SuperBee
3827 posts
Jun 07, 2016
7:18 AM
|
My town doesn't have a big blues scene, but we do have a blues club, and once a month we have a gig, and in the middle of the gig there is a set available for jamming.
Tonight I went along and there was a bass player I knew, and he saw me and invited me to jam with him and his son...and then he asked if I'd lead a song or two...and the drummer was like a pro...so I played and sang two numbers and people danced and it was good. And straight up after the jam the band invited me to join them on 2 numbers also...so I actually played 4 songs and none of it sucked...people were dancing the whole time...so now I just have to remain calm about the fact I left a set of seven harps at the pub and also wind down off the buzz I get from performing when people dig it...
And it was all through a sm58 direct to pa...
Ah...bedtime now...maybe a Valium...
I'm not boasting, just sharing my joy...it's been years I've been trying to have a good jam session at the club...
|
Truth2012
51 posts
Jun 07, 2016
9:47 AM
|
Well done Superbee!
Nice experience to share.
Just hope that I get to a level where people dance to my playing instead of running for the door!!
|
ME.HarpDoc
159 posts
Jun 07, 2016
3:51 PM
|
Fantastic, Bee. Good experience to share.
|
MindTheGap
1675 posts
Jun 08, 2016
12:01 AM
|
Excellent, thanks for telling the story. What songs did you play, and did you get your harps back!?
|
SuperBee
3828 posts
Jun 08, 2016
5:20 AM
|
Harps are safely home again.
Have a good time
Born in Chicago
I just want to make love to you
Hip shake/shake your hips
|
Fil
151 posts
Jun 08, 2016
3:18 PM
|
SB, good joy to share! Curiosity question...how many songs would you say you have in you rep and ready to go for occasions like this?phil
----------
Phil Pennington
|
SuperBee
3835 posts
Jun 09, 2016
3:17 PM
|
I probably have 20 songs I can sing and have prepared structured harp parts memorised...maybe more if I think long enough...but I have taken an approach which I don't really recommend. I approached it as bandleader and many of my songs are suitable for that role.
I believe I would've been better to study classics where the harp is a sideman. Learn the riffs for classic muddy waters songs for instance, study the accompanists, not the leaders. And have licks prepared to play 12-24 bars solo in slow blues, minor blues, rock beat, rhumba, etc. and note the common numbers played locally and work on those.
I think I'd get invited to play more and acquit myself better generally more often if I focussed on that.
|
Fil
152 posts
Jun 10, 2016
4:59 PM
|
Thank you. Without thinking it thru, I guess, I've kind of gone down what you think might have been a better track for yourself. Hard to say what's better, tho. I wish I knew more songs so I could do vocals (working on that), but also am getting better at listening to an unfamiliar song and spitting out 12 or 24 bars that aren't too incongruous. Interesting, however, that the one consistent advice I've gotten to improve my playing is to "learn songs!". 20 is a dream.
----------
Phil Pennington
|
SuperBee
3838 posts
Jun 11, 2016
2:32 AM
|
I think it's good to learn songs but in my case at least, I don't often get an opportunity to play songs I've learnt. Sometimes, mainly at private jams, but not often. They are valuable though.
|
Tiggertoo1962
142 posts
Jun 11, 2016
11:16 PM
|
Good news, Bee. Nothing better for giving you a buzz than seeing people up dancing and having a good time while you're doing the entertaining. Hope it becomes a regular thing for you :D.
----------
One of the last of a dying breed.
|
Fil
153 posts
Jun 12, 2016
11:18 AM
|
Actually, the "learn songs" advice was as much about learning lyrics and melodies as about learning the harp parts...riffs, patterns, grooves. I need those ready to mix and match for improv. The lyrics and melodies for when someone says play something for us, which has happened and I didn't have much to offer. As you suggest, it's not either or. It all adds to the toolbox.
----------
Phil Pennington
|
SuperBee
3913 posts
Jul 05, 2016
9:29 PM
|
I had another blow at the jam last night.
This time a guitarist was calling the songs.
Stop breaking down, crossroads, and hip shake/shake your hips.
I'm familiar with hip shake, but those Robert Johnson songs have left me disappointed before.
This time, on stop breaking down I resisted the urge to 'play fast'. I made an effort to play phrases and leave space. It was far more successful than previous attempts.
I thought about phrasing more as a vocalist might, rather than filling every beat or trying to play all 1/8th notes and triplets.
Crossroads was probably less good. The second guitarist had his head down and wasn't coming up for air which made it hard to find a space.
Hip shake was going well until my mic began to feedback. The sound operator had bumped something on his iPad mixer and couldn't work out what he'd done but I managed to kill the mic and commandeered the vocal mic for my solo, then they fired up the second vocal mix for me to get back to the riff fills during the vocal. I was pretty happy with how we dealt with the problem and the dancers kept dancing and complemented my playing.
So this is good I think.
And we have a reasonable profile gig for a band I've been asked to be part of. A 50 minute festival set in 6 weeks. Guitar bass and harp have yet to meet the drummer, but have played with each other and I'm certain we can get a dozen songs together in the time.
Dq8hrr
|
