First time jamming

Kasperow, great advice from all who replied. but the most important thing to bring to a jam is beer!. You bring a case of 24, everyone will love you and couldn't care less if you play like crap.

Seriously, the best piece of advice I can give you is listen to what the guys are playing, and try to find something you can add to the groove. Don`t overstep anyone by turning up your amp to 11, and when someone is soloing, play a little softer, and try to support what he is playing. And lastly, its not a competition as to who is the best, but a communion of musical ideas.

And don`t forget to have fun.

Itchin`to play,

Izzy

Originally Posted by: maggiorI would say do some homework - like researching a company before you go on a job interview. Do you have any access to some of their original songs - youtube, CD, mp3 from Amazon? I think it would be pretty impressive if you chose a track of theirs that you really liked and learned it before you showed up. Maybe make sure you know some of the covers they do to. Have you ever seen them play live? If not, you should check them out to get a feel of how they are and act on stage.[/QUOTE]
I've quite honestly never had a chance to hear them playing live, but I've listened to the few songs I could find with them online, and they sound pretty easy, except for one of them. According to what they've told me so far, they play music in the style of AC/DC and Green Day, so it might be a good idea to learn some songs by those bands? Sadly, though, they don't have any upcoming gigs so I don't exactly have a chance to check them out live before jamming with them.
[QUOTE=IzzyPhoreal]Kasperow, great advice from all who replied. but the most important thing to bring to a jam is beer!. You bring a case of 24, everyone will love you and couldn't care less if you play like crap.

Seriously, the best piece of advice I can give you is listen to what the guys are playing, and try to find something you can add to the groove. Don`t overstep anyone by turning up your amp to 11, and when someone is soloing, play a little softer, and try to support what he is playing. And lastly, its not a competition as to who is the best, but a communion of musical ideas.

And don`t forget to have fun.

Yeah, I've seen (or heard) that done in quite a lot of music, whenever someone is soloing, the other person plays so quietly it's almost impossible to hear, unless you really pay attention. Or at least, that's my experience.

And when you say "try to support what he is playing", do you mean if the solo is in C Major, I should play something in C Major too?

I would say learning some Green Day or AC/DC would be a good idea. Or, if anything else, get very familiar with their music if you aren't already.

Izzy had a good point. A scene from Back to the Future comes to mind, where Marty is playing with a 50's band and breaks into an Eddie Van Halen type solo. That's what you *don't* want to do. :-) Support what the band is playing and fit in style-wise with what they are doing. And don't show off - nobody likes a show off.

[QUOTE=
And when you say "try to support what he is playing", do you mean if the solo is in C Major, I should play something in C Major too?[/QUOTE]

What I meant by supporting the soloist is playing something that complements what he is playing, more in tonality than in any particular key. In other words, try not to play something similar in tone , otherwise unless you are completely in sync with him, it will sound bad.

The job of a supporting player (and that is everyone's job when someone is soloing), is to lay a nice foundation. If everyone did the same thing (or always accented the same beat), it would sound monotonous.

I've been playing a long time, and I still have jams where at one point everyone just gels together, and there is magic in the air. Its for those moments that I live for, and only players that have experienced it can testify to this. Its like musical nirvana. I've had tears in my eyes at times, so powerful were the emotions. Just watch videos of players like Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana, Gary Moore and you'll see what I mean.

Kasperow,
How many songs can you play from start to finish, every verse and course and when each will be played? Not the words or any lead, but the rhythm playing the chords/notes the song. The average working band has to know at least 30 to play schools, weddings ….. If you want to play taverns or clubs you need 60 to 80. The more the better, it’s kind of like playing lead; you need a lot to draw from. You simply play different songs at a Union Hall party than you do at a Halloween party.

If you know less than 5, do not expect them to hire/except you as a member. More dues to pay before you can play. But go! who knows you might make a contact with one of the other members of the band and jam off and on, or maybe get a call one day because someone remembers you and needs a new guitar player, theirs just left. Might sound strange, but you need to learn to interact with band members, just as much as music.

Originally Posted by: haghj500Kasperow,
How many songs can you play from start to finish, every verse and course and when each will be played? Not the words or any lead, but the rhythm playing the chords/notes the song.[/QUOTE]
At the moment, I can play the Rhythm-parts for a couple of songs. I'm not quite sure how few or how many, but it's probably few enough that they can be counted on two hands. There are still a few I'm struggling with, but I've got almost a week left before meeting this band.

[QUOTE=haghj500]If you know less than 5, do not expect them to hire/except you as a member. More dues to pay before you can play. But go! who knows you might make a contact with one of the other members of the band and jam off and on, or maybe get a call one day because someone remembers you and needs a new guitar player, theirs just left. Might sound strange, but you need to learn to interact with band members, just as much as music.

So I should consider trying to learn the Rhythm parts for more songs before jamming with them? Even though the people in this band are also about the same level as I'm at, maybe a bit higher, as far as I've gathered from chatting with their current Guitarist? And hey, even if they don't hire me, I might still get some advice on how to improve to make myself more desireable as a musician.

" And hey, even if they don't hire me, I might still get some advice on how to improve to make myself more desireable as a musician."

Great Attitude, who knows you might all hit it off and grow together. People in a band need to get a long, the better they get a long, the better music they seem to make.

Originally Posted by: haghj500" And hey, even if they don't hire me, I might still get some advice on how to improve to make myself more desireable as a musician."

Great Attitude, who knows you might all hit it off and grow together. People in a band need to get a long, the better they get a long, the better music they seem to make.

And, if I'm not wrong, the better they get along personally, the easier it'll be for them to make the music. If we get along, it won't take long between someone starts playing something and the whole band is playing something that complements what the first person is playing.

Well, what can I say? I just got home from jamming with the band mentioned earlier. Great night, went a lot better than I had hoped. As for joining them full-time, I've been given a month to consider it, so it seem they're happy with me. I've also already received the chords for one of their simpler songs, that they want me to learn by Wednesday next week. It should be easy enough though. It's a simple 12 Bars Blues with a rock-sound to it, and I've already got the rhythm down during the jam-session, so...

In short, it went better than expected.

Great news, I was hoping you would up date the thread. Hard to find a better motive to practices.

Nice! :)

Fantastic!! Congrats on landing your first gig.

Originally Posted by: haghj500Great news, I was hoping you would up date the thread. Hard to find a better motive to practices.

Yeah, I was planning on letting you guys know how it went. Now I just need to focus on learning to play the song they gave me the chords for. Even if it's a simple 12-bar Blues, I'd still be pretty impressed with myself if I can learn it perfectly by next time.

Kasperow,

Extra credit, learn it in two places. Even if the second place is just open chords. Practice switching between the two while playing the same verse. So 1st time through play the bar chord A or what ever your root is, then play an open A the next pass through. It might sound like extra work, but really if you can play your open chords its not.

Its kind of like the second video you made and had a hard time switching the same minor chord up/down the neck. After realizing that, the next time through it just worked. Start trusting your muscles do to what you have thought them, when you need to make a D or a C, just think it, don't start telling your "fingers" what to do, let "them" do.

Originally Posted by: haghj500Kasperow,

Extra credit, learn it in two places. Even if the second place is just open chords. Practice switching between the two while playing the same verse. So 1st time through play the bar chord A or what ever your root is, then play an open A the next pass through. It might sound like extra work, but really if you can play your open chords its not.

Its kind of like the second video you made and had a hard time switching the same minor chord up/down the neck. After realizing that, the next time through it just worked. Start trusting your muscles do to what you have thought them, when you need to make a D or a C, just think it, don't start telling your "fingers" what to do, let "them" do.

Well, the chords used are only A5, D5 and E5 (though they can easily be replaced with Barre-chords instead), so playing it with Open Chords instead would change the sound a bit, since the E Major Open Chord is remarkably lower in pitch than an E Major Barre Chord played at the A String, 7th fret. Then again, they didn't seem to mind that I changed the rhythm a bit (the other guitarist even adapted his rhythm-playing to match mine), so who knows? And it could give some interesting results if done right.

Kasperow,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9T06UfP1S0

Above is a link to Bridge of Sighs by Robin Trower live version, he has to be 65 to 70+ years old. This song is a true link between playing blues, with a large does of rock tossed in at the same time. He does a lot of stuff slowly so you can watch and learn. Watch/listen to the way he uses his bends.

I posted this thinking you are kind of headed that way in the band you are working with now. This is back to being introduced to new ideas before you need to use then or ever thought of them.

Enjoy!!

Originally Posted by: haghj500Kasperow,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9T06UfP1S0

Above is a link to Bridge of Sighs by Robin Trower live version, he has to be 65 to 70+ years old. This song is a true link between playing blues, with a large does of rock tossed in at the same time. He does a lot of stuff slowly so you can watch and learn. Watch/listen to the way he uses his bends. [/QUOTE]
That actually sounds pretty amazing. I've never really heard of Robin Trower before, but he sounds like a pretty damn good guitarist. The solo sounds awesome, partially because his sound almost matches what I had in mind for my own sound (now I just need to figure out what gear he uses, aside from a Fender Stratocaster)... I've been wanting to have a similar sound on my own gear after hearing some of the more the more recent Guns N' Roses concerts on youtube, especially the solos, but I've never really found out how they get that specific sound. My best guess would be some Overdrive, or possibly a Marshall Tube-Amp turned to full volume.

[QUOTE=haghj500]I posted this thinking you are kind of headed that way in the band you are working with now. This is back to being introduced to new ideas before you need to use then or ever thought of them.

Enjoy!!

Yeah, the original material they've got so far is just about as much Blues with a Rock-tone as "La Grange" is a Rock-song with a Bluesy Rhythm. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. A lot of great songs combine elements of both genres. "La Grange" is just one great, famous example of such.

His tone on the video sounds kinda half way between Hendrix and Gilmour type of sound.
Strat, marshall amp, fuzz effect, rotary effect like the dunlop u vibe or the voodoo lab micro vibe and you should have something that sounds similar.
Oh and dont forget a great set of hands and a lot of experience :)

Originally Posted by: SebastBergHis tone on the video sounds kinda half way between Hendrix and Gilmour type of sound.
Strat, marshall amp, fuzz effect, rotary effect like the dunlop u vibe or the voodoo lab micro vibe and you should have something that sounds similar.
Oh and dont forget a great set of hands and a lot of experience :)

This rotary effect, is that the same as a Chorus, Flanger and Phaser, or is it a completely separate effect?

I discovered Robin Trower a few years ago from a book of guitar licks. Bridge of Sighs is an awesome album and the title song is awesome. His later stuff from the 80's onward didn't really do it for me.

As far as his sound goes, I recall finding a youtube video where he discusses his rig. Getting his sound (equipment-wise) should be relatively easy since he doesn't change it up much, if at all. From the way he talked, he wasn't much of a gearhead. He came about a sound that he liked and stuck with it.