Playing your position…(ie, knowing your role)
Music in a lot of ways can parallel sports. Inspiration and lessons can be pulled from studying great players and more importantly great teams. Putting together a band (or any organization) is a lot like putting together a great Sports team.
A great team may not have superstars at any position, but they are made of solid players who know their assignments, understand teamwork. Most importantly, they want to win. So let’s compare a band to the offense on a football team.
The band leader (coach or quarterback) will tend to have an understanding of everyone’s strengths and weaknesses and how to utilize them properly (ie..if your guitar player isn’t a shredder, don’t ask him to shred). Set him up for success. Push your players to get better, but always set your team up to win.
The lead singer (like the running back) will carry the bulk of the load and it is their goal to do whatever it takes to get the ball in the end-zone. They are depending upon each player to function in their role so they can score a touchdown. If there is a “rock star ego” to be seen, it should be primarily from the lead singer.
A Drummer is comparable to the entire offensive line. The success or failure of an individual play depends on them performing their assignments well. They shouldn’t be about the glory. The line blocks so that everyone else can do what they need to in order to move the ball forward as a team. If you have a drummer that wants to catch long passes and score touchdowns, then you may want to find another drummer. They should be all about setting a solid foundation for the other musicians to play to. If you find your drummer trying to get all the attention by putting in all kinds of fills, or playing way too busy, then the drummer doesn’t properly understand his role in music.
The Bass Player is probably most similar to a Tight End. Their main responsibility is being a blocker as well. They should be most concerned about laying down a solid groove that works in conjunction with what the drummer is doing, to support the goal of the team. Again, if they are all about being the one in the end-zone with the ball, then they perhaps aren’t filling their role as well. Occasionally they will get the chance to shine, but that shouldn’t be their main focus.
The Keys and Guitars tend to be more like a Wide Receiver. Most of the time they have specific blocking assignments….Ie, the guitar player should be very concerned about being a solid rhythm player as about 85% of what they will do will be just laying down rhythm guitar. However, sometimes they will be called on to go out for a pass and should be hungry to catch a pass.
In summing up, the bottom line is look for players that want to win as a team. The ultimate goal is the communication of your music to the audience. That needs to be the focus.
