How to start a band if you don't have a drummer (yet)?

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(Well, it's possible we don't have a singer either, but that's another story.)

Anyway, a bassist mate and I are trying to set up a regular jam session; we thought we had a drummer lined up, but of course he can't do any of the evenings the rest of us can do.

So, what's the best option?  Backing tracks?  Learn to program a drum machine?  One of these pedals with drum patterns?  Obviously none of those will replace a real drummer, but they would at least give us something to play to.

The collective wisdom of tFB gratefully received.
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  • MusicwolfMusicwolf Frets: 3633
    I'd always thought that I would never gig with a backing track or drum machine.  It just wasn't Rock 'n' Roll plus I'd seen other bands have a nightmare on stage getting the right track and knowing where to come in.  Then I found myself at a function where there were 2 guitar / vocals plus bass playing to a backing track - and they were really good.  More to the point, they were gigging whilst we were still beggaring about trying to find a time when we could all rehearse together.   Since I have a good home studio setup inc Superior Drummer 3.0 I put some tracks together and myself and the singer went out live.  I've worked this way with just the two of us or with a real bass player.

    I recorded all the non live parts at home (I also play bass and keys) and mixed to stereo wav with the backing mixed in mono on RH and cues / clicks on the LH.  RH FOH & monitors, LH monitors only.  I played back from iPad (which was also working the Mackie DL series mixer).  It took a few goes to get the backing mix right (in fact I was forever 'tweaking').  Playing to the backing isn't as straight forward as you might think.  Things to consider;

    Pros
    Your 'Drummer' is always available, takes no time to set up, has a volume control, never gets the tempo wrong or makes a mistake and is just as likely to buy a round (or not) as the semi-human kind.

    Cons
    Your 'Drummer' may no longer make a mistake but he takes no prisoners if you do.  If your singer comes in late them I'm afraid that the chorus is still going to kick in even if they're only half way through the verse.  You need to know the songs inside out.
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  • John_PJohn_P Frets: 2744
    Might be worth having a look at the backing tracks on karaoke version.    
    You can have version with or without vocals and any of the instruments missing and change key.   Quick way to get something to play along with.  
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  • JonathangusJonathangus Frets: 4436
    Thanks, chaps.  Really just looking for something to jam along to at the moment.  If we ever get round to playing a gig, hopefully we'll have a proper drummer pinned down.  @John_P - that site looks promising - cheers!
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    As for "when am I ready?"  You'll never be ready.  It works in reverse, you become ready by doing it.  - pmbomb


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  • flying_pieflying_pie Frets: 1806
    If you're planning on getting a real drummer then you should practice with your backing track speeding up by 1bpm every couple of bars... ;) 
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    So, what's the best option? 
    Unplugged, Folk or Jazz. Nice.
    Be seeing you.
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  • JonathangusJonathangus Frets: 4436
    If you're planning on getting a real drummer then you should practice with your backing track speeding up by 1bpm every couple of bars... ;) 
    LOL awarded.  Really deserves a wizlol, though.  :)
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    As for "when am I ready?"  You'll never be ready.  It works in reverse, you become ready by doing it.  - pmbomb


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  • AndyJPAndyJP Frets: 219
    Hey, have been through this myself.   The advise I was given was to practice to a metronome set to click on beats 2 and 4.  It was tough but worked.

    We put a mobile phone that had a metronome app through the mixing desk at the rehearsal room.
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  • AuxendAuxend Frets: 1
    edited August 2019
    a fellow collaborator and I created full songs 100% in the box (with a computer) he was a song-writer who had the talent of hearing it all in his head and being able to suffer the tools to create it with software - we used BFD and NI drum  software to sketch out tracks and get them to produce demo quality tracks.

    Once we had the demos we started shopping out drummers and as it turned out there are a few guys who do exactly that...take a demo as a reference and produce a fully recorded drum track. Given our time and location constraints, we mostly worked remotely and didn't put a huge focus on playing live...I realized how rare it is to get a visit from the muse for songwriting so I just encouraged him to keep producing tracks and I focused on trying to make them sound viable in a mix for a prospective drummer. It was an experiment with very low expectations but yielded quite satisfying results.

    These were all produced without a drummer: https://soundcloud.com/meanwhileincalifornia

    When we rehearsed it to see what we could do live...we would have been happy with Ableton live driving the drum tracks via foot triggers until we could find a drummer.
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  • If you're at the writing stage then demoing songs with programmed MIDI drums is a good way to add some beats to your songs to give them some life. I always found a guitar track idea would transform once a vocal melody and a drum beat went over it, even if it was just a chorus, or a verse and chorus. There's a backbone to it at least.
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  • BahHumbugBahHumbug Frets: 349
    I’ve used an Alesis SR-18 drum machine for a few years and it is brilliant.  Whether you want to program in entire songs, or just run a loop or two for jamming, it does the job.  It can be stopped and started by foot switch and you can jump between patterns and fills by foot switch.  It’s relatively easy to program too.
    Unfortunately really good human drummers seem to be quite hard to come by, so more often than not I seem to find myself dealing with a drummer who is too loud/speeds up/slows down/gets lost. I often find myself thinking it would so much easier with the machine.
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  • PolarityManPolarityMan Frets: 7273
    AndyJP said:
    Hey, have been through this myself.   The advise I was given was to practice to a metronome set to click on beats 2 and 4.  It was tough but worked.

    We put a mobile phone that had a metronome app through the mixing desk at the rehearsal room.
    Yeah but it helps to have something that goes to the end of the bar, helps keep beats 6 and 7 nice and tight.
    ဈǝᴉʇsɐoʇǝsǝǝɥɔဪቌ
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  • robinbowesrobinbowes Frets: 3021
    (Well, it's possible we don't have a singer either, but that's another story.)

    Anyway, a bassist mate and I are trying to set up a regular jam session; we thought we had a drummer lined up, but of course he can't do any of the evenings the rest of us can do.

    So, what's the best option?  Backing tracks?  Learn to program a drum machine?  One of these pedals with drum patterns?  Obviously none of those will replace a real drummer, but they would at least give us something to play to.

    The collective wisdom of tFB gratefully received.

    When rehearsing a blues band a few years ago, we replaced the drummer with a drum machine on the nights he couldn't make it. We found that we needed just two 1-bar patterns to cover every some we played :)

    R.
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  • Mark1960Mark1960 Frets: 326
    Just get on and practice without one for a while. It will be good for both of you, and also lets you hear the "music" element of the band without having to block out the drummer. Issues are often partially masked by a drummer, but without you should be able to get everything spot on.
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  • JonathangusJonathangus Frets: 4436
    Thanks for all your ideas, folks.  Intrigued that @Lestratcaster thinks I have the first idea about writing songs.  ;)  This is really about jamming some covers and just maybe, playing them in front of people.  :#

    But - as of yesterday, it looks like we have a drummer and singer on board...
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    As for "when am I ready?"  You'll never be ready.  It works in reverse, you become ready by doing it.  - pmbomb


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  • slackerslacker Frets: 2216
    I read this thread and was going to give some advice and then saw that you now have potentially a full band. So advice rejigged for current situation. 

    One of the problems that can occur is that one (hopefully just one max) person turns up to rehearsals to learn the songs rather than doing homework. IMHO it's the guitar and bass parts that need working on. The drummer should be able to pick things up fast. You can then rehearse with the singer with a fairly stable noise. It might be an idea to have a couple of sessions with the bass player. Bass and guitar on point makes it a lot easier. 

    Next up...

    The vocalist picks the songs. I left a band that was on a tight time frame to learn a lot of male orientated songs with a female singer who didnt choose them. I learnt all the songs in the original key...

    In my band the compromise is that the singer picks the songs with an eye on them not being boring or too difficult to play and the rest of the band can veto a song if hated. Big point on choice, it's the audience that drives what covers are played. I left a band that had Smoke on the Water and Stairway to Heaven on the set as the local audiences were stuck in a classic rock timewarp. 

    And..

    The drummer has to be good and you have to not accept a dodgy one for convenience. I was lucky, a family friend was looking to play after a 10 year gap. I knew he was good back in the day and he just keeps getting better as he approaches where he was. I started a song with a loop and turned it off. As an experiment I turned the looper back on at the end of the song, dead on...

    The drummer in my originals band 20 years ago had a light metronome which just lit up for a bar. He wrote down all the (agreed) bpms and clicked the right times every time. 

    Finally 

    Dialogue/communication/magic-whatever you call it, some musicians and some combinations of musicians have that certain something. I see local cover bands that stand there looking bored and it's competent but it doesnt move me. Work on getting that magic going. Look for things like dynamics that just happen, everyone stops at once without planning it. It's that intuition that really makes a band fun. It doesnt always happen naturally and sometimes it just doesnt happen but if you see the signs work on it. 





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  • robinbowesrobinbowes Frets: 3021
    slacker said:

    Dialogue/communication/magic-whatever you call it, some musicians and some combinations of musicians have that certain something. I see local cover bands that stand there looking bored and it's competent but it doesnt move me. Work on getting that magic going. Look for things like dynamics that just happen, everyone stops at once without planning it. It's that intuition that really makes a band fun. It doesnt always happen naturally and sometimes it just doesnt happen but if you see the signs work on it. 
    This should be nailed to the foreheads of a lot of "musicians"!

    Perfect.

    R.
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