# Taking direction....



## Bodega (Sep 1, 2008)

Hi all,

I'm somewhat new here, so ... :wave:

What I'm wondering is if anybody here made the switch from frontman/writer/etc to just player and found that that need to be in control subsided? Or did it get worse and worse until you stormed out of practice?

I've only ever been in bands where I had full creative control over what I played, often I'd be writing everything, recording most of it, etc.

I joined my current band because I'm crazy about the material, full stop. In it, the main guy has written all the parts out and they're quite technically challenging but still interesting, possibly more interesting than what I'd write. Also, he's pretty picky about the way he wants them played.

So... despite loving the music, the fact that I'm being told what to do is really starting to bug me. To a degree much greater than I thought.

I know I should just "man up" and play the parts, which are certainly good parts, but there's this part of me that's getting all "YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!" when asked to hold a note for 3 beats instead of 2.

It's ridiculous, of course: session players "take direction" all gig, every gig. It's their job. So... it's can't be that hard, can it? 

Hopefully it's a learned skill and not a personality issue....

Anyways, does this sound familiar to anybody?


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## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

Bodega said:


> What I'm wondering is if anybody here made the switch from frontman/writer/etc to just player and found that that need to be in control subsided? Or did it get worse and worse until you stormed out of practice?


I've always been in control of my musical destiny up until last spring when I joined a blues band. It's not difficult to be in the background and let others take command of the music and arrangements. Am I happy with all our tune choices and/or arrangements? Not really, but it's a team effort and I enjoy playing with the people I'm with. So I choose to go with the flow and put 150% effort in.

Even though I'm not the leader, I can still make a contribution and/or offer suggestions..... some of which they like, some they don't like. I'll never storm out of a practice. If I became unhappy for whatever reason and it's no longer fun to play, I would respectfully resign and move on.


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## Bodega (Sep 1, 2008)

That sounds pretty reasonable.

When it's all said and done, I really like the music, everyone in the band is pretty cool, and the band appears to have prospects. Those are big things in the "for" column.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I've played in situations where I was an "equal" among the others, and we would work out parts together. 

I've been in situations where someone else is leading. Fortunately in those situations I was playing with someone who respected my knowledge and abilities enough that I could make suggestions. I always made them respectfully, without whining or complaining. And in most cases my suggestions were accepted.

I've also been in charge. 

I prefer the situations where I am an equal and we figure it out together--although that can lead to problems as well, and isn't perfect. But for me it allows the most creativity.

But if you're not the leader--treat the leader with respect, and if you can earn the right to make suggestions--great.


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## bscott (Mar 3, 2008)

As shown in other replies there can be many arrangements within working bands. But, I think the question you need to ask yourself is what do YOU want to get out of the band?? I presume that you had specific reasons for joining this particular band. Are you still getting out of the band and the leadership arrangement what you want?
What you want to get out of the band can definitely change so that is a consideration as well. I would think that if you are still getting out of the band what you want then stick with it and maybe the "leader", after a time, would accept suggestions from band members. Or let band members do their thing but inside a broad set of parameters that he wants in a particular piece of music.
When you are no longer enjoyibg yourself then it would be time to ask yourself if you need to move on.

Brian


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## bagpipe (Sep 19, 2006)

Paul said:


> While I am usually a take charge kinda guy, I really do enjoy the big band because *my only job is to keep my pie hole shut and play.*


In my experience, many people in bands have trouble following this simple instruction. Everyone wants to chime in with their 2 cents on how this or that could be improved.


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## Bodega (Sep 1, 2008)

bscott said:


> Or let band members do their thing but inside a broad set of parameters that he wants in a particular piece of music.


I think what it is is that his set of parameters are much more specific than mine. So let's say I play all the notes he wrote, starting when he wrote them, but play with their duration a bit - a little legato here, a little staccato there. To him, that's playing it incorrectly. To me, that's making it my own.

As boring as it is, money is playing a small part in this. I was told when I joined that all the money from live performance would be split equally amongst band members.

Of course, this is an unsigned indie band that hasn't played a gig yet. And how much money do most indie bands make on live performance...? Not much. So, realistically, I'm not being paid.

To me, there's an inverse relationship of pay to creativity: if there is no pay, which has mainly been the case for projects I've been involved with, I'd better get a fairly long creative leash. Perhaps I would be better off to shake that belief but there you go.

Anyways, back to the real world: I mentioned it to him and he said he'd mull it over and get back to me.


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