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[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

I'm trying to start a garage band with a few friends but they don't want to acctualy practice

Can one person and a bass guitar make good music or does it require other people?

[LordBucket]

If you want the garage band experience, you're going to need more than just yourself. If you just want to make music, certainly one man and a guitar can do that and potentially do it well. Remember that you can also sing while you play, and if you want additional instruments it's possible to simultaneously play drum pedals with your feet. Or if you want something simpler it's not unheard of for a guitar soloist to have an electronic keyboard or other device providing a background beat.

Of course, if you simply get good, then finding other people to play with becomes easier.

I recommend spending some time on youtube and get a better idea of what you'd like to be able to do. For example, here's a guy playing guitar and nothing else. Here's a a guy playing guitar and singing. Here's a guy playing guitar with a drum machine and looper pedal. (For a more clear example of what's going on in that one, watch this video of a girl using a keyboard to simulate 7 different instruments on loop while she sings. Being only one person is not a huge hindrance if you have the equipment and know what you're doing.) Then you've got people like this, playing three instruments at once.

What do you want to do?

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

Well originaly me and my two friends were going to do alt rock and do electro-metal- and old school rock/punk with me on Bass, male friend on electric guitar, and female friend on drums

Well Ms. Drummer is always at work (I don't blame her but just saying) so she's never able to practice and Mr. Electric guitar always has an excuse to not be able to make it

So that leaves me and my inability to write lyrics and a green horn at writing music
My girlfriend plays acoustic but she won't even touch a guitar infront of a group of people she doesn't know and barely does anything if she's infront of friends sooo ya

I would like to play music what the band New Order plays
Specific songs that I would like to be able to play music like (by New Order): True Faith, Confusion, Blue Monday, Times Change, Young Offender, Crystal, Vicious Streak, Guilt is a Usless Emotion, and a bunch of others

Though I don't know if I could pull stuff like that ^ above with myself, a bass, and a laptop

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

So just an additional question


Would I be able to play one of the following with just a bass, a computer, and my own voice?

Punk
Electro (New Order/ Eurythmics kinda stuff)
Classic rock/jazz sorta stuffs

[DJ]

I recommend finding a new band. Practicing is a must but it's also often inconvenient, so you need people who are enthusiastic enough to put up with inconvenience.

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

I recommend finding a new band. Practicing is a must but it's also often inconvenient, so you need people who are enthusiastic enough to put up with inconvenience.

Ya not many options for new people


but could i pull off playing that kind of music with a bass a computer and my voice

[XXSockXX]

but could i pull off playing that kind of music with a bass a computer and my voice

Of course you can. Even without the bass. I mean there are whole genres that do New Order - influenced music completely with computers. As much as I like Peter Hook's bass sound, the more electronic phase of New Order uses mostly drum machines and synths, which today you can do with any computer.

[JuanCarr]

I'm trying to start a garage band with a few friends but they don't want to acctualy practice

Ditch them asap. Life's too short to waste time with people whose attitude leads to certain failure.

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

but could i pull off playing that kind of music with a bass a computer and my voice

Of course you can. Even without the bass. I mean there are whole genres that do New Order - influenced music completely with computers. As much as I like Peter Hook's bass sound, the more electronic phase of New Order uses mostly drum machines and synths, which today you can do with any computer.

Ditch the bass?!?
NO!
I love my bass, it's the center of my musicality

[Parsely]

Two people can most definitely make great music. There's plenty of famous two-piece bands out there, like the White Stripes and.. The White Stripes....

But if you want to go anywhere with that, either both of you have to be really good guitar players or one of you needs to play halfway decent drums. If you've got wicked mad shredding skills you can even go solo but you've got to be a badass.

If you're going to hit the rock scene at all you simply can't have your only guitar be a bass, unless you're a great singer.

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

Two people can most definitely make great music. There's plenty of famous two-piece bands out there, like the White Stripes and.. The White Stripes....

But if you want to go anywhere with that, either both of you have to be really good guitar players or one of you needs to play halfway decent drums. If you've got wicked mad shredding skills you can even go solo but you've got to be a badass.

If you're going to hit the rock scene at all you simply can't have your only guitar be a bass, unless you're a great singer.

Only one person, not two

And I was leaning more towards the New Order-ey stuff over rock

[Parsely]

As one person making music: if you're online you'd never be without an audience (the people who like what you do will always find you one way or another and there's lots of people who do that sort of thing that are pretty successful), but you'd probably have a hard time performing which is sort of what I thought you had in mind when you said "garage band".

[Cryxis, Prince of Doom]

Would be able to do so if my friends got of their lazy butts and did anything