After so many writes and rewrites,and all my drafts disappearing from my system,in the last week. I am super excited that I got this one  finally! phew”. Hello Musicians and Creative artist welcome to MondayMusic&Me blogpost. I will focusing on Band membership-Roles and Responsiblities.

Being in a band is really a great experience for me as a performing musician and minister. I have been blessed by the gifts and talents of the great musicians and singers I have been fortunate to work with and I am still working with. but sometimes it can really be nerve wrecking working with different people.

Don’t get me wrong, with every organization,community, family you will always find a mixture of every temperament. A band is a unique and complex relationship with many different personalities and goals among band members.

In over a decade or more of being a live performer within and outside of the church, I have come across musicians who are dynamic in the crafts and also in relational issues. Things can be tricky at times,while some are direct,some are passive while others are more organised. A band is inevitably a dysfunctional yet hopefully a loving family! Dysfunctional in the sense that there are all kinds of people,some from outer space(laughing-out-loud) who are bound together by the love for music.

When you are creating music,performing,rehearsing with people regularly it is important to know that there are roles and responsibilities that must be put into practice and when each band member understands and develops his or her roles,collectively the band connects more with the audience. The better the connection with the audience, the better for everyone .

THE ROLES  AND THE RESPONSIBILITIES.

My school of thought about the roles with each band member is as a result of the experience of running a team of musicians over the years.so here we go.

*The Front Person- He or She is the main focus of the band ,people at you more than anyone else in the show,if you are the front person. As a result it is pertinent that a front person must have certain qualities ;Passionate,Spontaneous, Engaging and exciting to watch no matter the genre of music.

You may not be involved in the business of the band, you not even get to write the songs, but one thing is that as a front person you are the focal point-with your voice or vis-a-vis your musical instrument. You must be able to connect with the team and with the people/audience.

*The Lead Guitar-You are not the main focus of the band, however when it comes to solos, you are the main dude, don’t overdo it. I have come across many lead guitarist who like to show off their musical dexterity as a result tend to steal he sow or overshadow the rest of the band. You must understand as alead guitarist that you are an “enhancer”with your instrument avoid getting too carried away by the show-off. The spirits of the prophets are controlled by the prophets.

I will dwell more on the other members and their roles in the next post, right now I need to go rest me head :).

To your music success,

OBA