How to name a musical group, music class. How to come up with a band name that will bring success

Picking a name is no easy task. It doesn’t matter if it is with a fair amount of humor or incredibly serious, it’s worth approaching the matter with all caution. How to come up with a name musical group and not make a mistake with the choice?

As we have already said, it is worth approaching the matter with all caution: the name of the team will be displayed on all official pages in in social networks, music services, on album covers and, if you're lucky, on all merchandise - t-shirts, patches, guitar picks, posters and much more.

Below we try to understand this complex issue and look at a few examples of what techniques are quite often used when naming groups. We dare not say that your group should do something like that. Rather, the examples below are tips on what not to do when coming up with a name for your team.

Unexplained umlauts

Examples: Motorhead, Mötley Crue

No metalhead can explain to you the necessity of putting these dots over the vowels in German. One way or another, but the addition of umlauts over the letters in the name of the group can give some brutality to the group. And if their presence does not make your group by default a mandatory participant in Wacken Open Air, then at least everyone will talk about the fact that you borrowed this move from Lemmy.

Intentional typos

Examples: Megadeth, Led Zeppelin, wwwwww

Ho ho, buddy! You are so rock and roll that you spit in the face of spelling and all literacy!

In fact, you can throw away Dahl's dictionary and that's it. grammar dictionaries and do not pay attention to errors if they give the name a peculiar interest and unusualness.

Longcat

Examples: And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

Such names are difficult to remember, difficult to fit on a flyer, problematic to pronounce, and difficult to repeat over the phone when booking a hotel room. You shouldn't do that. Look for something else.

unpronounceable squiggle

Examples: Prince, Picnic (early)

In 1993, Prince attracted public attention when he proposed to stop using the word "Prince" to designate him, and switch to the use of a hieroglyph meaning the Symbol of Love.

The idea is certainly not bad, but here's the problem: try to use it for yourself and you will be surprised to find that no one can find your group in any search engine. Plus, everyone will think that you are pontoslaps.

Exclamation point

Examples: Panic! At The Disco, Hadouken!, Cockroaches!

If you need an exclamation point in your name to draw attention to your team, then we have some bad news for you. Worth writing better songs Exclamation point won't help here.

Surname

Examples: Santana, Van Halen, Bon Jovi

Let's not forget that you are still a band, and not someone's solo project. Buddy, you're not an egomaniac fixated on yourself, are you? There is no need to look at the rest of the participants as if they were guys, as they say, "on the suction." The trouble is, a name like that shows that you're not cool enough to solo project but you don't want to be in a group.

expletive

Examples: The Shits, Fucked Up

Oh, this irresistible spirit of rebellion! Do you want to go against the system but be popular like Coldplay? Well, good luck.

In fact, everyone will just laugh at you, and cute songs and weak lyrics will not show even a small fraction of the protest that real rebels have.

Reference to an animal

Examples: Def Leppard, Steel Panther, Nautilus Pompilius

If you have an idea to name a group after some predatory animal, then you should think about it ten times. Of course, if you're an artistic indie music band, you could go with a name like Cat Power or Modest Mouse.

But if you play something heavier than pop rock and indie, then you should look at brutal animals and avoid those types that are already taken. And, finally, it’s not bad to live up to its name externally: wear leopard leggings, short T-shirts and others like them. Those names stayed in the 1980s, folks.

The beginning

Examples: The Strokes, The Libertines

Let me guess, you wear sneakers, skinny pants and leather jackets stolen from a store or bought on the market? And, for sure, in your songs there are solos on two notes, moans into the microphone. In general, everything that hides your exemplary behavior in real life from the public.

random numbers

Examples: Blink-182, Sum 41, +44, 30 Seconds To Mars, 1.5kg Excellent Puree

There is nothing more amusing than the presence in the name of the team of a number taken from the ceiling. The team members are trying to give this figure an incredible sacred meaning, to explain its presence with some miserable pseudo-philosophical conclusions.

Decided to go this route? Be prepared for everyone to laugh at you. "38 parrots", yes, yes.

Jokes aside, but the question remains open: how to choose a band name? There is no obvious answer to this problem, but some advice is worth giving.

Brevity is the soul of wit

No matter what anyone says, but the shorter the name of the team, the better. Should not be taken this advice, as an axiom, but a dozen words in the title - not best idea. Try to limit yourself to one or two, maximum three words.

What's the point?

Taking some philosophical lines in the title, understandable only to the author, is also not the best of ideas. If you decide to take someone else's quote as your name, then try to at least be aware of what it is about.

What is the connection?

Whatever you call a boat, that's how it will float. This phrase works not only in relation to floating craft, but also to group names. Agree, it is strange to call the team some Scandinavian word meaning great battle gods against world evil, and play glam or cute pop-rock. The name and style of music should be related.

This is often joked about, but the fact remains that the connection must remain. Well, or at least reflect the essence of the team.

Russian or English?

To be honest, very complex issue. On the one hand, it is worth focusing on the market (your music is, first of all, a product, sadly), in which you want to enter. If you perform English-language material, then there is no point in the name "Vasya and Flowers". The reverse is also true. Although there are exceptions to all rules. At least try not to complicate your name.

Picking a name is no easy task. It doesn’t matter if it is with a fair amount of humor or incredibly serious, it’s worth approaching the matter with all caution. How to come up with a band name and not make a mistake with the choice?

As we have already said, it is worth approaching the matter with all caution: the name of the band will be displayed on all official pages on social networks, music services, on album covers and, if you are lucky, on all merchandise - T-shirts, patches, guitar picks, posters and much more .

Below we try to understand this complex issue and look at a few examples of what techniques are quite often used when naming groups. We dare not say that your group should do something like that. Rather, the examples below are tips on what not to do when coming up with a name for your team.

Unexplained umlauts

Examples: Motorhead, Mötley Crue

No metalhead can explain to you the necessity of placing these dots over vowels in German. One way or another, but the addition of umlauts over the letters in the name of the team can give some brutality to the group. And if their presence does not make your group by default a mandatory participant in Wacken Open Air, then at least everyone will talk about the fact that you borrowed this move from Lemmy.

Intentional typos

Examples: Megadeth, Led Zeppelin, Wow

Ho ho, buddy! You are so rock and roll that you spit in the face of spelling and all literacy!

In fact, you can throw away Dahl's dictionary and all grammatical dictionaries and ignore errors if they give the name a kind of interestingness and unusualness.

Longcat

Examples: And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

Such names are difficult to remember, difficult to fit on a flyer, problematic to pronounce, and difficult to repeat over the phone when booking a hotel room. You shouldn't do that. Look for something else.

unpronounceable squiggle

Examples: Prince, Picnic (early)

In 1993, Prince attracted public attention when he proposed to stop using the word "Prince" to designate him, and switch to the use of a hieroglyph meaning the Symbol of Love.

The idea is certainly not bad, but here's the problem: try to use it for yourself and you will be surprised to find that no one can find your group in any search engine. Plus, everyone will think that you are pontoslaps.

Exclamation point

Examples: Panic! At The Disco, Hadouken!, Cockroaches!

If you need an exclamation mark in your name to draw attention to your team, then we have some bad news for you. It is worth writing better songs, an exclamation mark will not help here.

Surname

Examples: Santana, Van Halen, Bon Jovi

Let's not forget that you are still a band, and not someone's solo project. Buddy, you're not an egomaniac fixated on yourself, are you? There is no need to look at the rest of the participants as if they were guys, as they say, "on the suction." The trouble is that such a name shows that you are not cool enough for a solo project, but you don’t want to be in a group either.

expletive

Examples: The Shits, Fucked Up

Oh, this irresistible spirit of rebellion! Do you want to go against the system but be popular like Coldplay? Well, good luck.

In fact, everyone will just laugh at you, and cute songs and weak lyrics will not show even a small fraction of the protest that real rebels have.

Reference to an animal

Examples: Def Leppard, Steel Panther, Nautilus Pompilius

If you have an idea to name a group after some predatory animal, then you should think about it ten times. Of course, if you're an artistic indie music band, you could go with a name like Cat Power or Modest Mouse.

But if you play something heavier than pop rock and indie, then you should look at brutal animals and avoid those types that are already taken. And, finally, it’s not bad to live up to its name externally: wear leopard leggings, short T-shirts and others like them. Those names stayed in the 1980s, folks.

The beginning

Examples: The Strokes, The Libertines

Let me guess, you wear sneakers, skinny pants and leather jackets stolen from a store or bought on the market? And, for sure, in your songs there are solos on two notes, moans into the microphone. In general, everything that hides your exemplary behavior in real life from the public.

random numbers

Examples: Blink-182, Sum 41, +44, 30 Seconds To Mars, 1.5kg Excellent Puree

There is nothing more amusing than the presence in the name of the team of a number taken from the ceiling. The team members are trying to give this figure an incredible sacred meaning, to explain its presence with some miserable pseudo-philosophical conclusions.

Decided to go this route? Be prepared for everyone to laugh at you. "38 parrots", yes, yes.

Jokes aside, but the question remains open: how to choose a band name? There is no obvious answer to this problem, but some advice is worth giving.

Brevity is the soul of wit

No matter what anyone says, but the shorter the name of the team, the better. You should not take this advice as an axiom, but a dozen words in the title is not a good idea. Try to limit yourself to one or two, maximum three words.

What's the point?

Taking some philosophical lines in the title, understandable only to the author, is also not the best of ideas. If you decide to take someone else's quote as your name, then try to at least be aware of what it is about.

What is the connection?

Whatever you call a boat, that's how it will float. This phrase works not only in relation to floating craft, but also to group names. Agree, it is strange to call the band some Scandinavian word, meaning the great battle of the gods against the world's evil, and play glam or cute pop rock themselves. The name and style of music should be related.

This is often joked about, but the fact remains that the connection must remain. Well, or at least reflect the essence of the team.

Russian or English?

To be honest, it's a very difficult question. On the one hand, it is worth focusing on the market (your music is, first of all, a product, regrettably), in which you want to enter. If you perform English-language material, then there is no point in the name "Vasya and Flowers". The reverse is also true. Although there are exceptions to all rules. At least try not to complicate your name.

Everyone who starts a difficult ascent to the star Olympus understands that it is impossible to do this without the calling card of his team or the name. How to make it sonorous and beautiful, unforgettable and original? How to get positive reviews fans and proudly realize how beautiful it looks in newspaper columns? Moreover, how to protect it and legalize it? Find the answers to these most likely questions below.

1. Think about the human characteristics of the group members.

Maybe one of you is a bully, quiet or a dreamer? One is the dream of all girls, and the other cannot imagine his life without music and everything else is far behind? You can beautifully beat it and come up with something, given this fact.

2. Write a list of your idols .

This action has several advantages. Firstly, you will learn more information about them, if you have not already done so, well, take note of other people's, authoritative examples for yourself. On the basis of them, perhaps, their own version is formed.

3. Be sure to consider your style of music and think about the fans.

They can just stop being them if you punks, for example, pick up something like "Sweet nights" or "Love in the distance." No, of course, you can play only for yourself, for the soul, so to speak, focusing on your own feelings and tastes. In this case, you can take into account only your opinion.

4. It is necessary to respect the opinion of each of the participants and be sure that everyone is involved in this process.

It’s great if the opinions of the participants approximately coincide, but if not, you need to find common denominator. Even if you have to pull papers with the name. Of course, the common cause is worth a lot, but this is not the case when the end justifies the means. After all, the microclimate in the group is more important.

5. Think of an acronym.

Not always the full name is reduced to abbreviations. Sometimes you can come up with the last one, and then come up with a beautiful decoding. For example, AMS - Abstract Thoughts of Wanderers. Try to think big and improvise.

6. Give the thought time to ripen.

In most cases, a decision made in the evening provokes a different reaction the next morning. Therefore, “sleep” with her to give yourself the opportunity to refine or redo something.

7. Don't be afraid of change .

There is more than one example of how well-known bands changed their name when the most suitable option did not come to them immediately.

The next step after choosing the final name will be the approval of the right to this name. When a group or singer is promoted, the pseudonym or name must be registered as a trademark. All the nuances will be clearly explained by an experienced lawyer. If you don't do this, the law won't have the power to protect you from the doppelgangers that will stick around like drones to reap the fruits of your labor. Your reputation is important to you, and you don't want any double bands touring under your name?

Don't be afraid to experiment! This is for the good of your own creativity. Therefore, I wish you to stock up on patience and resourcefulness!

The name is sort of calling card groups. If a person is greeted by clothes, then the group is first of all, of course, by name. But what to do if for several weeks (if not months) not a single noteworthy idea about this has come to mind?!

Below I offer 7 tips that can help you come up with an original and catchy name for your band.

1. As you know, one head is good, but many are even better! Involve all members of the group in the process of coming up with a name, and in general, as much as possible more people. Let everyone voice their idea, from the total number of which it will then be possible to choose the optimal one.

When searching for a name, it is advisable to always have a notepad or a plain paper sheet at hand in order to have time to write down the brilliant idea that has visited you.

2. All the most interesting is nearby. Sometimes you just have to look around and carefully look around: suddenly what you need will be written on a sticker or label lying next to you ...

Take advantage of the Internet and its resources, using the random search method, you can draw from there a lot of options for later consideration.

Also use dictionaries and reference books. They help a lot. For example, V.I.Dal’s “Dictionary of Russian Synonyms”, “Dictionary of Aphorisms” and “Dictionary of Russian Proverbs and Sayings” helped me more than once.

3. You can go the other way. You can try to rearrange the words in a phrase. Try to pick up as many of these phrases and words as possible, from which in the future you can make up a suitable name for your group.

4. Remember that the name must match musical style groups. Therefore, from the list options names should be selected the most suitable according to the criterion given in the previous sentence.

The entire team should also be involved in the selection process. It is best to conduct an anonymous survey in this case.

5. So, you and the rest of the band have finally decided on its name. First of all, make sure it's unique! No wonder I so often heard something like a saying: “Got a cool name for your band? Rest assured that this already exists!

Therefore, using any Internet search engine, check if there are groups with the same or similar name. Believe me, you definitely don’t need extra problems!

And by the way, even if for the time being the chosen name remains a mystery to a wide audience. AT music business(however, as in any other) there may be those who wish to use this name for their own selfish purposes.

6. Translate the name of your group to some of the most popular foreign languages and find out what it means in translation to them. It's just very likely that a great, euphonious name, translated into some other language, can mean something completely different and often obscene.

Therefore, it is better to play it safe right away, despite the fact that it will be noticeable for some time, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises in the future.

7. And finally, be careful and accurate when choosing a name for the group. It should not only match your musical style, but also keep up with the times.

Such long names as "Big Brother and the Holding Company" and the like were relevant in the 60-70s of the last century. Do not overdo it with sexuality and excessive frankness. Look for the golden mean in everything, and luck will smile at you!

___________________

The name is the "face" of the group. A good name is able to draw a person's attention to the team, whose work for him remained hitherto unknown. Therefore, choosing a name for a young group is a very important step, which can become decisive on its way to the top of the music industry.

There are several general criteria-recommendations that you need to follow in the question "how to name a musical group." Probe in search engines for groups with the same name, dubbing is highly undesirable (to avoid potential misunderstandings and legal showdowns). After all, uniqueness and originality is the main thing that the name of a musical group should have.

The name should not make people have difficulty reading, remembering and writing it down. Do not be smart with various turns and intricate speech constructions. Try to choose a name for the group that can be adequately translated into other languages, English in particular (if it is in Russian).

The closer the name of the band to the style in which he plays, the better. It should display the musical or conceptual foundations of your work. For example, by the name of Metallica it is already clear that the guys perform "metal" and not jazz, for example. Or Rage Against The Machine - it is obvious that their songs are dominated by more radical themes than declarations of love.

What is the name of the musical group? Are there specific ways that you can use to name a musical group? Intentional search or chance - everything can lead to the fact that you find a great name for your team. Listed below are the most common techniques used by musicians to deal with this dilemma.

Name/nickname of the founder/contributor(Van Halen, Blackmore`s Night, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Bon Jovi); abbreviations(ABBA, HIM, W.A.S.P.); by movie title(The Misfits, Black Sabbath) or songs(Overkill, Rolling Stones).

Slang or common phrases(Talking Heads, No Doubt, Accident); just beautiful or stylistically appropriate words and phrases(Aria, Within Temptation, Annihilator, The Beach Boys, Children of Bodom, Iron Maiden).

Hybrid words(Savatage, Stratovaruis, Apocalyptica); random(Quiet Riot, Guess Who, AC/DC).

A special way to increase the uniqueness of the name - twist it or make a mistake in it (The Beatles, Motörhead, Helloween, Auction).