Band trouble

[Stevie]

My story, not so unusual perhaps, is a tale of poor musicanship, lack of confidence, probably not much talent and poor education. Its ok, I dont mind - too much - my day job is safe.

I have played guitar for 25 or so years, self taught, and know enough to be dangerous. Bebob, swing Aka, Wes ('the maestro') Montgomery is my thing but know my limitations...

I jam with friends, drums, sax, bass. And like me are fairly solid amateurs and individually reasonable players. I prepare hard and try to keep things simple. But (and here is rub) most of the time it sounds terrible. The guitar (and everything else) is muffled, I cant hear what im playing, the changes are unclear (to my ear). White noise. I get lost. Which chord are we on - panic. What happened to that subtlety and nuance. The pause and tension. Down the pan. My solos are awful. Performace anxiety or perhaps too busy and noisy. Or all of the above.

So if anyone can offer advice on how to improve jam sessions and feeling the groove I would really appreciate it.

[jagui007]

Go back to square one (but whatever you do don't give up!!) get a program like band-in-a-box and FIRE the rest of the band. This way you can build up your confidence BEFORE you jam out with friends. You can then see who's the weak link too. Maybe your friend will make you the "leader" and listen to what you're telling them.


julian:

[perfischer]

Stevie, I feel your pain. Try and get to play with very experienced musicians, at jam sessions fx. And dare to play tunes you're not entirely sure about - it will sometimes end in you making a fool of yourself (I know I do).

As Julian said, practice with BIAB or backing tracks.

Also, I would recommend trying to "attack" a tune from a broader perspective than just "what chord are we on" - and choose to play tunes where that is possible, ie not Giant Steps. Think instead of tonal centre or key - many tunes are in one key or one key for the A part and another for the bridge. Dig down into that particular key and milk it for runs, arpeggios etc. And try it out in your own living room before doing it with your band.

I hope it helps or gives you ideas.

[jagui007]

Another thing that came to mind is to just be the "Freddy Greene" of the band and do nothing but comp chords until you get to a simple tune where you feel confy, like say Memphis Underground a ONE CHORD wonder!!!

I used to do that (and still do) in order not to fall on my face, believe me I've been there man!


julian

[woyvel]

I haven't played with a band since...I don't want to say. That's for another post. But when we had some of the same issues, we would

1) turn the volume down so we could hear each other better

2) unplug or just sing/hum your parts

3) send 2 or 3 people off separately and work on things

Sometimes we'd discover where there was too much or too little playing in certain parts, or where harmony didn't work because 2 instruments were playing in the same register (ex: bass on a high root with guitar playing the 7th just below)

[pierre richard]

been playing memphis underground since the day I bought the album..yea LP..I'm that old....

I've have played with musicians like that over the year as some of the others on t his site...they do not know it's a GROUP..they think YOU are the backing band for THEM...

get yourself some play alongs from jamie aebersold....real sweet stuff..many styles...play along and close your eyes...you won't believe your ears...

time on the instrument..pierre

[Little Jay]

2 things:

- lower the volume if it's too loud (don't underestimate this)

- read Kenny Werner's Effortless Mastery

And maybe a third: play with different (better?) musicians.

[jagui007]

I'd go for the 3rd for sure. When I was much younger, I was trying to learn how to play tennis. A dear friend of mine told me that if I wanted to learn how to play tennis well I had to always play opposite playrs of equal or higher caliber than me.

This also works well for music.

[hot ford coupe]

I used to play with this one trio, a flute, a standup bass and me. Nothing ever sounded coordinated and my guitar sounded like it was out of control. Lowering the volume, playing smaller chords, keeping off the bass strings--nothing helped. Then I played with a much better flute player and bass player and I discovered that the only one that played in tune was me. The flute player couldn't keep from playing flat all the time and the bass player's intonation was off most of the time. Playing with musicians who really know their instruments makes a huge difference.

[Stevie]

Hi All

Thanks for the good advise and ideas.

Out of control is a good description of how it feels. My comping is relatively sparse (mostly guide tones) and is passable. But the solos - oh boy - the lights are on but nobodys home. Its incredibly dissapointing and frustrating. The fingers are in the right place but right from the start it aint working. Rhythmic and harmonic chaos. Not a good place to be for a relaxed solo.

I dont expect good jazz to be easy so I will stick at it. For a starter, the volume will be cut and ill play more on the key centre until the time and vibe is right. I need to find better musicians to jam with too.