If you watched last Sunday’s Super Bowl, you may be a football fan, a Katy Perry fan, or a “particularly-expensive-commercial” fan.
I’m a football fan. My team didn’t get to the championships this year — (it’ll happen again soon, Chargers!) — but I still enjoy a good game, no matter who is playing.
This football season, I’d been intrigued by the ups and downs of several teams, including the Seattle Seahawks.
I saw an interview coach Pete Carroll did last Monday, and I noted something he said about teamwork that made a lot of sense… not just for football, but for musicians and bands.
Carroll talked about coming out of some crucial losses earlier in the season, how they had recaptured something important, and went on into an 8-game winning streak: “We had lost a little contact with how crucial it is to play for each other and how crucial it is to support the people on your team and how crucial it is to get out of yourself and give to the guys around you… It’s the essence of playing with the team. That it’s not about you, it’s about the people around you and you give yourself to them.”
So what about your band? Are you playing like a team?
A band is a bunch of individuals who work together as a team (or at least they should!). And within a team everyone has a different role. In many cases, those roles aren’t necessarily defined. In some successful bands, people fall into the roles naturally.
If you’ve ever been randomly put into a small group somewhere, you know how sometimes one person naturally takes the lead. There’s usually one in the group who keeps things moving along. And then there will be the jokester of the group. You may see another person is very compassionate, and so on.
You walk away from that kind of group thinking “that was awesome.”
It was awesome because the roles and dynamics within the small group were met without necessarily being recognized or assigned.
Then there have been the time you were assigned to a small group that was awful. The leader dominated the conversation, someone else was too shy to share, and the jokester wasn’t at all funny — in fact, he was rude!
This group obviously didn’t work — it would have been better if people, personalities, and function had been matched up so that every group was awesome.
Thinking about it in those terms, do you want to leave your group (band) to chance, or do a little planning?
You see, if you can define the roles and have each person grow into them and master them, you’ll have a much better chance for success. You’ll certainly be a lot happier group, I’m guessing!
I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts about the group dynamics in your own band — comment below and let me know how it’s been working (or not working) for you.
And if you’d like to explore this topic a little more, check out these 2 articles Backstage that I wrote (both require a Backstage Pass to dive into):
- The Roles in a Band (an in-depth look at each person in a band and their typical roles)
- The 7 Requirements of a Great Front Man (super in-depth about the lead person, whether it’s in a band, a duo, or even the soloist!)
Tom Jackson
Tom is uniquely talented and skilled at transforming an artist's live show into a magical experience for the audience; helping artists at every level create a live show that is engaging and memorable, teaching them to exceed their audiences' expectations and to create fans for life. Tom has taught indie and major artists of every genre. He has worked with Taylor Swift, Le Crae, Home Free, The Tenors, Shawn Mendes, The Band Perry, Francesca Battistelli, Jars of Clay, & many more. Tom also teaches at colleges, conferences and events worldwide.
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I’d really would love to have a Krist Novoselic/Kurt Cobain relationship.
I’m a singer/songwriter working to form a great team, but I’m very patient. I’ve been sick to the point of death of musicians not listening to the songs and who were just “playing”. I’ve never liked to imposed myself as a leader, so I created my own band. I would love things to fall into place by themselves and that the musicians joining me acknowledge my worth, my work and my vision. I will be the natural leader even though I will always listen to ideas of the other members. I sort of envy Kurt Cobain for that, his band members recognize his talent and let him express everything he had to say, but they did took part in the creative process. However like Krist Novoselic said “I was there to serve the band” that’s the kind of mentality I would love to see in my future band members. I thank you for that great article, I hope that for my band things will get naturally or else as you suggest we better define roles as early as possible.
My band really has good dynamics in it’s current line up. Nobody is trying to compete for the leader position,, something every group has experienced, everybody likes to joke, but my bassist most of all. My guitarist really does help move things along if we get too distracted in rehearsal. My drummer is a little quiet and shy, but every jokester needs someone to laugh at them, and my steel player is just the guy who can get anything done. If I absolutely need something, at a specific deadline, I know I can count on him to have it done ahead of schedule.
The hardest part for me is being a solo artist and having to hire musicians, because sometimes it feels like you don’t have the same dynamics you might if you were just “in a band.” Rehearsing and playing seems to take a lot more thought and effort.