Jam discussion
i have been attending and learning to play at Blues Jams in my city, London Ontario,for a little while now. This is a logical step in applying what is being taught, and learned with David. Todays tip of the day is about accompaniment and volu me which I have really struggled with at the jams. I intend to apply today's lesson this evening. My curiosity then is how others are finding theor Mojo or groove at your local jams and is volume a challenge for other harp players too??
Feels to me that I am "slowly" progressing from "what to play" to "how to play".
I asked a local Professional musician whom coaches me his thoughts on today's tip of the day ...
"It's about volume quite a bit. You have to almost disappear, holding your note or playing your riff under the vocals. Dynamics are such an important part of music,and something that gets stomped all over at loud jams with other players not listening to each other. You can't have dynamics if the players aren't listening to each other"
This I find to be quite a challenge
John
Im looking to add to this thread from others regarding their jam experiences. Success and things to work on perhaps.
My personal challenge was/is Volume. Walking through an open air market this Saturday I heard 2 fellows playing amplified acoustic and electric guitar at a very pleasant volume. To my surprise it was 2 guys I knew from the Blues Jam. Sitting down to listen I was quickly called up for 2 songs. Now a new challenge. Play unprepared, improvise to what's next, play into the vocal mic and keep volume pleasant for the market patrons. Success due to being aware and the lessons on accompaniment thus far.
I have to say also that it was a lot of fun to have over come the fears of playing in public. The Journey continues......
John
So some of my jam leads have dried up and I have run into some dead ends. It gave me time to reassess my jam strategy for woodshedding at home.
Got my mechanics, 12 bar chorus forms, root notes, base lines for comping, a lot of techniques, and jam etiquette.
What to work on.
1. Know the root, third, fifth, sixth, flat seventh for each chord inside and out.
2. Harvest licks from study songs, memorize the licks. Only memorize a few each week to focus on to reduce confusion. Slowly add each week.
3. Know the type of grooves and which licks and baselines work best.
4. Each month try to learn a new standard blues song that is likely to be played. You don't need to know the whole melody, something to comp with and pull together a two chorus solo.
5. Track and catalogue your song repertoire. Practice weekly to keep fresh.
6. Work on dynamics.
7. Listen to blues music to gain ideas, feel grooves, timing, etc.
8. As a secondary item, learn to sing better. Work on finding your vocals. Not as critical, but a plus.
A good true blues jam (not rock jam) will keep the sound level down. A lot of indoor clubs are small enough that it would be painful to crank it up. My 5 Watt tube amp at full volume is plenty at the club. Anything much larger may blow the audience out the door. Also If everyone is piped through club provided speakers, then you just have one sound guy that can control everybody's volume.
Hopefully some additional jams and open mikes will come up.
Keep on taking them as they come.
BC