The death of jamming

[Paulabass]

^^ You have to move around to different jams, find one that fits, but yes, you will encounter the same people with the same songs. A good jam-miester will try to mix it up, but it's hard to do. Before you let it get under your skin, go to someone else's jam, it may not be fresh to them, but you'll hear something different. A lot of people do not realize jam, and open stage are not synonimous.
Last Sunday, before things had even kicked off, I was standing offstage with a guitarist, and an alto sax, we were discussing what to play. I played them the bass line to 'lowrider', to which the sax played the harmonica line, and the guitar player dug into a scratchy funk rhythm. Nobody had ever played it before. We got up and just let it stretch from there, going back to the tag every now and again- creative, spontainious, and fun.

 

[buldog5151bass]

^^ You have to move around to different jams, find one that fits, but yes, you will encounter the same people with the same songs. A good jam-miester will try to mix it up, but it's hard to do. Before you let it get under your skin, go to someone else's jam, it may not be fresh to them, but you'll hear something different. A lot of people do not realize jam, and open stage are not synonimous.
Last Sunday, before things had even kicked off, I was standing offstage with a guitarist, and an alto sax, we were discussing what to play. I played them the bass line to 'lowrider', to which the sax played the harmonica line, and the guitar player dug into a scratchy funk rhythm. Nobody had ever played it before. We got up and just let it stretch from there, going back to the tag every now and again- creative, spontainious, and fun.

Sounds good - this is why I mentioned trying different genres. Based upon your posts (I've never heard you play) I would assume you could play jazz well - putting yourself next to a sax player or trumpet player, rather than another guitarist, will give you a whole different mindset to play off of. I also find that jazz drummers approach the music differently. I hadn't played it in over two decades, but while I won't go out of my way to listen to it much, it is a blast to play.

 

[Paulabass]

^^ I will never profess to playing jazz WELL. I can play standards without charts. I have an excellent ear for intervals, so I can play anything I can hear the melody in my head. I play with alto, and tenor saxes a lot, and they can do a blues/ r&b horn section, or solo their asses off. Opens the mind to lots of possibilities.

 

[Callused Finger]

Jamming and improvisation are an integral part of playing any instrument.
If we are talking about Jam band style of music.. To each his own.

 

[Paulabass]

^^ that's why I have two threads running- Jam band, which is a genre, and jamming, which is spontainious improvisation between two or more musicians.
Very different things.

 

[buldog5151bass]

^^ I will never profess to playing jazz WELL. I can play standards without charts. I have an excellent ear for intervals, so I can play anything I can hear the melody in my head. I play with alto, and tenor saxes a lot, and they can do a blues/ r&b horn section, or solo their asses off. Opens the mind to lots of possibilities.

Neither will I. I play with some fantastic musicians, and somehow they still allow me to hang around. I'm known as QNW ("Quarter Note Whore") since I am willing to spend two hours walking bass lines for rehearsals. Just like when I first started studying Motown, it has opened my eyes melodically as to ways to move from chord to chord in any genre of music. I was thinking it was more an issue of getting you playing with different people with different mindsets.

I recently discovered the opposite. We are adding a vocalist for some tunes for some gigs this summer. Now the horn players have to change THEIR mindset - they are not the star - other than when they get solos on these tunes, they have to learn how to contribute to the song as a backup.

 

[AshokanKid]

^^ You have to move around to different jams, find one that fits, but yes, you will encounter the same people with the same songs.
Before you let it get under your skin, go to someone else's jam, it may not be fresh to them, but you'll hear something different.
We got up and just let it stretch from there, going back to the tag every now and again- creative, spontainious, and fun.

This is a perfect example of what a Fun Jam can be, especially for any who may seem or feel intimidated by the concept of free flowing non-scripted music.

Here is an exercise to try out with friends or strangers;
All get together with your instruments. Pick one person to go first.
That first person then throws out a line, a groove, a riff, or perhaps only a sound.
Let that bounce out there and savor it for a bit. LISTEN & FEEEL it.
Then someone else adds something and runs with it. SHORT. Let that hang.
And then the next person and so on, and then FINALLY, put it all together and see what happens. Give each other plenty of room. Listen. FEEL.
And, as has been mentioned earlier, DON'T feel that you HAVE to play ANYTHING. Haha.
Music with no space is just constant noise... (ditto with continuous runs of scales?)

For those new or unfamiliar with this Jam Thang, take it easy, don't push to try to "make something happen". Give it space to unfold. No need to sound like _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (fill in the blanks of your fav heroes) on your first time out. Be easy about it.
I'm married to a classically trained musician. Awesome singer (opera, choir), playing flute (REALLY well) since she was 9 (has done film work, orchestras all over the world), reads music like it is her first language, but? Jam or improvise? Nope...
Not because she can't (i'll bet), but because it has never been explored.
Go forth and explore. It can be a blast. Even for rote cover players. Let it out...

 

[Paulabass]

Horns- Keep them hungry, keep them on a short leash, and never show fear.

Trey Anastasio on jamming- Never play anything that does not somehow improve the music.

 

[Nedro]

I am really poor at jamming tunes as I often don't know how to play many of the normal songs everyone seems to know at the 'let's play songs jams'. I do really enjoy improv'ing though. Exploration with other musicians is something I always find enriching and rewarding. Given that, I don't know if listeners always enjoy it as much as I do.

 

[MtManiac]

These days, "bro" and "dude" are not gender-specific.

I'll be sure to remember that next time I crawl out of my tar pit.

 

[FretlessJon]

I have another (humorous) thread going about jam bands. On a more serious note, I've been running jams for years, and probably always will. I'm saddened that so many people have lost the spirit of true jamming- Improvisation, and spontaneity.
Every week I end up with a bunch of GREAT players who just want to play songs. Maybe add a second (third...fourth) guitar solo, but the jamming aspect is all but gone.
I try to push my guests boundries, and a FEW of them get it. Go to double time feel, or a modulation, or switch up a groove- reggae Zeppelin, or metal Peaches and Herb.
I try to keep it interesting, and push peoples boundries.
I often just hit a brick wall. If it ain't on the record, they don't want to try it.
Too many automatons, not enough free spirits.
Another Pride and Joy.......in the same key as the record.....
Rant over.

 

[FretlessJon]

Every bass player & every musician should make jamming a regular part of their routine even if they spend most of their time writing or playing songs. One does not get really good at interpreting other musicians and truly developing their own style by learning and just executing parts.

 

[JIO]

I suppose jamming is some holy graal in rock music, it is part of the good old sex drug R&roll : you are young, beautifull, a talented genius (of course), a chick magnet (laughs) and music flow through your fingers like gold. Yeap!
But lets face it, nothing great comes without work, and preparation.
The young generation knows that.
And maybe because there is always someone filming you now, nobody wants to be imortalized in a bad jam anymore.

Your overview point of age is a poignant, but not the 'young and restless' tact - more importantly it's what atmosphere a musician grows up in. The filming comment hit the mark - the need to document everything from a sandwich to endless selfies today emboldens extroverts and terrifies introverts. And it's stealth and can be posted somewhere and seen by potentially hundreds (and up) of people. A serious jam session is very intimate, best done with trusted friends and with the understood caveat of not having to apologize for anything that you do during a jam. (except for excessive wanking maybe...) For many of the reasons covered over now 18 pages of this thread, the era/timeframe is where to look for why 'jamming' isn't as prevelent as it once was. And it's not as cut & dried as the next generation rebelling against the last - that is more or less a constant and will remain one regardless. The social media generation, 'everyones a rock star' (band camp), catalogs full of guitars/basses/drums/keys etc and DIY recordings/promotion - all of these things affect what kind of music is going to be played and how it is perceived. For those of us who have many decades of experience playing music - it is difficult to imagine what it would be like to enter as a young player today. With such a rich and decades long history of 'bands making noise' you can never predict what some young player is going to gravitate toward. For rock, the bands known for long jams (Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, Phish) may not appeal to them at all. (they don't much appeal to me either) so jazz is where the improvisation thread might be continued.

 

[Billybass02]

I have another (humorous) thread going about jam bands. On a more serious note, I've been running jams for years, and probably always will. I'm saddened that so many people have lost the spirit of true jamming- Improvisation, and spontaneity.
Every week I end up with a bunch of GREAT players who just want to play songs. Maybe add a second (third...fourth) guitar solo, but the jamming aspect is all but gone.
I try to push my guests boundries, and a FEW of them get it. Go to double time feel, or a modulation, or switch up a groove- reggae Zeppelin, or metal Peaches and Herb.
I try to keep it interesting, and push peoples boundries.
I often just hit a brick wall. If it ain't on the record, they don't want to try it.
Too many automatons, not enough free spirits.
Another Pride and Joy.......in the same key as the record.....
Rant over.

I like and do play at a place called "Open Mics" a lounge where you can bring your musical instruments, plug in and free jam. My friends and i go together and play a 3 to 4 song set, it is a lot of fun. I have gone by myself also and have had a great time and have met some great people to free jam with.

 

[Crash 56]

Where I grew up in the SF Bay area in the 70's, you had to know how to jam...I wanted to be the next Phil Lesh. We would get together and noodle till it went off a cliff, and then figure where we went wrong. Good ear training! When we were brave, we would try to improvise over "You Know, You Know" from "Inner Mounting Flame"

 

[King Kolon]

I have another (humorous) thread going about jam bands. On a more serious note, I've been running jams for years, and probably always will. I'm saddened that so many people have lost the spirit of true jamming- Improvisation, and spontaneity.
Every week I end up with a bunch of GREAT players who just want to play songs. Maybe add a second (third...fourth) guitar solo, but the jamming aspect is all but gone.
I try to push my guests boundries, and a FEW of them get it. Go to double time feel, or a modulation, or switch up a groove- reggae Zeppelin, or metal Peaches and Herb.
I try to keep it interesting, and push peoples boundries.
I often just hit a brick wall. If it ain't on the record, they don't want to try it.
Too many automatons, not enough free spirits.
Another Pride and Joy.......in the same key as the record.....
Rant over.

I don't Jam at all anymore. Don't have the time or Desire to Jam anywhere or anytime. I play music for Money. As much as the Market Provides. I run it like a Business to make Money, that's my Reward. Nothing else. And l don't sit around with Friends either and Play for poopie & Giggles. I'm way beyond those days. Sorry, l'll go and perform at Nuring Homes or Public Functions for Free before l'll Do open Mike nites or Jamm.

 

[njones89]

I deeply value jamming. Sadly, nobody around here my age feels the same way as I do. When I try to jam with them, it's like making out with someone who has never made out before... The best jams I have ever had were with older dudes.

 

[JIO]

I deeply value jamming. Sadly, nobody around here my age feels the same way as I do. When I try to jam with them, it's like making out with someone who has never made out before... The best jams I have ever had were with older dudes.

There is something to be said about life experience and learning. Judging by the responses on this thread, (mostly older) players are either open to it or not for a number of reasons so it may be something of a quest to locate local players in the 'open' category who could mentor the discipline. It's the golden rule of music to pass it on and I have always been one to hope ones age is not a liability to get together and play.

 

[Londo Molari]

I don't Jam at all anymore. Don't have the time or Desire to Jam anywhere or anytime. I play music for Money. As much as the Market Provides. I run it like a Business to make Money, that's my Reward. Nothing else. And l don't sit around with Friends either and Play for poopie & Giggles. I'm way beyond those days. Sorry, l'll go and perform at Nuring Homes or Public Functions for Free before l'll Do open Mike nites or Jamm.

That's just plain sad.

 

[timfinle]

IME, there are a few different kinds of musicians: the note for note guys, the guys who follow structure but will add their own flare, and the guys who feel comfortable going off the cuff and will improvise.

Improvising (well) isn't easy to do. It requires a level of technical proficiency, theoretical knowledge, hearing ability, and, honestly, maturity to be able to do at a level that's at least enjoyable for others to take part in and for audiences to want to listen to. Even players who have the ability to do it might have trouble meshing well with other musicians unless they have played together beforehand.

It's unsurprising that a lot of players don't enjoy it or simply can't do it. However, it has been my experiences that once you do have the ability to improv well in a group setting that doing anything else can be less fulfilling of an experience. There is something special about being able t"command of music as a language that you can communicate with others through it in a way that is exciting not only for the musicians but for people listening and watching it happen live.

This is exactly what I think. I know some songs, but what I love the most is when playing with a good group, they start off with: Key A and follow the beat. Someone starts playing and then someone else and pretty soon everyone is playing to music being created. The key I found to doing this is listening to what is being played. As the music progresses, it tends to change and playing to changes can make some great tunes spontaneously happen. That act of creation is so rewarding.
I have a CD of Blind Faith that is incredible to listen too. The first CD is Jamming and you hear "can't find my way home" develop. By end of the Jam (20 min or so) the song is completely developed. The jam starts with a guitar, then drums and then the bass comes in. It's really good to hear.