ESL Podcast 198 - Starting a Band

band - a group of people who play musical instruments

The band played all night and got a lot of people onto the dance floor.

musician - someone who plays a musical instrument and makes music

To be a good musician, you have to take the time to practice.

as it turns out - a phrase used to describe something that happened that no one expected or thought would happen

As it turns out, the person who stole her ring was her best friend!

guitarist - someone who plays a guitar, a musical instrument with strings

The band that played last night was terrible because the guitarist kept forgetting parts of the songs.

songwriter - someone who writes songs

We tried to tell him that he is a much better songwriter than he is a singer.

gigs - jobs (slang)

Do you think we would get more gigs if we had our own website?

lead singer - the singer you see in front of the group on stage; the most important singer in a group

I couldn't hear the lead singer because the microphone wasn't working.

drummer - someone who plays the drums, a round musical instrument that you hit with sticks or with your hands

The band had to replace the drummer because he never came to the practices.

bass player - someone who plays the bass, an instrument that looks like a regular guitar and that plays very low notes

She's important to the band because she is both the lead singer and the bass player.

back-up singer - someone who sings in the background or behind the lead singer

When they perform, the back-up singers stand next to the guitarist on the left side of the stage.

to audition - to interview for a job as a singer, musician, actor, or dancer, usually to become part of a group

She auditioned five times before they told her she had the part.

instrument - a thing for making music, played by a musician

She plays two musical instruments and plans to learn to play another one this year.

sound equipment - machines and tools that help musicians make good musical sounds

Good sound equipment can help make a band sound professional.

rehearsal - a practice

There were nine dancers already at the dance rehearsal when he arrived.

demo - short for "demonstration," a sample recording of a song

The group recorded a demo and hoped to get a important agent to listen to it.

headliners - the main performers of a show

There were two opening acts before the headliners came on stage.