would i improve?

[nils152]

hey peeps, just a quik question,
would it really improve my playing if i was in a band? im no guitar wizard yet but would it make me a better guitarist if i was to be jamming with other musicians? o do you think its better if you get good practicing by myself first, as opposed to jamming with others? just wondered what people thought on this subject, thnks

[nuclear81]

This is going to be different from person to person, but I kniow I improved a lot by learning some scales and practicing them on my own, and then trying to incorperate them into my with other people. i icked up the book Fret Board logic, and it has greatly improved my understanding of what i am playing. Maybe you should check it out.

[Thorsten]

You should definitely join a band!!!

Playing at home is just the theory, playing in a band and playing out live in front of people is the real life thing and nothing will teach you more than playing a real gig.

You don´t have to be a guitar virtuoso for that. That´s what most kids are doing wrong. They think they have to practice at home until one day they will be good enough to join a band but in fact that day will never come if they´ve never played in a band.

Even if you think you suck at first, that´s just normal, you´re learning! Nobody is great right from the start... not Van Halen, not Joe Satriani, not Dream Theater. They all started at some point and I´m sure they all sucked. But they started at a very early age and played in bands at a very early age and were very dedicated and worked hard to get where they are now.

So join a band, NOW!

TK

[yingski]

you would only improve in a band if you made an effort on your own to improve too. I know people in bands that just suck year in and year out. Just joining a band is no guarantee that you'll get better but it can help if you work at it, otherwise you will only drag the band down to your level.

[EricV]

I agree to the previous statements. Getting into a band will help you to develop quite a bit.. as long as you allow that development to happen, and as long as you guys play a lot ( instead of jamming on one song and then talking for a couple of hours )
I always recommend to everyone to actually play with other musicians, i.e. in a band. You´ll learn to interact with other musicians, playing in a band, and you can finally apply the chops you worked on in a musical context.
it´s all great to sit at home and practice and write stuff, but I believe that you should use your skills in a "real life" environment, in order to really use them.

This kinda leads me back to my songwriting-article, in a different context now. A lot of people spend time practicing and learning cool solos by others. And of course, it´s a good exercise to learn, say, the "Under A Glass Moon" solo, or "Bad Horsie" in its entirety.
However, playing in a band requires some different skills, and those should be worked on too, cuz they´ll help you to grow as a musician. Interacting, accompanying others, playing full songs with a real band, grooving, improvising, and of course, applying the skills you worked on.
I always loved to play in a band, and I´d pick that over recording stuff at home or practicing anytime. It´s a very cool feeling usually, and it´s a whole different kind of accomplishment to form your first band and actually get through the very first song together.
I remember my first band experience. The first song we played together ( we wrote it ourselves ) was really simple chord-wise, yet not very structured, and I guess it sounded horrible.
but it was so cool to play it and then slam that final chord, stand there, look at each other and just go "Man, that was SO COOL"
Also, after a while the band will ( hopefully ) develop as a unit ( plus each indicidual member will hopefully achieve the aforementioned "band-skills" ) and that usually increases the enjoyment, too... the band is tighter, interacts better, plays and writes more songs...
Anyway, I could go on and on, but I guess you got my point =)
Eric

[JailHouseRock]

Nice points, I’d like to add some more.
Playing with others or in a band has help me improve a lot. For example, say you and the band got a set of songs to play. You would want to practice it at home, doing your own homework so you wouldn’t want to frustrate your band mates when it comes to your turn to solo, etc..

You’ll also learn where to play your part and where you shouldn’t . I experienced time where I used to jam with a few friends. This guitarist ALWAYS turn out his volume louder that you could hardly hear any other instruments except for drum. Other people don’t like it and he wasn’t very welcome to join the next jam session.

You’ll learn to communicate with other musician as well. From this, you’ll get to know the drummer, bassist and the vocalist’s point of view much better. Perhaps, you might incorporate it in your guitar playing.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter if you think your not good to form a band or play with others. Just go, jam and have fun. I remembered the time where I jam 3 piece power chords grungy punk rawk stuff with my friends. We were having fun. So, go and meet other musician and jam with them.

It’s lots of fun! :D

[dave111]

Yes. Playing in any band regardless of if your playing dream theater covers or blink covers, improves your timing, accuracy, overall rhythm and your ability to work with other instruments. It is fundamental in my opinion if you hope to be able to improvise in a band setting to get out and play in as many bands as possible. Even if this is not one of your aims, playing regulary in bands is something most proffesional artists and guitar heroes go through to improve.

[nils152]

thanks for all the replies with your advice and im going for my first jam session 2moro! i'll only be taking on the rhythm duties but hey it should be way cool!

[oRg]

I totally agree. Getting in a band changes everything and it really puts you to the test. For example I just used to jam at home by myself for the most part. Possibly jam with another friend and such. But when you jamming with a drummer and a bassist it totally changes the group dynamic and it can be a very educational experience.