How good do you have to be to play in a local band?

Hi everyone,

I've mulled this over for years... I play mostly by ear, can enertain myself and others, and even am backup organist in our church. I've always wanted to play in a local band, maybe do oldies, etc, but have zero confidence in myself as a keyboardist and don't want to waste anyone's time with me auditioning.

Just curious...many of you may be in a local band of some kind. How do you know if you're good enough to play in a band? How does one break in? Not looking for money, just looking as a hobby and to meet people and make them happy.

I used to play a mason and hamlin AA, but am selling it as I have moved to smaller quarters. I am getting a Yamaha P120 this week and want to DO something with it.

Thanks very much in advance!

Dude, just go for it. Find a few other musicians who can keep a reasonably steady beat & that you can get along with, pick out some songs, and just do it.

Even if you all are not the greatest of musicians, just getting out in front of a crowd, no matter how small, will benefit you to no end.

As far as talent (or lack thereof) is concerned, don't worry too much about it. Just listen to some of the crap they play on the radio. Many popular bands are in actuality short of talent but big on promotion instead.

If you can even just keep up, they'll be happy to have you. Local, amateur bands have trouble filling the piano chair. Pianists who can do it and are willing to do it as a hobby are rare.

As a saxophone player who has played a lot professionally, any decent keyboard player or bass player can always find lots of work. A keyboard player that can play the bass lines with a nice bass synth with his left hand can find even more.

You will need to get some equipment (maybe another keyboard and a good amplifier, maybe a little mixer or something else to have an input for the mixing board). Most bands that gig in clubs do not play from charts, but from 'covers' that they picked up from the records or from some originals

gigs, like weddings, etc., your lack of reading ability might become a

Jerry, why don't you lurk about alt.music.makers.soloact for a while. They have some good advice to give. When you're confident jump in and ask some questions.