The modern music has changed drastically since the second half of the 20th century. As a result, many common people began playing music; some of them even became professionals and rock ‘n’ roll superstars in the process of playing in a band. Today, it’s so widespread that almost anyone at some point has considered playing an instrument. To be fully honest, we think this is one of the best things one can do in life. Whether you’re aiming to become professionals, or whether you just feel like doing it for fun – it doesn’t really matter. What’s important is that by learning different types of music you get a new voice and a new tool to express yourself.
But is learning how to play all there is to it? Are you supposed to learn all that music theory, techniques, and songs just so you can sit in your room and improvise to a backing track? Well, the whole point of music is to send a message and share it with the rest of the world. In addition, it’s even better when you do it together with a few other like-minded individuals that share the same or similar tastes.
Of course, children and teenagers always tend to group up and do something together. But playing in a band definitely brings many advantages compared to just hanging out and doing nothing. In this article, we will explain how playing with a group of people is beneficial for musicians of any age.
Development of social and communicational skills
One of the most obvious benefits is the development of social skills. When playing alone all by yourself, you don’t need to communicate with anyone other than yourself. As we said, kids and teenagers like to get together and do things. But socializing, in this case, brings some other challenges in facing issues as a band. And when a problem occurs, there’s always a better way for an individual to communicate if they don’t like someone else’s ideas. This is exactly the thing anyone will be able to learn when playing in a band.
As time goes by, band members might face different challenges in finding common ground on different issues. But through these challenges, young minds learn how to adapt and socialize. Both short-term and long-term results when it comes to social skills will likely surprise you.
Playing in a band develops teamwork
This is pretty much related to the social skill improvement that we described above. Doing just about anything with a group of people while having a common goal is what any individual will have to deal with sooner or later in life. And is there a better and more fun way to practice this than to start your own band?
Just think of it – you’re writing original stuff or making an arrangement of someone else’s music. This requires a lot of input from all the members. And that’s exactly how you learn to be a part of the team. You’re a guitar player that loves to shred all over the place? Well, in a band, your lead sections are supposed to serve the song, and not the other way around. (In most cases, at least.)
And the very act of coordinating every single note that all of the instruments play is extremely important. It’s a long and thorough process, but after some time, you learn to think together as a group of individuals in a team with a common goal.
Development of musical skills
Obviously, such an experience where three, four, or more people are playing together can clearly benefit the musical skills of each individual member. When working together to create perfect harmony, one of the first things young band members learn is how to adapt their dynamics and other aspects of playing. Each member has its own “space” and serves a certain function. This means that everyone has their own sonic territory that should be respected if they want to achieve good results. To put it simply, they’ll get the chance to hear and feel music from a different perspective – as a performer and not just a listener.
Things can get really interesting and exciting when band members start learning about the wonders of improvisation and jamming. Of course, this is something that more experienced musicians usually do. But even younger and less experienced ones are free to jam and improvise, and it’s one of the best ways for them to implement all that boring music theory they learned in practice.
And don’t get us started on the whole use of gear and effects. When playing with a group of people, young musicians finally get the chance to realize how their effects should be set and what they actually do.
Playing in a band is pretty much mandatory if you’re aiming to become a professional musician one day
With all this said, it’s pretty obvious that the full band experience is essential for anyone who plans to become a professional musician one day. Yes, there are some specific examples where this might not be that important, like with solo performers. However, even they can benefit to an extent from playing in bands, ensembles, and orchestras.
Depending on the genre, or the specific scope of genres, young musicians will learn how they should play and sound in any desired setting. It’s a long process, but it’s really a fun one. After all, is there anything more enjoyable than playing in a band?
