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Lost in a "Jam"
- Thread starter Waterpilot
- Start date
that's a good thing! this is how you learn. trial by fire. If they are willing to play with you and help you out then this can be a valuable learning experience for you even if you don't stick with them.
You can always ask "Hey, what key is that?" "What chords are those?" If there are a lot of them, then it's hard to expect you to keep up with all the changes, if there are a few and they're just sticking with those then play the roots and just groove on those with the drummer til you get those down then start branching off from the root on different beats.
My personal taste is all over the place really, but they lean toward a rock/ alternative type of genre.
Having been asked back is a good sign, but I think it's more of a personality issue then an ability issue. Nevertheless I'll take the experience any way I can get it....
I've been playing for about a year, just got back home from a jam actually. What i do is listen to the guitarist for a bit, then start playing a few notes trying to find the key. Once i find the root note, i listen to the drums and then get a steady beat going. Once i get that foundation i start playing some chord or scale notes and make a simple solid bassline from whatever fits. Then i'll start branching out a bit more. But i think the key is just to find the root note and then get a simple bassline out of that.
so is/are the situation/s you are get into open jams over chords, in a single key, or a guitarist with loose arrangements of riffs?
i ask b/c i think you will get better advice by giving this kind of info. jamming over a blues is all well and good, but, at this point, it won't do much good if you are playing atypical changes (or no changes at all).
one thing that seems to be a shortcoming of beginners (regarding jamming with others) is thinking that they should be as busy as the guitarist... this makes the music sound schizophrenic. you will get more gigs early if you play a bassist's role by playing a pattern that locks in with the drummer to support the guitarist. you can add small nuisances as you see fit, but always try to keep it locked.
honestly, start with some favorite bass lines from other people and adapt them to be your own. early on, i had some success doing this with Built to Spill, The Pixies, James Brown, and Medeski, Martin & Wood.
I've personally had an easier time jamming as a first meeting rather than covers, anyone can learn a cover, but its the moment where everyone gets lost looks up at each other and realizes what your creating is funkalicious, or it crashes and burns epically, good times out way the bad imo.
It was more of a loose arrangement of riffs and he was going pretty quickly.
That's exactly what I tried doing a few times but when I did, I just ended up getting lost. As was at my most comfortable when I was doing just that. It just seemed so boring and unimpressive.
This is their exact philosophy and why they do it this way, it's intimidating for a new player (at least this one), but it is fun!
This is exactly how I learned to play 13 years ago. Drummer. Guitarist. Me.
They also had no songs and wanted to jam. At first I was very uncomfortable and nervous. I felt a little ridiculous in the room at times.
But, I just asked what key the song was in, and eventually what were the chords to the melody, chorus and any bridges, and the key of the jam if the song were to turn into an improvational course.
I listened to the guitar player for the overall melody and then I did my best to lock in time with the drummer.
As days passed, I would learn scales in some of the keys that our songs were in. Of course, the Pentatonic scale is the most used and works quite well in most music. I also liked the myxolydian scale.
Eventually, I got better. It was some of the best moments in my life when I became able to improv music with friends. To this day doing improv has been my most comfortable style to play.
They also had no songs and wanted to jam. At first I was very uncomfortable and nervous. I felt a little ridiculous in the room at times.
But, I just asked what key the song was in, and eventually what were the chords to the melody, chorus and any bridges, and the key of the jam if the song were to turn into an improvational course.
I listened to the guitar player for the overall melody and then I did my best to lock in time with the drummer.
As days passed, I would learn scales in some of the keys that our songs were in. Of course, the Pentatonic scale is the most used and works quite well in most music. I also liked the myxolydian scale.
Eventually, I got better. It was some of the best moments in my life when I became able to improv music with friends. To this day doing improv has been my most comfortable style to play.
