Whether you’ve just formed a band, are already in one but not feeling active enough, or have only started thinking about jumping into Cambridge’s very active music scene - I’m here to share my experiences to help actually get you out there, perform, and keep it all going during your time here.

I’ve been in two student bands during my time at Cambridge, with the first being together for almost three years before disbanding. Both were made up of individuals with musical skill (maybe not counting myself) and the desire to play live music. We all practiced at least weekly, tried learning new songs and took the time to improve individually. Yet only my current band has really taken off and done any live performances, and not for lack of motivation.

Looking back, the best piece of advice I can give you is to find any opportunity at all to perform in front of an audience, no matter how small. You don’t even need to feel ready for a live show. It’s all too easy to get stuck in a loop of aimless practice because you don’t feel ready. Sure it’s fun to play music for the sake of it, but if you have no goal to work towards, you may not feel the urge to improve your skill or sink much time into your band.

“Your fear of messing up on stage and the ensuing aura loss should provide all the motivation you need to dedicate enough time and effort to your band”

Now let’s say you have a gig lined up, but aren’t sure if you can pull it off. That’s good, your fear of messing up on stage and the ensuing aura loss should provide all the motivation you need to dedicate enough time and effort to your band. When it comes to playing music well, the secret ingredient really is just a fear of not looking or sounding cool. Try not to worry too much, people tend to be forgiving of mistakes on stage, but the higher the potential for embarrassment, the better you’ll have to be!

But how should you go about finding gigs? I suggest you delegate roles: e.g. put someone in charge of looking for shows, and someone else in charge of herding everyone into the practice room; it’s easy to fall prey to the bystander effect, where everyone expects anyone else to take the lead, and so nothing gets done. Put every band member in charge of something that is their specific responsibility (but don’t be afraid to share tasks). In my experience, what we really needed was someone to step up and decide to put in the effort of looking for our first gig, and the rest is history.

“If you’ve formed a band with people that you don’t really know well yet, it’s so important to build a rapport with them”

My next nugget of obvious musical wisdom: meet your bandmates often just to hang out. Especially if you’ve formed a band with people that you don’t really know well yet, it’s so important to build a rapport with them and enjoy spending time together outside of practice. Becoming closer friends will make you all feel more invested in your collective success. Otherwise, playing music will feel like doing business with colleagues rather than having fun with people you’re close to.

You will inevitably sometimes get annoyed with your bandmates. If you’ve played in a group before I bet you’re familiar with trying to tune while the drummer practices their fills, or in my experience, trying to talk to someone while the guitarist plays a riff from SpongeBob. As with any personal relationship, don’t let frustration simmer until it explodes and nukes your band and your friendships. If someone is causing any sort of issue, say something about it ASAP.

“Although it sounds annoyingly performative, tell people you’re in a band”

Don’t just spend time with your band though. You’ll find the opportunity to perform through word of mouth, and although it sounds annoyingly performative, tell people you’re in a band! We have stumbled into gigs just by talking to people who happened to be looking for musicians. An active social media presence definitely helps too – DM societies, JCRs, and ball organisers, you may even find ents officers reaching out to you to offer you chances to perform.

Now a final few tips for performances themselves: always have a roster of crowd pleasers ready and an encore song ready just in case. Recency bias should be your friend – end the night on a high because that’s what people will remember. You’re more likely to receive more gig offers this way. One of the easiest ways to disappoint is to only play for yourself. Remember: you are there for the audience – it is so easy to fall into the trap of playing songs that you like, but know your audience and learn to work with what is expected of you. Performing for others is fun but it’s also a privilege; people trust you to deliver a good time.

With all this in mind, I urge you to get out there and perform. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done.