Steps1. 1

Find musicians. Typically, for a rock band, you will need at least one guitarist, one bassist, and a drummer, and the lead singer can either play an instrument or not. Of course, this all depends on what type of band you plan to be, and what kind of music you will play. The internet is beginning to offer several places to find band mates such as band-mix and Whosdoing. Don't use just one, use as many as you can so your chances are better. Also, it's better if you choose people you know, like from school or someone you're acquainted with. You'll have a better chance of staying together. It also helps if these musician have some education. It helps a lot if at least one of musicians has some years of musical education.

2. 2

Come up with a name. You can pick something meaningful or just one that sounds cool. Typically the band will decide on the name. The best names are usually short and easy to hear, read, and spell. That way it's easy to remember. It's called branding! On another note, do NOT use a name that is already trademarked, unless you plan on being a tribute band. If you really get stuck on a name, have everyone come up with 5 adjectives and 5 nouns. Try to find a band name using one of each.

3. 3

Pick Your Genre(s).If you can't all agree on one genre play a bit of both or mix together and create your own genre. Have everyone bring a mix CD of their favorite music. Listen to each one and you can get an idea of what everyone likes.

4. 4

Consider making an Interband Contract or "band agreement". This contract will offer some protection for what a member can do with the name, payment, ownership of songs, equipment, etc if/when he/she leaves the band. Solving this now will help to avoid disputes in the future. Keep in mind though, it's common that these kinds of issues will turn off potential band mates. So, make sure they are in agreement and vested before forcing a contract on them.

5. 5

Find a practice space! Will it be in someone's basement? Garage? Will you keep all of your equipment there? Get permission from whoever owns the property you and your band choose for your practice space.

6. 6

Practice! Becoming a good band takes time and effort. Practice will also ensure that you and your band-mates develop a rapport. In addition, recording time is expensive. The better practiced you are the quicker you can get in the studio and out the door. Practice is important.

7. 7

Begin writing songs after you practice a lot. Write as many as you can, but you'll want to have a repertoire of about 11 or 12 to headline at a show. An opening band can have as few as 4-5 songs, so try to get your very best 5 songs together and open for more known bands at first. You also may want to copyright them. You can copyright them atcopyright.gov. It is a fairly simple process. You need to fill out a PA (performing writes) form not a RA (sound recording) form. An RA form will come later when you sign a record deal.

8. 8

Record a Demo or Record. This will be your best piece of promotional material. It can be sold at shows, used to get record deals, agents, managers, etc.., and used to promote to fans online. Currently the best online promotion tool for fans is Myspace, and the best promotion tool for promoting to the professional industry is bandFIND.com

9. 9

Start searching for gigs. You may want to build a press kit. This is the music Industries standard for a resume. Venues will look at your EPK (electronic Press Kit) before deciding to book you or not. The current industry standard is Sonic Bids Playing live will get you some cash and exposure.

10. 10

Spread the word. Make flyers and take them to your work or school and paste them in places you are allowed to. See if you can get friends to help you with this so the work goes faster.

11. 11

Start a mailing list to reach other people. After a long while you should be well on your way with a regular gig. Always promote your band online and in person. A Facebook account and a MySpace account for your band would make it easy for people to hear samples of your music and learn who you are. There are other sites out there as well, SoundCloud is popular. You may also want to consider joining one of the newer music communities, such as Artistir.com, since it never hurts to get into a good site before a lot of other musicians join.

12. 12

Put a video of your band on YouTube to see what people think, feed Look for accountants, managers, and other things for your band, as the music business is just that, a business.

13. 13

Don't get your hopes up too high, but never stop trying. It's a long way to the top if you want to rock 'n' roll. Also, you should judge your band mates by who they are, not how they look!

14. 14Make sure your heart is in the music. If you don't feel the music, you'll never be successful.

Edit Tips If you don't have any musician friends, put an ad in the paper or at your local

music store. Also try using Craigslist, Whosdoing, and BandFind. Practice a lot (practice makes perfect you know!) Jump on every opportunity of getting known. Create a website for your band, as well as a MySpace, PureVolume,

ReverbNation, or Shockhound page and put some of your music on there. It is a good way for people to find out who you are, and what you sound like. It's great for reaching fans and making new ones.

Always be prepared to compromise. Multiple members mean multiple viewpoints and desires. Work together as a team, and don't fight over the small things.

Find bands to share gigs with. This will help you reach more fans and get more gigs.bandFIND.com has a feature called "bandFIND | invites" that allows you to send Gig Share invites to other local bands. It's a great way to break the ice.

If you can't find a paying gig at first, go to the park or find a local mall to play at. Every gig is needed to get your name out there.

Find a real rehearsal spot. Not all real bands play in basements despite what you see on TV. You might not always be able to find a place that good when you're just starting off.

Record your practices using a recorder, or your computer throughout the entire practice. If you forget a great "jam session", and you want to turn it into a song but forgot what you were doing, you can refer to the recorded practice. This also helps you copyright your music.

Make sure that the people you choose as band members like the same or very similar types of music. You don't want a drummer that wants to do heavy metal and a vocalist that wants to do pop; you will just be asking for turmoil within the band.

Practice with a metronome (especially when you're alone) and do rhythmic exercises, that way the band will play synchronized instead of everyone playing in the time they want. If you don't, what you play might be a complete disaster.

When you start off, play covers so you will learn from the greats and then you will be good enough to write your own songs.

Remember to check out local gigs/concerts and bands especially big cities and up at the metros, that's where newcomers and unsigned bands are and most of the time the bands go there to look for a new member and hold tryouts.

The Beatles started off as a few teenagers from Liverpool, and look who they turned out to be! Don't ever give up, because if you carry on, you may be as famous as they were and are in 10 years time.

Don't be afraid to try new things! you don't have to follow the route of other bands and artists! Be yourselves! Be creative!

No. 1 band rule: HAVE FUN. Be spontaneous and fun with your music, and just have a great time doing it, even if you don't go too far.

Be careful with who you pick as band members. To help the band progress in as much time as possible, you're going to want to pick a fast learner, someone who won't drag you down, someone who has their act together, someone who won't always disagree with you, someone who is very creative (but not TOO creative) and someone who will happily do things you ask of them.

Edit Warnings Copyright your work and never show it to an agent or a label director before you

do! You'll only get your music stolen by someone else. Stealing someone else's music or name is illegal. So do your own thing. Don't let someone in your band just because they are your girlfriend or boyfriend.

If you break up, a big mess will be left behind. Stay away from drugs and drinks as much as possible. Don't let another band member have control of the band to a point that all

decisions and etc are made by him/her. Don't name the band after a member - even the nicest people can get big egos

and the result of being called 'John and the _________s' usually just makes everyone hate John when no one knows who the rest of them are.

Don't let yourself change your personality. "Be who you are and say what you feel. Those that mind, don't matter. Those that matter, don't mind."~ Dr. Seuss

Make sure everyone in the band is cool with the lead vocalist/frontman. No matter how much you may stress everyone in the band creates one sound or everyone has equal parts, 9 times out of 10 the lead vocalist will become the face of the band, and the one everyone will remember. If no one likes the vocalist as a person this can be a problem.

Edit Things You'll Need A place to rehearse Equipment (Guitars, Drums, Bass, Keyboard, Amplifiers, Microphones, Cables,

etc.) Good band members. Some recording equipment. A good genre of music that is mutually liked A sound editing program on a well equipped Windows, Linux, or Mac computer

with cables to connect the instrument to the Computer (optional) maybe a band adviser or a band manager.