Opinions wanted, what's the most significant part in a band?

[Sweet T]

I am not a person to sit and listen to music that does not have a vocal line. I'm not heavily impressed with improvization or even jazz. I like jazz, I like to listen to improv once in awhile, but when I'm driving down the highway, I'm singing. I personally hear the vocals first, instruments are secondary. I love to sing though. Don't get me wrong, a good guitar solo gives me chills and thrills, but I won't listen to a song just because it has an excellent guitar solo sandwiched in the middle somewhere. If there's no vocals, the song doesn't have a chance to make it to my "favorites" list.

So to all the instrumentalists out there, do you hear the vocals first too, or are you more likely to listen to the instrumental parts? Is this how you fell for your instrument?

[richiebee]

There's only one thing I wouldn't want to do without... bass.

No, I don't play the bass. But it is in my opinion the most important part of the band.

[kyle barton]

if the bass player sucks, the band is going to suck.... period.

[seansdadj]

I usually listen to the voice first too...then i listen to instruments.

[DT Chris]

From my experience, the band with the best vocals gets the next gig. They'll over look some shortcomings in the band performance, if the vocals are there.

I'm a vocalist, but this is not biased, but you'd be hard pressed to find a producer/manager/record exec who would say otherwise.

No vocals? Ok. Bad vocals? No.

[banjobkp]

This is ultimately a genre specific question.

But, in general, what is most popular are good vocals. A band can never afford to sound like bad Kereoke.

I just spent a week with a master bluegrass banjoist who's advice to all the hot young players was, fine a good vocalist to hook up with. People like to hear a good banjo player in the context of a good band with a good vocalist. That is just the way it is.

After that it is the rhythm section. I rather listen to a bad song in good time than a good song in bad time. So does everyone else. If a band does not lay down a beat, people don't want that either.

You can get by without stunning lead playing any day of the week if you have a good vocalist and good rhythm section. Just look at the Beatles. They were excellent vocalists first and really played fundementally sound. They were not killer lead type musicians aka Eric Clapton and so on. And what really helped Page and Clapton was, Plant and Bruce.

There are always exceptions, but if you have a good or great vocalist(s), and a tight rhythm section, you got a band that will get work, provided your content is what people want to hear.

[rsadasiv]

1) Vocals
2) Drums
3) Bass
4) Everything else

[brandondrury]

This is a tough thread to answer. I say great melody is first (maybe vocals, maybe something else). Groove is second.

I rather listen to a bad song in good time than a good song in bad time. So does everyone else.

I don't agree. I NEVER want to hear a bad song. I think this is the problem with modern pop, rock, and metal. I will ALWAYS prefer a loose performance of a good song. This is made clear when the opening band (with limited chops) plays a cover song that excites people, but the headliner plays their own boring songs with a much better groove.

But it is in my opinion the most important part of the band.

In some genres, I can't argue the dramatic importance of the bass. In other genres, you may not even notice if they took it out. (metal).

Brandon

[bilco]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

This is a tough thread to answer. I say great melody is first (maybe vocals, maybe something else). Groove is second.

I NEVER want to hear a bad song. I think this is the problem with modern pop, rock, and metal.

And Country!!!! Especially, country!!

Originally Posted by brandondrury

I will ALWAYS prefer a loose performance of a good song.
Brandon

For me it's the song, the melody and lyrics combined that come first. Give me a demo of a great song played on a slightly out of tune acoustic guitar sung in a warbly, but heartfelt voice into a noisy cassette recorder ANY day over the polished, autotuned, grid aligned pop or country or whatever on the radio.

In my opinion, if a song doesn't work on it's own with 1 guitar (or piano) and 1 vocal, it needs to be rewritten until it does.

Second place - vocals - they need to be heartfelt more than they need to be perfectly in tune. There are some singer/songwriters that I love in spite of their voice and there are admittedly some that I just can't get past the voice to appreciate. But I really can't stand a big voice that has tone, pitch and power without an ounce of sincerity. And if the voice is bad AND it's not heartfelt, get 'em outta here........

I am a bass player and being part of the rhythm section is my life and has paid a lot of bills over the years, but a great song like "Goodbye Is All We Have" can be played by someone like Alison Krauss and Union Station and even though there is only the slightest hint of drums, mostly cymbal rolls and a few tom hits, the song is just an incredible track, driven along by the acoustic guitars, mandolin and dobro and a lot of space. (Proof that great things CAN come out of Nashville!) I am looking into the bluegrass production concept of upright bass and mandolin chops covering the role of kick and snare, even on some pop country songs. As much as I hate to admit this as a bassist, I think the rhythm section is optional. (I know this doesn't go for metal and a lot of styles that I don't write in.)

Keyboards, guitars and the other mid range support instruments are kind of interchangeable to me, even though I am really guitarcentric. My songs could be interpreted on guitar just as well, even though they would sound very different.

bilco

[.tom]

"what's the most significant part in a band?"

1) groupies. if you dont have them, chances are very good ur band sux.

2) groupies. if you dont have them, it leaves an opening for a gurlfriend to ruin the band.

3) groupies. the more there are, better the chances that the drummer wont screw the guitar player's gurlfriend -thus preserving the longevity of the band.