How do you jam?

Truckasaurus · #1 02-17-2013, 02:22 PM

Hey guys,

I'm trying to free style with the guitar by playing the bass guitar using a strumming technique such as one you would use on lets say an electric.

Anyway, I need some advice on how you guys would go by making up your own tunes.

Thanks

Megas3300 · #2 02-17-2013, 02:34 PM

I've heard a 1,4,5 blues is a good place to start, but I'm fairly new as well, so I'd like to see what some people say.

Volpe25 · #3 02-17-2013, 02:38 PM

Are you playing with someone who's playing a guitar or are you playing by yourself just making stuff up?

Truckasaurus · #4 02-17-2013, 02:39 PM

I'm just playing on my own ^^

Mr_Music90 · #5 02-17-2013, 02:39 PM

making up your own tunes

Well like a lot of other bands do, just jam as in improvisation. Just start up with something you feel. Let your emotions do the work and before you know, you make bass lines of your own

Mushroo · #6 02-17-2013, 02:51 PM

Listen to bands that are good at jamming (like Phish or the Dead or whatever you're into), transcribe the bass lines, study how the note choice relates to the song structure, and use that as a jumping off point for your own ideas/explorations. Also learn the common chord progressions (such as blues form, I-IV-V, i-bVII-bVI-V, I-V-vi-IV, etc.) so that you can instantly hear what the guitarist is playing and join in. I guarantee you that every pro improv musician has followed some variation of that exact same process, good luck!

chubfarm2001 · #7 02-17-2013, 02:54 PM

Usually strawberry, sometimes grape.

deeptubes · #8 02-17-2013, 02:54 PM

I'll start with a riff and cyclically play it over and over and over until it starts to come naturally. Then I start to make variations, keeping what works and dumping what doesn't flow.

Volpe25 · #9 02-17-2013, 02:55 PM

Well firstly it helps majorly if you know scales, and not just going across the strings but on just one string as well. Then create chords from the scales. Sure you could look up the chords online but you get a better sense of related notes if you work it out on your own. Then using those chords just jam! Start off using basic chord progressions eg I - IV - V. Just mess with accentuation, upstrokes, downstrokes etc. I might have made it sound a bit complicated but its simple