constant variations do the same fills going into every chorus and every verse, Etc. That way it's less to memorize.
 
One of the things I've been thinking about doing to help is playing less fills. Or at least ad libing more of them and writing less fills out. I'm thinking that may help my situation. Also instead of doing constant variations do the same fills going into every chorus and every verse, Etc. That way it's less to memorize.

Now that's a good idea.

Being stuck to pre-programmed fills is extremely limiting and people notice faster than you might assume.
 
One of the things I've been thinking about doing to help is playing less fills. Or at least ad libing more of them and writing less fills out. I'm thinking that may help my situation. Also instead of doing constant variations do the same fills going into every chorus and every verse, Etc. That way it's less to memorize.
Yes, do this.

You're in an original band. They're YOUR songs. You can let things live and breathe and make changes to them as time goes on. As a guy who also plays original metal as a passion project, I ad lib all the time. The only fills I worry about keeping constant are things like unison accents and things that would be considered a 'signature lick'. In beats I'll often throw in subtle differences in accents or add a little syncopation depending on what I'm hearing and feeling and on particular day. Sometimes I find these little variations to be superior to the original part, and they kind of become canon over time.

The caliber of the band kind of matters, some guys get thrown if you don't play exactly the same the thing. I try not to play with those people. In any music, you need to know the form. If you don't know the form well enough that you get lost from a deviation, then you may as well be doing instrumental karaoke.

Is crafting all of your parts meticulously and recreating them perfectly every time cool? Yes. So is leaving some room for interpretation and growth. There's not a right answer.

Maybe one time I'll play some full bar fill interleaving double kick and double strokes, maybe the next time around I just do a double stop on four. The idea of doing variations of a fill all the time isn't necessarily bad, but you shouldn't have to analyze it every time you're doing, you should know your pattern well enough that you can move it around the kit with ease. Play the same thing on different parts of the kit.

If you are trying to make a living playing drums, you're playing against the odds. Trying to do it in metal, or any other kind of less mainstream and more niche genre, is only increasing the odds. Is it impossible, no, but it is super unlikely. There are plenty of better drummers than me in my regional scene alone, a handful that are likely skilled enough to be touring out with whatever big names you could think, that aren't getting paid out any more than I am.

The market just won't support it. Everybody I know making an actual living in music is either playing in all sorts of diverse situations, or picks up work in related things like live sound, recording, teaching, instrument/amp/electronic repair, doing video game/commercial/jingle work, stage crew, working door/security at clubs, that kind of thing. I know a couple of locals who do the touring band thing, and they still need to supplement their income outside of that band. Even bands as big as Mastodon are selling lessons on their tours, and I'm guessing it's not entirely for the joy of doing it.

In the genre itself, plenty of guys on the more successful end are still playing in two or more groups just so they don't have as much downtime between tours, because that and the associated selling of merch is the primary income generator.

So, yeah, playing in one band on faith that it's going to be your big thing is just so improbable that it's hardly worth considering if your serious goal is to generate income SOLELY from drums. If you're more flexible about deriving an income solely from the music industry, you can be focused on one band, but you'll still need to hustle. Well, making any kind of living in music is a hustle for most but an elite few.

Most guys I talk to touring the metal club circuits still have 'real' jobs they go back to, some are lucky enough to have flexible jobs and they can arrange time off for tours, some just bounce between entry level jobs to make ends meet until the next time they can tour.
 
I'm in a band that has its ups and downs in regards to playing out, desire to play, etc. I also play at church twice a month, and there's another band that I really want to play with, and I was told I was going to do some gigs, but I haven't gotten the call (that was back in May, so I seriously doubt I'll be getting a call).

Anyways, in the past whenever I've done multiple bands, I've always had the "First person to get me a date gets me!" It worked out really well for several years.
 
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