How to Find New Band Members and Run an Audition
Looking for someone to join an existing band isn't the same as starting a band from scratch. The songs are already there, rehearsal night is set, and the band has its own habits. The person you're looking for has to play well, but that's not enough. They also have to fit the band's pace, goals and schedule. This guide walks through the whole process, from the conversation before you start looking to the new member's first gig.
Your bass player is moving to another city and you've got two gigs coming up. The first message lands in the band chat: "Anyone know a bass player?" A week later you have two names. One never replies. The other shows up, but only finds out that night how often you rehearse. We hear this story a lot when we talk to bands. The problem usually isn't the candidates. It's that the band started looking before agreeing on what it was looking for.
What should the band agree on before looking?
There are a few questions the band should answer among itself before writing an ad. Skip them, and you'll have the same conversation from scratch with every candidate.
- What role? Someone to play the parts, or someone who'll also write and arrange?
- Member or hired player? A full member shares decisions and income equally. A hired player (sometimes called a session or backing musician) plays specific gigs for a fee and doesn't take part in band decisions. Those are two very different sets of expectations.
- How often? Weekly rehearsals, or intense stretches before gigs?
- What's the goal? Bar gigs, recording, weddings, or just fun.
- How are costs split? Studio fees, shared gear, how the money is divided.
That last one tends to be the thing bands talk about last. Yet it's usually one of the first questions a new member asks. If your band hasn't put its money split in writing yet, a few common ways to split band money make that conversation shorter.
What goes into a good "musicians wanted" ad?
The most common ad on musician boards and forums is one line long: "Rock band looking for a drummer." Every reply to that ad starts with the same questions all over again. Putting what a candidate needs to decide into the ad up front saves time on both sides.
| Info | Why it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Instrument and role | So candidates know where they'd fit | Bass, full member |
| Style and repertoire | "Rock" covers a lot of ground | 70s rock and pop covers, two originals |
| Rehearsal day and place | Getting there is the most common deal-breaker | Tuesday evenings, a rehearsal studio across town |
| Goal | So expectations match from day one | One or two bar gigs a month |
| Costs | So there are no surprises later | Studio fees split evenly |
| How to apply | So you can compare replies | A short recording and available days |
Adding a live recording of the band, or a short clip from rehearsal, helps too. Candidates hear exactly what they're signing up for, and people who don't think they'd fit rule themselves out.
Where do you look for a new member?
There's no single right place. What works depends on your city, your style and your band's circle. Most bands use a few channels at once:
- People you know: Other projects your members play in, old bandmates, teachers. Trust is already there, so this is usually the first stop.
- Musician classifieds and forums: Most scenes have boards where musicians look for bands and bands look for players. Posts usually mention rehearsal frequency and area.
- Musician groups on social media: Groups set up by city or by genre.
- Jam nights: Evenings where a venue invites musicians up to play and improvise together. A way to get to know a candidate by hearing them play, not by reading their message.
- Rehearsal studios and music schools: Notice boards, and the people who work there.
If you post the ad in several places, keep the wording the same everywhere. It also helps to put one person in charge of replies: who got in touch, what they sent, when they were invited to audition. Otherwise two members can tell the same candidate different things, and the candidate has no idea which one is true.
What do you send a candidate before the audition?
An audition is a trial rehearsal where the candidate plays with the band. How well it goes depends on what you send them beforehand.
- Two to four songs. Make them different: one fast, one slow, and the one the band finds hardest.
- Your own recording. Not the original, but the way you play it. If your key, tempo, ending or solo spots differ from the original, the only way the candidate will know is from your recording.
- Chord charts or sheet music. If you have them, in the version the band actually uses.
- Time to prepare. At least a week. Anything shorter tests the deadline, not the player.
Before you send anything, ask a few practical questions too: what gear they'll bring, how they'll get to rehearsal, which days of the week they're free. An audition with someone whose travel or schedule doesn't work goes nowhere, even if it goes well.
What should you watch for at the audition?
Don't turn the audition into an exam. If the candidate walks in to find four people sitting like a panel, they'll play nervous and you'll only see their nervous version. Play together, chat in between, run a song twice.
Tell them up front how long it'll take, too. An hour and a half to two hours is a comfortable frame for most auditions: the first half hour for setting up and saying hello, then the songs you sent, and finally a song of their choice or a short jam. On a song they picked, candidates relax, and you hear how they really play.
Most of what you're watching for isn't about technique:
- Do they hold the tempo and listen to the band?
- When something goes wrong, can they keep going without stopping?
- How do they take "Could you play that a bit simpler?"
- Were they on time, and did they actually work on the songs you sent?
Instead of deciding on the spot that night, it helps if everyone writes down their own notes first. Each member scores the points above from one to five, then you put the notes side by side. That stops the decision being made on the mood of the evening or on whoever talks the most. If you've seen several candidates, calling back the best one or two for a second session makes the choice easier.
Why do you need a trial period?
A single audition shows you how someone plays on one night. Whether you can work together in the long run shows up over a few rehearsals, and ideally a gig. So before making it official, a short trial period is the safe route for both sides.
A trial period has two rules. First, say it out loud: "Let's do the next three rehearsals and the gig at the end of the month together, then sit down and talk." Second, use that time to talk about costs, money and songwriting credit. If that conversation still hasn't happened when the trial ends, the problem tends to come back bigger later.
The trial period is a chance for the new member too. They get to see from the inside how the band works, how rehearsals go and how decisions get made. A candidate who says "this isn't for me" at the end of it is far easier on the band than a member who leaves months later.
What do you tell candidates who didn't make it?
When we talk to bands, this is the job that gets put off the most. Nobody wants to say "it didn't work out," so the candidate never hears back. A short, honest message sent on time is all it takes:
"Thanks for coming and for preparing. We've decided to go ahead with another candidate whose schedule fits ours better. It was great meeting you."
Giving a short reason helps the candidate make sense of it. Music scenes are small, and someone who wasn't right today might turn up in another project tomorrow.
How does a new member get up to speed fast?
The first few weeks after you've decided are when the new member needs the most information. If it's scattered across the band chat, they end up asking about every song one by one.
- Set priorities. The setlist for the next gig first, then the rest of the repertoire.
- Share the band version of each song. Key, tempo, structure, and anything that differs from the original.
- Record rehearsals. The new member can practise at home against how the band really sounds. Our guide on how to record band rehearsals has a simple setup.
- Look at who does what. The jobs the old member handled, like talking to venues or hauling gear, need a new owner.
In BandUp, when you invite the new member by email from the group settings, they get access to the repertoire, setlists and notes right away. Reference links and sheet music added to the group notes sit right next to each song. So the new member can start practising without asking "where were the chords for that one?"
Once the lineup is complete, our guide to band roles and responsibilities helps you share out the jobs again.