Muzickology

Almost every musician comes to a point where he or she decides that it would be really great to start a band. The first thing that comes to mind about starting a band is - where are you going to get two solid guitarists, a drummer, someone who plays the bass guitar, someone on keyboards ... But it turns out that this is normally not really that much of a problem. If you are determined enough, sooner or later you will find a group of fellow musicians with similar taste in music and you will be ready to go.

But will you be really? I've often noticed that the biggest problem that a group of musicians faces is choosing a cool band name. You can't really just make something up - the name of the band is something that will stay with the band forever. And with a stupid name like The Cars you will probably never make it big. Wait, what? That already happened? Interesting.

Nonetheless, choosing a cool name is not just important for the appearance of the band, but it is something that should actually tell you something about the members of the band. If you manage to come up with a great story about how you got your band name in the first place, even better. This is the kind of stuff that the press likes.

So, let's take a look at what you can do to find a decent sounding band name.

If you are starting some rock or metal band, it's always great to get your clues in the mythology. You just need to browse the internet, read some stories about different Greek and Roman gods and goddesses and create a band name from the name of the god you like the most. Actually, if you play metal music - take a look at Scandinavian gods as well, they might be even more appropriate. Finland, Norway and the surrounding countries have got centuries of dark history, making it possible for you to find a great number of cool names for a metal band.

On the other side, you can get some ideas from various eastern cultures. Nirvana, rings a bell? Think about Chinese and Indian philosophy, read something that provides you with a detailed look at what they are all about and surely you will find enough material to come up with a great name. Siddharta Gautama? Siddharta sounds great to me.

You can as well chose some activity or an object that every member of the band likes and transform it. Make sure that it will still be possible to see the origin of the word, but at the same time you need to change it into a more melodic form and give it the right atmosphere.

If your music is more relaxed, you can try with a pun on some saying. Take an old wisdom and change it a bit, so it gets a funny meaning, but it still holds some intellectual value. There is a lot of room for experimentation. You can start with browsing internet archives of witty sayings.

With these few tips I wish that you will be able to find yourself a great band name - and of course, even more than that I wish that you really make it big with your band! Have fun!